Northern Ireland
Karin Smyth Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Brandon Lewis
Yes, I can give that assurance. I would go a little bit further: even in the conversations I was having in Belfast yesterday with community groups and political leaders, everybody was very determined to continue to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland in the widest sense through the “New Decade, New Approach” agreement. We will not be distracted from delivering on our promises and the actions we took on abortion, as we outlined just a few weeks ago. It comes back to remembering that, with what we saw last week for those few days—hopefully we do not see a recurrence of it—we all have a part to play in encouraging a calm approach to disagreements, but we must not be deterred from the wider work to deliver for Northern Ireland by the actions of criminals, thugs and hooligans.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab) [V]
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and particularly his comments on integrated education, but may I press him on strand 3 of the Good Friday agreement, which he has talked about? Has he had discussions with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Irish Government about holding another British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference? Such conferences are so crucial to the relationship across these islands and we have not had one for nearly two years.
Brandon Lewis
The hon. Lady makes a fair point. The British-Irish Council has met regularly and continues to do so—it met in November last year and has met regularly, annually. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, which did not meet between February 2007 and July 2018, has met three times since then. We will of course look for the appropriate time for the next meeting of the BIIGC, especially in the context of ensuring the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the UK and Ireland now that we have left the EU—I have spoken to the Irish Foreign Minister about that—but we also need to be clear that policing is a devolved matter so falls outside the remit of the BIIGC.
Abortion in Northern Ireland
Karin Smyth Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Brandon Lewis
As I have said, the legal duties imposed by a significant majority of Parliament in mid-2019 are such that I have an ongoing role legally in this issue, and that duty did not fall away with the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland. My clear preference is and has always been that the Department of Health takes responsibility for delivering this healthcare, and to that end, we have given every opportunity and offered support to the Minister of Health and his Department to take this forward for more than a year now, but no progress has been made. While Parliament considers these regulations, we will continue to engage with the Minister of Health and the Executive to try to find a way forward over the coming weeks before any direction is considered to be given.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab) [V]
I welcome the Secretary of State’s clear reference to the duty on him and welcome his personal work to learn of these harrowing cases; I totally agree that one journey made, particularly in an epidemic, is far too much. Does he agree that the United Kingdom seeks to be a beacon across the world for the rights of women and girls and supports many countries in access to healthcare, including abortions, and that the continued lack of this service within the United Kingdom is a stain on our reputation? I know that, as a strong Unionist, he is keen to assert that. Does he agree that getting this sorted now and working with Northern Ireland is critical to the future of the United Kingdom and the role that we want to play in the world?
Brandon Lewis
The hon. Lady makes an important and powerful point, which does not surprise me, because I know that she has worked hard on this issue and been a strong proponent of it for some time, including in her previous role as shadow Minister for Northern Ireland. I commend her for the work she has done, particularly with the Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office. I know that she has always been a fulsome supporter of ensuring that women and girls in Northern Ireland get access to the same quality healthcare that they would elsewhere in the United Kingdom. She is quite right that that allows the United Kingdom to continue to lead globally in making the case for ensuring that women and girls around the world get the good-quality healthcare that they rightly deserve.
Oral Answers to Questions
Karin Smyth Excerpts(3 years, 11 months ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
Last March, I was pleased to host the Integrated Education Fund here in Westminster. We had a very positive cross-party discussion with the fund about how we all support our shared desire to ensure that every child in Northern Ireland gets a good education in a good school. Despite the pandemic, good progress is being made on the ground with the parties to support children. Will the Secretary of State and the Minister commit to doing all they can to support them in delivering this long overdue legacy work?
Mr Walker
I agree with the hon. Lady about the importance of this issue. As she knows, under the “New Decade, New Approach” agreement, the Executive agreed to establish a programme for government, including an
“Enhanced strategic focus and supporting actions on educating our children and young people together in the classroom, in order to build a shared and integrated society.”
I have met some of the Northern Irish parties to discuss progress on delivering shared and integrated education, and I share their ambition to speed up delivery. I believe that the establishment of an independent fiscal council would help to accelerate that delivery.
Draft Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
Karin Smyth Excerpts(3 years, 12 months ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I echo the Minister’s thanks to the various House staff who have allowed us to meet today and on other occasions.
We are here today because we have with the Irish Government a joint and solemn responsibility to the people of Northern Ireland. Although Brexit divides the UK and Ireland into different economic blocks, the protocol sets out our need to have regard to the historic ties, recognises the unique and significant challenges that exist on the island of Ireland, and emphasises that to ensure democratic legitimacy there should be a process of consent—the subject of the regulations before us today, which we support. The instrument looks like a dry, technical piece of process legislation, but it is much more than that.
We have real concerns on which I seek assurances from the Minister. They centre on the unsatisfactory nature of the fact that we are agreeing here in Westminster a process for those elected to Stormont to agree a voting mechanism on a deal that we do not yet have. It invokes the principle of consent and notions of democracy, on which I take issue with the Minister. We also have concerns about the destabilising nature of the timing of the votes.
First, we are agreeing a process today for consent to something that we do not know: the operation of articles 5 to 10 on customs and goods across the island of Ireland. I will not rehearse all the things that we do not know with only 36 days to go, but, as has been the case in the past four years, the lack of certainty and the way in which the delicately balanced unique circumstances of Northern Ireland have been treated does not bode well, and it is not acceptable for the Government to ask us to agree legislation without having agreed what the arrangements are in 36 days’ time.
Secondly, I want to highlight the use of the word “consent” by the Government. In the Command Paper, “The UK’s Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol”, published in May 2020, the foreword highlights on page 3 that,
“The Belfast Agreement is built on the principle of consent.”
The next paragraph states:
“The vital importance of consent is recognised in the provision for alignment in the Protocol to be disapplied”,
as the Minister has said, and that
“Embedding that recognition of consent…was intrinsic to its acceptance by this Government.”
That is a clear signal, as the Minister outlined, of the linkage of the 1998 agreement and this SI. On the next page, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster talks about protecting the “Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement” , which is referred to on page 5.
Language matters, particularly in the context of Northern Ireland. The Minister knows that every word of every document is carefully crafted and rigorously studied. There are many examples from the past year of how this democratic consent mechanism has been used to placate the Brexiteers in his own party and the entirely legitimate concerns of Unionists about what the Prime Minister agreed to in order to secure the withdrawal agreement.
This SI deliberately invokes the carefully crafted principle of consent about the constitutional issue from the 1998 treaty, but it is a different mechanism. It is designed for a different purpose and it would have been better to have perhaps used different nomenclature. I know the Minister argues that the mechanism is different. It is passable by a majority vote, because one is part of an international treaty and one enacts something into domestic law, but, having linked the two for political expediency, retreating into legalese and hair splitting is not helpful to trust in the Government’s intent.
The word “democratic” is also invoked carefully here. Indeed, writing in The Belfast Telegraph, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Secretary of State said of this proposal,
“Critically, any arrangements for implementing the Protocol will only be able to last as long as they command the support of democratically-elected local politicians. The future is firmly in Northern Ireland's hands.”
Patently, that is not the case. In this negotiation between the UK and the EU, Northern Ireland has never been in control, and this statutory instrument simply allows Assembly Members to agree—or not—to what others have negotiated. The UK Government’s proposal to mitigate the impact of UK Government policy and future alignment—or not—with the European Union is also a UK Government political decision.
To reverse some of the damage to trust in relationships in the past four years, there has to be a more serious commitment by the UK Government to real democratic oversight of the entire protocol, within the context of the 1998 agreement, by the people of Northern Ireland. I have asked several times of this and previous Governments how the enactment of the backstop and now the protocol interplays with the provisions of the north-south and east-west provisions of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, and I have never had a good answer.
The Joint Committee, the Specialised Committee and the joint consultative working group, plus the process to consent to something that we do not already know, make the whole issue much more problematic and in need of resolution. We need a commitment to be clear on the interrelationships of those bodies and how the Northern Ireland voice is heard and counts, and an assurance that the future really is in the hands of the people of Northern Ireland. I would like the Minister to outline any further thoughts that the Government have on how and when that can happen.
We are also concerned about the destabilising nature of the process, which the Minister has outlined without the context. Article 18 offers the opportunity of a vote, but the SI essentially forces one—it says there will be a vote. The Minister may wish to clarify that, but we might need to consider some flexibility, because the timing and process of a vote within the current electoral cycle is concerning. We have Assembly elections in 2022 and the consent vote that we are debating in November or December 2024. I remind hon. Members that we are also due a general election at that time.
If there is a simple majority in the consent vote in 2024, a two-year review of the articles in the protocol takes us to 2026. It is then two more years to another vote in 2028. If it is rejected in 2024, there will be a need to reopen negotiations on avoiding a hard border, repeating the circular and damaging debate of the last four years, between 2024 and 2026. There is also the prospect of more Assembly elections in 2027. If the consent vote that is part of the SI is approved in 2024, there will be another vote in 2032. That is a long process and a deeply concerning prospect.
There are too many opportunities for division. As we hear from the Government that they are seeking to move away from alignment with the European Union, it appears inevitable that, under their watch, those divisions will continue to be laid bare in Northern Ireland. How much consideration have the Government given to the electoral cycle and the timetable proposed in the SI? What will they be doing to avoid the economic and political instability it portends?
We all need a deal, and one that means that all the difficulties of separation between our two countries are minimised and that the provisions in the SI are part of the dull and technocratic process that the Government are keen for us all to believe in. The signs are not promising, however, and I hope that the Minister will reflect on the issues I have raised. I hope he is assured, however, that the Opposition are ready to do all we can to ensure that we uphold our solemn commitment to the people of Northern Ireland to a strong economy and to peace, stability and reconciliation in the coming difficult years.
Draft Flags (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Miller. The Opposition support these regulations, which are part of a package of improvements, important developments, outlined in the New Decade, New Approach agreement. This comes on the back of the recent establishment of the veterans commissioner, whom my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State had the pleasure of meeting over in Belfast recently. These are important fulfilments of the key commitments that were made.
I have read the debate from Stormont, as has the Minister, who was mentioned in dispatches from there. My overriding sense of that debate was of the recognition that this is a shared space. We know that this is a controversial and difficult subject and that people are very keen to move forward. I would just gently say to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs that I recognise the spirit of his intervention, but in the context of the very different part of the United Kingdom that is Northern Ireland and the history and shared space, I think that we need to recognise and respect that this has been a difficult issue. It remains difficult, but the overriding theme of that debate was about the future and recognising that, as a society, people want to focus their time on the immediate crises and on building the economy after the pandemic. We know that waiting times for health services in Northern Ireland lagged behind those in the rest of the UK before the pandemic. Any further falling behind will only impair the tremendous progress that we have seen recently on some of the issues that divided people in the past.
In that vein, the New Decade, New Approach deal—it was done only this year, although it seems a long time ago—was hugely important, but clearly there is still a good deal that has not been moved forward. Could the Minister update us today on some of the sequencing around some of the issues that have been agreed? Members in Northern Ireland were concerned about the order in which some of them are coming forward, so I would be grateful if the Minister could outline the sequencing of the commitments under New Decade, New Approach, and inform the Committee of areas in which we still need to see some progress.
In particular, I would like to highlight the issues of language rights and identity, security funding, support for the institutions, and legacy. I understand, on language and identity, that much of this is to come forward from Stormont. It has the responsibility for developing the office. However, the underpinning legislation and the funding streams come from Westminster, and it would be helpful to have any indication about when the commissioners will be appointed and the funding envelope set aside for the creation of the office.
On security funding, it is vital that local policing is well resourced. I commend the success of the recent operation to disrupt and arrest the New IRA. That was an example of how important that work by the Police Service of Northern Ireland is. However, we need a longer-term strategy to support the PSNI on that. It has identified the need for 7,500 new officers, and that was reflected in the agreement, but it currently has only 6,900. The Assembly has passed a motion for additional funding for those officers. I know that the Minister does not need me to remind him of the difficulties that the Executive are facing, but security funding really is an urgent issue now. Could he address that?
On legacy, New Decade, New Approach was crystal clear that the Government would implement the Stormont House agreement within 100 days and would establish a broadly based consensus on the issues, with extensive engagement across the parties and with the Irish Government.
The Minister confirmed that it is still the Government’s intention, outlined just 10 months ago, to establish the institutions. The vacuum created by the statement of 18 March has served to destabilise the issue of legacy. I think that Members would welcome a clear indication of when the legislation will be brought forward and whether it will be established on the basis of the broad consensus that is needed.
Finally, on the support for institutions—
Karin Smyth
You can indeed, Mrs Miller. On that last issue, we would like to support the institutions in order that people can address the issues that are coming forward. As I have outlined, we support the regulations before the Committee, but we would gently warn the Minister not to take his eye off the ball on the full suite of commitments, of which this is an important part, and we would welcome an update on progress on the remaining issues.
Oral Answers to Questions
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
I listened very carefully to the Minister’s answer. In this pandemic, it is even more important that women do not make risky journeys. Despite the clear indication of this Parliament, women’s rights are still being denied in Northern Ireland because of the difficult local politics—which we understand. What discussions is he having about specific funding for wider abortion services, and is he considering a legal duty to provide?
Mr Walker
I think that we all recognise the importance of this issue. I understand that sexual and reproductive health clinics are providing some services consistent with the regulations. I am pleased that an interim solution has been reached on the ground in Northern Ireland so that the health and safety of women and girls can be protected by accessing services locally. We all want the Executive to be able to move forward with formal commissioning of further services, and we will continue to support them in doing that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Brandon Lewis
I can confirm that we are very keen to give as much guidance and information to businesses as early as possible. We are committed, as I said, to providing Northern Ireland’s businesses with unfettered access to the rest of the UK market. I am very clear about what that means. It means no import customs declarations as goods enter the rest of the UK from Northern Ireland. It means no safety or security declarations as goods enter the rest of the UK from Northern Ireland, no tariffs to be applied to Northern Ireland goods entering the rest of the United Kingdom in any circumstances, no customs checks, no new regulatory checks and no additional approvals required for placing goods on the market in the rest of the United Kingdom. For further reassurance, I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that we will introduce legislation for unfettered access shortly, and we will continue to provide that guidance.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
I listened carefully to the very good questions put by the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson), but I do not think that that will reassure businesses. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee was very clear about what we already knew: the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland will be subject to a number of administrative requirements; businesses will trade at a competitive disadvantage; and consumers in Northern Ireland are likely to see increased prices as a result. The economic facts are—and this is a real worry—that, for a population of 1.9 million, the burden on British firms will be too much, and they will cease wanting to export in large numbers to Northern Ireland. Export health certificates are a major concern and a major cost. I will check the record, but I think the Secretary of State just said that there will be more formal guidance. He has his own view. That is not an agreement, and there are additional costs, so what will the costs be for those businesses?
Brandon Lewis
I did say that notes for guidance will be available from 1 November this year. We are very clear that we are one single market—we are one customs union within the United Kingdom—and that is why we are very clear about the fact that we want unfettered access and we will deliver unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to Great Britain. We have already said that there will be some limited checks from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. We have announced the trader support scheme. The guidance that we issued just before the recess was warmly welcomed by Northern Ireland businesses. We continue to work with them so that, as we develop our processes, we ensure that there is good, smooth, fast, efficient delivery, as the protocol outlines, that does not disrupt the lives of people in Northern Ireland, in a way that works for business as well as the people of Northern Ireland.
Oral Answers to Questions
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Brandon Lewis
My hon. Friend asks an important question. Our top priority is to protect the Belfast Good Friday agreement and the gains of the peace process to preserve Northern Ireland’s place as a key part of the UK. Our approach is at all times guided by these priorities and sets out how we will meet our obligations in the protocol. The Command Paper that we published in May outlines how the protocol can be implemented in a flexible and proportionate way to protect the interests of people and businesses in Northern Ireland, as well as the whole UK, and indeed the EU. The protocol puts legal obligations on both sides and makes it clear that it is for both the UK and the EU to respect Northern Ireland’s integral place in the UK customs territory. We stand ready to work with the EU in a collaborative and constructive way to uphold the integral role that Northern Ireland has in our community and the role of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
Since Patrick was a boy, trade across these islands has been critical to our economies in all parts of these islands. Trade for businesses is worth some £14 billion with Northern Ireland and £35 billion with Ireland. What guidance are the Government giving to British businesses about the different rules they have agreed with Northern Ireland and on trade with the Republic as part of the European Union?
Brandon Lewis
I would just say that if the hon. Lady has a read of the Command Paper, she will see that it outlines our position on the protocol. As I said earlier, we will be publishing guidance for businesses shortly. The key issue for businesses in Northern Ireland is that they will have unfettered access to the UK as part of the UK’s internal market.
Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir David. I would like to start by thanking the Minister, his officials and the former Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith), for the way in which they have opened up and agreed to work with us constructively on this issue.
This has been a difficult issue for the Government, because for over 50 years, women in Northern Ireland have been denied rights equal to those of the rest of the United Kingdom. Politicians in Northern Ireland and Britain, of all political colours and in all Governments, have been united in ensuring that a complicated array of arguments have been deployed to ensure that women have no route to have their voice heard.
I pay tribute to all those women over those decades and, in many cases, their male partners, who have shared traumatic experiences and shone a light on the cruelty inflicted on them by a state that should care more. I also pay tribute to many campaigners and politicians who have pursued this over the decades, those who have offered refuge in Britain for women seeking help, and my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow, who last year brought a coalition of support together in this place to ensure that we meet our human rights obligations and end the decades of stalling on this issue.
Abortion has not been a criminal offence since last October. Services could have been provided since last October. All we are doing today is giving confidence to women and practitioners about the detailed scope of those services. We support the Government in laying these regulations, which have benefited from a great deal of discussion—the Minister has been very flexible in listening to people and making alterations along the way. As has been mentioned, we were disappointed to see the criminal sanctions reintroduced, but I understand why the Minister has seen fit to do that. There are some issues that I would like to raise with him.
The Government have been clear on their legal obligations since October. It is also clear that the Department of Health in Northern Ireland is not progressing with the commissioning of services to meet those obligations. Some services are available, but they have been developed by practitioners and third-sector support, which is necessarily piecemeal and geographically iniquitous—it is a postcode lottery and cannot continue. As strong supporters of devolution, we recognise that this is difficult political territory, but we will hold the Secretary of State to account to ensure that services are available, so that the UK Government meet their obligations.
As I have said, women in Northern Ireland have been ignored and bounced between Stormont and Westminster for 50 years. It would be particularly cruel for the Stormont and Westminster Governments to think that no more needs now to be done. It would be callous to force more women and their families to relive a trauma and bring legal proceedings to make wider commissioning happen. It is irresponsible that services are not currently commissioned more quickly to stop women having to travel during this pandemic. That does not show concern for all those women’s lives.
Will the Minister outline exactly how he will work with the Assembly and the Minister in Northern Ireland to ensure that services are commissioned beyond 10 weeks’ gestation? By what date can women in Northern Ireland expect to see that happen? We note and welcome the fact that the Government will continue to honour their commitment to funding travel from Northern Ireland to Britain. Will the Minister say how long the British taxpayer will be asked to support the refusal by the Northern Ireland Department of Health to provide a local service?
Before coming to this place, I worked as a commissioner of NHS services for some 20 years and served on a primary care trust as we developed sexual health services. Frankly, I have been really horrified by what I have learned in recent months about the level of sexual health services education in Northern Ireland. Although the Committee is discussing abortion regulations, I want to highlight the fact that during the passage of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, we talked about paragraph 86 of the CEDAW report, which is broadly about advice, guidance and education, including education for young people. It would be helpful if the Minister indicated how we will make sure that that particular provision is adhered to.
Finally, on the commissioning of services for very late abortions, as part of our inquiry on the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly—led by Lord Dubs—I was a member of a Committee that took evidence in London, Belfast, Dublin and Liverpool. As a result of the public health approach that has been adopted in Britain, very late abortions are now thankfully rare and medical expertise is therefore highly specialised in Britain, as it is now particularly in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. Cross-border healthcare in Ireland is a key component of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Will the Minister indicate whether he will work to ensure that that area of healthcare is monitored as we progress, and to support the provision of and access to highly medicalised services for very late abortions across all these islands?
Several hon. Members rose—
DRAFT LOCAL ELECTIONS (NORTHERN IRELAND) (AMENDMENT) ORDER 2020
DRAFT REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND AMENDMENT) (NORTHERN IRELAND) REGULATIONS 2020
Karin Smyth Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. We have literally run here from another Committee, so forgive us if we are slightly behind. We will, obviously, support the Government tonight, and I thank the Minister for his detailed explanation of measures that are technical and important.
The Minister mentioned, with reference to the draft Representation of the People (Electronic Communications and Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020, that my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale raised the matter following the Máiría Cahill case last April. The then Minister said that the Government were tremendously sympathetic, so my hon. Friend will be pleased that the next time the Government are tremendously sympathetic something will result from it.
The measure is important and will make things safer, by protecting candidates. It may encourage more people to take part in local elections in Northern Ireland, and there is consistency in bringing those local elections into line with the arrangements in place for the Assembly and general elections, where addresses are not made public.
These provisions will improve engagement and accuracy, and simplify the registration process, and we are pleased to support the Government on both of them.