The Union

Question

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to safeguard Northern Ireland's place in the Union. He noted that protecting Northern Ireland's constitutional status as set out in the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and ensuring unfettered access to the UK internal market are crucial for maintaining stability.

Question

What action has my right hon. Friend taken to ensure that no new regulatory borders between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can emerge from future agreements with the European Union? He mentioned the importance of clear rules for goods in Northern Ireland.

Question

Does the Secretary of State agree that good cross-border transport links are vital to safeguarding all parts of our Union? In his constituency, he mentioned specific projects like electrification of the north Wales main line and improved road links such as the Pant-Llanymynech bypass between Wales and north Shropshire.

Question

The Union is strongest when people can see and feel its benefits. He agreed that a prosperous Northern Ireland, with a stable devolved Government, is the surest way to safeguard the Union's integral place in the United Kingdom. He mentioned new leadership at Stormont including Speaker Poots replacing Speaker Maskey.

Question

This morning's High Court ruling confirms the non-compatibility of the Government's legacy legislation with human rights. It puts perpetrators' needs before victims and is not supported by any party in Northern Ireland or across the island of Ireland. The Secretary of State was asked when will the Government repeal this completely unacceptable legislation?

Question

The “Safeguarding the Union” Command Paper claimed to copper-fasten Northern Ireland's political and constitutional place in the Union, but it contradicts the British-Irish agreement on self-determination for the island's people. How does the Secretary of State square this clear contradiction?

Question

One thing of great importance to this place is our education system, including the trips that people make to Parliament. We want to safeguard the Union, so what steps are being taken to ensure that students in Northern Ireland have equal access to educational tours of Westminster? Bearing in mind that students in Northern Ireland should have the same access to them as those in England, but that the cost of flying over can be prohibitive, will consideration be given to additional funding to allow some sort of subsidisation?

Question

Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the fact that the new UK East-West Council will have its first meeting next month in Belfast? One of its key objectives is to encourage greater educational co-operation across the United Kingdom, as well as binding Northern Ireland more closely into the wider economy and the UK internal market.

Question

The Secretary of State referred earlier to the financial package that the Treasury has put in place to support our public services in Northern Ireland, but our commitments on public sector pay mean that there remains a significant gap in the next two financial years. Will he work with us to seek further support from the Treasury, so that we can ensure that the Executive lives within its budget and that we can pay our public sector workers a decent wage for the vital work they do?