Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the devolved administrations on waiving the costs of child burials.
Answered by Karen Bradley
While the UK Government has taken steps to introduce a Children’s Funeral Fund in England to spare grieving families the burden of meeting funeral costs, the establishment of such a scheme in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
It is my sincere hope that an Executive will be restored to consider how devolved finances can best be utilised to provide support for those families in Northern Ireland who have had to endure the unbearable loss of a child.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions the Government held with the EU Commission on the (a) administrative arrangements, (b) visit programme and (c) agenda items for the visit by Michel Barnier to Northern Ireland on 30 April and 1 May 2018.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Northern Ireland Office had no discussions with the EU Commission on the visit to Northern Ireland by Michel Barnier on 30 April and 1 May 2018.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how and when her office was informed officially about the visit to Northern Ireland by Leo Varadkar on 30 April 2018; and what information was vouchsafed about that visit at that time.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Northern Ireland Office was officially informed about this visit by the Irish side of the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat on Sunday 29th April. The information provided included details of venues to be visited and outline timings.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what protocols and agreements are in place relating to visits to Northern Ireland by Ministers of the Irish Republic.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Northern Ireland Office is informed in advance of any visits to Northern Ireland by Irish Government Ministers, through the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat. It is not the responsibility of the NIO to inform local representatives.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had any meetings with (a) the Attorney General of Northern Ireland and (b) officials in the Northern Ireland Ministry of Justice since her appointment.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I have not had any meetings with the Attorney General of Northern Ireland or officials in the Northern Ireland Department of Justice since my appointment.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what additional rights are accorded by the UK Government to people in Northern Ireland who choose to assert their right to Irish citizenship.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Belfast Agreement provides that people born in Northern Ireland may choose to be identified as British, Irish or both. The Government remains fully committed to the Agreement.
The UK Government does not accord any additional rights to those who assert their right to Irish Citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department has assessed the viability of online voting in Northern Ireland elections.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Government made a firm commitment in its 2017 manifesto to retain the traditional method of voting by pencil and paper.
The introduction of online voting would require very careful consideration and the Government currently has no plans to introduce or pilot online voting. There are concerns that electronic voting, by any means, is not seen by many to be suitably rigorous and secure, and could be vulnerable to attack or fraud.
However, we remain interested to hear about the responses received by the Scottish and Welsh governments to their respective consultations on this issue.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Attorney General of Northern Ireland on the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Justice is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and should be overseen by a restored Executive at Stormont.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of applying the new technology developed to detect jihadi content online to the tackling of republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
This Government’s first priority is to keep people safe and secure right across the United Kingdom. In relation to the tools needed to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland related terrorism, we will continue to work closely with security partners and across Government in order to implement lessons learnt to successfully tackle the threat.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which (a) stakeholders and (b) representatives of victims and survivors of terrorism she has met since taking office.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
Since taking office, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland. I recently attended the service to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the La Mon bomb and was very moved to hear from the victims and survivors of that terrible atrocity.
The former ministerial team and officials from my department have extensively engaged with stakeholders and representatives of victims and survivors in preparation for the forthcoming legacy consultation. Further details of ministerial engagements can be found in the Department’s transparency returns.