Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the application of General Product Safety Regulation requirements on the cost of new vehicles in Northern Ireland; and what steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of vehicles in Northern Ireland, when compared to other parts of the UK.

The Government is committed to reducing barriers to trade between the UK and the EU, and to protecting the UK internal market. To that end, the Government has recently written to vehicle manufacturers to confirm that we intend to align requirements and ensure consistency between the type approval regimes that apply in Great Britain and the EU in order to reduce potential administrative burdens. On the specific point about the General Product Safety Regulation, we do not consider this will impact the cost of new vehicles in Northern Ireland.

In relation to Northern Ireland, the Government meets regularly with individual manufacturers, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and has met the National Franchise Dealers Association to understand their concerns. To that end, I draw attention to the recent statement by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in relation to measures being taken on Benefit-in-Kind taxation matters in relation to Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, which will mitigate the increase in tax from higher CO2 emission standards that will apply in Northern Ireland next year and the Government will shortly consult on introducing these standards in Great Britain.