Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of officers of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery have experience of conducting criminal investigations (a) within and (b) outside of Northern Ireland.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was legally established as an independent body in December 2023, it has discharged its corporate functions and operated necessary policies within its own budget and accountability. As it is fully independent of Government, the Commission is best placed to advise on its recruitment and staffing, and can be contacted at: info@icrir.independent.uk.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials work in the secretariat for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was legally established as an independent body in December 2023, it has discharged its corporate functions and operated necessary policies within its own budget and accountability. As it is fully independent of Government, the Commission is best placed to advise on its recruitment and staffing, and can be contacted at: info@icrir.independent.uk.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will become operational.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Significant progress has been made since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was established in December last year. I met with ICRIR Chair, Sir Declan Morgan, earlier this week and expect the body to be operational from 1st May.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of total Shared Prosperity Fund funding has been allocated to projects in Northern Ireland as of 4 March 2024.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.

The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 billion into infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK. Projects in Northern Ireland received £120 million across rounds one and two of the Levelling Up Fund. In Round three a further £30 million was set aside for Northern Ireland. This means that at least 3% of total Levelling Up Fund allocations have gone to Northern Ireland, in line with our commitments.

The Community Renewal Fund provided £186 million of funding, supporting outputs for 23,000 organisations. Northern Ireland benefitted from just over £12 million of investment, meaning it enjoyed a proportion of 6.45% of the total funding allocated.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland has a total budget of £126 million which represents 4.8% of the total UKSPF budget of £2.6 billion. As of 4 March 2024, £76 million of UKSPF funding has been allocated to 30 projects in Northern Ireland with further investments to follow. We continue to be committed to levelling up all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of total UK Community Renewal Fund funding was allocated to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.

The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 billion into infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK. Projects in Northern Ireland received £120 million across rounds one and two of the Levelling Up Fund. In Round three a further £30 million was set aside for Northern Ireland. This means that at least 3% of total Levelling Up Fund allocations have gone to Northern Ireland, in line with our commitments.

The Community Renewal Fund provided £186 million of funding, supporting outputs for 23,000 organisations. Northern Ireland benefitted from just over £12 million of investment, meaning it enjoyed a proportion of 6.45% of the total funding allocated.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland has a total budget of £126 million which represents 4.8% of the total UKSPF budget of £2.6 billion. As of 4 March 2024, £76 million of UKSPF funding has been allocated to 30 projects in Northern Ireland with further investments to follow. We continue to be committed to levelling up all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of total Levelling Up Fund funding has been allocated to Northern Ireland as of 4 March 2024.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.

The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 billion into infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK. Projects in Northern Ireland received £120 million across rounds one and two of the Levelling Up Fund. In Round three a further £30 million was set aside for Northern Ireland. This means that at least 3% of total Levelling Up Fund allocations have gone to Northern Ireland, in line with our commitments.

The Community Renewal Fund provided £186 million of funding, supporting outputs for 23,000 organisations. Northern Ireland benefitted from just over £12 million of investment, meaning it enjoyed a proportion of 6.45% of the total funding allocated.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland has a total budget of £126 million which represents 4.8% of the total UKSPF budget of £2.6 billion. As of 4 March 2024, £76 million of UKSPF funding has been allocated to 30 projects in Northern Ireland with further investments to follow. We continue to be committed to levelling up all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department held roles that required them to provide information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There are 18 officials in roles within the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Directorate of Judicial Engagement Policy (DJEP) that support the provision of information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland as all or part of their duties. In addition, there are other teams across MOD providing specialist support to DJEP in providing information to inquests.

We do not hold information on historical staffing records and cannot provide figures in the format requested.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department are in roles that support the provision of information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There are 18 officials in roles within the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Directorate of Judicial Engagement Policy (DJEP) that support the provision of information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland as all or part of their duties. In addition, there are other teams across MOD providing specialist support to DJEP in providing information to inquests.

We do not hold information on historical staffing records and cannot provide figures in the format requested.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with Iain Livingstone on the publication timetable for the final report from Operation Kenova.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I met with Sir Iain Livingstone on 6 March 2024 and updated him on the Government’s plans to make transitional provision to clarify that final administrative tasks related to a criminal investigation (including, for example, report-writing and publication of reports, such as the Kenova report) can be retained and completed by their original owners on and after 1 May 2024.

As Kenova is operationally independent of the Government, I am not in a position to confirm the publication date of its reports.

Found: Naseer Ahma d 20 Oct 2022 | 59461 Asked by: Hilary Benn To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign