Lord Dodds of Duncairn

The process underpinning the Northern Ireland Assembly being notified of relevant regulations is provided for in Schedule 6B Northern Ireland Act 1998. These arrangements were further clarified by the letter from the then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 2 February 2024.

The UK Government has made certain commitments to seek legislative consent from devolved legislatures ahead of introducing relevant legislation to Parliament. Commitments that may be engaged in giving effect to obligations under the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement are contained under the 2018 Intergovernmental Agreement on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and the Establishment of Common Frameworks.

All statutory instruments are available publicly online. However, where explanatory memoranda have been produced on statutory instruments linked to the Framework, these will highlight the relevant legal basis. We will continue to implement the Windsor Framework in good faith and protect the UK internal market.

The Government meets with officials from the EU regularly to discuss the operation of the Windsor Framework, both virtually and in person in a range of locations. We do not maintain a central log of these engagements.

The Department for Business and Trade does not hold comprehensive data on these matters. The UK Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and protecting the UK internal market. Windsor Framework implementing arrangements have been designed to ease the flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and reduce administrative and other business burdens.

The UK's position on Taiwan has not changed. There is a longstanding and historic pattern of ministerial engagement between the UK and Taiwan, which underpins our cooperation in a range of areas, and support our strong and growing relations with a likeminded democratic partner.

The estates of all individuals benefit from a £325,000 nil-rate band for inheritance tax. This has been fixed at £325,000 since April 2009.

The residence nil-rate band is a further £175,000 for those passing on a qualifying residence on death to their direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. The residence nil-rate band was introduced in April 2017.

This means qualifying estates can pass on up to £500,000 and the qualifying estate of a surviving spouse or civil partner can pass on up to £1 million without an inheritance tax liability. This is because any unused nil-rate band or residence nil-rate band is transferable to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

Where personal tax thresholds are not fixed, up until April 2012, they were indexed in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation. As set out in the 2012 Finance Act, from April 2012, any personal tax thresholds that were not fixed were indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.

Had the nil-rate band not been fixed, HMRC estimate it would have been £508,000 in 2024-25.

As set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, more than 80% of all freight movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be treated as not at risk and will move within the UK internal market system. That commitment will be monitored by the Independent Monitoring Panel and will take effect once the internal market system comes into force fully next year.

The Government has no plans to conduct a council tax revaluation in England. The Government is committed to keeping taxes on working people as low as possible.

The government annually publishes data on the collection of council tax. Data on uncollected council tax up to 2023-24 is below:

This information is not collected centrally by the Government.

In Northern Ireland, voters who have spoilt their postal ballot paper or accidentally marked it in a way they had not intended may apply for a replacement postal ballot paper to be issued, providing the original ballot paper and Declaration of Identity document are returned to the Chief Electoral Officer. For security reasons, additional ballot papers are not issued to voters claiming to have lost their original.

The Government has no plans to alter the security provisions currently in place, but we continue to keep all aspects of electoral law under review.