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Written Question
Windsor Framework: Private Sector
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are (1) the value, and (2) the term length, of each contract awarded to private sector companies to assist with the implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

  • The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.

  • As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.

  • We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.

  • It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what financial provision they have made for the 2024–25 financial year to assist businesses dealing with the requirements of the Windsor Framework for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

  • The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.

  • As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.

  • We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.

  • It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants they currently employ to implement all aspects of the Windsor Framework, broken down by Department.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

There is a proportionate level of resource allocated to ensure that the Windsor Framework is implemented. Many of those whose work concerns the Framework also work on a range of other issues including wider Northern Ireland-related matters, as well as wider UK-EU issues. It is therefore not possible to give a specific number of civil servants employed to implement the Windsor Framework.


Written Question
UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much expenditure they have incurred since 2020 assisting businesses engaging with rules and regulations pertaining to the movement of goods between (1) Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and (2) Great Britain and Northern Ireland, following agreement with the EU on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, and subsequently the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

  • The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.

  • As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.

  • We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.

  • It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.


Written Question
All-party Parliamentary Groups: National Security
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the funding of the activities of All-Party Parliamentary Groups by hostile states.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK from foreign interference. We know that some states seek to interfere in our democratic institutions and processes. This is unacceptable and the government is taking robust action to safeguard our national security.

The regulation of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) is a matter for Parliament and in July 2023 the House of Commons approved a new rule that APPGs must not accept the provision of a secretariat by a foreign government, or accept the services of a secretariat funded by a foreign government.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Wednesday 4th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to strengthen Northern Ireland's place within the Union in light of the adoption of the Windsor Framework; and whether any such legislation will affect the operation and implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring the timely and successful implementation of the Windsor Framework and to seeing the restoration of an Executive in Northern Ireland as soon as possible. We are in regular contact with the Northern Ireland political parties about these matters and how we may best secure both objectives.


Written Question
Regulation
Tuesday 8th February 2022

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the territorial extent to the proposed Brexit Freedoms Bill.

Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Retained EU law applies in the whole of the UK. Accordingly, any legislation that allows for the amendment of retained EU law will need to make the appropriate provision for Northern Ireland.

Any legislation to address REUL is likely to have a UK extent. This is consistent with other Brexit legislation such as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill and European Union (Future Relationship) Bill.


Written Question
Regulation: Northern Ireland
Tuesday 8th February 2022

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which provisions of the proposed Brexit Freedoms Bill (1) will, and (2) will not, apply to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Retained EU law applies in the whole of the UK. Accordingly, any legislation that allows for the amendment of retained EU law will need to make the appropriate provision for Northern Ireland.

Any legislation to address REUL is likely to have a UK extent. This is consistent with other Brexit legislation such as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill and European Union (Future Relationship) Bill.


Written Question
Northern Ireland Protocol
Wednesday 24th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of triggering Article 16 on the remainder of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Frost

Article 16 is a safeguard provision for addressing serious economic, societal and environmental difficulties. It is part of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Triggering it does not affect the standing of the Protocol as a whole.


Written Question
Freight: Europe
Wednesday 24th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent flow of freight vehicles travelling between Great Britain and continental Europe.

Answered by Lord Frost

Government continues to monitor the flow of freight vehicles travelling between the UK and EU nations, including those travelling between the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and continental Europe.


DfT’s published road freight statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-goods-vehicles-travelling-to-europe-july-2020-to-june-2021.