Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what protocols there are for the prior notification of visits to Northern Ireland by Ministers serving in the (a) UK and (b) Republic of Ireland Government.

UK Government Ministers are encouraged to notify the Northern Ireland Office in advance of their visits to receive advice on logistics and substance of their visit programmes.

The UK Government is, by convention, informed in advance of visits to Northern Ireland by members of the Irish Government, as a matter of courtesy. As expressed in our answer of 7 November (UIN 74995), records are not kept of these notifications.