Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.

Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.

Ofcom’s implementation progress update, published 17 October, sets out their intention to publish finalised guidance on age assurance for publishers of online pornography in January 2025. Ofcom expects to start monitoring and enforcing the age assurance duties at that point.

The child safety duties – which require user-to-user services to prevent children encountering pornography – come into effect after parliament has considered Ofcom’s finalised Children’s Safety Code of Practice. We anticipate this will happen by Summer 2025.

As of 30 September 2023, when the UK Trader Scheme was replaced by the UK Internal Market Scheme, 5,700 businesses were authorised on the UK Trader Scheme. Around 3,800 businesses were actively using their authorisation in 2023.

As of April 2024, over 7,800 businesses are authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme, including over 4,100 which are established in Northern Ireland.

The Windsor Framework removes the requirement for export procedures that existed under the original Protocol and the subsequent 2020 agreement on the need for "equivalent information", with such controls only applying to a niche set of goods. Consistent with this, we have now laid domestic legislation under the Safeguarding the Union package that expressly prohibits export procedures applying to goods moving Northern Ireland to Great Britain, restoring our unfettered access safeguards. Detailed guidance on the treatment of relevant goods where exceptions apply is available on gov.uk.

The Windsor Framework removes the requirement for export procedures that existed under the original Protocol and the subsequent 2020 agreement on the need for "equivalent information", with such controls only applying to a niche set of goods. Consistent with this, we have now laid domestic legislation under the Safeguarding the Union package that expressly prohibits export procedures applying to goods moving Northern Ireland to Great Britain, restoring our unfettered access safeguards. Detailed guidance on the treatment of relevant goods where exceptions apply is available on gov.uk.

As part of the Windsor Framework, we have worked closely with industry to identify and lift the EU prohibition on movements to Northern Ireland for eleven priority species of tree: European beech, English oak, Sessile oak, Norway maple, Japanese maple, Sycamore maple, Field maple, Crab apple, Common apple, Hawthorn and two types of privet (wax leaf and delavey). In addition, the ban on Common hazel will also be lifted soon. An additional 26 species from other prohibited genera are currently under consideration for removal from the prohibited list. Many of those species are those included in the Woodland Trust tree packs. We have reached out to the Woodland Trust to discuss this matter further. Moreover, we continue to work with stakeholders to identify further species to be considered by the EU for removal from the prohibited list.

HM Government is taking an inclusive approach to the ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage across the whole UK. We want to engage with everyone, including the Ulster Scots community, and to provide the conditions to allow everyone to express, preserve, and develop their culture and identity within the UK’s implementation of the framework of the 2003 Convention.

HM Government has taken on board guidance from UNESCO which defines Intangible Cultural Heritage as ‘traditional, contemporary, and living at the same time’. In line with this, we want to ensure that newer practices of Intangible Cultural Heritage can be recognised as well as more long-standing ones.

HM Government aims to use the ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to create a discussion about the role that living heritage of all sorts plays in the identity, pride and cohesion of all parts of the UK. To support this, we are taking an inclusive approach to the ratification and seeking to ensure as many people and groups as possible can be involved, which has included launching a public consultation on details of the ratification.

The attached supporting table details the number of UK regulars and Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) personnel stationed in Northern Ireland by service as at 1 January 2023.

The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence - where personnel work isn't necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the local authority containing the home port of their ship.

The Block Grant Transparency publication sets out a full breakdown of funding for the Welsh Government, including the impact of the 5% uplift.

The publication is regularly updated after each UK Budget. The next update is expected before summer recess following Spring Budget 2023.

The most recent publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-december-2021

There are 207.93 full-time equivalent (FTE) decision makers working in the Single Competent Authority. There are 111.87 decision makers working within the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority. Both Competent Authorities carry a number of vacancies being filled through recruitment activity.

It is not possible to provide a breakdown of only Conclusive Grounds Decision Makers; staff can be dual skilled and will work on both, Reasonable Grounds decision and Conclusive Ground decision, workstreams according to business needs.

It is not possible to provide a breakdown of decision maker numbers for the past five years.

The Windsor Framework respects that for decades the island of Ireland has been treated as a single epidemiological unit, meaning that there have been additional requirements for the movement of livestock. In 2021 technical easements were agreed with the EU to simplify the movements of livestock moving from Northern Ireland (NI) to Great Britain (GB) and back. Cattle moving directly from GB to NI do not need to be sent to an approved test centre before moving to NI, but need to arrive into NI through a Point of Entry for relevant sanitary and phytosanitary checks, as they did pre-EU exit. We are working closely with the livestock sector in GB and NI to ensure movements can continue with as little friction as possible.

Once an animal has been purchased at a show in Great Britain, this animal can then move to Northern Ireland, as long as it has fulfilled its residency requirements. This means the animal must have been a resident in GB for 3-6 months, or from birth, depending on the reason for movement. These requirements apply to GB originating animals that are intending to move into Northern Ireland after purchase.

In order to support the ability for Northern Ireland livestock (sheep, goats, cattle) to attend shows, sales and exhibitions in Great Britain an easement was formally agreed between the UK Government and EU Commission in January this year, which allows Northern Ireland livestock to attend shows and sales in Great Britain without being subject to a 6-month residency requirement in Great Britain, on the condition that they return to Northern Ireland after 15 days. This allows for livestock to return to Northern Ireland without having to spend 6 months in Great Britain.

Following their arrival in or return to Northern Ireland, DAERA then require livestock to be subject to 30 days in isolation with a minimum time lapse of 42 days between Tuberculosis tests.

The Northern Ireland Protocol requires animals to attend approved assembly centres for a maximum of 6 days once they have remained in Great Britain for a period of 3-6 months, or from birth, depending on the reason for the movement to Northern Ireland.

The UK Government continues to discuss these extra burdens with the EU in an effort to reduce requirements.

The UK Government has not formally assessed the costs associated with the movements and checks of transporting livestock between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government does consider that the introduction of the protocol has had an effect on the costs involved in moving livestock between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government has therefore secured a derogation from EU rules for livestock moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain for shows and sales. The derogation allows livestock to return to Northern Ireland within 15 days, which has reduced costs and burdens to traders.

Now the Transition Period has ended, the Government has the opportunity to manage our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. The Government has listened to the concerns of stakeholders and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee and has developed proposals to strengthen our efforts to tackle puppy smuggling.

We will legislate to bring in powers which enable us to bring in new restrictions on the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets on welfare grounds in the future. This could include increasing the minimum age that dogs can be non-commercially moved or commercially imported into Great Britain.

We are not currently proposing to apply these rules on pets travelling from Northern Ireland to GB, via the commercial or the non-commercial route.