Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, further to the Answer of 20 December to Question 109699, on Belfast Agreement, how much has been identified under the budgetary arrangements for Government activity to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.

The Government is steadfast in its commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the hard-won gains of the peace process and to marking the Agreement’s 25th anniversary appropriately. At this time, a core budget of £575,671 has been allocated to deliver the Northern Ireland Office’s own programme of activity.

In Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a fund of up to £2 million for the Department for International Trade (now known as The Department for Business and Trade) to: “work with local partners including Invest Northern Ireland to host a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland in 2023.” This is designed to be part of events to mark the 25th anniversary.

The UK Government’s wider programme of activity in the anniversary year also includes programming taking place in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office diplomatic network.