Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2021 to Question 171526, on Freeports, if he will publish the locations of proposed Freeports by each (a) region and (b) nation of the UK as of 7 March 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Details about Freeport locations can be found on gov.uk. Maps showing English Freeport outer boundaries, tax, and customs sites are also publicly available. Maps for those Green Freeports in Scotland (and any future Freeport in Wales) will be published once tax, and customs sites have been approved and designated.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's correspondence to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 27 September 2021, reference 9099/G/21, when he plans to announce the freeport location in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government is committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continues to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of Levelling Up Fund Round 2 funding was allocated to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he will announce the outcome of his decision on the location of freeports in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Freeports will level up and regenerate communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.
The UK Government remains committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 21 February 2022 to Question 121697, on Levelling Up Fund: Devolution, in the context of Northern Ireland being the only devolved region of the UK to which the first round allocation was below the anticipated allocation, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the second round of funding redresses any imbalance.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In August 2021, we provided £1,375,000 to 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland, to support the development of high-quality bids for future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund. Officials have already begun to work with a range of stakeholders to prepare them for future funding opportunities.
In addition, following the launch of round two of the Fund in spring 2022, we will implement a support offer to further help applicants to develop high quality bids that will have lasting impacts for communities across GB and NI.
Future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund will continue to prioritise a fair deal for all nations of the UK, meeting the commitment we set out to at least £800 million for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the lifetime of the Fund.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of first round allocations of the UK Levelling Up Fund went to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; and how did those allocations compare to the minimum allocations that had been set out.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The first round of the Levelling Up Fund will invest £1.7 billion in 105 local infrastructure projects across the UK
The first round allocations for each nation are as follows: Scotland - 10.1%; Wales - 7.2%; Northern Ireland - 2.9%.
The Levelling Up Fund prospectus stated that at least 9% of total UK allocations were to be set aside for Scotland; 5% for Wales; and 3% for Northern Ireland.
There was significant interest in the first round of the Fund. Whilst some bids have not been successful, there will be further funding opportunities through a second round of the Levelling Up Fund which will open in spring 2022. More information on this will be available in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the location of freeports across the UK; and whether the decision on those locations is linked to the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Freeports will level up and regenerate communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country. At the Autumn Budget the first Freeport tax sites were announced in Tees, Thames and Humber. The UK Government remains committed to establishing its Freeport programme across the whole of the UK including in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as soon as possible and are confident our model embraces the highest employment and environmental standards. Any future process for allocating a Freeport in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will follow a fair, open and transparent assessment process.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2021 to Question 185295 on British National (Overseas): Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Home Secretary on the need for recognition of Northern Ireland identification documentation for those people with BNO status who wish to relocate to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government’s priority is to ensure that the Hong Kong Welcome Programme is UK wide and supports British National (Overseas) status holders wherever they choose to settle in the UK. My Department continues to work closely with the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership and the Northern Ireland Executive, including through regular officials’ meetings, to support implementation of the programme.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that potential applicants through the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route are provided with information on the opportunities of locating in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to encouraging settlement of Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) in all parts of the United Kingdom.
To achieve this, we are setting up new Hong Kong-UK Welcome Hubs across the UK, including in Northern Ireland. Activities may include working with local government, civil society and Devolved Administrations to promote opportunities for relocation. Welcome Hubs will be given resources to develop activities and support for their own areas.
Funds have also been provided through the Barnett Formula of over £1 million for this year to support Hong Kong BN(O) status holders who choose to settle in Northern Ireland.
MHCLG has also released a Welcome Pack in English and Cantonese with links to resources in the Devolved Administrations. We will continue to grow this resource to ensure that Hong Kong BN(O) status holders are made aware of opportunities across the UK.