Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a Freeport can be identified in Northern Ireland while the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is operational in its current form.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government is committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continues to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Irish citizens resident in Great Britain under the Common Travel Area have the right to vote in (1) general elections, (2) local elections, and (3) referendums; and whether UK citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland have the same rights to vote in (4) general elections, (5) local elections, and (6) referendums.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland have a long-standing reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the two countries. Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote in UK Parliamentary and local elections. The franchise for UK-wide referendums is set on a case-by-case in the legislation providing for the referendum. British citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland can vote at Dail and local Elections but not in Presidential elections or referendums held in the Republic unless the British citizen is a also an Irish citizen.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 25 January is attached.
The Rt Hon the Lord of Kilclooney
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
1 February 2023
Dear Lord Kilclooney,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain (HL5084).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce estimates of the number of UK citizens living in Ireland. That country’s Central Statistics Office estimated that 103,113 UK citizens were living in Ireland in April 2016 (1). Population by nationality estimates based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) show that there were an estimated 330,000 Irish nationals resident in Great Britain in June 2021 (2).
The 2021 Census for England and Wales and the corresponding Census for Scotland, which due to the Covid pandemic was delayed until 2022, asked respondents about passports held which can be used as some proxy for citizenship. The relevant Census figures have not yet been published, though the first release of data on this topic for England and Wales showed that an estimated 364,726 residents of these countries held an Irish passport but not a UK passport (3).
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/uk/
2 Table 2.4, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality
Note that data from this source below UK, EU and non-EU level should be treated with caution and not be compared with previous years due to the introduction of a new weighting methodology to reflect the change in survey operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These statistics were discontinued in October 2022
3 Table TS005, https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_ts
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made to identify a free port site in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I draw the attention of the noble Lord to the answer given to PQ HL4711 (attached) on 26th January 2023.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the provisions of the Common Travel Area, whether Irish residents in Great Britain can (1) benefit from the NHS, and (2) join the UK armed forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance; and whether UK residents in the Republic of Ireland can (3) benefit from its health service, and (4) join the Irish armed forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As part of the Common Travel (CTA) arrangements, Irish citizens in the UK continue to have access to their CTA rights, including access to healthcare.
Irish citizens who join the UK Armed Forces are not required to swear an Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign but must make an affirmation to the same effect. This requirement to swear an Oath or make an affirmation applies to all individuals who are eligible to serve in the UK Armed Forces.
Whether UK residents in Ireland can benefit from its health service or join Irish Armed Forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance is a matter for the Irish government.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget for the NHS; and what proportion of the NHS budget is estimated to be allocated as a result of Irish citizens within Great Britain as part of the Common Travel Area.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funding in the United Kingdom is devolved so figures have been given for England, Wales and Scotland separately. The categories within these budgets may not align perfectly in terms of what is considered NHS spending and what is considered wider health and social care spending.
The official NHS England website confirms the budget for 2022/23 is £152.6 billion. Figures from the 2022/23 Supplementary Welsh Government Budget show that the budget for NHS Wales is £10.3 billion. The 2022/23 budget published on 9 December 2021 for NHS Scotland is £12.9 billion.
We do not hold data on and are unable to provide estimated figures on the budgetary impact of any given nationality in the UK, as healthcare spending is allocated based on residency rather than the nationality of the individual receiving healthcare.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications there have been for a freeport in Northern Ireland; from which areas those applications have been sent; and whether the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland prohibits the possibility of a freeport in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Freeport delivery in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland relies on partnership between UKG and the devolved governments to maximise the benefits a Freeport can offer. We have progressed Freeports in Scotland and Wales; however, the governance situation in Northern Ireland has so far prevented UKG and the Northern Ireland Executive from agreeing a Freeport offer in Northern Ireland and application process. In the meantime, we remain committed to delivering existing economic growth programmes and meeting with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland to discuss future opportunities.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government where are the freeports in (1) England, (2) Wales, and (3) Scotland; and whether they intend to establish a freeport in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
In March 2021, the Chancellor announced 8 locations as winners of the English Freeports competition: East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich (Freeport East), Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth & South Devon, Solent, Teesside, and Thames. Subsequently, Freeports have been working with government to develop business cases and secure the necessary designations in law. Tax sites have now been designated in all English Freeports and customs sites have been designated in Teesside, Thames and, more recently, Solent Freeports.
The UK government is investing £52 million to bring two Green Freeports to Scotland. Bidding has now closed, and we are working jointly with the Scottish Government to jointly assess bids to ensure they meet our shared goals, ahead of announcing winners later in the autumn.
A Welsh Freeport will be backed by £26 million in UK Government funding. The prospectus was published 01 September and it expected that the successful Freeport location will be announced later this year.
We are committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is an obstacle to establishing a freeport within Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The UK Government is committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible. Our priority is to ensure we provide the best possible offer for Northern Ireland. We will make sure it is a competitive one that attracts businesses.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making to identify a freeport in Northern Ireland; and whether they still plan to identify one.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The UK Government is committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible. Our priority is to ensure we provide the best possible offer for Northern Ireland. We will make sure it is a competitive one that attracts businesses.