Northern Ireland After Brexit (Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee Report)

Lord Rogan Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Lord Rogan (UUP)]

My Lords, I commend the Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee on producing such a comprehensive and well-considered report. I also pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, for his independent review, which was carried out with the levels of diligence and common sense for which he has been renowned over many years. Given the presence of several members of the committee here tonight whose individual views I was keen to hear, I will keep my remarks relatively brief.

Despite the best efforts of the committee and the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, Northern Ireland continues to find itself in nothing short of a mess. In common with several of my unionist colleagues here today, I supported Brexit. I felt that it was right for the United Kingdom to regain responsibility for its own future and to become a rule-maker rather than a rule-taker, removing the dominant role played by Brussels. I believe that Brexit offered gilt-edged economic opportunities for Northern Ireland, with its highly educated workforce. I regarded the return of undiluted British sovereignty as a primary means to copper-fasten the Province’s cherished place in the heart of the union.

Unfortunately, in the decade since the UK voted to leave the EU, Northern Ireland’s position in our union has been diminished. The Irish Sea border, the extent of which a former Secretary of State in the previous Conservative Government famously denied, remains in place, causing untold chaos for businesses in the Province and in Great Britain. As noble Lords have noted, prices for Northern Ireland consumers have risen significantly as the range of products available to them has fallen through the floor. All the while, the EU continues to set the rules for so much of everyday life there, with its people having little or no say on new laws being thrust upon us.

The Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee and the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, have done the Province a service in highlighting the areas of the Windsor Framework where improvements can be made. What we now need is clear evidence that His Majesty’s Government are sincere and serious about their commitment to implementing the many recommendations put forward. Tinkering around at the edges will not work, particularly given the prospect of more diktats from Brussels in the months and years ahead. There is an urgent requirement for Ministers to prove to Northern Ireland businesses and consumers that they understand the problems that the framework has caused for them, to demonstrate that change is on the way and to provide some degree of certainty on precisely when the most damaging aspects will be dealt with.

As we are all too aware, the Windsor Framework is remarkably complex, as we have seen this evening. However, one aspect of its operation that was trumpeted by the Government at that time was the so-called Stormont brake. In its report, the Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee correctly highlights that some witnesses had questioned the Stormont brake’s effectiveness and suggested that it had been oversold. When the mechanism was triggered by unionist parties in the Assembly in December 2024, the Northern Ireland Secretary said that the conditions for using it had not been met, raising further scepticism about its very existence.

Out of respect for the work put in by the committee and the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, I am trying very hard to be positive. I therefore welcome, as many of the former speakers have done, the Government’s agreement to establish a one-stop shop facility for the Windsor Framework guidance and support. I agree that this has the potential to deliver benefits for businesses in Great Britain as well as Northern Ireland, with an emphasis on the Province’s dual market access.

The one-stop shop is due to be backed by more than £16 million in public spending, announced by the Chancellor in her November Budget. However, I would be grateful if the Minister could provide some clarity on precisely when she expects this to come into operation. The Government have previously indicated that it will be within the next financial year. Noble Lords will obviously be well aware that we are only a matter of days away from the new financial year, which potentially gives Ministers a 12-month window to introduce the one-stop shop. Needless to say, I trust it will be sooner.

When the Prime Minister visited Belfast last week, the Ulster Unionist Party asked him to consider pausing any further introduction of Windsor Framework legislation until the conclusion of the ongoing negotiations between the UK and EU. The reason for doing this was reports that Government Ministers had recently advised farming leaders in Great Britain to prepare for an SPS agreement in 2027. Then, delivering her Mais lecture last week, the Chancellor announced that UK divergence from EU regulations would be

“the exception, not the norm”.

Rather than forcing Northern Ireland into yet further costly and unnecessary divergence from the market in Great Britain, might it not be prudent for the implication of the new EU regulations in Northern Ireland to be halted until the direction of travel of the negotiations with Brussels is known? I would welcome a response from the Minister.