Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to promote the financial benefits of the Union in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Julian Smith
This Government has made clear on many occasions that we will never be neutral in expressing our support for the Union. Our steadfast belief is that Northern Ireland’s future is best served within a stronger United Kingdom. As part of the Union, Northern Ireland benefits from being part of the world’s fifth largest economy that allows for the pooling of risks and the sharing of resources to fund public spending, such as on defence, education and our National Health Service.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with political parties on plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021.
Answered by Julian Smith
My discussions with the political parties have been focused to date on the urgent need to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland. Officials in my Department are exploring options for marking the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Irish Government on alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Julian Smith
I have regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the UK's exit from the EU.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Irish Government on enhanced east-west cooperation between the UK and the Irish Republic when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Julian Smith
I have regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the UK's exit from the EU.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with pro-life groups in Northern Ireland on the legislation to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Julian Smith
There are a range of sensitive policy issues to carefully work through in order to deliver regulations to provide access to abortion services in Northern Ireland by 31 March 2020 in Northern Ireland. This duty will come into effect if the Northern Ireland Executive is not restored by 21 October 2019.
Government officials including from the NIO have met some representatives of the medical profession and other stakeholders and will continue to do so in the weeks ahead.
There will also be a period of consultation throughout this process for individuals in Northern Ireland as well as relevant organisations to provide input and views. I will continue to keep the House updated on these plans at the appropriate opportunities through the Executive Formation Act reporting requirements.
The Government's preference remains seeing the Stormont institutions back up and running so they can take forward any issues of reform on these types of sensitive devolved issues, as a matter of priority.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on the consultation to agree new institutions to deal with the legacy issues in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Julian Smith
This Government remains fully committed to finding a solution for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles which works for everyone - this means a way forward which meets the needs of victims and survivors, ensures that members of the Armed Forces and police are treated fairly and complies with the UK Government’s domestic and international legal obligations. Taking into account the responses received to the recent consultation, I will continue to work closely with the Northern Ireland parties, and ministerial colleagues - particularly in the Ministry of Defence and Office for Veterans’ Affairs, parliamentarians, the Irish Government and key stakeholders to find a way forward which is effective, legally robust and commands consensus.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential devolution of powers relating to electoral matters in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Ben Wallace
I wrote on 21 March to the Minister of the Environment, Mark Durkan MLA, to advise him of preliminary work to consider greater Local Council involvement in aspects of the delivery of elections in Northern Ireland.
Electoral policy remains an excepted matter in Northern Ireland. While we are considering options for reforming the administration of elections in Northern Ireland, the question of devolving electoral policy does not form part of this review.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment her Department has made of potential arrangements for the introduction of online electoral registration in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Government has allocated additional funding to the Chief Electoral Officer to enable his office to extend digital registration to Northern Ireland. The digital registration scheme has been in operation very successfully in the rest of the UK since 2014.
The Chief Electoral Officer has conducted a successful procurement exercise to identify the preferred provider of a new electoral management system which will facilitate digital registration. User testing of initial models of the online experience will begin at the end of this month.
We propose that in addition to the currently available paper registration process, an on-line registration service will be available in Northern Ireland by the end of 2016.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is a Crown body or a non-departmental public body; and what the planned budget for that office is for 2016-17.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is a statutory officer holder. He/she is supported by the employees of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland who are recruited directly by the Chief Electoral Officer under s.14A of the Electoral Law Act 1962.
An initial resource budget (excluding depreciation) of £2,011,000 has been allocated to the Chief Electoral Officer. Further funding – both capital and resource – will be made available to support the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland transformation programme which includes the introduction of digital registration.
The Chief Electoral Officer will also receive funding from the Consolidated Fund and the Northern Ireland Assembly to support the EU Referendum and Northern Ireland Assembly elections that are due to take place in 2016.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the oral and written evidence provided by the Government to the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
I have been in regular contact with the Home Secretary on the Investigatory Powers Bill since drafting began last year. The Government is fully aware of the crucial importance of this legislation for combating terrorism in Northern Ireland. In November, the Home Secretary and I met to discuss the pre-legislative scrutiny process and the latest draft of the Bill that has been examined by the Joint Committee.
Between November and January, the Government provided detailed evidence to the Joint Committee, including the Home Secretary’s oral evidence given last week. The Government’s evidence has explained the provisions of the Bill in detail and has set out the necessity of the powers as well as the safeguards that are to apply.