Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire of 17 January 2024, Official Report, column 816, what the expected timetable is for publishing his review of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since I advised on 17 January that I had met with Justice McAlinden, my officials have conducted extensive stakeholder engagement with more than twenty consultees throughout January to March. We are now considering the findings and will publish the report in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will extend the upcoming application deadline of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As part of the review of the operation of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Scheme, I will consider evidence to determine whether an extension to the period for backdated payments is warranted. My officials have now conducted their engagement and I will advise on my decision in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will allocate additional resources to the Victims Payment Board to help process applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme received close to the deadline.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Support for victims of the Troubles - including the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme - is a devolved matter.
Resourcing of the Victims Payments Board is a matter for the consideration of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information his Department holds on the (a) gender, (b) disability status, (c) sexual orientation, (d) marital status and (e) ethnicity of public appointments that it has made in each of the last five years.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
My Department collects diversity information in line with its equality duties and the requirements of the Governance Code on Public Appointments for all public appointments set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council.
Information collected on appointments and reappointments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in the Public Appointments Data Report and can be found on GOV.UK. The Commissioner for Public Appointments also includes data in his annual report which is published at:
https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/publications/annual-reports/
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) same and (b) opposite sex couples in Northern Ireland have converted their (i) marriage to civil partnership and (ii) civil partnership to marriage.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The General Register Office within the Northern Ireland Department of Finance is responsible for the administration of marriage and civil partnership law in Northern Ireland. They should be contacted for further information regarding this matter.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what date the UK Government made the decision to allocate £150 million from the Fresh Start Agreement funding package to the Strule Shared Education Campus.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
In June 2018, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced £144 million from the Fresh Start Agreement funding package to be allocated to the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh. This built on an initial £43 million announced in March 2016. The UK Government was advised by the Northern Ireland Civil Service in June 2023 that there was an assumption that this allocation had risen.
Fresh Start Agreement funding has always been subject to individual projects, including Strule, being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government. The Government has continued to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement and final funding allocations continue to be subject to HM Treasury approval.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to bring forward the commencement orders for Section 4 of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The planned repeal of the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland 1737) is one of many steps in the Identity & Language legislation that will affirm the need to respect the freedom of all persons in Northern Ireland to choose, maintain and develop their national and cultural identity.
The Government is carefully considering its next steps on implementation, including the remaining commencement orders and will provide an update to Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the deadlines for (a) eligibility for back payments and (b) all applications to the Victim Payments Board.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Victims Payments Regulations (2020) requires the Secretary of State to conduct a review and report on the operation of the scheme between August 2023 and August 2024. These issues - the possibility of extending the periods for backdating payments and for the submission of new applications - will be considered as part of this review. If the Hon Gentleman would like to make his case in correspondence, I will ensure his views are duly considered.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of the Fresh Start Agreement funding package for shared and integrated education (a) has been allocated as of 21 November 2023 and (b) is remaining.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Fresh Start Agreement in 2015 set out a commitment by the UK Government to release up to £500m over ten years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing. This funding is subject to individual projects being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.
HM Treasury’s Block Grant Transparency confirms that over £196 million in Fresh Start Agreement (shared education and housing) funding has been transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive up to Mains 2023-24, with around £304 million remaining. The Block Grant Transparency is published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether funding from the £500 million Fresh Start agreement package has been allocated to the Strule Shared Education Campus.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Fresh Start Agreement in 2015 set out a commitment by the UK Government to release up to £500m over ten years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing. This funding is subject to individual projects, including Strule, being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.
The Government continues to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement and funding allocations continue to be subject to HM Treasury approval.
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out in his Written Ministerial Statement on the Northern Ireland Budget 2023-24 in April, the acute state of Northern Ireland’s public finances means that it may be necessary to reallocate funding from previously announced funding packages. This process is ongoing.