Written Question

Borders: Northern Ireland

Monday 24th January 2022

Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received concerning the proposed ETA system for local journeys to Northern Ireland across the land border on the island of Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland.

As now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

Individuals (except British and Irish citizens) arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, have always been required to meet the requirements of the UK’s immigration framework. This framework will change with the introduction of ETAs, and, as visa nationals have always needed a visa for the UK, broadly non-visa national visitors will, in future, require an ETA to travel into the UK across the land border, just as they will when entering the UK from anywhere else.

Once granted, an ETA will be valid for multiple journeys over an extended period, minimising the burden on those making frequent trips, including those across the Ireland-Northern Ireland border.

We continue to work with stakeholders as we develop plans to operationalise the ETA scheme, including stakeholders in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

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Written Question

Borders: Northern Ireland

Monday 24th January 2022

Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact an ETA system for local journeys across the border on the island of Ireland would have on (1) tourism, (2) trade supply lines in Northern Ireland, and (3) the daily lives of people living in the border region.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland.

As now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

Individuals (except British and Irish citizens) arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, have always been required to meet the requirements of the UK’s immigration framework. This framework will change with the introduction of ETAs, and, as visa nationals have always needed a visa for the UK, broadly non-visa national visitors will, in future, require an ETA to travel into the UK across the land border, just as they will when entering the UK from anywhere else.

Once granted, an ETA will be valid for multiple journeys over an extended period, minimising the burden on those making frequent trips, including those across the Ireland-Northern Ireland border.

We continue to work with stakeholders as we develop plans to operationalise the ETA scheme, including stakeholders in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

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Written Question

British Nationality: Northern Ireland

Monday 24th January 2022

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed powers to be granted to the Secretary of State in clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, to strip individuals with or entitled to dual nationality of their British citizenship, would apply to individuals (1) who were born in, or (2) whose mothers were born in, either (a) Northern Ireland, or (b) the Republic of Ireland, who are entitled under Irish law to Irish citizenship.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill relates solely to how a person is notified of a decision to deprive them of their British citizenship. There is no change to the reasons for which a person could be deprived of their British citizenship or to their right of appeal. The use of powers under section 40 must comply with the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the Home Office will always consider an individual’s rights under the Good Friday Agreement in any relevant deprivation decision.

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Written Question

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Monday 29th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of electric car charging points in each local authority, and (2) any geographical differences in levels of installation.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of public electric vehicle charging devices available at 1 October 2021 in each local authority of the UK, was as follows

Local Authority / Region	Total devices	per 100,000 population
UNITED KINGDOM	25,927	38.7
GREAT BRITAIN	25,595	39.3
ENGLAND	21,925	38.8
NORTH EAST	916	34.2
County Durham	124	23.3
Darlington	31	28.9
Hartlepool	11	11.7
Middlesbrough	30	21.2
Northumberland	186	57.4
Redcar and Cleveland	34	24.8
Stockton-on-Tees	85	43.1
Tyne and Wear (Met County)	415	36.2
Gateshead	66	32.7
Newcastle upon Tyne	124	40.4
North Tyneside	47	22.5
South Tyneside	30	19.9
Sunderland	148	53.3
NORTH WEST	1,725	23.4
Blackburn with Darwen	31	20.7
Blackpool	24	17.3
Cheshire East	112	29.0
Cheshire West and Chester	99	28.8
Halton	17	13.1
Warrington	89	42.5
Cumbria	237	47.4
Allerdale	19	19.4
Barrow-in-Furness	9	13.5
Carlisle	49	45.2
Copeland	28	41.2
Eden	45	83.7
South Lakeland	87	82.9
Greater Manchester (Met County)	447	15.7
Bolton	24	8.3
Bury	22	11.5
Manchester	112	20.2
Oldham	33	13.9
Rochdale	27	12.1
Salford	76	28.9
Stockport	36	12.2
Tameside	25	11.0
Trafford	52	21.9
Wigan	40	12.1
Lancashire	409	33.3
Burnley	24	26.9
Chorley	46	38.7
Fylde	16	19.7
Hyndburn	21	25.9
Lancaster	74	50.0
Pendle	15	16.3
Preston	53	36.8
Ribble Valley	28	45.1
Rossendale	15	21.0
South Ribble	50	45.0
West Lancashire	48	41.9
Wyre	19	16.8
Merseyside (Met County)	260	18.1
Knowsley	20	13.1
Liverpool	168	33.6
Sefton	26	9.4
St. Helens	22	12.1
Wirral	24	7.4
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER	1,327	24.0
East Riding of Yorkshire	62	18.1
Kingston upon Hull, City of	41	15.8
North East Lincolnshire	24	15.1
North Lincolnshire	25	14.5
York	86	40.8
North Yorkshire	216	34.8
Craven	28	48.8
Hambleton	36	39.2
Harrogate	53	32.8
Richmondshire	19	35.4
Ryedale	50	89.9
Scarborough	19	17.5
Selby	11	12.0
South Yorkshire (Met County)	301	21.3
Barnsley	45	18.1
Doncaster	57	18.2
Rotherham	69	26.0
Sheffield	130	22.1
West Yorkshire (Met County)	572	24.4
Bradford	108	19.9
Calderdale	47	22.2
Kirklees	63	14.3
Leeds	289	36.2
Wakefield	65	18.5
EAST MIDLANDS	1,413	29.0
Derby	65	25.3
Leicester	79	22.3
North Northamptonshire	92	26.3
Nottingham	151	44.8
Rutland	19	46.9
West Northamptonshire	82	20.2
Derbyshire	218	27.0
Amber Valley	15	11.6
Bolsover	39	48.0
Chesterfield	55	52.4
Derbyshire Dales	36	49.7
Erewash	21	18.2
High Peak	25	27.0
North East Derbyshire	10	9.8
South Derbyshire	17	15.5
Leicestershire	224	31.4
Blaby	48	47.1
Charnwood	39	20.7
Harborough	37	38.7
Hinckley and Bosworth	42	37.0
Melton	8	15.6
North West Leicestershire	25	23.9
Oadby and Wigston	25	43.6
Lincolnshire	249	32.5
Boston	45	63.5
East Lindsey	52	36.6
Lincoln	64	64.0
North Kesteven	16	13.5
South Holland	12	12.5
South Kesteven	43	30.0
West Lindsey	17	17.7
Nottinghamshire	234	28.1
Ashfield	23	17.9
Bassetlaw	38	32.1
Broxtowe	34	29.7
Gedling	33	27.9
Mansfield	27	24.7
Newark and Sherwood	36	29.2
Rushcliffe	43	35.4
WEST MIDLANDS	1,723	28.9
Herefordshire, County of	67	34.6
Shropshire	70	21.5
Stoke-on-Trent	37	14.4
Telford and Wrekin	30	16.5
Staffordshire	212	24.0
Cannock Chase	24	23.6
East Staffordshire	20	16.5
Lichfield	17	16.1
Newcastle-under-Lyme	41	31.6
South Staffordshire	48	42.7
Stafford	42	30.5
Staffordshire Moorlands	9	9.1
Tamworth	11	14.3
Warwickshire	252	43.2
North Warwickshire	33	50.4
Nuneaton and Bedworth	21	16.1
Rugby	53	47.9
Stratford-on-Avon	77	58.2
Warwick	68	46.9
West Midlands (Met County)	904	30.7
Birmingham	154	13.5
Coventry	481	126.8
Dudley	38	11.8
Sandwell	37	11.2
Solihull	119	54.7
Walsall	24	8.4
Wolverhampton	51	19.3
Worcestershire	151	25.2
Bromsgrove	42	41.8
Malvern Hills	10	12.6
Redditch	12	14.0
Worcester	29	28.9
Wychavon	43	32.8
Wyre Forest	15	14.8
EAST OF ENGLAND	1,667	26.6
Bedford	102	58.4
Central Bedfordshire	46	15.6
Luton	52	24.4
Peterborough	66	32.6
Southend-on-Sea	16	8.8
Thurrock	19	10.8
Cambridgeshire	172	26.2
Cambridge	56	44.8
East Cambridgeshire	20	22.2
Fenland	5	4.9
Huntingdonshire	46	25.7
South Cambridgeshire	45	28.0
Essex	330	22.0
Basildon	58	30.9
Braintree	71	46.4
Brentwood	7	9.1
Castle Point	3	3.3
Chelmsford	37	20.6
Colchester	45	22.8
Epping Forest	35	26.5
Harlow	12	13.7
Maldon	9	13.8
Rochford	15	17.1
Tendring	16	10.9
Uttlesford	22	23.7
Hertfordshire	323	27.0
Broxbourne	18	18.4
Dacorum	23	14.8
East Hertfordshire	17	11.2
Hertsmere	28	26.5
North Hertfordshire	29	21.7
St Albans	40	26.8
Stevenage	9	10.2
Three Rivers	59	62.8
Watford	47	48.6
Welwyn Hatfield	53	42.8
Norfolk	298	32.6
Breckland	41	29.0
Broadland	20	15.2
Great Yarmouth	32	32.3
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	53	35.0
North Norfolk	66	62.8
Norwich	52	36.6
South Norfolk	34	23.8
Suffolk	243	31.9
Babergh	23	24.8
East Suffolk	62	24.8
Ipswich	55	40.4
Mid Suffolk	18	17.2
West Suffolk	85	47.9
LONDON	7,865	87.4
Inner London	4,943	135.0
Camden	373	133.4
City of London	36	329.1
Hackney	139	49.5
Hammersmith and Fulham	580	316.0
Haringey	92	34.5
Islington	286	115.3
Kensington and Chelsea	547	348.7
Lambeth	307	95.4
Lewisham	132	43.2
Newham	153	43.1
Southwark	390	121.9
Tower Hamlets	190	57.2
Wandsworth	623	188.9
Westminster	1095	405.8
Outer London	2,922	54.7
Barking and Dagenham	64	29.9
Barnet	210	52.6
Bexley	45	18.1
Brent	237	72.3
Bromley	86	25.8
Croydon	100	25.7
Ealing	280	82.3
Enfield	125	37.5
Greenwich	257	88.9
Harrow	49	19.4
Havering	31	11.9
Hillingdon	198	64.1
Hounslow	282	103.8
Kingston upon Thames	96	53.6
Merton	199	96.4
Redbridge	75	24.5
Richmond upon Thames	354	178.7
Sutton	51	24.6
Waltham Forest	183	66.1
SOUTH EAST	3,416	37.1
Bracknell Forest	36	29.0
Brighton and Hove	345	118.3
Isle of Wight	51	35.8
Medway	17	6.1
Milton Keynes	372	137.7
Portsmouth	72	33.5
Reading	62	38.7
Slough	68	45.5
Southampton	87	34.4
West Berkshire	108	68.2
Windsor and Maidenhead	40	26.4
Wokingham	70	40.2
Buckinghamshire	165	30.2
East Sussex	115	20.6
Eastbourne	36	34.8
Hastings	15	16.2
Lewes	24	23.2
Rother	13	13.4
Wealden	27	16.6
Hampshire	523	37.6
Basingstoke and Deane	83	46.7
East Hampshire	37	29.9
Eastleigh	58	42.8
Fareham	12	10.3
Gosport	11	13.0
Hart	47	48.2
Havant	27	21.4
New Forest	80	44.5
Rushmoor	35	37.1
Test Valley	42	33.0
Winchester	91	72.3
Kent	425	26.7
Ashford	32	24.4
Canterbury	65	39.0
Dartford	35	30.7
Dover	31	26.2
Folkestone and Hythe	31	27.4
Gravesham	10	9.4
Maidstone	64	37.0
Sevenoaks	29	23.9
Swale	37	24.5
Thanet	26	18.4
Tonbridge and Malling	20	15.1
Tunbridge Wells	45	37.8
Oxfordshire	310	44.5
Cherwell	97	63.9
Oxford	105	69.3
South Oxfordshire	45	31.3
Vale of White Horse	43	31.2
West Oxfordshire	20	17.9
Surrey	339	28.3
Elmbridge	38	27.7
Epsom and Ewell	17	21.0
Guildford	58	38.6
Mole Valley	21	24.0
Reigate and Banstead	29	19.4
Runnymede	36	39.9
Spelthorne	46	46.1
Surrey Heath	26	29.1
Tandridge	15	16.9
Waverley	34	26.9
Woking	19	19.0
West Sussex	211	24.3
Adur	10	15.6
Arun	27	16.8
Chichester	55	45.3
Crawley	41	36.5
Horsham	29	19.9
Mid Sussex	36	23.7
Worthing	13	11.7
SOUTH WEST	1,873	33.1
Bath and North East Somerset	68	34.6
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	82	20.7
Bristol, City of	123	26.4
Cornwall	276	48.1
Dorset	123	32.4
Isles of Scilly	0	0.0
North Somerset	90	41.7
Plymouth	74	28.2
South Gloucestershire	119	41.3
Swindon	47	21.1
Torbay	26	19.1
Wiltshire	167	33.1
Devon	301	37.1
East Devon	64	43.2
Exeter	49	36.8
Mid Devon	27	32.4
North Devon	51	52.0
South Hams	33	37.5
Teignbridge	25	18.5
Torridge	24	34.9
West Devon	28	49.9
Gloucestershire	210	32.8
Cheltenham	34	29.3
Cotswold	59	65.4
Forest of Dean	15	17.2
Gloucester	38	29.3
Stroud	43	35.6
Tewkesbury	21	21.7
Somerset	167	29.6
Mendip	38	32.7
Sedgemoor	33	26.7
Somerset West and Taunton	47	30.2
South Somerset	49	29.0
WALES	994	31.4
Isle of Anglesey	55	78.1
Gwynedd	81	64.7
Conwy	45	38.1
Denbighshire	19	19.7
Flintshire	34	21.7
Wrexham	35	25.7
Powys	89	66.9
Ceredigion	42	57.6
Pembrokeshire	108	85.2
Carmarthenshire	74	38.9
Swansea	57	23.1
Neath Port Talbot	12	8.3
Bridgend	27	18.3
The Vale of Glamorgan	26	19.2
Cardiff	75	20.3
Rhondda Cynon Taf	18	7.4
Merthyr Tydfil	7	11.6
Caerphilly	39	21.5
Blaenau Gwent	18	25.7
Torfaen	28	29.5
Monmouthshire	53	55.7
Newport	52	33.2
SCOTLAND	2,676	49.0
Aberdeen City	99	43.2
Aberdeenshire	106	40.6
Angus	75	64.8
Argyll & Bute	86	100.7
City of Edinburgh	146	27.7
Clackmannanshire	23	44.8
Dumfries & Galloway	102	68.8
Dundee City	127	85.3
East Ayrshire	67	55.1
East Dunbartonshire	25	23.0
East Lothian	123	114.0
East Renfrewshire	24	25.0
Falkirk	53	33.0
Fife	114	30.5
Glasgow City	203	31.9
Highland	224	95.1
Inverclyde	34	44.1
Midlothian	60	64.4
Moray	46	48.1
Na h-Eileanan Siar	28	105.7
North Ayrshire	50	37.2
North Lanarkshire	165	48.4
Orkney Islands	40	178.6
Perth & Kinross	121	79.7
Renfrewshire	71	39.6
Scottish Borders	51	44.3
Shetland Islands	21	91.8
South Ayrshire	57	50.8
South Lanarkshire	148	46.1
Stirling	115	122.2
West Dunbartonshire	26	29.4
West Lothian	46	25.0
NORTHERN IRELAND	332	17.5
Antrim and Newtownabbey	37	25.7
Ards and North Down	19	11.7
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	31	14.3
Belfast	53	15.5
Causeway Coast and Glens	31	21.4
Derry City and Strabane	27	17.9
Fermanagh and Omagh	38	32.4
Lisburn and Castlereagh	17	11.6
Mid and East Antrim	24	17.2
Mid Ulster	24	16.1
Newry, Mourne and Down	31	17.1

The Government is supporting all local authorities in the UK to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit.

In addition to grant funding, Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs across all areas of the UK.

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Written Question

Nationality and Borders Bill

Tuesday 9th November 2021

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) meetings and (b) discussions her Department has had with the (i) Crown Prosecution Service, (ii) Lord Advocate/Procurator Fiscal Service and (iii) Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland on the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

As is routine, the Home Office is in dialogue with these organisations on a variety of matters, and where relevant on the Nationality and Borders Bill.

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Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 1st June 2021

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to scrutinise the effects of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on Northern Ireland.

Answered by Robin Walker

The agreement reached with the EU gives us full control over our own laws, courts, borders and seas. It will help unlock investment and protect jobs right across the UK, giving us fantastic opportunities as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world.

The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol is a unique, and delicately balanced, solution to a unique and sensitive set of problems. It aims to uphold the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects; safeguard Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom, its customs territory and internal market, while preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland.

It is clear over the months that the Protocol has been in force that there have been issues having a direct, and often disproportionate, impact. It is critical that these issues can be addressed in order to protect the political, social and economic fabric of life in Northern Ireland and to restore confidence on the ground. It is our priority to move discussions with the EU forward and to ensure the Protocol is given effect in the pragmatic and proportionate way intended.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I have met, and will continue to meet, with business and community representatives to listen to their experiences, to understand what the data tells us about impacts under the Protocol and to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to addressing issues with the Protocol. We will continue to work closely with all sectors of opinion in Northern Ireland as talks with the EU Commission continue.

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Written Question

Borders: Northern Ireland

Monday 24th May 2021

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the number of EU border checks completed in Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with his EU counterpart on taking a more pragmatic approach towards the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Answered by Robin Walker

The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (‘the Protocol’) is a unique solution to complex challenges. To work, it must be given effect in a pragmatic, practical and proportionate way. That is how we ensure it can meet its core purposes: to uphold the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions, safeguard Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom, and prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

This has been the basis on which the UK Government has continued to give effect to its obligations under the Protocol, conscious of the need to minimise its impact on everyday lives in Northern Ireland - as the Protocol itself sets out.

There have been difficulties in the operation of the Protocol, and we are working through the structures of the Withdrawal Agreement to seek to resolve these. The UK and EU were able to use the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee on 26 March to take stock of outstanding issues. Lord Frost and Vice President Šefčovič, and their respective teams, remain in close contact as we move forward. Issues remain, but our aim is to find common sense, risk-based approaches that enable us to agree a pragmatic way forward that substantially eases the burdens on Northern Ireland.

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Written Question

Borders: Northern Ireland

Thursday 25th March 2021

Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

What progress has been made by the UK-EU Joint Committee on revising the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Joint Committee has been working on the many difficulties presented to the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol by the EU’s decision to activate Article 16 on 29 January. There are outstanding issues to be resolved and we have taken temporary operational steps to avoid disruption to everyday life. We remain committed to working within the Joint Committee process to find solutions.

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Written Question

Medical Equipment: Northern Ireland

Tuesday 23rd March 2021

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there have been customs declaration problems with the flow of medical devices imported into Northern Ireland via Great Britain since 1 January 2021.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

While there have been isolated and limited instances of interruption to a small number of supplies caused by new customs processes, the borders are working well and medicines have not seen widespread disruption. We continue to work closely with the Border and Protocol Delivery Group, Department for Transport and others across Government to monitor the flow across the borders.

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Written Question

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by how many full-time equivalent employees his departmental payroll has reduced since the conclusion of the EU Exit trade deal.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The departmental full-time equivalent in Defra has increased by 91.55 since the conclusion of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, during the period 31 December 2020 to 31 January 2021. The reason for the increase is that the department is still dealing with the outcomes of the EU exit trade negotiations, UK borders, the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Covid-19 pandemic.

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