Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to unilaterally stop checks on some goods sent across the Irish Sea as an alternative to triggering Article 16 to suspend the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

The Government has already secured unfettered access for Northern Ireland firms for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain through the legislative protections we have provided, notably enshrining in the UK Internal Market Act 2020 full unfettered access for qualifying Northern Ireland goods to all parts of the UK market.

For movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, we have set out proposals that would largely eliminate checks on goods remaining within the UK. We would prefer to secure this reduction through negotiations with the EU. However, the Article 16 safeguards within the Protocol remain on the table if that should be the only way to secure our position.