Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Command Paper entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, CP 1021, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the decision to replace the Green Lane with a UK Internal Market system on the ability of goods to travel from Wales to Northern Ireland through the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Cabinet has engaged with these new measures which have been collectively agreed in the usual way. On 31 January 2024, I wrote to the First Ministers of Wales and Scotland regarding the Government’s work to secure a restored Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly and on the Safeguarding the Union command paper (CP 1021).
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on devolution and inter-governmental relations; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
All Civil Servants
Civil Service Learning provide a range of central learning opportunities, including online and face-to-face training, for all civil servants on Devolution & Intergovernmental Working.
i) The online Devolution & Intergovernmental Working module is for all new and existing civil servants, launched in November 2016. Through four online tutorials, video interviews with senior civil servants, and ‘take back to the office’ activities, it explains how the different governments operating in the UK work together, covering devolution settlements, decentralisation, City Deals and intergovernmental relations, as well as the ‘Devolution Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements’. 646 civil servants have engaged with the online training since its release:
| Started | Completed | Total Engagements |
2018 | 67 | 346 | 413 |
2017 | 53 | 171 | 224 |
2016 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
Total | 122 | 524 | 646 |
ii) The half day face-to-face Devolution & Intergovernmental Working workshop is also available to all civil servants. Building on the above online module, delegates learn from experienced professionals who have worked on a range of devolution matters about topics such as confidentiality, when to seek legal advice and the boundaries of devolution, where reserved and devolved powers meet. A total of 28 policy professionals have undertaken this training through two workshops, since June 2017.
Both the online and face-to-face workshops are included in the recommended learning for all civil servants working in a role related to EU exit. The online learning is included in the new EU Essentials for Policy Professionals programme, for those new to policy making or the civil service; and the face-to-face workshop is included in the EU Policy Practitioner Programme for those with more policy experience.
These programmes were launched in April 2018, with a total of 56 policy professionals undertaking the training programmes so far.
iii) Also available to civil servants are the EU exit: devolution settlements and intergovernmental working events. Delegates hear the views of Permanent Secretaries, and other senior civil servants from the devolved administrations and territorial offices, on intergovernmental relations within the current political climate.
Seven of these events have been delivered to 96 attendees across three Departments, since March 2017.
Fast Stream
Introduced in 2017 as part of Fast Stream policy learning, delegates take part in a Devolution workshop, which all brand new entrant centrally managed Fast Streamers attend as part of their Induction offer. This was delivered in 2017 to over 800 Fast Streamers. We've also delivered four optional Devolution workshops as part of Fast Stream Policy Base Camp to 150 year 3/4 centrally managed Fast Streamers over the last two years.
Fast Streamers are also required to complete the online 'Devolution and Intergovernmental Working' e-learning product as mandatory e-learning within their first year on the Fast Stream programme.
SCS
Each nation of the UK leads and hosts an annual SCS conference to learn from each other and build networks across the Policy Profession. These have been held on 28/29 April 2016 in Cardiff, 20/21 April 2017 in Belfast (this included Irish Government Civil Servants too) and 26/27 April 2018 in Edinburgh. It will be for England to host in 2019. All of these events each have around 100 participants across the administrations.
The Devolution and You program
Devolution and You was established in 2015 following a Civil Service Board commission and promotes greater understanding of devolution among civil servants and for better intergovernmental working across the different administrations in the UK. The program is led by Cabinet Office in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments. It aims to build devolution awareness and civil servant networks across the One Civil Service through shared learning and knowledge exchange throughout the year.
The Devolution and You programme enables civil servants to strengthen their skill sets and build open and positive relationships as they engage in complex discussions across the One Civil Service. In 2017, the program trained over 2000 civil servants from across the UK through a variety of forums, including Civil Service Learning resources and through bespoke training;
Local inductions for new starters;
Departmental masterclasses, including tailored sessions for specialised teams such as communications, private office, policy and legislation;
Civil Service Live presentations;
Civil Service Local Devolution Masterclasses;
Resource material available to civil servants across the One Civil Service.
We also work in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to run the One Civil Service Interchange program which supports these objectives by providing a platform on which civil servants can engage directly with their peers working in other UK administrations, through an immersive programme of work-shadowing and educational events over the course of a week. The programme runs three times a year, with the UK, Welsh, and Scottish Governments each hosting an annual event. Since 2017, the Northern Ireland Civil Service has also participated in the programme by providing participants to the events.
The most recent iteration of the UK Government Interchange Week ran 5-9 March 2018 and, with a record number of applications, it was the largest Interchange Week to date. In total, 83 Civil Servants from the Scottish (43) and Welsh (18) Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive (22) participated in a series of whole-group sessions and individual work shadowing across nineteen UK Government departments.
In terms of training provided by the department, a two-hour introduction to devolution was arranged for all staff in December 2016.
The department does not hold central training records for Northern Ireland Office officials in respect of these subjects.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
All Civil Servants
All Civil Servants have access to the central learning offer provided through Civil Service Learning. There are one-day workshops on Understanding Parliament, which are delivered at Foundation (introduction) and Practitioner (advanced) levels. Both of these workshops cover Parliament’s scrutiny and legislative roles. Dedicated training sessions covering specific topics are also available. These include Introduction to Parliament, Select Committees, Debates and Voting, Pre and Post Legislative Scrutiny, Parliamentary Questions, Delegated Legislation, and Primary Legislation. A half-day workshop is available on producing effective explanatory memoranda to accompany secondary legislation. The Cabinet Office’s Parliamentary Business and Legislation Team provide training to Bill Teams. The Government Legal Department and Parliamentary Counsel run a course on Dealing with Parliamentary Bills for Lawyers, which covers parliamentary stages and handling. Stand-alone events are run, e.g. during Parliament Week. Bespoke sessions for government departments are available on request. It is well established that people need just-in-time training and resources to help them while on the job, so Civil Service Learning provide on-line resources, such as weblinks, guides and videos. There is an e-learning course on Understanding Parliament, and access to two Massive Open On-Line Courses (on Understanding Parliament and Select Committees) which have been produced in partnership between the House of Commons and Future Learn, a digital education platform owned by the Open University.
Fast Stream Specific
Fast Stream Civil Servants receive a Parliament workshop during their induction, covering the role of Parliament in scrutinising government policy. For Policy Professionals, a Fast Stream Base Camp includes an optional workshop which focuses on the legislative process in both Houses, typical timetables and roles of Ministers, Bill Teams and civil servants in delivering legislation.
SCS Specific
For Senior Civil Servants, a tailored a one-day workshop, Leading in Parliament, is available, which covers Parliament’s role, powers and relationship with government, the day-to day work of MPs and Peers. A workshop delivered jointly between Civil Service Learning and HM Treasury is provided for Accounting Officers. Civil Service Learning provides a workshop specifically for Senior Responsible Officers with responsibility for secondary legislation. Every department has an SCS Parliamentary Champion. There is a buddy system in place between Parliamentary Champions and senior House staff.
In addition, the Centre for Applied Learning, the learning provider used by the Northern Ireland Civil Service, provides a number of courses on legislation, which are available to staff in my department.
My department does not hold central training records for Northern Ireland Office officials in respect of these subjects.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if she will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit from the Reserve. The Department received £0.216m of this funding in 17/18 which has been spent on additional resources to deal with Brexit preparations.
At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made another £3bn of additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. NIO officials are currently working with HM Treasury to determine the allocation for 18/19 with the aim being to agree this soon.
Departmental allocations for 19/20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 20/21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in negotiations with the EU.