Written questions by Burghart.

With reference to paragraph 4.140 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, how much has been allocated to the Finucane inquiry.

The settlement in the Autumn Budget for the Northern Ireland Office includes funding for priorities related to the legacy of the Troubles, including making provision for the establishment of the Inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane. The bulk of the costs of the Inquiry will fall in the next Spending Round. It is the Government’s expectation that the Inquiry will avoid unnecessary costs given all the previous reviews and investigations, and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public domain.

When he plans to publish the terms of reference of the Finucane inquiry.

I am keen that the Inquiry is able to begin its work without undue delay. The Inquiries Act 2005 sets out clear steps to follow in setting up an inquiry, including the appointment of the Chair, agreement on the Terms of Reference, working through the necessary logistics such as facilities and services procurement, and setting up the Inquiry secretariat.I will provide an update on the Terms of Reference once it has been agreed with the Chair.

How much additional security funding the Government plans to provide to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the 2025-26 financial year.

Recognising the unique security situation in Northern Ireland, the UK Government makes an additional contribution to the PSNI through Additional Security Funding.As we announced in the Spending Review last week we have increased Additional Security Funding (ASF) for the financial year 2025-26 to £37.8 million . ASF was previously c£32m a year.This increased funding from the Government will provide the PSNI with more resources they need to tackle the threat posed by Northern Ireland related terrorism in Northern Ireland, and so help them to continue to keep people safe.

Whether his Department plans to appeal the Dillon judgement handed down in the Belfast Court of Appeal on 20 September 2024, NICA 59.

The Government is committed to repealing and replacing the Legacy Act, and to implementing legacy mechanisms that are compliant with human rights and can be supported by communities across Northern Ireland. We are considering the implications of the Court of Appeal judgement, which are complex and wide-ranging, and I will update the House as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Government has lodged an application with the Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal the judgement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 9532, when the Independent Monitoring Panel will make its first report.

The Independent Monitoring Panel will report every six months to the Government on the basis set out in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. The support arrangements for the Panel are in the process of being put in place presently, as set out in my answer to question 9532.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October to Question 8847 on Terrorism: Northern Ireland, for what reason he will not publish the details of these requests.

There is no obligation to publish details of the requests the government receives for public inquiries. I do not intend to do so, especially as there are victims, survivors and families at the heart of those requests, who should be treated with respect and confidentiality.I have written directly to those whose requests I have recently considered. Further requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on establishing an independent monitoring panel.

On 19 September, I announced that Aidan Reilly, Anna Jerzewska and Alastair Hamilton will be the members of the Independent Monitoring Panel. As set out in the Command Paper, the Panel will monitor and report on the implementation of the Windsor Framework.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on establishing ministerial structures to (a) monitor and (b) manage issues arising from the Windsor Framework.

Matters related to European affairs may be considered by Government Ministers at the Europe Cabinet Committee. These arrangements are complemented by interdepartmental structures to manage the implementation of the Windsor Framework and any issues arising therefrom, reflecting the commitments made in Safeguarding The Union.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on ensuring continued supply of necessary veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland beyond 2025.

The Government’s priority is to secure the long-term sustainable supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland and we are continuing to progress urgent work on this. We have re-established the Veterinary Medicines Working Group to advise the Government, and this met on 11 September 2024 and will meet again on 5 November 2024. A grace period arrangement is in place until the end of 2025 which supports the continuity of supply to Northern Ireland.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on establishing a strengthened independent review of the Windsor Framework.

The Windsor Framework (Constitutional Status of Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024 introduced new legal requirements on the conduct of an independent review of the Windsor Framework. The commissioning of an Independent Review is dependent on the outcome of the democratic consent vote process due to take place in the Northern Ireland Assembly later this year, and the Government will follow the legal duties that apply in full.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on setting out how public authorities should have special regard to Northern Ireland's place in the UK's internal market.

Consistent with the commitments made in Safeguarding the Union, the Government published statutory guidance to public authorities on upholding their legal duties to have special regard to the UK internal market on 30 September.

Whether the Armed Forces Veteran Cards can now be used as Voter ID in forthcoming elections in Northern Ireland.

Legislation is required to add documents to the list of ID documents that may be produced in Northern Ireland polling stations in order to vote. The Government intends to legislate to add the HM Forces Veteran Card to the Northern Ireland voter identity document list in advance of the next elections in Northern Ireland which are scheduled to be held in 2027.

If she will publish the most up-to-date figures for the (a) number of applications, (b) number of placements and (c) location of placements for the Turing Scheme.

The figures for the number of Turing Scheme applications and placements were recently published on GOV.UK and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/turing-scheme-funding-and-assessment-outcomes-2024-to-2025.For the 2024/25 academic year, education providers and other eligible organisations from across the UK have been allocated over £105 million to send more than 43,000 students on study and work placements across the globe. Around 23,000 (53%) of these opportunities will be for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.More applications were successful this year than ever before, with significantly higher interest in the scheme from colleges and schools and more competitive, high quality applications overall.The Turing Scheme received 755 applications, compared with 619 last year. 642 applications were successful, including 118 more schools than last year and 44 more further education providers, with participants expected to travel to over 160 destinations around the world.With regard to the location of Turing Scheme placements, providers are currently in the process of replanning their placements following the announcement of finalised funding allocations. As such, the department is unable to currently confirm these details. However, it will publish further information on destinations in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 43(m) of the publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on developing legislative proposals to confirm the application of the Windsor Framework labelling requirements across the UK.

The Government confirmed at the end of September that we would no longer proceed with the introduction of mandatory GB-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling from the beginning of October 2024, as originally proposed. We will put in place the legislative powers necessary to apply labelling requirements across Great Britain in a targeted way, should that be needed to safeguard the supply of supermarket supplies into Northern Ireland. We will set out further details in due course and will not hesitate to intervene if necessary to support Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on ensuring there will be no checks when goods move within the UK internal market system save those conducted by UK authorities.

As set out in the Command Paper, as we transition to the UK internal market system we are focused on ensuring the smooth flow of trade through a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to tackling criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. Those checks that are required in order to meet our international commitments will be carried out only by UK authorities or those authorised to act on their behalf.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on establishing a UK Internal Market Guarantee.

The UK Internal Market Guarantee will apply to the operation of the UK internal market system when it is given effect next year. As envisaged in the Command Paper, this will be overseen by the Independent Monitoring Panel, the appointments to which were confirmed on 19 September with preparatory work for its operation underway.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on replacing the green lane with a UK internal market system.

The Government is continuing, as set out in the Command Paper, to take steps to give effect to the internal market system. More than 9,000 businesses are registered for the existing UK Internal Market Scheme, which enables them to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without incurring duty. From 2025, the Scheme will enable businesses to move goods into Northern Ireland using a significantly reduced data set which draws on ordinary commercial information, assisted by the new Trader Goods Profile tool which provides relevant data based on descriptions of goods.While we will provide in due course further information on the detailed timeline for the new arrangements coming into effect, businesses should be fully prepared for them by 31 March 2025.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what recent progress his Department has made on removing prohibitions on shrubs and trees.

Since the publication of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, bans have been lifted on five species of plant including hazel, wild privet and linden. The Commission has published a further seven commodity risk assessments for other species, following the provision of scientific evidence by the UK Government on the basis of industry demand. We continue to work closely with the horticultural sector, including through the Horticulture Working Group, in order to maximise opportunities for trade in plants and plant products within the United Kingdom.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 7835 on Terrorism: Northern Ireland, if he will publish details of all requests for public inquiries that he has considered.

I do not intend to publish details of the requests I receive for public inquiries. I have written to those whose requests I have recently considered.

What the VAT status is of further education colleges.

Education services supplied by an “eligible body” are exempt from VAT. For VAT purposes, an “eligible body” broadly refers to most regulated, publicly funded, or not-for-profit education providers. This means no VAT is charged on supplies of education made by further education colleges, nor are further education colleges able to recover the VAT they have incurred on their expenditure.We are ending the VAT exemption for private schools. The government will introduce 20% VAT on education and boarding services provided for a charge from 1 January 2025. This will include education and vocational training provided either at sixth forms attached to private schools or stand-alone private sixth form colleges. However, education and vocational training provided by further education colleges will not be subject to VAT.