Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions with the government of Ireland on ensuring the unfettered movement of goods which travel from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK via the Republic of Ireland.

Our priority throughout 2020 was to give effect to unfettered access in UK law. This has now been done: the definition of “qualifying Northern Ireland goods” to apply from 1 January, as part of our phased approach has been set out; and we have included protections via the UK Internal Market Act 2020 to prohibit new checks and controls, and ensure Northern Ireland goods can continue to access the whole UK market.

During the first phase, we have implemented measures to ensure there are no tariffs due on qualifying goods moving via the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise those movements will be subject to the requirements of our overall phased controls model. This process will be further simplified during the course of 2021 as we bring forward the second, longer-term phase of our unfettered access model. That second phase will identify “qualifying” goods moved by businesses established in Northern Ireland and will be given effect in a light-touch using existing port and airport check-in processes. This will apply whether goods are moved directly from NI to GB, or indirectly via the Republic of Ireland.