Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what role the (1) Northern Ireland Assembly, and (2) UK Parliament, have in consenting to the EU law affecting Northern Ireland under the terms of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Beyond the Protocol itself, which outlines in its annexes the EU law that applies to Northern Ireland, the Government has not so far published any further material regarding rules applied by the Protocol.

The Government’s Command Paper [CP 502] published on 21 July sets out alternative proposals for the basis on which EU law might apply in Northern Ireland, potentially involving the Northern Ireland institutions. This could have a significant effect on the visibility of new rules applied in Northern Ireland and how they are brought into force in UK law.

Pending agreement on this potential new settlement, it is entirely right that people in Northern Ireland should be able to be fully aware of the law applying where it derives from EU acts which are not the subject of specific domestic legislation to transpose them into UK law. We will consider the best way of enabling this. We continue to urge the EU to ensure that there is proper notice of such legislation and that appropriate information is provided through the structures established by the Withdrawal Agreement.

As to the bodies established under the Protocol, in line with commitments made in the New Decade, New Approach deal, representatives from the Northern Ireland Executive are invited to attend all Joint Committee and Specialised Committee meetings as part of the UK delegation when the Irish Government are attending. Representatives from the Northern Ireland Executive also form part of the UK delegation at the Joint Consultative Working Group.