Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will hold discussions with the Home Secretary and the Northern Ireland Department of Justice on the implementation of the devolved elements of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.

The Secretary of State speaks with the Home Secretary regularly on a range of security related matters however, this Government remains committed to the central principles of the Sewel convention. We will therefore not commence provisions on matters devolved to Northern Ireland without the appropriate consents having been obtained. In the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and fully functioning Assembly, it is not possible to achieve this consent.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is working hard to achieve the objective we all want to see - the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland, where locally elected, democratically accountable politicians can take decisions that affect the people of Northern Ireland.