Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the official closing date under section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiries entitled (a) Robert Hamill Inquiry and (b) Billy Wright Inquiry.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Section 14(1) of the Inquiries Act 2005 sets out that for the purposes of the Act, an Inquiry comes to an end either:
(a) on the date, after the delivery of the report of the inquiry, on which the chairman notifies the Minister that the inquiry has fulfilled its terms of reference, or
(b) on any earlier date specified in a notice given to the chairman by the Minister.
In the case of the Robert Hamill Inquiry, the original Inquiry Chair, Sir Edwin Jowitt, advised the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, on 25 February 2011, that the Inquiry Panel had fulfilled its Terms of Reference. However, following announcement by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland in December 2010 of criminal proceedings against three individuals on charges of perverting the course of justice, it was agreed that the Inquiry Report would not be published or submitted to the Secretary of State until the conclusion of those legal proceedings. At that point, the Report was placed in a secure independent location, only accessible to the Inquiry Chair, Secretary and Solicitor. These legal proceedings have now concluded. A new Chair, Sir John Evans, was appointed on 7 October 2024 due to Sir Edwin unfortunately being unable to continue in the role. Steps are now being taken to publish the report.
The Billy Wright Inquiry report was published on 14 September 2010 with the Inquiry Chair, Lord MacLean, advising the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP on 12 December 2010 that the Inquiry had fulfilled its Terms of Reference in line with section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2021 to Question 87781 on Northern Ireland Government, how much of the more than £700 million released so far has been allocated to each programme under the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
Answered by Conor Burns
As the Hon Gentleman has highlighted, by the end of this financial year the Government will have released £710 million from the New Decade, New Approach financial package. This is composed of £200 million to resolve the nurses’ pay dispute, £50 million to support ultra-low emission transport, £93 million for the transformation of public services, over £7 million for the Northern Ireland Medical School, £10 million to address “Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances”, and £350 million to put the Executive’s finances on a sustainable footing.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's announcement on 29 June of a Framework for Multiparty Talks on Northern Ireland Legacy issues, whether he plans to bring forward proposals for addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland's past before the House rises for summer recess.
Answered by Robin Walker
It is clear that the current system for dealing with the legacy of the past is not working for anyone. It is failing to bring satisfactory outcomes for families, placing a heavy burden on the criminal justice system, and leaving society in Northern Ireland hamstrung by its past.
This is why the UK Government - along with the Irish Government - has begun a process of intensive engagement with the Northern Ireland parties and all relevant stakeholders and civil society, including victims groups, with a view to making progress on this issue as soon as possible.
The UK Government has committed to bringing forward proposals, and to introducing legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his letter to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of 7 October 2020, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals for a longer-lasting regime to define Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has introduced significant and robust protections as part of the UK Internal Market Act. This enables “qualifying” goods to continue to be placed on the whole UK market and prohibits checks and controls as goods move from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK. To ensure these measures were in place from 1 January and to avoid disruption, this approach provides protection to all goods in free circulation in Northern Ireland.
The Government is developing a longer-lasting regime in discussion with Northern Ireland business. As we have done more broadly, it is right to take sensible, practical steps to phase in our approach in a way that is supported by business.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to correspondence from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee relating to matters raised at the oral evidence session on Wednesday 16 September, dated 11 September 2020, which (a) victims’ groups and (b) individuals he has consulted since that date as part of that period of sensitive engagement with key stakeholders, and on which dates those meetings took place.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet representatives from civic society, including victims groups, community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the subject of legacy is ongoing.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, on what date stakeholder engagement on forthcoming legacy legislation was paused by his Department; and on what date this engagement was resumed.
Answered by Robin Walker
In the Spring, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials met a number of victims groups and other key stakeholders to discuss legacy issues. Following these discussions, it was clear that the full and sensitive engagement required on this difficult subject would be difficult to deliver effectively while the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic were ongoing.
Notwithstanding this, a degree of engagement has and continues to take place where possible. The Secretary of State remains committed to engaging with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland, including victims groups, in order to make progress on legacy issues.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, which civil society (a) organisations and (b) individuals (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department have met as part of the legacy engagement process in each of the last nine months.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet various representatives from civic society, including community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the specific issue of legacy is ongoing, where possible within the constraints imposed by current circumstances.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Luton South during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 69, when he plans to bring forward legislation based on the proposals and framework outlined in Written Ministerial Statement HCWS168 published on 18 March.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that it will bring forward legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles in a way that focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims, and ends the cycle of investigations, which has failed victims and veterans alike.
We have also made clear our commitment to working with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland as part of this process. While the challenging circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on our ability to engage effectively and sensitively, we remain determined to make progress on legacy issues as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to Annex A of the New Decade New Approach Agreement, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the merits of and (b) progress on establishing the Independent Fiscal Council.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Fiscal Council is an important new part of the governance of Northern Ireland. It has the potential to make a huge contribution to fiscal sustainability in Northern Ireland over the long-term and strengthen Northern Ireland’s fiscal performance. The Northern Ireland Department of Finance is leading on developing the Terms of Reference for the Fiscal Council. The Northern Ireland Finance Minister has recently updated the Assembly that his department is now actively refocusing on this issue.
In his engagement with Executive ministers, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has consistently emphasised the need to press ahead with an Independent Fiscal Council as a priority in his regular communications with members of the Executive and at both previous meetings of the Joint Board.
The UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to agree terms of reference that reflect our joint ambitions for this new institution and get it up and running as soon as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October to Question 102124 on Terrorism: Northern Ireland, if he will publish the (a) community groups, including victim support groups, (b) religious leaders, (c) academics and (d) representatives of civic society met by Ministers and officials; and on what dates those meetings took place.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including those listed, on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.