Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Command Paper Safeguarding the Union (CP1012) and the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 7 July (HL1622), whether their commitment in Annex B to publish a series of papers that make the case by sector for Northern Ireland’s place in the Union has now been abandoned.

The Government is continuing to implement the Safeguarding the Union command paper and to support Northern Ireland's place in the Union. This commitment is embedded throughout the work of the Government and is focused on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland. We are going beyond setting out the value of Northern Ireland’s place in the Union on paper, by delivering real, tangible benefits of the Union for people in Northern Ireland.

For instance, via the recently launched Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal. Through sectoral analysis, this initiative provides concrete benefits to the Northern Ireland defence industry, which will boost supply chains and support hundreds of highly skilled, well-paid jobs. In addition, the Government has provided Intertrade UK with £2.25 million over the next three years to help strengthen the UK internal market. This will include independent research into improving infrastructure and connectivity across the United Kingdom, one of the body's priorities in its published work programme.