Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide funding for association football in Northern Ireland, following the decision to contribute £50 million for the redevelopment of Casement Park.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government wants to see infrastructure in Northern Ireland for all sports. That is why we have invested, between 2021-2025, over £12 million of UK Government funding through the Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund, the Levelling Up Fund, and the Community Ownership Fund to improve and refurbish grassroots football facilities. The Government has also provided £5.1 million to Ulster Rugby for its Club Capital Improvement Project, to upgrade thirty rugby clubs under Ulster Rugby’s remit. And, between 2022-2025, the Government has invested over £30 million through the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Ownership Fund into a range of other sports and leisure facilities, including the redevelopment of Dundonald Ice Bowl in Belfast, the construction of Ballycastle Leisure Centre, and the construction of Canal Boxing Academy Sports Hub in Lisburn.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently met with Gerard Lawlor, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Football League, and Patrick Nelson, the Chief Executive of the Irish Football Association, to discuss football funding and other related matters.
The Culture Secretary confirmed on 19 June that work is continuing with the Home Nation football associations and devolved administrations to develop a bid for the UK to host the Women’s FIFA World Cup in 2035.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of the £50 million committed for Casement Park, the Gaelic Athletic Association has been asked to change any of its rules or aims, such as those relating to flying the Irish National Flag, playing the Irish National Anthem, or strengthening national identity, in order to make it more inclusive of the Northern Ireland community.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No such request has been made. The UK Government has committed £50 million of Capital Financial Transactions funding to redevelop Casement Park. We will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to provide support. However, it is up to the Executive to design and implement the Financial Transaction in developing the stadium in partnership with the GAA
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to hold a public inquiry into the Enniskillen bomb on 8 November 1987.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen was a horrific atrocity carried out by the Provisional IRA. The Government offers sincere condolences to all those who lost loved ones or were injured as a result of the attack and recognises that the long search for answers experienced by families has exacerbated their pain.
The Government has committed to reform and strengthen the Independent Commission on Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), including its powers, independence, and accountability, to ensure that it is human rights compliant and can build public confidence. The Government would therefore encourage those families to make a referral to the Commission to undertake an ECHR compliant investigation into the Remembrance Day bombing.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of declassified files stating that the Government “turned a blind eye” to IRA criminality, including murder; and whether they have plans to make a statement in response.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not comment on National Archives releases or releases relating to previous Governments.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what were the overall costs associated with all aspects of implementing the Windsor Framework Agreement for Northern Ireland, including the installation and staffing of border inspection posts.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the UK Government has committed to fund the direct costs associated with reaching the required level of compliance to implement its obligations under the Windsor Framework. The provision under this commitment is set out in the Northern Ireland Office’s Main Estimates 2024-25 Memoranda.
The UK Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and protecting the UK internal market. Implementing arrangements have been designed to ease the flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and reduce administrative and other business burdens.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the Northern Ireland Executive's ability to meet the requirements set out in the Fresh Start document to release the £5 million Government funding in 2016-17 to tackle paramilitary activity.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Northern Ireland Executive has established a Strategic Programme Board and a Cross Departmental Advisory Group to manage funding agreed under the Fresh Start agreement to tackle paramilitary activity. The Programme Board has allocated £3.898 million in 2016/17 to law enforcement activities and other initiatives to tackle ongoing paramilitary activity and criminality, including £1.949 million of UK Government funding.
The Executive’s programme management structure will drive the next phase of implementation, which will include actions to support local communities to reject paramilitary activity and to develop mechanisms to support those individuals or groups who want to transition away from paramilitarism.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make representations to the EU Exit and Trade Committee to examine the needs of UK citizens living along the border with the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Northern Ireland’s land border with another EU state places it in a unique position and, as the Government has stated, we do not want to see a return to the borders of the past. We are giving careful consideration of UK citizens’ existing rights to work, study, settle and travel within the EU as part of the analysis and preparation for forthcoming negotiations on EU exit.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of the £500 million designated to shared education and housing from the Fresh Start deal has been spent to date.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Government continues to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that the £500 million of funding for shared and integrated education and shared housing can be spent effectively.
£43 million of funding has already been allocated over a number of years to fund the construction of shared education campuses at Limavady, Moy and Ballycastle and integrated school projects at Braidside, Drumlins and Roe Valley.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of implementing online voter registration in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The cost of extending the digital registration service to Northern Ireland is being met by the Cabinet Office as part of the wider project to implement digital registration throughout the UK.
This work is ongoing and the current estimate of costs is approximately £250,000.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of the £500 million designated to shared education and housing from the Fresh Start deal has been spent to date.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
The first tranche of integrated education funding of approximately £47 million was agreed between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive in March this year. The funding will assist the development of three shared education campuses at Limavady, Moy and Ballycastle, and three integrated school projects at Braidside, Drumlins and Roe Valley.