Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2023 to Question 148864 on Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Finance, whether he plans to publish (a) that report's findings and (b) his Department's response to that report.
Answered by Steve Baker
We continue to work with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) and colleagues across Government following the completion of the review and to consider the recommendations made. The recommendations and the Government’s response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding his Department plans to allocate to fulfilling the Fresh Start Agreement; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes in funding levels on that Agreement's implementation.
Answered by Steve Baker
The Fresh Start Agreement reaffirmed the commitment made by the UK Government in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement to provide up to £500 million over 10 years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education. This funding is subject to individual projects being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government. A total of 23 integrated schools and five shared campus capital projects are currently being supported by the package.
The Government continues to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement. Funding allocations are subject to HM Treasury approval and Northern Ireland Office officials also continue to engage with HM Treasury on delivering the Northern Ireland Budget for 2023-24 as set out in the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Written Ministerial Statement on 27 April.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following the announcement made on 27 April that there would be significant reductions in current spending trajectory levels in Education under the Budget for Northern Ireland for 2023-24, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Budget on (a) Early Years and other organisations providing early learning and care and (b) levels of disadvantage in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker
Northern Ireland’s public finances continue to be challenging and the context of setting the Northern Ireland Budget for 2023-24 has been stark. The Northern Ireland Department of Education has been allocated £2.6 billion which represents a 1.8% reduction from 2022-23.
Education is a devolved matter. In the absence of a functioning Executive or Assembly, the specific allocations within this budget and the assessments of any potential impact of these decisions on organisations providing early learning and care and the levels of disadvantage in Northern Ireland, are matters for the Northern Ireland Department of Education.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will take steps to clarify the funding that will be allocated through NIO direction to Northern Irish Departments for (a) NHS waiting lists in Quarter 1 2023/24 (b) air connectivity to Derry/Londonderry (c) Easter school holiday lunches and (d) rural community transport.
Answered by Steve Baker
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions, Northern Ireland Office officials continue to work with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive Department of Finance on the budget allocations for the 2023-24 financial year. Based on the Northern Ireland budget position for the 2022-23 financial year, the expectation is that balancing the 2023-24 budget will be extremely challenging.
The UK Government recognises that there will be impacts on people and businesses in Northern Ireland as a result of the difficult decisions needed in order for Northern Ireland Executive departments to live within their budgets. It remains the UK Government’s firm view that the right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and local Assembly. In the absence of these, it will be for the relevant Northern Ireland Executive departments to manage their funding, in accordance with powers provided under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2022.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this level of funding on its UN A status accreditation.
Answered by Steve Baker
The Government can confirm that an independent review of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) began in August 2022 and concluded in December 2022 and we are reviewing the recommendations made in this report. The recommendations and the Government’s response to them will be published in due course.
The Government is acutely aware of the concerns of the NIHRC regarding their funding, and the importance of their ‘A’ status. We will continue to work with the NIHRC and colleagues in Government to ensure the NIHRC is adequately funded for their important work.
We are pleased to have been able to confirm funding for the NIHRC’s work in relation to Article 2 of the Northern Ireland Protocol for the next two financial years. Guarantees of equality and rights, which recognise the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, are a fundamental part of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, to which the Government is firmly committed.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Shared Learning Together programme to cover Integrated Education in Northern Ireland, in the context of the passing of the Integrated Education Act (2022).
Answered by Steve Baker
The Government welcomed the successful passage of the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 in the Northern Ireland Assembly. This will help progress the commitments in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in respect of greater integration in education.
The delivery of the Shared Learning Together programme is a devolved matter, for which the NI Department of Education is responsible.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer 26 January 2023 to Question 126873 on Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland, if he will list the (a) third sector organisations and (b) charities that he has held discussions with on New Deal funding for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has not held any discussions with third sector organisations or charities on New Deal for Northern Ireland funding.
The Secretary of State will make announcements in due course regarding the allocation of remaining New Deal for Northern Ireland funding.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which stakeholders he or his Department have met with in the last six months to discuss the allocation of New Deal funding for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker
Northern Ireland Office officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders in both UK Government Departments and Northern Ireland Executive Departments, and externally, to discuss the allocation of New Deal for Northern Ireland funding.
Within the UK Government this has included His Majesty’s Treasury; the Cabinet Office; the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Innovate UK; the Department for Transport and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Engagement with Northern Ireland Executive Departments or associated bodies has included the Department for the Economy; the Department for Communities; the Department of Education; Invest Northern Ireland; the Department for Infrastructure and Northern Ireland Water.
Engagement with external stakeholders has included universities; further education colleges; business representative organisations and third sector organisations and charities.
The Department will continue to work with partners in Northern Ireland Executive Departments and UK Government Departments to allocate funding to additional projects and ensure these are delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible, maximising both value for money and the contribution to the UK Government’s objective of supporting prosperity in Northern Ireland.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will make announcements in due course regarding the allocation of remaining New Deal for Northern Ireland funding.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating any remaining New Deal for Northern Ireland funding to organisations that currently rely on European Social Fund funding.
Answered by Steve Baker
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), led by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), will invest £127m in Northern Ireland over the next two years.
DLUHC worked extensively with stakeholders in Northern Ireland to develop an investment plan that caters to the needs of Northern Ireland’s society and economy. This plan was published on 14 December 2022 and can be accessed at:
The UKSPF is not a like-for-like replacement for EU structural funding. It will allow us to invest in social programmes that target people and places most in need.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is considering options to ensure we maximise the benefit of the New Deal for Northern Ireland. Announcements on allocations for the remaining funding will be made in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will take steps to introduce the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill to create an opt-out organ donation system in Northern Ireland as exists in the rest of the UK.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The absence of Northern Ireland Assembly business is causing unnecessary delays in the introduction of this life-saving legislation. It is one example of the devastating backlog of legislation that has been allowed to build up over the past 11 months without an Assembly. I urge the Northern Ireland parties to come back to the Executive, get back to work and take these decisions in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.
I would be happy to meet with Dáithí Mac Gabhann’s family to discuss this issue further.