Excellent progress has been made with Freeport delivery - all English Freeports are open for business and seven out of eight have final government approval. We have also announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland as well as two new Freeports in Wales. The location of each Freeport can be found on the Freeports page on GOV.UK.

The lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive has seriously limited the scope and nature of engagement in Northern Ireland on Freeports and on Investment Zones. Officials from the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service continue to work closely together. However, on this and on so many other areas where action is needed to grow the economy in Northern Ireland, we need rapid restoration of the Executive to allow projects like this to go ahead and to benefit from the opportunities provided by the Windsor Framework.

Excellent progress has been made with Freeport delivery - all English Freeports are open for business and seven out of eight have final government approval. We have also announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland as well as two new Freeports in Wales. The location of each Freeport can be found on the Freeports page on GOV.UK.

The lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive has seriously limited the scope and nature of engagement in Northern Ireland on Freeports and on Investment Zones. Officials from the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service continue to work closely together. However, on this and on so many other areas where action is needed to grow the economy in Northern Ireland, we need rapid restoration of the Executive to allow projects like this to go ahead and to benefit from the opportunities provided by the Windsor Framework.

The UK routinely contributes 41 personnel to NATO's KFOR mission, including an important contribution to KFOR’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability. Additionally, a defence advisor and a non-resident Defence Attaché support our bilateral relationship with Kosovo.

Following a request from Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and as outlined in the Gov.uk press release published on 1 October 2023, the UK will also deploy the Strategic Reserve Force held at readiness in the UK. Around 200 soldiers from 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment will join the 400-strong British contingent already in country as part of an annual exercise.

This follows on from the violent attack on Kosovo Police in northern Kosovo on 24 September and increasing tensions in the region.

Funding data has been published for the 2014-20 Erasmus+ programme by the British Council and Ecorys, who were acting as the UK National Agency. This data indicates that the amount of funding received by institutions in Northern Ireland for the years 2014, 2015, and 2016 was €6,336,885, €6,108,410 and €7,414,597 respectively.

The Government has agreed and announced freeports with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and had previously engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive on this issue. However, given the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive since February 2022, it is not possible to take this any further forward. The Government looks forward to pursuing further discussions with a restored Executive on extending the benefits of the freeports programme across the UK.

As set out recently in the Main Estimates memoranda, the Northern Ireland Executive has received £2.0 billion through the Barnett formula for 2023-24 on top of the Spending Review 2021 baseline. This means the Northern Ireland Executive’s total block grant (Total DEL) funding for 2023-24 is £15.8 billion.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the noble Lord/Baroness’ Parliamentary Question of 28 February is attached.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Kilclooney

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

7 March 2023

Dear Lord Kilclooney,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many marriages took place in England for the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those were secular (HL6000) and what percentage of religious marriages in England were solemnised in (1) Anglican churches, (2) Reformed Evangelical churches, and (3) Roman Catholic churches, in the most recent year for which figures are available. (HL6001).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes ‘Marriages data for England and Wales’[1] with the most recent being for 2019. The total number of marriages in England in 2019 (including both civil and religious marriages) was 208,151 [2] . Of these, the total number of civil marriages in England was 170,634.[3,4]

The total number of religious marriages in England in 2019 was 37,517. 72.5 per cent of these were Church of England. Marriages in Reformed Evangelical churches are included in ‘Other Christian denominations’ which accounted for 11.4 per cent of religious marriages [5] . 10.4 per cent of religious marriages in England in 2019 were Roman Catholic.

If you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/marriagecohabitationandcivilpartnerships/bulletins/marriagesinenglandandwalesprovisional/2019

[2]Figures include marriages to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

[3]Civil marriages are those which are carried out at either a register office or approved premises by or in the presence of a registrar, and do not include any religious content.

[4]Marriage statistics by manner of solemnisation (either civil or religious) can be misleading as some religious marriages (such as Muslim and Sikh) can take place at unregistered premises. To be registered as a legal marriage the couple have a further marriage ceremony in a register office or approved building. Such weddings are coded as civil marriages because only the civil marriage certificate is received.

[5] 'Evangelical Reformed churches’ are included in ‘Other Christian denominations' which also include Methodist, Calvinistic Methodist, United Reformed Church, Congregationalist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends (Quakers), Salvation Army, Brethren, Mormon, Unitarian and Jehovah's Witnesses'.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the noble Lord/Baroness’ Parliamentary Question of 28 February is attached.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Kilclooney

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

7 March 2023

Dear Lord Kilclooney,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many marriages took place in England for the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those were secular (HL6000) and what percentage of religious marriages in England were solemnised in (1) Anglican churches, (2) Reformed Evangelical churches, and (3) Roman Catholic churches, in the most recent year for which figures are available. (HL6001).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes ‘Marriages data for England and Wales’[1] with the most recent being for 2019. The total number of marriages in England in 2019 (including both civil and religious marriages) was 208,151 [2] . Of these, the total number of civil marriages in England was 170,634.[3,4]

The total number of religious marriages in England in 2019 was 37,517. 72.5 per cent of these were Church of England. Marriages in Reformed Evangelical churches are included in ‘Other Christian denominations’ which accounted for 11.4 per cent of religious marriages [5] . 10.4 per cent of religious marriages in England in 2019 were Roman Catholic.

If you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/marriagecohabitationandcivilpartnerships/bulletins/marriagesinenglandandwalesprovisional/2019

[2]Figures include marriages to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

[3]Civil marriages are those which are carried out at either a register office or approved premises by or in the presence of a registrar, and do not include any religious content.

[4]Marriage statistics by manner of solemnisation (either civil or religious) can be misleading as some religious marriages (such as Muslim and Sikh) can take place at unregistered premises. To be registered as a legal marriage the couple have a further marriage ceremony in a register office or approved building. Such weddings are coded as civil marriages because only the civil marriage certificate is received.

[5] 'Evangelical Reformed churches’ are included in ‘Other Christian denominations' which also include Methodist, Calvinistic Methodist, United Reformed Church, Congregationalist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends (Quakers), Salvation Army, Brethren, Mormon, Unitarian and Jehovah's Witnesses'.

We are committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continue to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.

This is another important reason why we need to see a restored Executive.

The latest data is shown in the table below:

Wind’s share of electricity generation in Great Britain, 2012 - 2021^[1]

Provisional 2022 data for the UK will be published on Thursday March 30^th 2023 in Energy Trends. 2022 data for Great Britain will be published in December in Energy Trends.

^[1] Taken from data published by BEIS in Energy Trends: December 2022, special feature article - Electricity generation and supply in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England

This Government is committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continues to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.

Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland have a long-standing reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the two countries. Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote in UK Parliamentary and local elections. The franchise for UK-wide referendums is set on a case-by-case in the legislation providing for the referendum. British citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland can vote at Dail and local Elections but not in Presidential elections or referendums held in the Republic unless the British citizen is a also an Irish citizen.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 25 January is attached.

The Rt Hon the Lord of Kilclooney
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

1 February 2023

Dear Lord Kilclooney,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain (HL5084).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce estimates of the number of UK citizens living in Ireland. That country’s Central Statistics Office estimated that 103,113 UK citizens were living in Ireland in April 2016 (1). Population by nationality estimates based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) show that there were an estimated 330,000 Irish nationals resident in Great Britain in June 2021 (2).

The 2021 Census for England and Wales and the corresponding Census for Scotland, which due to the Covid pandemic was delayed until 2022, asked respondents about passports held which can be used as some proxy for citizenship. The relevant Census figures have not yet been published, though the first release of data on this topic for England and Wales showed that an estimated 364,726 residents of these countries held an Irish passport but not a UK passport (3).

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

1 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/uk/

2 Table 2.4, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality
Note that data from this source below UK, EU and non-EU level should be treated with caution and not be compared with previous years due to the introduction of a new weighting methodology to reflect the change in survey operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These statistics were discontinued in October 2022

3 Table TS005, https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_ts

I draw the attention of the noble Lord to the answer given to PQ HL4711 (attached) on 26^th January 2023.

As part of the Common Travel (CTA) arrangements, Irish citizens in the UK continue to have access to their CTA rights, including access to healthcare.

Irish citizens who join the UK Armed Forces are not required to swear an Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign but must make an affirmation to the same effect. This requirement to swear an Oath or make an affirmation applies to all individuals who are eligible to serve in the UK Armed Forces.

Whether UK residents in Ireland can benefit from its health service or join Irish Armed Forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance is a matter for the Irish government.

National Health Service funding in the United Kingdom is devolved so figures have been given for England, Wales and Scotland separately. The categories within these budgets may not align perfectly in terms of what is considered NHS spending and what is considered wider health and social care spending.

The official NHS England website confirms the budget for 2022/23 is £152.6 billion. Figures from the 2022/23 Supplementary Welsh Government Budget show that the budget for NHS Wales is £10.3 billion. The 2022/23 budget published on 9 December 2021 for NHS Scotland is £12.9 billion.

We do not hold data on and are unable to provide estimated figures on the budgetary impact of any given nationality in the UK, as healthcare spending is allocated based on residency rather than the nationality of the individual receiving healthcare.

Freeport delivery in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland relies on partnership between UKG and the devolved governments to maximise the benefits a Freeport can offer. We have progressed Freeports in Scotland and Wales; however, the governance situation in Northern Ireland has so far prevented UKG and the Northern Ireland Executive from agreeing a Freeport offer in Northern Ireland and application process. In the meantime, we remain committed to delivering existing economic growth programmes and meeting with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland to discuss future opportunities.

In March 2021, the Chancellor announced 8 locations as winners of the English Freeports competition: East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich (Freeport East), Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth & South Devon, Solent, Teesside, and Thames. Subsequently, Freeports have been working with government to develop business cases and secure the necessary designations in law. Tax sites have now been designated in all English Freeports and customs sites have been designated in Teesside, Thames and, more recently, Solent Freeports.

The UK government is investing £52 million to bring two Green Freeports to Scotland. Bidding has now closed, and we are working jointly with the Scottish Government to jointly assess bids to ensure they meet our shared goals, ahead of announcing winners later in the autumn.

A Welsh Freeport will be backed by £26 million in UK Government funding. The prospectus was published 01 September and it expected that the successful Freeport location will be announced later this year.

We are committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible.

I do not know the answer to that question. I have been focusing on England and Wales, but I shall get an answer to the noble Lord.

The UK Government is committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible. Our priority is to ensure we provide the best possible offer for Northern Ireland. We will make sure it is a competitive one that attracts businesses.