Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsty McNeill and Robin Swann

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

2. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

I thank the hon. Member for his consistent and thoughtful engagement on the Bill. The Government are committed to delivering truth and accountability for those who were bereaved or seriously injured during the troubles, which is why we introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in October. The previous Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 delivered no real support to veterans in legacy processes. The troubles Bill will put in place deliverable protections, designed in line with our human rights obligations and in consultation with veterans, including those from Scotland. I can confirm that the Scottish Veterans Commissioner met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in December.

[Robin Swann]

First, may I join the commemoration of Jeane Freeman, having served with her during her period as Scottish Health Secretary?

The question I asked was actually about whether the Secretary of State for Scotland had met the Scottish Veterans Commissioner in respect of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. That legislation will have a dramatic effect on veterans across the United Kingdom, no matter where they served, and it would be best if the Scotland Office also knew about its impact.

[Kirsty McNeill]

I would be delighted to meet the Scottish Veterans Commissioner but, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, the Northern Ireland Office leads on such matters. We should put on the record that we owe a huge debt to the quarter of a million Northern Ireland veterans who served with honour to bring about peace in Northern Ireland. It is the Government’s firm view that no veteran who properly carried out their duty should be forced to face an endless cycle of legal uncertainty.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsty McNeill and Robin Swann

Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

5. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to Scottish plant and seed nurseries to sell products to Northern Ireland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

Under the Windsor framework arrangements, the Northern Ireland plant health label allows growers and traders to move plants and seeds for planting from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without a phytosanitary certificate, and Scottish businesses have benefited from that. For example, more than 1,500 tonnes of previously prohibited seed potatoes, mostly from Scottish traders, were moved to Northern Ireland from Great Britain last year.

[Robin Swann]

As the Minister will know, according to McIntyre Fruit in Scotland, which also sells plants, it is easier to supply Japan than to send plants to Coleman’s garden centre in my constituency, and the same company is now seeing orders cancelled in Northern Ireland. At the weekend, Ewing’s Seafoods, Northern Ireland’s oldest fishmonger, had a 40-foot container filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh fish returned from Belfast to Scotland owing to administrative paperwork errors on seven boxes. Will the Minister, or the Secretary of State, meet me and representatives of those companies to discuss what can be done to ease the bureaucratic burden on both Northern Ireland and Scottish business?

[Kirsty McNeill]

I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman, but let me reassure him: the horticultural working group, co-chaired by senior officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Office, was set up specifically to tackle issues involving the movement of seeds to consumers in Northern Ireland as a first priority. The hon. Gentleman has also mentioned other topics, and I should be happy to meet him to discuss them, too. The working group meets regularly to address such issues, and includes representatives of the Ulster Farmers Union, the National Farmers Union and the Horticultural Trades Association, as well as business leaders and representatives of a small number of other horticultural businesses.