Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on using the capital from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s support for Ukraine remains iron clad. We will continue to work with G7 and EU partners to ensure that Ukraine gets the funding it needs, ensuring any options developed by the Government are in line with international law.
UK Government policy is that Russia's sovereign assets will remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war and pays compensation to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the proposed EU customs duty of €3 for parcels from outside the EU does not apply to businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of changes to the EU’s rules of low-value imports and the announcement in December of its intention to introduce customs duty on these goods from 1 July 2026.
At the Budget in November 2025, the Chancellor also announced the removal of the UK's relief from customs duty on goods below £135 from March 2029 at the latest. There is currently a consultation on these changes that closes on 6th March 2026.
We expect and are committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework will continue to operate. This means that goods eligible to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme can continue to do so. These schemes are designed to protect goods moving within the UK internal market from incurring duty.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement will also continue to apply.
The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed EU customs duty of €3 for parcels from outside the EU will apply to parcels sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of changes to the EU’s rules of low-value imports and the announcement in December of its intention to introduce customs duty on these goods from 1 July 2026.
At the Budget in November 2025, the Chancellor also announced the removal of the UK's relief from customs duty on goods below £135 from March 2029 at the latest. There is currently a consultation on these changes that closes on 6th March 2026.
We expect and are committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework will continue to operate. This means that goods eligible to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme can continue to do so. These schemes are designed to protect goods moving within the UK internal market from incurring duty.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement will also continue to apply.
The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed EU customs duty of €3 for parcels from outside the EU will apply to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of changes to the EU’s rules of low-value imports and the announcement in December of its intention to introduce customs duty on these goods from 1 July 2026.
At the Budget in November 2025, the Chancellor also announced the removal of the UK's relief from customs duty on goods below £135 from March 2029 at the latest. There is currently a consultation on these changes that closes on 6th March 2026.
We expect and are committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework will continue to operate. This means that goods eligible to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme can continue to do so. These schemes are designed to protect goods moving within the UK internal market from incurring duty.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement will also continue to apply.
The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any measures in the Budget 2025 specifically designed to support families in small family farms.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has taken significant steps to support farmers. The Government allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this Parliament at the Spending Review 2025.
The Government also announced at the Budget in November 2025 that any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners. This means a surviving spouse or civil partner can benefit from an allowance of up to £2 million for combined agricultural and business assets depending on their circumstances. It also reduces the complexity and planning for spouses and civil partners seeking to make best use of the allowance between them.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the additional £370 million allocated to Northern Ireland is an annual uplift in the block grant or a cumulative figure spread over a number of financial years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive an additional £240 million RDEL excluding depreciation and £130 million CDEL over the Spending Review 2025 period (2025-26 to 2029-30) through the operation of the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the trade of Northern Ireland is with (1) the rest of the UK, (2) the Republic of Ireland, (3) the rest of the EU, and (4) the rest of the world, and how those percentages compare to 2016.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest available data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) provides the following estimates for the percentage of Northern Ireland’s trade by destination:
Trade Partner | Industry Sector | 2016 value of NI trade (£m) and proportion of total NI trade | 2023 value of NI trade (£m) and proportion of total NI trade |
Great Britain | All industries | 26,712.73 (62%) | 33,325.48 (56%) |
Ireland | All industries | 5,571.31 (13%) | 12,412.28 (29%) |
Rest of the Europe Union (EU excluding Ireland) | All industries | 4,327.24 (10%) | 6,082.86 (14%) |
Rest of the World (all countries outside the UK and EU) | All industries | 6,307.29 (15%) | 8,136.56 (19%) |
Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Last updated 11/12/2024, NISRA website, NIETS Trade in Goods and Services, https://data.nisra.gov.uk/table/NIETS02. Accessed on: 24/10/2025
The Government is committed to the UK internal market and looks forward to receiving the report of the Independent Monitoring Panel shortly. This panel exists to provide vital independent oversight and assurance over the flows of goods within the UK internal market system.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what processes are in place to monitor diversion in supply chains for goods going to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest available data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) provides the following estimates for the percentage of Northern Ireland’s trade by destination:
Trade Partner | Industry Sector | 2016 value of NI trade (£m) and proportion of total NI trade | 2023 value of NI trade (£m) and proportion of total NI trade |
Great Britain | All industries | 26,712.73 (62%) | 33,325.48 (56%) |
Ireland | All industries | 5,571.31 (13%) | 12,412.28 (29%) |
Rest of the Europe Union (EU excluding Ireland) | All industries | 4,327.24 (10%) | 6,082.86 (14%) |
Rest of the World (all countries outside the UK and EU) | All industries | 6,307.29 (15%) | 8,136.56 (19%) |
Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Last updated 11/12/2024, NISRA website, NIETS Trade in Goods and Services, https://data.nisra.gov.uk/table/NIETS02. Accessed on: 24/10/2025
The Government is committed to the UK internal market and looks forward to receiving the report of the Independent Monitoring Panel shortly. This panel exists to provide vital independent oversight and assurance over the flows of goods within the UK internal market system.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeframe constraint for the funding to redevelop Casement Park under the Financial Transactions Capital.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has committed £50m of Capital Financial Transactions funding to redevelop Casement Park. This funding is ring-fenced for the redevelopment project. The UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive, but it is up to the Executive to take decisions on the design, implementation, spending profile and management of the Financial Transaction.