Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 25 November, (HL10219), to (1) list the subset of rules concerning goods and electricity markets applying as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol, (2) set out what, if any, consent arrangements were established for these rules to apply in Northern Ireland, and (3) set out what assessment they have made, if any, of the implications of these rules with regard to the European Commission exercising executive authority over Northern Ireland.

The rules applied by the Protocol are outlined in its text and Annexes. Parliament was provided with the assessments made regarding its implications during the passage of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2020 which ratified the Withdrawal Agreement.

The consent arrangements are outlined in Article 18 of the Protocol and the Declaration of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the operation of the ‘Democratic consent in Northern Ireland’ provision of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. These arrangements are being provided in domestic law through The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which is presently making its way through both Houses.