Northern Ireland Office

Today’s media landscape is unrecognisable compared to even a decade ago, and the way the public receives information and communicates has changed drastically in this time.

The Government has a duty to engage with the public where they are, using channels and voices they trust to ensure all citizens can access government services, information and support - meeting audiences where they are. The total spend by the Northern Ireland Office on social media influencers is nil since July 2024.

Content Creators are paid fairly for their services, time and expertise in content creation. Their work reaches people directly on the channels they use daily. Without targeted campaigns, millions of citizens would miss out on services, rights, and support to which they are entitled.

The guidelines for influencer and content creator marketing were created by the Government Communication Service and first published internally in November 2023.

The Northern Ireland Office has a programme of activity guided by colleagues, which covers a range of topics through blog posts and information sessions. Subjects covered in 2025 were as follows: Mental Health Awareness Week, Black History Month, OCD awareness week, National Inclusion Week, Ramadan, LGBT+ history month, Carer’s week, and International Women’s Day.

Operation Banner veterans served in Northern Ireland in the most difficult circumstances in order to preserve law and order and protect life. The vast majority did so with the utmost professionalism.

Operating under the rule of law is central to how our Armed Forces keep the UK safe at home and abroad, and there is no question of anyone being prosecuted for having lawfully followed the rules. It is also right that our Armed Forces are held to the highest standards - it is what sets them apart from the terrorists whose actions were never justified.

The Troubles Bill provides those veterans with effective and deliverable protections that the flawed Legacy Act never did, including protection from repeated investigations. The protections already included in the Bill will be further strengthened at Committee Stage when the Government table a package of amendments that respond directly to the concerns raised by veterans.

The Troubles Bill does not mandate the opening of any investigation. The primary route for the investigation of cases is the specific request of families seeking answers. This is exactly the same model as the previous government’s Legacy Act. Given this model, and the fact that 90% of Troubles-related deaths were caused by paramilitaries, this will be the overwhelming focus of the Commission’s work.

It is important to note that a significant proportion of live cases before the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery involve military victims.

We are not aware of any effect on Armed Forces recruitment. As of October 2025, when we introduced the Bill, more people are joining the Armed Forces than leaving them for the first time since 2022. In the year to July 2026, recruitment is up by 7%, and outflow is down by 7%. The Government is delivering for our Service personnel, and we remain committed to ensuring they are heard.

NIO Ministers have been listening to the concerns of veterans that there is more we must do to safeguard our veterans and provide further reassurance.

The Secretary of State and I will be continuing to discuss with veterans and veteran groups, including regimental associations, to bring forward amendments to the Bill which will ensure that veterans can have confidence in the legislation, whilst still ensuring that families who have lost loved ones, including those service families, can get the answers they need.

There are 17 communicators working across the Northern Ireland Office and its Arms Length bodies. All communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.

The UK Government is committed to promoting reconciliation and supporting young people from differing backgrounds to be educated together. The NIO ministerial team look forward to meeting regularly with Executive colleagues, including the Education Minister, to discuss how we can best work together to promote integrated education in Northern Ireland.

In addition to this, the Government has provided £2.13 million to the grant programme which will help maintain current integrated schools and be used to help non-integrated schools transform to integrated status.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill is crucial to restoring trust in legacy processes across Northern Ireland which have been lost as a result of the Legacy Act. We intend to continue passage of the Bill as soon as possible.

Before the Bill returns to Parliament, NIO Ministers will continue to discuss the legislation with a wide range of interested stakeholders, including veterans and veteran groups and, regimental associations. We plan to bring forward amendments to the Bill which will ensure that veterans can have confidence in the legislation and allow families who have lost loved ones, including those service families, can get the answers they need.

Since our appointment, the Secretary of State and I have met many veterans and veterans organisations to hear their legitimate concerns that legacy issues are addressed in a way that is fair, balanced and proportionate, and will continue to do so.

As a result of this engagement, the Government will table a package of amendments ahead of Committee Stage that will strengthen the already considerable package of protections for veterans included in the Troubles Bill.

The Government will continue to engage closely with all stakeholders as we make progress on the Troubles Bill to ensure that it delivers effective legacy mechanisms that everybody can have confidence in.

The Troubles Bill will allow a small number of inquests that were in progress but halted by the Legacy Act to continue via the coronial system in the first instance. If, subsequently, evidence is withheld from an inquest on the grounds of public interest immunity and the relevant coroner determines that it is not viable to properly conclude an inquest without that information, the coroner will transfer the case to the Legacy Commission’s inquisitorial proceedings.

Inquests that had not started will be subject to an assessment by the Solicitor General, who will independently consider whether an inquest is appropriate, or whether the case should be referred to the Commission’s Inquisitorial Proceedings. For cases involving relevant sensitive information there will be a statutory presumption in favour of the Legacy Commission.

This is a fair approach that allows those inquests that were in progress, and in some cases very advanced, an opportunity to conclude, while recognising the significant role that the Legacy Commission can play in achieving outcomes for families, particularly given its greater capacity to handle and consider sensitive information.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland and security partners monitor the activity and assess the threat, risk and harm from paramilitaries in order to inform their operational response. Additionally, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre constantly reviews the threat level from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT), with formal reviews twice a year.

Despite recent security incidents in Dunmurry and Lurgan, the threat level from NIRT in Northern Ireland has remained SUBSTANTIAL since the reduction in March 2024.

The UK and EU share information and data as part of our broader cooperation on trade, economy and security. The Northern Ireland Office does not share or transfer information and data outside of the United Kingdom. However, the UK acts in accordance with the reporting and information sharing provisions set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework.

It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.

The Northern Ireland Office does not place any restrictions to applicants on the basis of ethnicity, social class and/or both. The Northern Ireland Office has not recruited for any internship schemes in the last 12 months.

The Northern Ireland Office follows the cross Civil Service expectation that all staff spend at least 60% of their time at a Government building or on official business, such as visiting stakeholders, unless they have an agreed workplace adjustment or other exception. Following a search of our records, we have established that the information you requested is not held by the Northern Ireland Office. Deputy Directors monitor records of team office attendance and therefore data is not held centrally.

The Northern Ireland Office has not recruited for any internship schemes in the last 12 months.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of the Northern Ireland economy, spurring local innovation, creating jobs and driving prosperity. The Government is determined to ensure that NI SMEs are fully supported to grow, export and share in the benefits of wider UK economic growth in the months and years ahead.

That is why in last year’s Budget, the Government announced £16.6 million to strengthen the UK internal market and help Northern Ireland boost trade with Great Britain. This includes dedicated funding to deliver an enhanced ‘one stop shop’ advice service for SMEs, beyond what is currently available on GOV.UK. This will ensure such firms have all the support and guidance they need to trade across the UK and EU markets and benefit from Northern Ireland’s unique dual market access.

In addition, SMEs sit at the very heart of the £50 million Defence Growth Deal for Northern Ireland, with a primary focus on how we can improve their access to defence contracts by providing them with a skilled workforce and the tools they need to succeed.

Paramilitary organisations cause harm to their communities and use intimidation and fear to exert influence and control. Paramilitarism will never be justified, and any recruitment being undertaken by paramilitary organisations only serves to prevent people from moving forward with their lives and set children on a regrettable path of criminality.

The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, which is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government, works to tackle the presence of paramilitaries through evidence-based early interventions, targeted law enforcement measures and initiatives that provide direct support to help build safer communities which are more resilient to paramilitarism.

Socio-economic interventions supported by the Programme aid victims and address the vulnerabilities that lead to involvement in paramilitary activity. Other projects help communities reject paramilitary influence by addressing recruitment and control tactics.

Using a public health approach, the Programme aims to drive long-term systems change across public services. The “Ending the Harm” communication strategy highlights the negative influence of paramilitary organisations on communities and serves as an effective deterrent.

I would also recognise the extraordinary efforts of community and voluntary organisations working day in and day out to support young people at risk of recruitment.

Policing in Northern Ireland, apart from national security, is a devolved matter. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to make decisions on the allocation of resources in line with its identified priorities, and for the Department of Justice to allocate funding to the PSNI.

In recognition of the security situation in Northern Ireland, the Government has increased the amount provided to the PSNI in Additional Security Funding to £37.8 million. This level of funding has been secured for each year of the Spending Review period. In addition, a further £4 million has been provided to PSNI for this financial year to help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the recent disorder.

The UK Government also provides 50% of the funding for the cross Executive Programme for tackling paramilitary activity and organised crime - currently £8m per year. NIO Ministers meet regularly with Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government Ministers to discuss a range of priority issues in Northern Ireland, including public safety and community cohesion.

The Northern Ireland Office continues to have discussions with partners, including HM Treasury and the Independent Commission for the Retrieval of Information and Reconciliation (ICRIR), about the budget which will be required by the Legacy Commission which will replace ICRIR under the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. These discussions will continue during the passage of the Bill as the shape of the new Commission is debated and set in statute.

Following the publication of its terms of reference in March 2026, The Patrick Finucane Inquiry has been legally established. It held its preliminary hearing in June 2026, with a further hearing scheduled in September.

The Inquiry is an independent statutory public inquiry, established under the Inquiries Act 2005 to complete an Article 2 ECHR compliant investigation into the murder of Patrick Finucane. As the sponsoring department, my officials continue to work closely with the Inquiry whilst ensuring its independence is maintained. The Inquiry is still in its early stages and further work is required before detailed plans can be published. The Chair has been clear that the Inquiry will be rigorous, and will work as quickly and effectively as possible .

Education is a devolved matter. It is therefore the responsibility of the Education Minister to work with relevant bodies to ensure that all pupils in Northern Ireland are able to receive high quality education which is sufficiently wide-ranging to prepare them for the future.

Education is a devolved matter. It is therefore the responsibility of the Education Minister to work with the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment to ensure that all pupils in Northern Ireland are able to receive a wide-ranging education to sufficiently prepare them for the future.

The NI Executive will be provided with Barnett consequential funding as a result of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Any additional Barnett from this or other funding measures will be confirmed at the Autumn Budget.

It is for the Executive to decide how they allocate this additional funding in line with their strategic priorities.

The Regional Rates and District Rates are the responsibility of the Executive and the relevant Local NI Councils respectively. My officials monitor developments and retain relevant information on the setting of both rates throughout the year. This allows the Government to consider in detail how the rates will impact the NI budget and economic investment.

The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) is a £500 million UK-wide programme delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to accelerate regional economic growth. The UK Government has awarded £30 million over five years to support the Belfast–Derry/Londonderry Innovation Corridor. This investment aims to drive regional economic growth and bolster Northern Ireland’s industrial strengths, focusing on high-potential innovation clusters fostering partnerships between civic leadership, research universities, and businesses.

This funding will support research and development, technology adoption, and commercial scaling to turn research into viable products and high-value jobs. Ministers will work closely with UKRI to ensure that this programme successfully drives regional economic growth and bolsters Northern Ireland’s industrial strengths.

The UK’s relationship with Ireland is among the most important that any British Government has to steward. Our countries are bound together by geography, history, family, trade and shared responsibility of protecting the Good Friday Agreement.

After relations fell to a damaging nadir under previous Governments, we have made a deliberate choice to reset our relationship, rebuild trust, restore respect and put practical cooperation first.

This is evidenced by the frequency of the engagements with the Irish Government, including the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, the British-Irish Council, the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and the British Irish Association - the next meeting of which takes place from 4-6 September 2026.

Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland is in a unique position as the only place in the world where businesses can sell goods into the UK Internal Market and the EU Single Market without customs friction or tariffs.

A growing chorus of businesses across a range of sectors have publicly cited dual market access as beneficial to their business performance and future growth opportunities.

Northern Ireland has one of the strongest economies in the whole of the UK and has experienced one of the fastest rates of economic growth since Brexit.

Policing and Justice, apart from National Security, are devolved. The Police Service of Northern Ireland monitors the threat from organised crime groups in order to inform their operational response.

The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, which is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government, works to tackle the presence of paramilitaries through evidence-based early interventions, targeted law enforcement measures and initiatives that provide direct support to help build safer communities which are more resilient to paramilitarism and linked criminality.

The UK Government is clear that a stable devolved government is best placed to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

Whilst public services are a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, my ministerial team and I will be meeting regularly with Executive Ministers to discuss how the UK Government can support the Executive to deliver sustainable public service reform in Northern Ireland.

The Government has provided a record financial settlement, in addition to significant project funding such as the £235m Transformation Fund which will reform and improve public service outcomes for people across Northern Ireland.

The UK Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure stable governance and the sustainable delivery of public services in Northern Ireland.

There is regular engagement with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.

As a result of the devolution of policing and justice in 2010, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is primarily responsible for the prison system in Northern Ireland. Terms and conditions for prison officers are set out in letters of appointment, the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) Professional Code of Ethics and Values and the NIPS Professional Code of Conduct, the Northern Ireland Civil Service Handbook and relevant Prison Service notices and circulars.

Devolved decision-making, with decisions taken on the basis of power-sharing, is one of the cornerstones of the Good Friday Agreement and one of its most significant achievements.

This Government is committed to working with all political parties and communities to ensure the stability of devolved government in Northern Ireland, with the aim of improving public services, the sustainability of public finances and building public confidence.

To that end, we remain committed to being an active partner in supporting the Executive to achieve its goals, including the delivery of sustainable, accessible and high-quality public services in Northern Ireland that are equal to those available in the rest of the UK.

This includes providing a record financial settlement, in addition to significant projects such as the £235m Transformation Fund which will reform and improve public service outcomes for people across Northern Ireland.

The Government recognises the financial pressures the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) faces. Responsibility for policing is devolved and it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to make decisions on the allocation of funding to the PSNI. Existing mechanisms are in place to raise issues around funding and any requests for additional support can be made in the usual way through the Department of Justice and Department of Finance.

The Government has provided Northern Ireland with a record settlement of £19.3 billion on average per year of the Spending Review – the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution.

In recognition of the security situation in Northern Ireland, the Government is providing the PSNI with £37.8 million in Additional Security Funding each financial year until 28/29. In addition to this, a further £4 million has been allocated to PSNI for this financial year to help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the disorder in June.

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has indicated that it will soon produce its first report and expects a steady flow of reports thereafter.

As energy policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will not directly extend to Northern Ireland.

However, the UK Government will provide funding to the Northern Ireland Executive to enable them to implement their own comparable scheme to support Northern Ireland businesses. Parameters for this support have been outlined to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Department for the Economy, and funding will be released following the standard approval of a business case demonstrating equivalent support for eligible businesses.

Skills and tertiary education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy and NIO Ministers will continue to work closely with them to improve opportunities for young people.

The UK Government’s £50m Defence Growth Deal for Northern Ireland is an example of one of the ways in which we are supporting skills development and the creation of new high quality, high skilled jobs across Northern Ireland.

We are also investing in skills and growth initiatives with £617m of UK Government funding through the City and Growth Deal and £150 million towards Enhanced Investment Zones in Northern Ireland. For instance, a £2 million advanced manufacturing skills pilot is being delivered through UKG’s £150 million Enhanced Investment Zone, which will develop essential workforce skills, providing NI businesses with skilled employees essential for their success.

As stated in the my written answer to UIN 19007, there is an educational attainment gap in Northern Ireland, however, the discrepancy is greatest when seen through economic background.

Education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and it is for the Executive to ensure that all schools are sufficiently supported to maximise all pupils academic attainment.

Whilst recognising that education is a devolved matter, the UK Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive. Although new in post, the ministerial team look forward to meeting regularly with Executive colleagues and discussing how we can best work together on reducing gaps in attainment and tackling deprivation.

The Government is committed to ensuring everybody in the UK can access timely healthcare. The operation of the health service in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, but we are supporting the Executive in their efforts to reduce waiting lists and tackle delays to services.

NIO Ministers meet with Executive Ministers on a regular basis and the progress made on tackling waiting lists in Northern Ireland is encouraging, reducing waiting lists by treating an additional 70,000 patients. However, health outcomes in Northern Ireland lag behind the rest of the UK and we will continue to work with the Executive to reduce this gap.

The operation and funding of the health service in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

The UK Government has supported the Executive to invest in Northern Ireland’s public services with a record £19.3bn block grant settlement. In addition, we have provided £235 million through the Public Sector Transformation fund which has been allocated across 12 projects, including two relating to health, namely:

• £61m to the expansion of Multi-Disciplinary Trusts. This project will help stabilise Primary Care, focus on prevention and management of conditions away from hospital settings and better utilise the skills of the community and voluntary sector.

• £42m for E-Pharmacy reforms. This programme will enable electronic prescription transfer and a new digital platform for community pharmacy clinical services, expanding access to care and bringing treatment closer to patients’ homes.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will ensure a fair and transparent framework that gives all communities confidence in legacy processes and will allow victims, survivors and their families, including service families to obtain the answers they have long sought. Alongside this, we are putting in place robust, deliverable protections specifically designed to support the welfare of veterans, including protection from duplicating investigations.

This measure will ensure that the Legacy Commission and coroners conducting inquests will be required not to duplicate the work of any previous investigation or inquest unless doing so is essential, which is a very high threshold in law.

The Government remains committed to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. The Independent Monitoring Panel’s insights play a vital role in evaluating this commitment in accordance with the UK internal market guarantee.

In accordance with the Panel’s recommendations in its first report, the Government is working to improve the quality of guidance and support to businesses through a ‘one stop shop’ advice service. The Government has also provided clear guidance on its approach to deforestation-free products and carbon pricing, which is relevant to businesses trading with Northern Ireland.

The Government looks forward to receiving the Panel’s report for its next monitoring period, from 1 July 2025 - 31 December 2025, in due course.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recognises the growing discussion among the people in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland parties, about how the political institutions could work more effectively and collaboratively.

The UK Government remains open to discussing any proposals put forward by the parties that could command the widest possible support.

The Irish Government is a valued partner and co-signatory to the Good Friday Agreement. We remain in regular dialogue on a range of issues, through established fora.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland remains committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss all issues of interest, including ensuring the stability of devolved government, with the aim of improving public services and the sustainability of public finances.

Several of the Northern Ireland parties have set out proposals for reform and the Secretary of State looks forward to discussing them further.