Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which existing provisions of EU law listed in Annex 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland can be subjected to the Stormont Brake procedure.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The scope of EU legislation that can be subject to the Stormont Brake is set out in the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024. The Government welcomes the restoration of Northern Ireland’s devolved institutions so that this important democratic safeguard can now be exercised.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the money allocated for the construction of border control posts in Northern Ireland is for (1) agricultural food inspections, and (2) customs.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The funding allocated for SPS facilities in Northern Ireland to deal with goods moving into the EU through the red lane - as the Government had also committed to do under the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - is a maximum funding envelope. The figure is in line with a business case which was being prepared when that Bill was in Parliament.
The facilities will fulfil a number of functions and it is not possible to provide a breakdown of costs in the manner described.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish each individual EU law and regulation which is outside the scope of the Stormont Brake in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The scope of the Stormont Brake is provided for in domestic law under the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024. The restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland allowed those regulations to come into force and facilitated new democratic safeguards that would be unavailable to the people of Northern Ireland if the failure of those institutions to function continued. The Government has published clear operational arrangements that underpin the democratic mechanisms contained within the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide a list of the measures adopted by the EU within the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol between January 2021 and July 2022, referred to in the paper Northern Ireland Protocol: the UK’s Solution, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 14 July 2022.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Windsor Framework disapplies swathes of EU rules that applied under the old Northern Ireland Protocol to support internal UK trade. It completely carves out whole areas of EU law on issues such as VAT, medicines and food. Those limited areas that remain apply principally in order to secure NI access to the EU market.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce legislation to direct Northern Ireland bodies regarding the UK internal market scheme in the operation of the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government will take direct powers at Westminster to direct NI bodies to protect the UK internal market as soon as parliamentary time allows. This will allow us to provide clear legal direction to DAERA and other UK Government authorities to eliminate any physical checks when goods move within the UK internal market system, except those conducted by UK authorities and required as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which existing EU regulations and laws applying to Northern Ireland are within the scope of the Stormont Brake mechanism.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
With the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive back up and running, the powerful democratic safeguard of the Stormont Brake is now in operation. This gives MLAs a vital role in the decision on whether significant new goods rules impacting on everyday life in Northern Ireland should be applied. Its operation is set out in detail in the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024.
The operation of the Windsor Framework and the application of a limited subset of EU law in Northern Ireland are subject to a consent vote of the Northern Ireland Assembly, due to be held later this year.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which specific provisions of the Windsor Framework and UK legislation required the European Commission to give state aid approval for the Energy Business Discount Scheme in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Windsor Framework ensures that subsidy control provisions work as intended, serving to avoid market distortion on the island of Ireland, without interfering with Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. It is consistent with Northern Ireland’s full access to both the UK and EU markets, which is what Northern Ireland businesses have consistently asked for.
In the case of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), where targeted support was provided to energy and trade intensive industries, under the relevant provisions set out under Article 10 of the Windsor Framework, there is a proven genuine and material link to Northern Ireland’s trade with the EU, not least with regard to the all-island Single Electricity Market. The EBDS scheme provides equivalent levels of support in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many approvals have been sought from the European Commission for state aid in Northern Ireland since the coming into force of the Northern Ireland Protocol; what are these approvals; and what estimate they have made of the total amount of funds for which approval has been sought.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Windsor Framework addressed the risk of "reach back" of EU state aid rules and, based on past experience, ensures that more than 98% of aid can be granted without notification, preserving the functioning of the UK internal market. This sits alongside the uniquely generous arrangements for agricultural subsidies in Northern Ireland under the Framework. Under the old Protocol, there were 11 cases that required EU approval. Since the Windsor Framework, there has been only one such case, the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which was resolved in order to ensure a UK-wide subsidy scheme, and continuing access to the EU market for all manufacturers in scope.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide a list of those individual benefits set out in the Benefits of Brexit paper, published on 31 January, which do not apply to Northern Ireland because of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for taking the views of Northern Ireland (1) Ministers, and (2) stakeholders, into account during the review of the status and substance of retained EU law.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government has now delivered the review into the status and substance of retained EU law and is using the outcome of both reviews to inform the content of the ‘Brexit Freedoms Bill’.
We remain committed to engaging with devolved governments using Common Frameworks and other existing intergovernmental structures.