Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union as it relates to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and whether this role affects the sovereignty of the UK.
Answered by Lord Frost
Implementation of the Protocol has led to considerable disruption in the movement of goods and clear diversion of trade. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens, supply chains have been disrupted, and costs increased. At least 200 companies in Great Britain are no longer servicing the Northern Ireland market.
We welcome the EU’s recognition that there are serious problems with the Protocol which need to be solved. We are currently engaged in a process of technical discussions with the European Commission in order fully to understand their proposals. However, it’s clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions.
Governance is critical to ensuring that we have a balanced settlement that is durable in the long term. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sits at the apex of a system in which EU laws are imposed on NI without consent. Addressing these problems is essential in order to ensure that any agreement can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.
We would prefer to settle these issues consensually and reach a positive outcome through negotiations. However, we have been clear that if an agreement cannot be reached Article 16 is a legitimate safeguard provision, the conditions for the use of which have been met.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether plans they have, if any, to trigger Article 16 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland unilaterally in order (1) to protect the Great Britain to Northern Ireland supply chain, and (2) to restore the integrity of the UK Single Market.
Answered by Lord Frost
Implementation of the Protocol has led to considerable disruption in the movement of goods and clear diversion of trade. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens, supply chains have been disrupted, and costs increased. At least 200 companies in Great Britain are no longer servicing the Northern Ireland market.
We welcome the EU’s recognition that there are serious problems with the Protocol which need to be solved. We are currently engaged in a process of technical discussions with the European Commission in order fully to understand their proposals. However, it’s clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions.
Governance is critical to ensuring that we have a balanced settlement that is durable in the long term. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sits at the apex of a system in which EU laws are imposed on NI without consent. Addressing these problems is essential in order to ensure that any agreement can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.
We would prefer to settle these issues consensually and reach a positive outcome through negotiations. However, we have been clear that if an agreement cannot be reached Article 16 is a legitimate safeguard provision, the conditions for the use of which have been met.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the EU's response of 13 October to their request to alter the text of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
Implementation of the Protocol has led to considerable disruption in the movement of goods and clear diversion of trade. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens, supply chains have been disrupted, and costs increased. At least 200 companies in Great Britain are no longer servicing the Northern Ireland market.
We welcome the EU’s recognition that there are serious problems with the Protocol which need to be solved. We are currently engaged in a process of technical discussions with the European Commission in order fully to understand their proposals. However, it’s clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions.
Governance is critical to ensuring that we have a balanced settlement that is durable in the long term. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sits at the apex of a system in which EU laws are imposed on NI without consent. Addressing these problems is essential in order to ensure that any agreement can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.
We would prefer to settle these issues consensually and reach a positive outcome through negotiations. However, we have been clear that if an agreement cannot be reached Article 16 is a legitimate safeguard provision, the conditions for the use of which have been met.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) scale, and (2) cause, of trade difficulties at UK ports since the introduction of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
Implementation of the Protocol has led to considerable disruption in the movement of goods and clear diversion of trade. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens, supply chains have been disrupted, and costs increased. At least 200 companies in Great Britain are no longer servicing the Northern Ireland market.
We welcome the EU’s recognition that there are serious problems with the Protocol which need to be solved. We are currently engaged in a process of technical discussions with the European Commission in order fully to understand their proposals. However, it’s clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions.
Governance is critical to ensuring that we have a balanced settlement that is durable in the long term. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sits at the apex of a system in which EU laws are imposed on NI without consent. Addressing these problems is essential in order to ensure that any agreement can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.
We would prefer to settle these issues consensually and reach a positive outcome through negotiations. However, we have been clear that if an agreement cannot be reached Article 16 is a legitimate safeguard provision, the conditions for the use of which have been met.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the EU's negotiating strategy on outstanding issues regarding arrangements under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
Implementation of the Protocol has led to considerable disruption in the movement of goods and clear diversion of trade. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens, supply chains have been disrupted, and costs increased. At least 200 companies in Great Britain are no longer servicing the Northern Ireland market.
We welcome the EU’s recognition that there are serious problems with the Protocol which need to be solved. We are currently engaged in a process of technical discussions with the European Commission in order fully to understand their proposals. However, it’s clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions.
Governance is critical to ensuring that we have a balanced settlement that is durable in the long term. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sits at the apex of a system in which EU laws are imposed on NI without consent. Addressing these problems is essential in order to ensure that any agreement can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.
We would prefer to settle these issues consensually and reach a positive outcome through negotiations. However, we have been clear that if an agreement cannot be reached Article 16 is a legitimate safeguard provision, the conditions for the use of which have been met.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of migrants to the UK from 2016 to 2020 were from the EU.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Lord Hay of Ballyore
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
07July 2021
Dear Lord Hay,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of migrants to the UK from 2016 to 2020 were from the EU (HL1528).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes international migration statistics and estimates from the year ending March 2016 to year ending March 2020 show that 36.1% of total migrants to UK were EU citizens. This estimate is derived from the ONS’ survey-based estimates for long-term international migration (LTIM) and taken from Table 1 of ‘Provisional long-term international migration estimates’[1].
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Northern lreland's place in the United Kingdom since the introduction of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom has, and will, remain unaffected as a result of the UK leaving the EU. The Protocol itself is clear that Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the UK’s internal market and customs territory, and guarantees unfettered access for NI businesses to the rest of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of homeless veterans in England in each year since 2018.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Homelessness data relating to veterans is currently available through H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection). In the financial years of 2018/19 and 2019/20, less than 1% of households who were owed a homelessness duty were assessed as having a support need as a result of serving in the Armed Forces (1,820 out of 269,510 and 1,920 out of 289,800 respectively).
The Government has taken a number of measures to ensure that veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness, are provided with appropriate support. In June 2020, the Government published new statutory guidance for local authorities to improve access to social housing for the Armed Forces and veterans community. The Homelessness Reduction Act includes a statutory duty for members of the Armed Forces, who it is believed may be at risk of homelessness after discharge, to be referred to a local housing authority. The MOD, through Veterans UK, also delivers a Defence Transition Service which provides service leavers with enhanced support, and the Veterans Welfare Service.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of mental health support services provided for armed forces veterans.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
All of NHS England’s commissioned services for veterans are evidence based, having been developed and delivered from intensive engagement with experts, members of the armed forces community and service charities. NHS England and NHS Improvement assesses need based on a variety of published data, research output and consultation and engagement exercises. As a result of these assessments, the Government and NHS England recently announced Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, which will ensure veterans know where to go for help. Op COURAGE combines three bespoke veterans’ mental health services to provide a complete mental health care pathway for veterans, with individuals benefiting from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours.
For veteran specific mental health services, in 2020-2021 NHS England provided £16.5m, which will be increased to £17.8m for 2021-2022.
Service charities are supported by the Government through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, which benefits from £10m annually, and in both years an additional £10m has been allocated to support veterans’ mental health needs. During 2020, the COVID-19 Impact Fund has provided nearly £6m in grants to over 100 Armed Forces charities across the United Kingdom. Of the charities awarded funding, 68% of grants sampled supported members of the Armed Forces and veterans’ community for mental health and crisis support, and 77% for easing isolation and loneliness.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of what checks will be required at Northern Ireland ports to comply with the Northern Ireland Protocol from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Following the statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 9 December, updates will be made to the House shortly setting out further detail on all Northern Ireland Protocol issues. Extensive guidance has also been published on gov.uk.