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Category: Northern Ireland

  • Hilary Benn – 2024 Statement on the King’s Speech

    Hilary Benn – 2024 Statement on the King’s Speech

    The statement made by Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary, on 17 July 2024.

    Today’s King’s Speech sets out the Government’s commitment to delivering economic growth and stability across the United Kingdom. We are committed to working collaboratively and respectfully with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Assembly to improve public services and generate growth. And we will work with all parties and communities to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and to ensure the stability of devolved government.

    We are committed to protecting Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market, implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith, and helping to secure investment by championing Northern Ireland on the global stage as a place to invest.

    The government is committed to addressing the legacy of the Troubles in a way which can command the support of communities, and which complies with our human rights obligations. As set out in the King’s Speech, measures will be brought forward to begin the process of repealing and replacing the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, in consultation with all parties.

  • Robin Millar – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    Robin Millar – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    The speech made by Robin Millar, the Conservative MP for Aberconwy, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2024.

    It is a privilege to speak in the debate and to follow the many hon. and right hon. Members who have spoken with great wisdom, knowledge and personal experience on these matters.

    It is informative to apply to article 6 of the Acts of Union the four tests for impact that were developed by Justice Colton—specifically, Northern Ireland’s compliance with certain EU standards; the bureaucracy and associated costs of complying with customs documentation and checks; the payment of tariffs for goods at risk; and the unfettered access enjoyed by Northern Ireland businesses to the EU single market. I question the representation of the Supreme Court judgment as set out in paragraph 14 of annex A to the Command Paper, but those were matters for the last debate, and there is not time to make my point.

    The Windsor framework removed many EU standards for GB-produced consumer goods destined for Northern Ireland. That does not change under the SI before us. The second test—on bureaucracy and compliance costs associated with customs—should concern us, as the protocol saw the diversion of £1.2 billion-worth of goods in supply chains from GB to the Republic. Indeed, logistics businesses testified to the Lords Windsor Framework Sub-Committee on the complexity of managing mixed loads, with two large haulage firms stating that groupage had been “forgotten” in the framework.

    Expert analysis has also suggested that 75% of output in non-exempted manufacturing sectors, including electronics, engineering and chemicals, comes from firms with turnover above £2 million, which will see their GB supply chains stuck in the red lane or diverted abroad. The Command Paper published yesterday contains a pledge—a UK internal market guarantee—that no more than 20% of goods will flow through the red lane. In practice, that creates a monitoring panel to report on any failures to hit the target and make recommendations to which the Government must respond. That is admirable but does not represent a material change to existing customs requirements under the protocol. It is also worth noting that, worryingly, that could be achieved simply by diverting supply chains away from GB towards the EU, as affected GB businesses cut Northern Ireland out of their distribution chains.

    The regulations before us create important easements for Northern Ireland to GB trade, including a guarantee that future divergence will not impact the ability of Northern Ireland traders to freely access GB markets. That is welcome, but the bulk of distribution has always pertained to GB-to-NI trade, not the reverse. As is also noted in the Command Paper, although technology may ease compliance costs in the medium to long-term, those costs will still exist. Shipping from London to Belfast will continue to require significantly more bureaucracy than shipping to York or Edinburgh. The third test, on tariffs, is not covered and does not apply.

    Finally, let me turn to Northern Ireland’s preferential access to the EU single market. I must emphasise that the clear trade-off that we have chosen to give Northern Ireland unregulated access to EU supply chains comes at the cost of complicating access to GB ones, despite the fact that Northern Ireland imports from GB are two and a half times those from the EU and six times those from Ireland. Whatever easements we offer, that has created a customs, judicial and legislative border across the kingdom, and it is hurting our businesses. The fact that Northern Ireland continues to have preferential access to the EU single market is unarguable, but it should not be misunderstood. Again, I find that final test informative.

    Nothing I say today is intended to diminish the achievement of the deal when it comes to material gain for Northern Ireland. Although I welcome the elements within the new deal, which undoubtedly offer increased safeguards for the Union, it does not change the fact of EU law’s application to Northern Ireland, additional bureaucracy for GB businesses attempting to access Northern Ireland, the existence of tariffs, or Northern Ireland’s de facto placement within the EU single market. Once again, the qualities and effectiveness of this deal will emerge over the months and years ahead, I am sure, and through the scrutiny that must come from this place. I will continue to offer my support in those months and years ahead.

  • Theresa Villiers – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    Theresa Villiers – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    The speech made by Theresa Villiers, the Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2024.

    The important statutory instruments that we are discussing today are the latest in the process of implementing the result of the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. They may not have attracted the same volume, attention or emotion as those endless meaningful votes in 2018 and 2019, but they are no less important. This has been a long and difficult process that has divided the nation, but the end goal of restoring our status as an independent, self-governing democracy has been a prize worth fighting for.

    For centuries, Members of this Parliament strived to ensure that we would be governed only by the laws made by our own elected representatives, and that is what Brexit seeks to deliver, but we all know that the job is not yet finished when it comes to Northern Ireland, so I pay tribute to the Secretary of State, the Minister and the DUP for their work and determination to tackle the problems with the Windsor framework and secure Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. I very much welcome the advances being made towards the restoration of power sharing and devolved government, and I accept that the statutory instruments are an important part of enabling that to happen because of the significant changes they contain.

    Of course, I completely understand the DUP’s concerns regarding the Northern Ireland protocol and the Windsor framework. We must do all we can to minimise trade frictions between Britain and Northern Ireland. The agreement on the Windsor framework started that process—for example, by making the movement of medicines, food and items for retail sale much less problematic. I believe that further improvements will be delivered by the deal that we are looking at today, which will further reduce checks and inspections. My concern is that the central problem remains that Northern Ireland is subject to single market rules without having a vote on them. The instruments we are considering do not change that, although I welcome the important further clarity and safeguards offered on the Stormont brake.

    Dialogue with the EU has to continue so that ultimately we can move to a situation in which only items destined for export to the south are subject to EU rules and regulations in Northern Ireland. With pragmatism and advancing border technology, that should be possible. It is important that we continue to strive to bring that about, so that we can restore democratic control over making our laws in every part of our United Kingdom and Brexit is fully delivered for Northern Ireland, as it is for Great Britain.

    We also need assurances from Ministers that nothing in regulation 3 of the Windsor Framework (Constitutional Status of Northern Ireland) Regulations will prevent regulatory divergence between Britain and the EU. Of course, any responsible Minister must consider the impact of his or her decisions on the unity of the UK and its single market, but new screening obligations must not be allowed to create a chilling effect, which would stop us charting our own course with regard to how we regulate our economy. Taking back control of making our own laws was a key reason that people voted to leave the EU. We have yet to fully deliver that for Northern Ireland and, as I have said, we must go further on it in the future.

    Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)

    I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for the conversations we have had on this specific point. She is right to highlight her concerns and to seek assurances from the Government, but she does accept that it is right to get assessments; that it is right that Governments should always be going through the process of assessing the impact of their decisions on every part of this United Kingdom; and that there is nothing wrong with transparency, with knowing any possible consequence, nor—if that potential consequence is negative—with all of us determinedly trying to ensure that it does not arise.

    Theresa Villiers

    I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention; the dialogue that he and I have had over recent days has done a lot to reassure me that this package is about transparency, not a block on divergence. I hope the Minister will confirm that in his closing remarks, because divergence is important. The regulatory reform made possible by exit is, I think, crucial for our future economic success. By making us more competitive, modernising regulation is a key means to boost growth, raise living standards and reduce taxes.

    In conclusion, it took courage and determination from Northern Ireland’s elected leaders to secure peace after three horrific decades of terrorist violence. Asking very different parties to sit in a permanent mandatory coalition was never going to be easy, not least because some of the divisions between them date back decades, or even centuries. That devolved government has worked for so much of the past quarter of a century is a testament to Northern Ireland’s leaders and their determination to make the ’98 settlement work—to make Northern Ireland work. I pay particular tribute to the DUP in that regard: for so often it is they who have found ways to fix problems and keep devolved government going, while always safeguarding Unionist principles.

    We in this House must recognise the significant problems caused by the Northern Ireland protocol and the Windsor framework—including, of course, what the courts have described as a “subjugation” of article 6 of the Act of Union of 1801—but, as we have heard today, we are making real progress on tackling these issues by setting out in the statutory instruments stronger legal protections for access to the GB market. I also think that the historical perspective, as set out in annexe A of the Command Paper, is something that everyone should read. We are making progress on remedying these problems.

    It was a privilege for me, as Secretary of State for just under four years, to play a part in Northern Ireland’s inspiring story, and I truly hope that a way can now be found for its devolved institutions to resume their work of taking Northern Ireland forward to further success and an even brighter future.

  • Hilary Benn – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    Hilary Benn – 2024 Speech on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    The speech made by Hilary Benn, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2024.

    I begin by agreeing with the Minister that businesses in Northern Ireland want to make the current and future arrangements work, that they want them to work well and that there is huge potential for the people of Northern Ireland in the economic benefits that its current and future circumstances provide it.

    I have some specific points about the regulations— I see the Minister clearly relishes responding to those. Paragraph 81 of the Command Paper states:

    “We are now changing arrangements…to ensure…that checks are eliminated save for those conducted by UK authorities needed for the protection of the UK’s internal market on a risk and intelligence basis.

    Will the Minister clarify which checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be got rid of? Is he referring to identity checks, checks on paperwork or something else? At the moment, about 10% of goods using what is called the green lane—which will become the UK internal market lane—are subject to some checks on paperwork. Will he clarify what will happen to them?

    I welcome the amendments to the UK Internal Market Act 2020 provided for in regulation 2. Proposed new section 45A would reaffirm Northern Ireland’s unfettered access to the rest of the internal market and ensure that no new NI-GB checks can be introduced. The regulation also makes provision for the Secretary of State to issue guidance to Departments on how they should carry out their duties under section 46 of the 2020 Act—namely, ensuring that they have special regard to, among other things, Northern Ireland’s status in the UK internal market when they formulate policy. Will the Minister confirm that guidance will soon be forthcoming and share any further details he can at this stage about what that will contain?

    I note the changes to the Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 made by regulation 3, which are intended to prevent Northern Ireland from being used as a back door for EU goods moving into GB and to protect Northern Ireland’s agricultural sector. Ensuring that NI-registered agrifood operators fully benefit from unfettered access is a very positive step and I welcome it. Will the Minister tell the House whether the Government envisage any further changes to the definition of qualifying Northern Ireland goods? I also note the Government’s confirmation in the Command Paper that

    “there will be no Border Control Post at Cairnryan.”

    That is greatly to be welcomed, but can the Minister say anything further about how checks and formalities on non-qualifying goods that enter GB from Northern Ireland through Cairnryan will work in practice?

    Let me turn to some of the other commitments set out in the Command Paper. Will the Minister confirm when he expects the new body announced to promote trade within the UK, InterTrade UK, to become operational, and how it will be overseen?

    I welcome the Government’s determination, which has been brought up by a number of Members, to ensure the continued supply of veterinary medicines into Northern Ireland beyond the end of 2025, when the current grace period expires. We all hope that an agreement can be reached with our European partners as soon as possible. I share the view expressed by others in the debate that we had the same problem with human medicines and, in the end, the EU recognised that something had to be done about that. I hope very much that the EU will show the same spirit in approaching this question. The Command Paper, however, says:

    “we will if necessary deploy all available flexibilities to safeguard and sustain the supply of veterinary medicines”.

    Will the Minister tell the House what those flexibilities are and how they will be applied if we get to that point?

    In approving the regulations—which I hope we will do unanimously as we just did with the constitutional set—we will be taking another step closer, in this really important week, to the restoration of power sharing. The people of Northern Ireland, who have been without a Government for so long, may not, in all fairness, be studying the regulations in the way that we are doing today, but they very clearly understand why they are essential to getting their Government back. Once we have done our bit today, it will be over to the politicians of Northern Ireland, and I am sure that every single Member of the House wishes them the very best in the task that lies ahead of them.

  • Steve Baker – 2024 Statement on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    Steve Baker – 2024 Statement on the United Kingdom Internal Market

    The statement made by Steve Baker, the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2024.

    I beg to move,

    That the draft Windsor Framework (UK Internal Market and Unfettered Access) Regulations 2024, which were laid before this House on 31 January, be approved.

    It is the view of the Government and, I believe, of the overwhelming number of right hon. and hon. Members across the House that the Union ought not be reduced to matters of the law or the constitution alone. Ours is a thriving economic, cultural and political Union whose health is insured, in no small part, by the free flow of trade across it. Enhancing that economic aspect of the Union is the purpose of this second set of regulations before the House today.

    The views of businesses and traders on the progress that we have made are also important in the context of today’s debate. I am pleased to confirm that the early reaction from business has been promising. The view of a collaboration of 14 key Northern Ireland industry bodies was clear yesterday in saying that they welcomed the agreement.

    The Government are clear that the old protocol created unacceptable barriers within our internal market, and I invite anyone to consider the full implementation of the old protocol against what we have achieved in the Windsor framework. The Windsor framework takes major steps forward, and I acknowledge that this is first and foremost an achievement of the Democratic Unionist party and also a great achievement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

    The framework restored the functioning of the UK internal market by ensuring the smooth flow of trade within the UK, and disapplied a range of EU laws, including ensuring that Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as the rest of the UK. Members of the House can also be encouraged by the smooth functioning of the framework since October 2023, when the first phase of arrangements came on stream, supporting trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I should just say that colleagues did ask me how it was going. I said, “Have you seen any news on it?” Of course, no one has; it has been going very well, and I want to thank and congratulate all those officials here and in Northern Ireland who have made that possible.

    These regulations go further in that aim to strengthen our UK internal market now and in the long term. Following the agreement of the Windsor framework, the border target operating model sets out that we will begin phasing in checks and controls for Irish goods and non-qualifying goods moving from the island of Ireland to Great Britain from 31 January—indeed from yesterday. This is a powerful demonstration of Northern Ireland’s integral place in the UK’s internal market, and it rebuts incorrect claims that it is instead a member of the EU single market. The reality is that third country members of the EU single market will now have full third country processes applied, while Northern Ireland’s businesses will have full unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain.

    Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)

    The Minister is absolutely right. Perhaps the most powerful illustration of the change that we have secured is to consider what will happen now on the ferry route between Dublin and Holyhead as a result of these new arrangements. A Northern Ireland haulier using that service will board the ferry, travel to Holyhead, leave the ferry and travel straight out of the port and on to their destination, with no customs procedures and with full unfettered access. In contrast, a southern Irish haulier arriving at Holyhead will be subjected to full UK customs procedures at the port before they can proceed. Does he join me in welcoming Northern Ireland’s restoration fully within the UK internal market?

    Mr Baker

    Yes. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right in what he has just set out, and I do join him in that. It is a proud day for me, as it is for him, and I join other Members in congratulating him on his courage in bringing all of us this far.

    As a result of these regulations, we now have guarantees for Northern Ireland goods moving to the rest of the UK, via Dublin. This unfettered access is future-proofed, regardless of how rules evolve in either Northern Ireland or Great Britain. These regulations will more squarely focus the benefits of unfettered access on Northern Ireland traders. The regulations tackle avoidance of the rules and ensure that, for agri-food goods to benefit from unfettered access in avoiding sanitary and phytosanitary processes, they must be dispatched from registered Northern Ireland food and feed operators. We will also expressly affirm through these regulations that export procedures will not be applied to goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK’s internal market.

    John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)

    It has been said that maybe 80% of goods moving from GB to NI will be able to use the internal market lane. Why will 20% not be able to do so, and why would the UK Government, who I was told were in charge, not want to ensure that practically all goods use the internal market lane?

    Mr Baker

    With great respect to my right hon. Friend, with whom I have gone a very long way in this cause, he might like to revisit the text. The point is that the 80% of goods going on that route are staying in Northern Ireland; they are UK goods. The other 20% are goods that are going on to the European Union. That is the point: 80% is UK internal market trade, and 20% is trade going on to the European Union.

    Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson rose—

    Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)

    Will the Minister give way?

    Mr Baker

    I will. I cannot say that I am astonished; this is the important moment.

    Sammy Wilson

    Does the Minister accept that all the statistics show that it is not true that 20% of the trade that goes through Northern Ireland goes to the Irish Republic? In fact, it is about 0.1% to 0.4%. Much of that trade, which will go through the red lane, consists of goods going into Northern Ireland, either to warehouses or to manufacturers in Northern Ireland. They might never go near the Irish Republic. They might stay in Northern Ireland, go back to GB, or go to the rest of the world, yet such products will still be subject to checks going into Northern Ireland.

    Mr Baker

    I would not accept that. I am not in a position to set out the statistics, and I do not doubt that the statistics need some work applied to them. It pains me to say this, as I have always regarded the right hon. Gentleman as a great friend—he and I have walked a long way together on this and I have always regarded him as an ideological bedfellow, both on the Union and on Brexit—but as his group leader, the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson), said earlier, we voted for, and fervently supported, the protocol Bill. We said that we were willing to have a red lane in order to safeguard the legitimate interests of our friends and partners—and family members, as the Irish ambassador Martin Fraser said. This was always a family dispute, and we were always going to get through it.

    Our friends in Ireland, and indeed in the EU, have legitimate interests, which we should have the humility to respect. Even if we had acted unilaterally as a single united Parliament, ridden roughshod over any international negotiation and just done what suited ourselves with the protocol Bill, we would have implemented the red lane. I am afraid that I will part company now with anyone who says otherwise. We would rightly have implemented the red lane, even acting unilaterally, out of respect for the legitimate interests of our friends and trading partners.

    Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson

    Will the Minister join me in welcoming the announcement on Tuesday of agreement on a joint legal text that will significantly change the status of goods coming from the rest of the world into Great Britain and travelling on to Northern Ireland? The effect of that change, which is part of the arrangements and the published Command Paper, will be that some 4 million goods movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will now be moving out of the red lane and into the UK internal market system. That is this party delivering, and securing real change that ensures that more goods flow freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, save for those going into the EU or that are at risk of doing so because they are part of a manufacturing process for goods being sold to the EU.

    Mr Baker

    I strongly welcome that intervention. I thought that the right hon. Gentleman was going to mention the draft joint agreement on tariff rate quotas. For a while I was concerned that TRQs needed to be applied to Northern Ireland so that Northern Ireland could share fully in the benefits of free trade agreements with the rest of the world.

    I hope to return to this later, but in case I do not have the opportunity to do so, I want to say what an extraordinary situation Northern Ireland is now in. Northern Ireland is not in the single market. I draw everyone’s attention to page 4 of the Command Paper, which sets out checkmarks comparing Northern Ireland with Ireland, as a member of the EU, and with Norway, which is a member of the single market through the European economic area but is not in the customs union or the European Union. Northern Ireland really has the minimum of EU law compatible with unfettered—or privileged, perhaps—goods access to the EU market, and consistent with having an open, infra- structure-free border.

    I wonder at people who thought that we could leave the European Union and establish a hard border, or do absolutely nothing about the border. We were always going to leave the European Union and have special arrangements in relation to Northern Ireland. This is a moment of great feeling for me, because before the referendum vote, I and other colleagues set up a committee of Eurosceptics to consider how we might deal with these issues. I confess that we did not have the SPS and customs expertise to proceed. That then became the great story of this battle.

    If the United Kingdom had united in accepting the result of the referendum, if this Parliament had united in going forward with resolve to further our own interests as an independent nation state outside the EU, but crucially with the humility to respect the legitimate interests of our friends and partners, and if from the beginning we had had united resolve and clarity of vision, I do not doubt that in a spirit of friendship and good will—the kind that exists today between Ireland and us, and between the European Union and us, thanks to the work of the Secretary of State, the Prime Minister and others—we would have been, as we are now, in a totally transformed position to make our way forward as friends, respectful of their interests and resolved on ours.

    That is not what happened. The House does not need me to rehearse it. It has taken eight years of drama for us to arrive at this moment, when we have reduced EU law to this extent and put in place a red lane to protect the legitimate interests of Ireland and the EU. That is something that we should all be very proud of, after everything that we have faced and all the risks that could have put us in a far worse position.

    Paul Girvan (South Antrim) (DUP)

    I totally understand the need for a red lane to ensure that goods going into the Republic of Ireland are checked, but there is a business in Northern Ireland 98% of whose sales are into Northern Ireland. The stuff all comes to it in one container. Maybe 2% of that load might make its way into the Irish Republic as part of a service agreement with another dealer. I am talking about a major firm in my constituency that has an all-Ireland approach. That means that the red lane applies to every single item, even though 98% of its stuff is used in Northern Ireland, Scotland or England. It is a main distributor, and it will end up having to put all its goods through that. A job of work might need to be done to try to ameliorate its problems.

    Mr Baker

    The hon. Gentleman is right that a job of work will need to be done; I assure him that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has just said that of course it does. I am grateful that we will be doing that further work in a spirit of good will and co-operation through the joint committee with the European Union. If the hon. Gentleman drops an email to my Northern Ireland Office address, I shall be glad to visit the firm with him, bringing officials, and we will see whether we can move further to assist it. I need to find out more about its exact circumstances.

    My goodness, that was a long series of interventions. This legislation ensures that we can avoid any unnecessary gold-plating in the implementation of new arrangements through new statutory guidance on section 46 of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, setting out how public authorities should have special regard to Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market and customs territory, and the need to maintain the free flow of goods from NI to GB. We will take a power through the regulations to issue such statutory guidance, and public authorities will be required to have regard to it. Those changes to the law will help to ensure that public authorities take every proper effort to prevent new barriers to intra-UK trade. In doing so, they will maintain and strengthen the health of the UK internal market in the long term.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    One issue that greatly vexes those in my party is that farmers in my constituency, and in others, have said that vets now cost even more, as they have to source medicines and devices from an acceptable source. The Command Paper suggests that the issue has not been resolved but will be worked on. Is that a firm demand on the Government, or is it just another working group that will talk about things? My hon. Friend the Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) has been at the fore on this. We need a person on that committee to push things forward. If we have a solution through the committee, we need a timescale for delivery.

    Mr Baker

    We understand that point and we are listening to the hon. Gentleman and others. We are resolute that of course Northern Ireland must have proper access to veterinary medicines, and will be glad to work with him and others. He will appreciate what the priorities are and have been, and we will certainly continue to make pursuing veterinary medicines a high priority. I am personally resolute on the issue and look forward to pursuing it.

    The regulations must be seen in the context of the overall package agreed between the Government and the DUP. The passage of these regulations demonstrates the Government’s commitment to taking forward that whole package and to maintaining the participation and trust of the whole community in Northern Ireland’s political processes and the Stormont institutions going forward.

    If I may touch on what the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) said earlier, I, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the whole Government are completely committed to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions. As I said to one nationalist politician—about a year ago now, if I recall—it is perfectly possible to be a Unionist and support the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions, just as it is possible to be a nationalist or a republican and support the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions. It is the beauty and the triumph of the agreement that we can all support it and move forward.

    I am trying to say this as gently as possible: I can understand a degree of discomfort from the hon. Gentleman, because this is a big breakthrough for Unionism. A Unionist Conservative Government have agreed to do Unionist things with the Democratic Unionist Party, and that is something I am very proud of. However, that does not in any way diminish our impartiality, or our commitment to governing or seeing to the government of Northern Ireland in a proper manner.

    Colum Eastwood (Foyle) (SDLP) rose—

    Mr Baker

    Before I give way to the hon. Gentleman, may I just say that I think, after the experience of the last eight years—perhaps the last 14—I need defer to no one in my vociferous commitment to democratic self-determination.

    Colum Eastwood

    The Minister says he supports the Good Friday agreement in all its parts. Does he support the bit that says that the Government should be rigorously impartial?

    Mr Baker

    Yes, I—[Interruption.] I do not quite hear the comment from the leader of the DUP.

    Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson

    Not on the Union!

    Mr Baker

    It has long been said that this is the Conservative and Unionist party and we have long been understood to be a Unionist party. This agreement is entirely consistent with both our Unionism and our full respect for all dimensions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. We will continue to govern in a spirit of good will and impartiality.

    Sir Robert Buckland (South Swindon) (Con)

    Will my hon. Friend give way?

    Mr Baker

    I will, but after I have given way to my right hon. and learned Friend, I will make progress and finish so that other colleagues can have their say.

    Sir Robert Buckland

    I have listened carefully to the interventions from the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) and the concerns that he and others will have about the scrapping of the legal obligation with regard to the all-island economy. Is the point not that while, as a UK Government, we have to uphold the rules that apply within our United Kingdom and the promotion of our own internal market, that does not detract from the access to the single market that Northern Ireland businesses will continue to enjoy? That is the compromise that has been reached here. Therefore there is not a binary either/or choice; the hon. Gentleman’s concerns can largely be met and continue to be met in a way that is fully in accordance with the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.

    Mr Baker

    I agree with my right hon. and learned Friend, who demonstrates his expertise.

    I look forward as much as anyone to the re-establishment of the Assembly and the Executive, and along with that the re-establishment of the north-south institutions. They are much needed and I look forward to their work. I do not mind admitting that I find myself able to work constructively with politicians of all political parties in Northern Ireland, and I am glad to do so.

    Let me return, in concluding, to what is at stake in this process. I firmly believe that all parties in this House and all parties eligible to form part of an Executive want Northern Ireland to work. I have seen what unites political leaders in Northern Ireland: a real determination to make life better for their constituents—and, my goodness, on a wide range of fronts that is necessary—and to allow Northern Ireland to grasp the opportunities of the future—and what opportunities they are. I elaborated on some of the things Northern Ireland has before it right now. If we combine the institutional arrangements before Northern Ireland with the very substantial financial package to transform public services and deal with the public finances, and if Northern Irish politicians reach out and grasp the opportunity now before them, they can make Northern Ireland a beacon to the world—a beacon of prosperity and, I hope, of reconciliation. These regulations are part of that process and I commend them to everyone in the House.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2024 Statement on Public Sector Pay

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2024 Statement on Public Sector Pay

    The statement made by Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 18 January 2024.

    Today’s strike will be disruptive for people across Northern Ireland. I understand the serious concerns that people across Northern Ireland have about the impact this action will have on vital public services.

    While public sector pay is devolved, the UK Government has offered a fair and generous package worth over £3bn which would address public sector pay and provides more than £1bn to stabilise public services. This will require Ministers being back to work in Stormont so that decisions on governing can be taken in the round.

    I am deeply disappointed that the significant funding offer from the UK Government to address such issues has not been taken up. This package has been on the table since before Christmas and will remain there, available on day one for an incoming Northern Ireland Executive.

    It is regrettable that the NI Parties were unable to come together yesterday to elect a Speaker and restore the executive. The people of Northern Ireland deserve local political leadership from representatives they have elected to govern on their behalf.

    The UK Government has made a significant offer that would help address the challenges facing public sector pay and Northern Ireland’s finances. It is time for the NI Parties to take decisions on how they will best serve the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2024 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2024 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    The statement made by Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 15 January 2024.

    Today I have met  representatives of the main Northern Ireland political parties to discuss why it is important an Executive is restored before the clock ticks past 18th of January.

    As you know, at that point, a duty falls upon me to call an election and I will need to decide on various other important matters that require primary legislation in Westminster.

    In my meetings today I emphasised it is now 23 months that the people of Northern Ireland have been without the locally-elected politicians they voted for, taking the decisions needed to tackle the issues faced by people and businesses across Northern Ireland.

    And I outlined the generous financial package offered to the parties before Christmas, worth over £3 billion, that is currently available from day one of a reformed Executive.

    A financial package which provides solutions to many issues raised by the parties, including money that would enable a restored Executive to give public sector workers a pay award.

    I also emphasised that the Windsor Framework talks with the DUP had effectively concluded. I’m pleased to say that we were able to make some further progress last week, and today I have urged all the parties to take the next step and form an executive. It is hard to see any barriers whatsoever to stop this from happening as soon as possible.

    The people of Northern Ireland deserve to have the people they voted for, working for them.

    In recent weeks, we’ve seen strikes across Northern Ireland’s public sector over pay and I know more are planned for Thursday.

    The industrial action taken by the unions will disrupt the lives of many people across Northern Ireland.

    Public sector pay in Northern Ireland is devolved.This is properly a matter for locally-elected politicians who are best placed – and I quote others here – “to tackle the unprecedented challenges confronting citizens…public services, particularly the immediate matter of public sector pay today” in Northern Ireland.

    If an Executive has not been reformed by Friday, then, as I say, I will have various decisions to make and I will set out my next steps in due course.

    To end, I do believe that all the conditions necessary are now in place for the political representatives of Northern Ireland to govern on behalf of the people who elected them.

    It is time for talking and debate to finish. It is time for Stormont to get back to work.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2023 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2023 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    The statement made by Chris Heaton-Harris at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland on 20 December 2023.

    Over the last number of days my team and I have been meeting the main parties in Northern Ireland to discuss how we can financially support a restored executive.

    On behalf of the United Kingdom Government, last week I presented a significant package which sets the executive up for success.

    We asked the parties for their views and we have listened.

    Following a lot of discussions over the weekend and over the last few days this morning I brought forward a new plan that reasonably and generously responds to the parties concerns and provides Northern Ireland Ministers with an offer for a restored executive worth in excess of £3bn.

    This package provides solutions to many of the issues the parties have raised.

    The parties have asked for a new formula for deciding how much Northern Ireland receives from the UK Government. We have agreed to establish such a model reflecting the different levels of need in Northern Ireland. That would see funding uplifted through the Barnett Formula by 24% from 2024-2025.

    The parties have asked for assistance with public sector pay; this package includes £584m to address this.

    The parties asked for money to stabilise Northern Ireland’s public services. We have made available more than £1bn for them to do this.

    The parties have raised concerns about their existing debt. Now I’ve been clear that we will be prepared to take steps to address those concerns of the Northern Ireland Executive if the Northern Ireland Executive publishes and implements a plan to deliver sustainable public finances and services.

    On top of that, the UK Government has committed more than £30m to immediately start tackling health waiting lists and indeed following the PSNI data breach we have granted an initial reserve claim of £15m which would not need to be repaid.

    And, we have offered to create an enhanced investment zone in Northern Ireland worth over £150m.

    It is disappointing that there will not be a new executive up and running to take up this offer and deliver it for the people of Northern Ireland before Christmas. However, this package is on the table and will remain there, available on day one of an incoming Northern Ireland Executive to take up.

    This is a generous package but like any government, an incoming executive will have to make decisions on its priorities going forward. That will need to include, as part of this offer, increasing the revenue the executive raises through its own powers.

    The UK Government has also held extensive talks with the Democratic Unionist Party on the Windsor Framework over the last eight months. I’d like to thank the DUP and its leadership for the way they’ve engaged constructively in those talks. In particular, the Government has sought to address the specific concerns raised by the DUP prior to and during these negotiations.

    From our perspective, those talks on all the issues of substance have reached a conclusion.

    We stand ready to introduce a package of measures that have been worked on together should the DUP reach a decision to proceed.

    I have always believed that Northern Ireland is best governed by locally elected and accountable MLAs. They can use the financial package and put in place the policies that will transform public services for the better of everyone across the whole of Northern Ireland and there is before us a great opportunity for the parties to return to governing on behalf of the people who elected them.

    The financial package that is now before the parties would set Northern Ireland on a sustainable footing with a bright future ahead.

    So to end, these financial talks have concluded and there is a financial package worth an excess of £3bn on the table should the executive be restored. From our perspective the Windsor Framework talks on all issues of substance have effectively concluded but we’re always, always happy to answer concerns and any questions on these.

    The UK Government also stands ready to deliver on the outcomes of the Windsor Framework talks when the institutions are restored.

    It is now time for decisions to be made.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2023 Speech at Conservative Party Conference

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2023 Speech at Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in Manchester on 1 October 2023.

    Hello Conference!

    For the last 391 days I’ve had the best job in Government – being Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

    In that time I’ve travelled the length and breadth of Northern Ireland and it has truly been an honour to see and meet so many amazing people, social enterprises, businesses, and voluntary organisations.

    I’ve been to places like Harland and Wolff – world-leaders in ship building, where, thanks to a Ministry of Defence contract, ship building is returning to Belfast.

    Places like the Game of Thrones Studios – the TV series that has generated huge amounts of money for the Northern Ireland economy.

    Places like Hinch Distillery – the home of some of Northern Ireland’s finest whiskey and gin. As my SpAds will know, that was a really tough visit., I can tell you…

    Northern Ireland has so much to offer – not just to the 1.9 million people that live there, or the 5 million tourists who visit every year, but to us all as an integral part of the United Kingdom.

    This was demonstrated to me yesterday, down the road in Leigh where I had an excellent visit with our MP there, the brilliant James Grundy, to a company called O’Neills, a sportswear company with a factory in Northern Ireland, and a design centre in Leigh that employs 40 people.

    You will no doubt have seen their name emblazoned on rugby and football kits of teams across the United Kingdom, including the brilliant Leigh Rugby Union Football Club who I also met yesterday.

    O’Neills is just one example of how Northern Ireland contributes to our economy and the Union.

    And I’m proud it’s my job to represent Northern Ireland and I’m proud it’s the job of my great Ministerial team too and I have superb support from Steve Baker and Lord Caine and our amazing PPS Tom Hunt and our brilliant Whips, Rob Largan, Lord Courtown and Lord Mott.

    And it’s our job to bang the drum for that small, bustling, proud part of our country and that’s what we do day in and day out and I thank you all for it.

    Conference, I don’t need to remind you we are the Conservative AND Unionist Party. This party and this government will never shy away from our support for the Union.

    Northern Ireland is stronger for it, its future is strengthened by it and the United Kingdom is and will be greater for it.

    I didn’t mention Harland and Wolff earlier by accident – no, those 900 jobs are being created by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence for ships that will protect the United Kingdom – a contract that is an obvious and direct benefit of our Union.

    And let’s not forget, it wasn’t too long ago that Sir Keir Starmer loyally served under a Labour Leader who wanted to break up our precious Union.

    Under Starmer Labour have flipped from saying they’d campaign for the Union in a border poll to bravely failing to pick a side.

    But we know all too well that Starmer’s positions on all sorts of policies change more than a weather vane.

    It is only our Party that will relentlessly advocate for the Union, because we know just how important Northern Ireland is to it.

    When I started in the role of Secretary of State many in Northern Ireland were unbelievably frustrated with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

    Agreed with the best of intentions, its flaws became quickly apparent.

    Too many businesses based in Great Britain, unsure of the regulatory environment they found themselves in, decided to pull back from servicing consumers in Northern Ireland.

    There were problems that affected everyday lives regarding the movement of pets, plants and parcels – and with even medicine supplies coming under threat.

    The Prime Minister recognised this too and sought to change it, focusing on the practical concerns that had been raised and always, always, keeping the protection of the Union as his priority.

    And so we agreed the Windsor Framework.

    After months of negotiations we reached a deal with the European Union that:

    – Removes trade barriers

    – Allows goods available on shelves in Great Britain to move freely into Northern Ireland

    – Ensures Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as the rest of the United Kingdom

    – Safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom internal market through agreements on medicine and state aid

    – Protects the economic rights of the people of Northern Ireland and provides a basis to move forward as one United country

    Now I know concerns remain in Northern Ireland about the Windsor Framework and we will continue to work to address them. There is scope to do so, based on the principle that the UK internal market must be promoted as well as protected.

    But let us also remind ourselves of the fundamental truth – the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s economic life is dependent on its connection with the rest of the United Kingdom and that reality will not change.

    It’s time to get on with business.

    So today Conference I can tell you that the first stage of implementing the Windsor Framework agreement has commenced – removing barriers that existed for Great Britain based businesses to trade with Northern Ireland.

    This morning bright and early I visited Peel Port in Birkenhead to see the smooth flow of trade goods able to travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I am also actively exploring how we can support a new ferry route between Larne and Liverpool so we can seize the moment to increase trade within the UK further.

    And let me give you just one stat to demonstrate how the Windsor Framework is a major improvement on the Protocol, and how it will be noticed by people in Northern Ireland itself.

    Over 1,600 new businesses have signed up to our new internal market scheme meaning more traders than ever want to do business in Northern Ireland.

    And Conference, I want to say something else about the future of Northern Ireland. There has always been a lot of doom and gloom around this subject for too long. In reality, Northern Ireland’s economic prospects are unbelievably promising.

    A couple of weeks ago, I, alongside the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi, hosted an Investment Summit in Northern Ireland.

    160 international businesses came along – some visiting Northern Ireland for the first time. They came because business truly recognises the opportunities that exist.

    Nothing could be more important to the strength of the Union than a thriving local economy, underpinned by political stability.

    It is this Government that takes as you know the long-term decisions in the national interest.

    If Labour were in charge, we would have a very different situation.

    Remember Keir Starmer he backed Remain. Then he said he accepted Brexit. But as Shadow Brexit Secretary, he worked to block Brexit 48 times.

    He and his newly appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary called for a second referendum…

    In May, Starmer said Britain’s future is outside the European Union, but only two weeks ago he said he didn’t want to diverge from EU rules.

    That’s more flips flops than you’d see on a beach in Mallorca. And obviously you can buy some of those outside as well.

    Short-Termist Starmer only offers endless instability which would not just weaken the Brexit dividends we are seeing but also take a sledgehammer to our Union.

    Conference, for 605 days there has been no functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland.

    That means the people of Northern Ireland have been without a government – no new policies developed and no Ministers taking decisions on the issues that matter to voters.

    Since starting this job, I have been working to get politicians back to Stormont because I believe that the people of Northern Ireland are best served by the MLAs they elected to take positions for them.

    People in Northern Ireland need their locally-elected politicians to take action to make Northern Ireland’s finances more sustainable; and to improve the health service there, where 22% of the population are on a waiting list – and there is, I’m afraid, a very long list of other things that need to be sorted.

    So I say to my friends in the unionist community we will continue working to answer your remaining concerns.

    You know and we know progress has been made and we are working in a constructive spirit. And it is clear that the vast majority of people and their political leaders want to get this done.

    Conference, it is the 25th anniversary year of the signing of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

    Since then Northern Ireland has come a tremendously long way.

    But for those 25 years victims, families, survivors, some of them, have been left without answers about what happened during the 30 years of The Troubles.

    This Conservative Government recently passed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act.

    And whilst it delivers on a manifesto commitment we made to our Veterans – it’s also of genuine help to all those affected by the Troubles.

    It sets up a body that aims to provide answers and accountability to those who want it and is open to all victims of the Troubles.

    Conference, if I may, I’d very much like to thank Lord Caine sitting here at the front for steering this piece of legislation through – it’s massively changed over the course of the last year and it needed all of his immense skill and diplomacy throughout that time to get it over the line so thank you Jonathan.

    Keir Starmer wants to repeal this Act altogether but offers absolutely no alternative. Labour have flip-flopped on this issue going back to the days of Tony Blair and Peter Hain.

    Yet again it is a Conservative Government that’s made a hard but long-term decision to solve a problem that had been left unaddressed by Labour and would be undone by Starmer.

    Conference, Northern Ireland has come a long way and I know it can go even further.

    It’s thriving as a centre of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

    Those 160 investors from across the globe who descended on Northern Ireland last month for our Investment Summit did so because they know that Northern Ireland has a very bright future.

    A bright future that’s brighter as being part of the United Kingdom.

    With its troubled past behind it;

    with its Executive back up and running – the opportunities available to the people of Northern Ireland are endless

    and the Union of the United Kingdom will be strengthened for decades to come.

    And this Conservative and Unionist Party

    And this Conservative Government will do all it can to help Northern Ireland on its journey to a brighter, prosperous future as an integral part of our United Kingdom.

    Thank you Conference.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Speech to the Northern Ireland Investment Summit

    Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Speech to the Northern Ireland Investment Summit

    The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in Belfast on 13 September 2023.

    Good afternoon everyone, your Royal Highness, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.

    I know you’ve already been welcomed several times over the last two days, but I would like to thank you specially this afternoon for being in Belfast for the Department of Business and Trade’s first ever investment Summit, and I believe the first Investment Summit ever of its kind in Northern Ireland.

    This Summit is absolutely swarming with ministers desperate to talk to business and the investment community. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow ministers, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris, the Minister of State Steve Baker, Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove and of course business and trade ministers, Lord Johnson, and Lord offered for all their support on business engagement.

    I’d also like to thank the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to the US Sir Conor Burns for being an excellent sherpa over the last couple of days.

    So at this summit, we’re going to be telling a story of Northern Ireland that’s different from the ones you typically hear. A story of energy, creativity, and innovation.

    But first, for me, a story about growth and how the UK Government and my department will help achieve that.

    When I first became Business and Trade Secretary, I decided our mission was to ensure that our department became the government’s engine for economic growth.

    It was my focus when I was a Treasury minister, and even more so now in a world that is becoming increasingly competitive and increasingly complex.

    So how does government deliver growth?

    The truth is, it doesn’t, business does.

    Our job is to get out of the way and make life easier for all of you to grow. So we’ve been doing this by focusing on five priorities.

    The first is removing the barriers to business and trade, not just in our country, but around the world, cutting through red tape and tailoring regulation to better suit the needs of a dynamic UK.

    The second is maintaining our status as Europe’s top investment destination.

    For three years running, the UK has topped the tables for new foreign direct investment projects in Europe. And since I took up the role, the UK has risen to third in the world for inward investment only behind the US and China, and business investment is up nearly 7% year-on-year.

    And I was particularly delighted just this week that we have overtaken France and are now the eighth largest manufacturing economy in the world.

    We need to attract the capital that transforms homegrown enterprises into global ones. And building on this progress is why we’re here today to help deliver our other priority of growing exports.

    We don’t just want to sell in the UK or even in the EU, but all over the world. Building on this progress is why we’re all here today.

    Another priority is signing high quality trade deals. Earlier this year, we signed our accession to CPTPP – the Comprehensive Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership for those of you who don’t know – that is a deal that is going to give our businesses including here in Northern Ireland greater access to markets that are home to half a billion people.

    That’s where the 21st century’s middle class will be coming from. They’ve got money in their pockets and surging demand for your goods and services.

    The final one, and the one closest to my heart, is defending free and fair trade. Many people hear this and they think it means giving money to developing countries.

    But actually, it is about providing economic security, and defending the rules-based trading system that underpins a lot of the security and safety of how we do business in our country.

    Many people think that the way to do this is to become more protectionist. And I can understand that. There are a lot of countries who are feeling the pain from a whole list of issues.

    The supply chain fallout post-pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, a more assertive China, and when the world feels so unsure, the natural reaction is to want to retreat from it. But slamming down the shutters and putting up a ‘closed’ sign isn’t the solution.

    I grew up in a country that was actually very protectionist, and it can be quite awful. And people continue to bring more policies that make life worse for people that make them poorer, while championing a nationalism that actually doesn’t do anything for anyone.

    What we need is an open economy. And in a ever more connected world, we cannot be economically isolationist.

    But we also can’t be knowingly naive. We need to be smart. We need to be clever, but we also need to be open.

    You can’t put a border on ideas, but you can put a border on opportunity if you have the wrong policies.

    And that brings me back to the story which we want to tell about Northern Ireland at this summit.

    It is about opportunity, and how the UK Government is working to create it here.

    Today, there are more people employed in manufacturing in Northern Ireland than either the Republic or the UK average.

    And we know that long term prosperity requires peace, and the political progress of the last few decades has nurtured business confidence.

    It’s led to billions in inward investment and it’s driven economic growth.

    There have undeniably been some recent challenges. But this government has restored the smooth flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and protected Northern Ireland’s place in our Union.

    This certainty and stability makes Northern Ireland an even more attractive investment prospect, given its unique trading position with a seamless land border with the single market and within an internal UK market that is striking trade deals across the world and scrapping hundreds of trade barriers.

    When you back Northern Ireland, you back this country, you are joining a growing list of businesses and investors who also recognise these opportunities.

    From the creators of Game of Thrones – my favourite TV show – who filmed one of the world’s most successful fantasy dramas not far from here, making an enormous contribution to Northern Ireland’s incredible creative industry, to the businesses that are committing £20 billion of investment a year, creating thousands of new jobs in the last few years alone.

    Just today, for example, you would have heard EY announcing 1,000 new jobs in a new hub here.

    Northern Ireland is well positioned to take advantage of the government’s broader work to drive innovation across the UK.

    On new Smarter Regulation Framework also commits to regulation only as a last resort so that we don’t stifle innovation.

    And of course, every nation needs a bedrock of talent and skills to succeed.

    Health and life sciences is just one of the many areas where Northern Ireland is in a prime position, thanks to a combination of expertise, world class research, strong links between industry, clinicians and academia – in Queen’s University and also the University of Ulster.

    But what’s been interesting is listening to all of you over my meetings this morning and at the reception yesterday, telling me about what your personal experiences have been, how you see business and education being a lot better integrated here than in other parts of the UK, for example, and an increasing numbers of businesses are using this skills base as a springboard to diversify into the low carbon and renewable energy sector.

    Local businesses are building expertise in producing green hydrogen, manufacturing hydrogen buses, and developing intelligent systems for carbon capture and storage.

    But I won’t go on because this summit is not about me. It is about you, and I’d like to finish on one final note.

    It is our responsibility to promote all parts of Northern Ireland, especially the Northwest, not just this great city of Belfast where we meet today. And that is something that the government is trying to ensure that we are levelling up across the UK but also across Northern Ireland too.

    I’m convinced that Northern Ireland has an incredible future and over the summit we’ll get a glimpse of all that lies ahead. Please consider becoming more of a part it.

    Thank you so much, and now I’m honoured to welcome our special guest, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, to the stage.