The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will ensure a fair and transparent framework that gives all communities confidence in legacy processes and will allow victims, survivors and their families, including service families to obtain the answers they have long sought. Alongside this, we are putting in place robust, deliverable protections specifically designed to support the welfare of veterans, including protection from duplicating investigations.

This measure will ensure that the Legacy Commission and coroners conducting inquests will be required not to duplicate the work of any previous investigation or inquest unless doing so is essential, which is a very high threshold in law.

The Government remains committed to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. The Independent Monitoring Panel’s insights play a vital role in evaluating this commitment in accordance with the UK internal market guarantee.

In accordance with the Panel’s recommendations in its first report, the Government is working to improve the quality of guidance and support to businesses through a ‘one stop shop’ advice service. The Government has also provided clear guidance on its approach to deforestation-free products and carbon pricing, which is relevant to businesses trading with Northern Ireland.

The Government looks forward to receiving the Panel’s report for its next monitoring period, from 1 July 2025 - 31 December 2025, in due course.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland remains committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss all issues of interest, including ensuring the stability of devolved government, with the aim of improving public services and the sustainability of public finances.

Several of the Northern Ireland parties have set out proposals for reform and the Secretary of State looks forward to discussing them further.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recognises the growing discussion among the people in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland parties, about how the political institutions could work more effectively and collaboratively.

The UK Government remains open to discussing any proposals put forward by the parties that could command the widest possible support.

The Irish Government is a valued partner and co-signatory to the Good Friday Agreement. We remain in regular dialogue on a range of issues, through established fora.

The Government is committed to building a closer and ambitious relationship with the EU, to the advantage of the whole of the UK. This includes through new agreements on agri-food, electricity and emissions trading, which will benefit Northern Ireland through the Windsor Framework by smoothing flows of trade, lowering prices and increasing choice for consumers.

The Government remains clear that Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements should serve to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, account for Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances, and in doing so protect its access to both the UK and EU markets. Only that way can we deliver the certainty for businesses that has made Northern Ireland one of the fastest growing parts of the UK.

Despite the recent disorder, and the security incidents in Belfast, Lurgan and Dunmurry, the Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) in Northern Ireland threat level remains SUBSTANTIAL, following its reduction in March 2024.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre keeps the Threat Level from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism in Northern Ireland under constant review and formally reviews it twice a year.

I wish to recognise the tremendous efforts of the PSNI and security partners, who work day in, day out to keep our communities safe.

Fleur Ravensbergen is undertaking this scoping exercise independently of the Government. To protect the independence of this role we have not been assessing her work as it progresses. We expect to receive her report in the Autumn and will take time to carefully and thoroughly consider it.

Intertrade UK plays a vital role as an advisory body supporting intra-UK trade and strengthening the UK internal market. The Government continues to value Intertrade UK’s written advice on a wide range of internal market trade issues which it has provided consistently since becoming operational in 2025.

Intertrade UK was awarded £2.25m of funding to be split evenly over three financial years at the Autumn 2025 Budget, and is now implementing the first year of its work programme. The UK Government looks forward to seeing Intertrade UK implement the events and research elements of its programme throughout the rest of this year.

The Government is committed to retaining Part 4 of the Legacy Act, which includes the oral history and other measures stemming from the Stormont House Agreement.

The full implementation of Part 4 was difficult in the challenging context created by the Legacy Act’s other provisions, which were widely opposed by all Northern Ireland political parties, victims’ groups and key stakeholders. That is why this Government’s focus has necessarily been on addressing the problems with the Legacy Act by ensuring a reformed and strengthened Legacy Commission can deliver for victims. This in turn will create the space for Part 4 measures to make a meaningful impact.

While preliminary work on these measures continues, progress has been made on two related initiatives: an Official History relating to the Troubles, and a project to digitise and make freely available online Troubles-related records held by The National Archives. A first batch of approximately 1,000 records was published in April 2026 and we expect further announcements on these projects in the near future.

The Government remains committed to an independent and objective examination of UK Government policy in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and progress continues to be made. Supported by the project’s independent expert advisory panel, the recruitment of a team of historians is now in its final stages, and we expect to make further announcements on this in the near future. The total budget for the project is £3.6 million over its life cycle. The estimated timetable for completion is five years.

This Government continues to support Northern Ireland within the Union. We remain focused on delivering real, tangible benefits of the Union for everyone in Northern Ireland. This includes delivering economic growth in every postcode, providing practical support for families in Northern Ireland and across the UK, and working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland.

The Government is continuing to implement the Safeguarding the Union command paper, which includes delivering regular meetings of the East-West Council.

The most recent EWC meeting took place in January on the theme of Connectivity: improving East-West trade and community links across the UK. This meeting included four UK Government Ministers from three departments, demonstrating the Government’s broad and deep commitment to delivering for people in Northern Ireland. We intend that the Council will next meet in autumn 2026.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 14 July (HL1786), which outlines how the referenced commitment is embedded throughout the continued work of the Government.

The implementation of several Government strategies have been accompanied by the publication of Northern Ireland-specific papers that evidence the mutual benefits of the Union and include long-term plans to support specific sectors. For instance, the launch of the Industrial Strategy in June 2025 was complemented by the publication of a Northern Ireland-specific paper. This paper analysed the Northern Ireland industrial sector, identified the key areas that add significant value to the UK as a whole, and outlined the long-term plan to support and grow the sector.

Through this approach, the Government is moving beyond high-level commitments to deliver tangible results that demonstrate the mutual benefits of Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.

In accordance with the Good Friday Agreement and the Principle of Consent, Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK for as long as its people wish for it to be.

There is no clear basis to suggest that a majority of people in Northern Ireland presently wish to separate from the United Kingdom.

As set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the duty to call such a poll rests with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland alone.

The Government is committed to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill which will replace the flawed Legacy Act with a fair, transparent system that will allow victims and their families obtain the answers they have long sought, and provide robust and deliverable protections for our former service personnel.

Since July 2024, my Department has made several appointments of individuals from outside the civil service to public bodies and advisory roles.

Appointments made by the Northern Ireland Office generally fall within three categories: Public Appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Unregulated Public Appointments and Direct Ministerial Appointments.

Regulated appointments follow the strict processes set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments, while Direct Ministerial Appointments are made to provide short-term advisory functions, bringing specialist external expertise directly to Ministers.

In line with our transparency obligations, all such appointments are factually recorded and announced publicly on the Northern Ireland Office GOV.UK page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/northern-ireland-office

Appointments made since July 2024 are as follows:

Regulated Public Appointments:

Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

Nazia Latif was appointed as Commissioner on 1 September 2024.

Geraldine McGahey was reappointed as Chief Commissioner from 1 March 2025.

Maureen Brunt, Siobhan Cullen, Ellen Finlay, Monica Fitzpatrick, John McAllister and Preeti Yellamaty were reappointed as Commissioners and Harry Robinson was appointed as Commissioner, with each to commence from 1 June 2025.

Stephen Matthews and Lisa Caldwell were reappointed as Commissioners from 1 March 2026.

A short term extension to the appointment of Neil Anderson as Deputy Chief Commissioner was announced with effect from 1 March 2026.

Kevin Doherty was appointed as a Commissioner with effect from 5 March 2026.

Colin Kennedy was appointed as a Deputy Chief Commissioner with effect from 1 September 2026.

Kristel Miller was appointed as a Commissioner with effect from 1 September 2026.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Mairead Holder was appointed as Commissioner on 1 September 2024.

Northern Ireland Office Non-Executive Board Member

Fiona Ross was reappointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Northern Ireland Office on 1 March 2026.

A short term extension to the appointment of Les Philpott as Lead Non-Executive Director to the NIO was announced with effect from 30 September 2026.

Unregulated Public Appointments:

Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland

David MacAnulty and Donald Leeson were appointed as Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland with effect from 1 October 2025.

NI Veterans Commissioner's Office Commissioner Reappointment

David Johnstone was reappointed to a second term with effect from 1 September 2026.

Independent Reporting Commission

John McBurney, Mitchell Reis and Monica McWilliams had their appointments as Commissioners extended with effect from 1 October 2026.

Direct Ministerial Appointments:

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Sir John Evans was appointed as Chair on 7 October 2024.

Intertrade UK

Baroness Arlene Foster was appointed as Chair, and Dr Esmond Birnie, Kirsty McManus, Suzanne Wylie, Roger Pollen and Angela McGowan were appointed as Members on 28 February 2025.

Board of the International Fund for Ireland

Jointly appointed with the Irish Government, Shona McCarthy was appointed as Chair, alongside board members Janet McConkey, Katy Hayward, Angila Chada, and Bill Pauley on 1 March 2025. Anne Conaghan and Anne Carr were also reappointed to the Board on 1 March 2025.

Independent Expert Advisory Panel - Official History of UK Government Policy during the Troubles

Lord Paul Bew, Professor Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, Professor Henry Patterson, Professor Richard Bourke, Professor Helen Parr and Professor Ian McBride were appointed the independent expert advisory panel to make recommendations on key details of this project in April 2025.

Patrick Finucane Inquiry

Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed as Chair and Baroness Nuala O’Loan and Francesca Del Mese were appointed as Assessors on 13 June 2025.

Independent Expert on Paramilitary Group Transition to Disbandment

Fleur Ravensbergen was appointed on 23 September 2025, in a joint appointment with the Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

All appointments listed above have been published on the Northern Ireland Office GOV.UK page. Further details on all public and direct ministerial appointments are regularly published.

From 1 July, new leases will include a mileage allowance of 10,000 miles a year – e.g. 30,000 over a three-year lease or 50,000 over a five-year lease. Three out of four Scheme customers drive 10,000 miles or fewer per year. However, Motability recognise that a small number of customers will be unable to change driving behaviour or absorb the mileage charges. On 8 July, Motability announced an exceptions process for those who exceed this new limit for some journeys made for healthcare, education and employment. The customer will need to evidence this extra mileage.

The Motability Scheme is operated independently of Government. Decisions about eligibility, lease terms, mileage allowances and support arrangements are matters for Motability. The Government's role is to provide qualifying disability benefits that customers may choose to use to access the Scheme.

Northern Ireland Office Ministers meet regularly with Members of Parliament to discuss a wide range of issues relating to departmental responsibilities and matters of interest to constituents.

As crises do not respect borders or boundaries, resilience is a shared responsibility between individuals, communities, businesses, local, devolved and national government across the UK.

We work in close cooperation at both official and ministerial level on resilience, organising regular ‘four nations’ meeting. These aim to complement the everyday work teams across government do to collaborate with counterparts in the devolved governments on risk and resilience. The most recent meeting was in June.

This group discusses how each government is developing its own strategies and frameworks to strengthen resilience and identify opportunities for greater collaboration.

The Government is continuing to implement the Safeguarding the Union command paper and to support Northern Ireland's place in the Union.

Part of that commitment is regular meetings of the East-West Council. We intend that the Council will next meet in autumn 2026.