Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with the Police Service of Northern Ireland about providing financial support to increase officer numbers.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
Policing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland's main budget is allocated by the Department of Justice from the Northern Ireland block grant. It is for the devolved administration to determine the allocation of funding to the Police Service of Northern Ireland from the Block Grant.
The recent Budget that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set for Northern Ireland, in the absence of a functioning Executive, provides the Northern Ireland Department of Justice with a total allocation of £1.2 billion.
In addition to the block grant, the UK Government provides the Police Service of Northern Ireland with additional security funding to tackle the SEVERE threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism. In the financial year 2022/3, this was £32 million and is confirmed through to 2024/5.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to regulate the use of electric scooters in Northern Ireland in the absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
In the absence of Northern Ireland Executive ministers, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act provides Northern Ireland civil servants with the clarity they require to take the limited but necessary decisions to maintain delivery of public services and operate in the public interest. The Act does not however give the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland direction powers on specific policies, other than in relation to pressing public appointments and the requirement to set the regional rate.
The swiftest way for legislation on Northern Ireland affairs such as this is for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive to be restored. It remains the Government’s priority to work towards the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in the absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive, they plan to legislate to regulate the use of electric scooters in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
In the absence of Northern Ireland Executive ministers, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act provides Northern Ireland civil servants with the clarity they require to take the limited but necessary decisions to maintain delivery of public services and operate in the public interest. The Act does not give the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland direction powers on specific policies, other than in relation to pressing public appointments and the requirement to set the regional rate.
Legislation on Northern Ireland affairs should rightly be considered and passed by a local and accountable Northern Ireland Assembly and it remains the Government’s priority to work towards the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Community Pharmacy NI about funding for pharmacies in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
This Government has had no discussions with Community Pharmacy NI about funding for pharmacies in Northern Ireland.
The former Minister of State for Northern Ireland met a member of the Community Pharmacy NI board in December 2021 as part of a wider visit to businesses in Northern Ireland.
The Government is acutely aware of the broader pressures facing health and social care services in Northern Ireland. A programme of reform at the devolved level is needed to tackle long-standing and systemic problems. Consecutive Executive Ministers have failed adequately to address this issue.
In the absence of an Executive, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has introduced a Bill that clarifies the powers for Northern Ireland Departments to maintain delivery of public services. These powers are, however, limited. The Secretary of State has also set a Budget for this financial year. This Budget for Health provides £7.28bn in funding which is an increase of £228m above 2021/22 spending which included significant COVID-19 funding, or £786m if we compare to last year’s funding excluding the one-off COVID-19 funding. This will protect spending to address the critical health pressures in Northern Ireland.
The Government’s immediate priority remains facilitating the restoration of a fully functioning Executive that can progress long-term solutions to transform healthcare in Northern Ireland. That is the best way to progress the necessary long-term solutions to healthcare.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of ministers in the Northern Ireland Office in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The UK Government has no plans to increase the number of ministers in the Northern Ireland Office in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost of holding new Assembly elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The maximum amount that can be recovered by the Chief Electoral Officer in relation to the costs of an Assembly election is currently £4.4m and this is set out in The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Charges Order) 2022. This does not include the costs of candidates' free election mailings which is difficult to estimate as it depends on the number of candidates and the take up of mailings by candidates.
The Government plans to uprate the existing charges order and bring a new one into force in advance of the next Assembly election.
The Chief Constable of the Police Service for NI (PSNI) has said that he estimates the cost for a future Assembly election for the PSNI to be in the region of £670,000.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister will participate in direct talks with the local political parties in Northern Ireland before 28 October.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met and continues to meet all the Parties in the Executive. This will continue in advance of 28 October.
The Secretary of State has made clear that there is no reason not to have a fully functioning Executive. The Government continues to urge the parties to form an Executive before the deadline of 28 October when the Secretary of State will fall under a duty to call a fresh election.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had since September with trade unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The Northern Ireland Office has not met any trade unions representing teachers. Education policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. While there is not an Executive in place at present, the Northern Ireland Education Minister remains in post and as such has responsibility for engaging with trade unions.
We continue to engage with local parties and urge them to reform an Executive to tackle the issues affecting Northern Ireland, including education.