Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the UK Internal Market Bill on Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK Internal Market Bill is economically important for Northern Ireland. It ensures direct trade from Northern Ireland to Great Britain will continue as it does now, delivering this Government’s clear commitment to provide for unfettered access in legislation.
But the Bill’s significance is not just economic. The Government is taking powers in reserve to create a legal safety net that guard against the harmful legal defaults in the Protocol, in the event that agreement with the EU is not reached in Joint Committee discussions.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland speaks frequently with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters including these points.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average length of time was for Ministers of his Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members in each month in the last two years.
Answered by Robin Walker
As encouraged by Cabinet Office guidance to set challenging deadlines, the Northern Ireland Office has a target of responding within 15 working days where a response is required.
As you will understand, the Northern Ireland Office is currently dealing with unprecedented volumes of correspondence due to Covid-19. The Northern Ireland Office ensures that urgent cases raised by hon. Members are prioritised, and is taking steps to provide substantive responses in as short a time as possible.
All correspondence received from hon. Members is being reviewed and will be responded to as soon as possible.