Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government has made on negotiations with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol; and what effect concerns raised by the US administration have on the Government's negotiating position with regards to the EU's proposals to reduce custom checks and supply chain issues in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Lord Frost last spoke to European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič on Friday 10 December. They covered the full range of outstanding issues and Lord Frost welcomed the Commission's professed readiness to make progress on them.
Nevertheless, whilst there has been some potential convergence on medicines, no agreement has been reached. The gap between our positions is still significant and progress on important issues remains limited.
We and the US have made clear the paramount need to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions. The UK has been consistently clear that significant changes are needed to the Protocol in order to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. Negotiations with the EU commission are focused solely on resolving these issues.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what effect the continuation of the imposition of the 25 per cent tariff on US imported whiskies has had on the Government's negotiating position on proposals by the EU to resolve issues in respect of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We and the US have made clear the paramount need to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions. The UK has been consistently clear that significant changes are needed to the Protocol in order to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. The tariff on imported US whisky is a completely separate issue.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with President Biden on the Government’s proposed legacy plans for Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the implications for any legislative proposals of the views of members of the US Congress on those plans.
Answered by Boris Johnson
President Biden and I speak regularly on a broad range of issues, including Northern Ireland which was raised in our last in-person meeting on 21 September. I reiterated the Government’s unshakable commitment to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and we agreed on the importance of protecting peace in Northern Ireland. Our Embassy in Washington regularly engages with the US Administration and Congress on Northern Ireland. The Government wants to work with all our partners in the United States, the European Union and Ireland to ensure that Northern Ireland can continue to prosper.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the contaminated blood inquiry takes evidence at a session in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Infected Blood Inquiry is a statutory inquiry, independent of Government, and the procedure and conduct of the Inquiry are a matter for the Chair, Sir Brian Langstaff.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussion he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the rules on state aid that will apply to Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period in the event that the UK does not follow EU state aid rules.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.