Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 27 November (HL Deb col 684), whether it is still their position that there are two distinct economies on the island of Ireland as set out in the Windsor Framework command paper, published in February 2023 (CP 806).

The Government is clear that Northern Ireland’s constitutional place is in the Union. The Government remains fundamentally committed to protecting Northern Ireland’s place within the economically vital UK internal market and ensuring its smooth operation in practice, which is affirmed through the Windsor Framework. In doing so, we also recognise that many businesses in Northern Ireland trade with Ireland and that this trade brings benefits and opportunities overall.