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Written question asked by Lord Eames (Crossbench) on Wednesday, 5 April 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 21 April 2017. It was answered by Lord Dunlop (Conservative) on Thursday, 20 April 2017 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Northern Ireland Government

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the governing of Northern Ireland in the event of failure to reach an agreement in the present inter-party talks conducted by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Answer

We remain focused on securing the resumption of devolved government in Northern Ireland. However in its absence it is ultimately for the UK Government to provide for political stability and good governance in Northern Ireland. If talks fail in their objectives and no agreement is reached following the Easter recess, we will have to consider a range of options. The Government has, however, been clear that when considering the options available, any form of joint authority would be incompatible with the consent principle committed to in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 28 March, at a minimum we would seek to bring forward legislation to set a regional rate to enable collection of the rates to go ahead, and to take steps to provide further assurance around the budget for Northern Ireland.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL6673
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Northern Ireland government
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk