Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of the Fresh Start Agreement funding package for shared and integrated education (a) has been allocated as of 21 November 2023 and (b) is remaining.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Fresh Start Agreement in 2015 set out a commitment by the UK Government to release up to £500m over ten years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing. This funding is subject to individual projects being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.
HM Treasury’s Block Grant Transparency confirms that over £196 million in Fresh Start Agreement (shared education and housing) funding has been transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive up to Mains 2023-24, with around £304 million remaining. The Block Grant Transparency is published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether funding from the £500 million Fresh Start agreement package has been allocated to the Strule Shared Education Campus.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Fresh Start Agreement in 2015 set out a commitment by the UK Government to release up to £500m over ten years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing. This funding is subject to individual projects, including Strule, being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.
The Government continues to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement and funding allocations continue to be subject to HM Treasury approval.
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out in his Written Ministerial Statement on the Northern Ireland Budget 2023-24 in April, the acute state of Northern Ireland’s public finances means that it may be necessary to reallocate funding from previously announced funding packages. This process is ongoing.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the operational budget will be for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery in 2024-25; and from where this cost will be funded.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
£250 million has been allocated to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act and the non-legislative memorialisation measures announced alongside it. This includes costs for the establishment of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, and for the Commission’s work. These funds were set aside for legacy mechanisms under the Stormont House Agreement and the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has plans to provide funding for the Strule Shared Education Campus through the Fresh Start Agreement funding package.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Fresh Start Agreement in 2015 set out a commitment by the UK Government to release up to £500m over ten years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing. This funding is subject to individual projects, including Strule, being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.
The Government continues to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement and funding allocations continue to be subject to HM Treasury approval.
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out in his Written Ministerial Statement on the Northern Ireland Budget 2023-24 in April, the acute state of Northern Ireland’s public finances means that it may be necessary to reallocate funding from previously announced funding packages. This process is ongoing.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether certificate of applications issued to EU Settlement Scheme applicants cover claims to Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Individuals in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement (or equivalent citizen’s rights agreements with the EEA EFTA countries and Switzerland) can use their Certificate of Application to evidence that they have made a valid application to the EU Settlement Scheme. They will then be able to access Universal Credit on the same basis as before the UK left the EU – including needing to provide evidence that they are exercising a qualifying right to reside, such as a worker or self-employed status.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to uprate social security benefits for 2024-25 in line with the Consumer Price Index rate published on 16 October 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and the State Pension.
The outcome of the review will be announced in the Autumn.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Government has made on resettling 20,000 people from Afghanistan since January 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Quarterly data on resettlement arrivals may be viewed within the latest Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (published on 24 August 2023).
The latest published statistics show that both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) have resettled a total of 21,526 people since the schemes began to operate.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2023 to Question 185629 on Marine Protected Areas: Northern Ireland, what her Department's planned timetable is, in partnership with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland, to establish marine Special Protection Areas in East Coast and Carlingford Lough.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland is currently working through some remaining issues with these sites, so there is currently no planned timetable for their classification.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the allocation to Northern Ireland will be from Wave 3 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
At Spending Review 2021, funding was allocated for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Barnett formula was applied.
At spending reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes in each UK government department’s DEL budget with the Barnett consequentials that arise then added to the devolved administrations’ baseline block grants. Because the Barnett formula is not applied to changes in funding for all the individual programmes within a UK government department’s DEL budget, the Barnett consequentials associated with these individual programmes, such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, cannot be identified.
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced £6 billion of funding to go towards energy efficiency policies in the next Spending Review period.
All decisions on devolved administration funding beyond the current Spending Review period will be taken at future Spending Reviews.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of changes to the HS2 scheme on Barnett funding for Northern Ireland.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Funding for the HS2 programme has been provided to the Department for Transport’s (DfT). The Barnett formula has applied changes to the DfT’s budget to date due to funding for the HS2 programme, and the Northern Ireland Executive has received Barnett consequentials as a result.
At spending reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes in each UK Government department’s DEL budget with the Barnett consequentials that arise then added to the devolved administrations’ baseline block grants. As the Barnett formula is not applied to changes in funding for all the individual programmes within a UK Government department’s DEL budget, the Barnett consequentials associated with these individual programmes, such as HS2, cannot be identified.
The Barnett formula will continue to apply to future changes to the DfT budget from funding for the HS2 programme.