Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022

Wednesday 9 March 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Rob Butler asked about the potential impact of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022 on political stability in Northern Ireland.
  • The Minister assured Rob Butler that he is emphasizing to Northern Ireland's political parties the importance of working together to achieve a stable devolved Government.
  • Stephen Farry inquired if a pledge would be fulfilled within the next two weeks.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rob Butler
Northern Ireland
Context

The Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022 has been passed to improve the sustainability of institutions in Northern Ireland.

Question

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022 on political stability in Northern Ireland?

Answer from Brandon Lewis

The Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022 was specifically designed to improve the sustainability of the Northern Ireland institutions. The benefits include allowing more time and space for the formation of an Executive following an election or the resignation of the First or Deputy First Minister.

Answered
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Q2 Rob Butler
Northern Ireland
Context

The questioner notes that the legislation was timely given recent resignations of Northern Ireland's First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Question

Can my right hon. Friend assure me that he is emphasising to Northern Ireland's political parties that they all need to play their part and work together to achieve stable devolved Government?

Answer from Brandon Lewis

Yes, I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. He is absolutely right. I continue to speak to a range of stakeholders, including the party leaders in Northern Ireland, about the importance of having a strong, functioning Northern Ireland Executive. A couple of them are in the Chamber now, and I have expressed to them my desire to have a First Minister and Deputy First Minister nominated now and after the May elections.

Answered
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Q3 Stephen Farry
Northern Ireland
Context

The Government have promised to legislate for the language and culture package of New Decade, New Approach before the Assembly rises for elections.

Question

Is that pledge going to happen in the next two weeks?

Answer from Brandon Lewis

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that we deliver on our promise, as is the Prime Minister, as we set out last summer, and indeed that we deliver on all our commitments in the New Decade, New Approach deal, which brought Stormont back.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific timeframe of two weeks was not addressed.

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