Jeffrey M Donaldson

On 20 May 2020, the UK Government set out our approach to implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Command Paper ‘The UK’s Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol’. We are committed to meeting our obligations under the Protocol and, as we do, our priority remains protecting Northern Ireland’s place in our United Kingdom, and preserving the huge gains from the peace process and the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

The EU published a technical note on the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland on 30th April, which can be found on the Commission’s website here.

The first meeting of the Specialised Committee on Northern Ireland took place on 30 April, following the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.

We stand ready to work with the EU in a constructive and collaborative spirit, building on our initial engagements in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee.

On 20 May 2020, the UK Government set out our approach to implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Command Paper ‘The UK’s Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol’. We are committed to meeting our obligations under the Protocol and, as we do, our priority remains protecting Northern Ireland’s place in our United Kingdom, and preserving the huge gains from the peace process and the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

The EU published a technical note on the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland on 30th April, which can be found on the Commission’s website here.

The first meeting of the Specialised Committee on Northern Ireland took place on 30 April, following the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.

We stand ready to work with the EU in a constructive and collaborative spirit, building on our initial engagements in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee.

There are no plans to introduce a predicted grade results system in England for exams in the 2020-21 academic year. Exams and assessments are the best and fairest way of judging students’ performance, and we are clear in our intention that both the autumn and summer exam series should go ahead.

Most students taking exams in the autumn series received a centre assessment grade, based on an assessment of the likely grades that students would have obtained had exams gone ahead, or a calculated grade if that was higher. There is, therefore, no basis on which to award a different grade other than the student sitting the exam. Some students, for example some home-educated students, were not in a position to provide sufficient evidence for them to be able to receive a grade in the summer, and it remains the case that there would be insufficient evidence to award grades to those students unless they sit exams.

We continue to discuss arrangements for exams in summer 2021 with Ofqual, the exam boards, higher and further education representatives and other sector bodies to ensure that arrangements are fair and the 2021 cohort of students receive the qualifications they deserve.

The arrangements for awarding qualifications to students in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland government and the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment Regulation.

All centre assessment grades in England were signed off by head teachers or college principals who confirmed that they honestly and fairly represented the grades that these students would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat their exams as planned.

Following the release of A level results based on calculated grades, it became clear that there were far too many inconsistent and unfair outcomes for students. The Department agreed with Ofqual that grades for A levels and GCSEs should be awarded to students in England on the basis of students’ centre assessment grades or their calculated grades, whichever was higher. The Department believes this to be the fairest approach in the exceptional circumstances of this year, to avoid some students in England receiving grades that did not reflect their prior performance.

There was scope for schools to appeal where they believed that there had been errors of process, and students could also raise complaints if they had evidence of bias or discrimination. Schools have also been able to enter candidates for the exceptional autumn series to sit exams if they remain dissatisfied with their result.

The approach taken in Northern Ireland this summer was a matter for the Northern Ireland government and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment Regulation.

Defra officials are working with colleagues across Government on the implementation of the Windsor Framework, including with regard to movements of waste. We will update businesses on the implications as soon as possible.

DAERA reported in August 2022 that a total of £15.3 million capital, £16.4 million resource and £1.7 million depreciation has been expended on the provision of the infrastructure, IT systems and personnel for the work necessary to carry out the required SPS checks at Northern Ireland's Points of Entry as a result of the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

The Movement Assistance Scheme has cost £18.08m up to 30 September 2022. This comprises of £3.53m in the 2020/2021 Financial Year, £9.78m in 2021/2022 Financial Year and £4.77m in the 2022/2023 Financial Year. These are the most up to date figures currently available.

The Movement Assistance Scheme only supports trade in agri-food goods within the UK internal market; this is the main factor determining whether costs can be included in scope of the scheme. The scheme therefore avoids constraints arising from the state aid provisions in the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The Department recognises safeguarding as an essential aspect of abortion care and officials are working with the Domestic Abuse Commissioners Office to understand issues related to domestic abuse and coercion and home-use of early medical abortion (EMA).

All abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard women and girls accessing abortion services who may be experiencing domestic abuse or coercion. Following Parliament’s decision to make provisions for at home early medical abortion to be made permanent from 30 August, the Department is ensuring that robust safeguarding systems and processes for home use of EMA are embedded in all abortion services.

Oral antiviral treatments are available through the PANORAMIC national study, run by the University of Oxford. The study is open to individuals across the United Kingdom. General practitioner practices in Northern Ireland are expected to begin contacting patients eligible to enrol in the PANORAMIC study directly to increase recruitment.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, has closely evaluated the safety of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine since the vaccination programme was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 2008 and since Gardasil has been in routine use from 2012. Extensive reviews of Gardasil vaccine safety have also been undertaken by other independent health bodies/authorities worldwide, including the European Medicines Agency, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. This continuous surveillance has found no evidence of serious harm or chronic illness caused by any HPV vaccine and is supported by published epidemiological studies from health authorities, including the MHRA and other independent academic researchers.

The information is not held in the format requested.

The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. At a country level, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

On recommendation 11, the FCDO is currently working with an external implementer to develop training for staff on religion for international engagement. The implementer, the Edward Cadbury Centre at the University of Birmingham, is consulting with a wide range of external stakeholders, including those that work specifically on Christian Persecution. The training will support our work on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, including amplifying the FoRB toolkit.

Posts across the FCDO network regularly report on the local human rights situation, including in relation to the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and reflect engagement with the host government, religious leaders, civil society and NGOs. Staff make use of the Freedom of Religion or Belief Toolkit to establish a baseline for their reporting. In line with recommendation 12 of the Bishop of Truro's review, good progress is being made on developing a framework for reporting on FoRB. It will include guidance on who to engage with, and how to form recommendations for action.

The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. At a country level, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

On recommendation 11, the FCDO is currently working with an external implementer to develop training for staff on religion for international engagement. The implementer, the Edward Cadbury Centre at the University of Birmingham, is consulting with a wide range of external stakeholders, including those that work specifically on Christian Persecution. The training will support our work on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, including amplifying the FoRB toolkit.

Posts across the FCDO network regularly report on the local human rights situation, including in relation to the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and reflect engagement with the host government, religious leaders, civil society and NGOs. Staff make use of the Freedom of Religion or Belief Toolkit to establish a baseline for their reporting. In line with recommendation 12 of the Bishop of Truro's review, good progress is being made on developing a framework for reporting on FoRB. It will include guidance on who to engage with, and how to form recommendations for action.

The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. At a country level, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

On recommendation 11, the FCDO is currently working with an external implementer to develop training for staff on religion for international engagement. The implementer, the Edward Cadbury Centre at the University of Birmingham, is consulting with a wide range of external stakeholders, including those that work specifically on Christian Persecution. The training will support our work on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, including amplifying the FoRB toolkit.

Posts across the FCDO network regularly report on the local human rights situation, including in relation to the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and reflect engagement with the host government, religious leaders, civil society and NGOs. Staff make use of the Freedom of Religion or Belief Toolkit to establish a baseline for their reporting. In line with recommendation 12 of the Bishop of Truro's review, good progress is being made on developing a framework for reporting on FoRB. It will include guidance on who to engage with, and how to form recommendations for action.

The UK remains deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the DPRK. Its Government must address the many reports of continued and widespread human rights violations in the country, including the arbitrary detention of its citizens. That is why, in July 2020, the UK designated two DPRK entities through the Global Human Rights sanctions regime, including the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of People's Security Correctional Bureau.

The UK, in conjunction with partners including the US and Canada, have announced targeted sanctions against nine high-ranking military officials and two military conglomerates for their role in serious human rights violations in Myanmar. We are consulting with partners on further measures, including additional sanctions. There will be a cost on the Myanmar military, and we will consider all tools at our disposal to do so. These sanctions follow the 16 individuals from the Myanmar military who were previously listed by the UK for human rights violations.

We are deeply concerned by Eritrean involvement in the conflict in Tigray. The Minister for Africa has made clear to the Eritrean Ambassador the UK's concern about reports of human rights violations by all parties to the conflict, the dire humanitarian conditions in Tigray, and the need for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray. Perpetrators of human rights abuses and violations must be held to account, whoever they are.

The Government has committed to implementing the Bishop of Truro's recommendations in full, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. At a country level, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to FoRB by appointing Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy for FoRB. Mrs Bruce works with the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, to continue work on delivering the recommendations.

With respect to customs, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has employed consultants to deliver the protocol and advise on trade between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI). Furthermore, the Government has carried out an extensive programme of business engagement in relation to the movement of goods between GB and NI.

As stated in the answer provided to UIN 92121 on 2 December 2022, the Government intends in the future to release further information in relation to tariff liabilities for goods and will do so in due course. Any customs duties collected on goods entering Northern Ireland are retained by the UK Government.

The total number of supplementary declarations processed by the Trader Support Service for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022 was 2.2million.

As stated in our answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 92120: HMRC spending on individual IT systems cannot be broken down to the level specified in the question. HM Treasury does not hold information on spending by other Government departments in relation to the matters specified.

The total of pre-frontier notifications the Trader Support Service processed for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022 was 2,304.

Resolution 2318 concerns the protection of freedom of religion or belief in the workplace. Both the Equality and Human Rights Commission and ACAS have published guidance for employers and employees about this matter.

Additionally, ACAS offers online training for employers on religion or belief in the workplace.

The guidance and the online training are available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/religion-or-belief-workplace ; and https://elearning.acas.org.uk/login/index.php