Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has employed (a) consultants and (b) businesses to provide advice on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
With respect to customs, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has employed consultants to deliver the protocol and advise on trade between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI). Furthermore, the Government has carried out an extensive programme of business engagement in relation to the movement of goods between GB and NI.
HMRC does not hold data on other Government departments in relation to the matters specified.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 92120 on Customs: ICT, what the cost to the public purse was for the establishment and operation of Government IT systems relating to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As stated in our answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 92120: HMRC spending on individual IT systems cannot be broken down to the level specified in the question. HM Treasury does not hold information on spending by other Government departments in relation to the matters specified.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many supplementary declarations the Trader Support Service processed for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The total number of supplementary declarations processed by the Trader Support Service for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022 was 2.2million.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many pre-frontier notifications the Trader Support Service processed for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The total of pre-frontier notifications the Trader Support Service processed for the trade of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 November 2022 was 2,304.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2022 to Question 92121 on UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland, how much was paid in tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland destined for the Republic of Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 October 2022; and which Government received those tariffs.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As stated in the answer provided to UIN 92121 on 2 December 2022, the Government intends in the future to release further information in relation to tariff liabilities for goods and will do so in due course. Any customs duties collected on goods entering Northern Ireland are retained by the UK Government.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been for the establishment and operation of Government IT systems on (a) declaration, (b) transit, (c) safety and security and (d) movement of goods since the UK's exit from the EU (i) in total and (ii) in relation to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as of 21 November 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC spending on individual IT systems cannot be broken down to the level specified in the question. In total, HMRC spent £714m on Border IT systems in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the total value of tariffs paid on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, broken down by each tariff, between 1 January 2021 and 31 October 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In September 2022, HMRC was for the first time able to release data in relation to the declarations made on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, for the 2021 calendar year. This information sets out the number of full declarations cleared by HMRC in 2021 for movements of goods into NI from GB and can be found here:
Traders moving goods into Northern Ireland can claim a waiver for duty on goods which might otherwise be charged tariffs, if they have not exceeded the total ‘de minimis aid’ allowance when their import declaration is submitted. Most businesses can claim up to a maximum of €200,000 of aid over 3 tax years.
No tariff duties collected on goods entering Northern Ireland are remitted to the EU.
The Government intends in future to release further information in relation to tariff liabilities for goods and will do so in due course for the most recent possible time period.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in tariffs on goods entering Northern Ireland between 1 January 2021 and 31 October 2022; of that figure how much was paid in tariffs on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain; and of that figure how much went to the (a) Government and (b) EU.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In September 2022, HMRC was for the first time able to release data in relation to the declarations made on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, for the 2021 calendar year. This information sets out the number of full declarations cleared by HMRC in 2021 for movements of goods into NI from GB and can be found here:
Traders moving goods into Northern Ireland can claim a waiver for duty on goods which might otherwise be charged tariffs, if they have not exceeded the total ‘de minimis aid’ allowance when their import declaration is submitted. Most businesses can claim up to a maximum of €200,000 of aid over 3 tax years.
No tariff duties collected on goods entering Northern Ireland are remitted to the EU.
The Government intends in future to release further information in relation to tariff liabilities for goods and will do so in due course for the most recent possible time period.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the scope of costs recoverable under the Movement Assistance Scheme have been constrained by state aid provisions applicable to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Movement Assistance Scheme only supports trade in agri-food goods within the UK internal market; this is the main factor determining whether costs can be included in scope of the scheme. The scheme therefore avoids constraints arising from the state aid provisions in the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse has been of developing the Digital Assistance Scheme to support the movement of agri-food goods and live animals from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as of 21 November 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A total of £27.66m, as detailed in the table below, has been spent to date on development of the Digital Assistance Scheme.
Type of Spend | FY 2020-21 | FY 2021-22 | FY 2022-23* | Total |
DAS Programme and Staff Costs | 0.25 | 5.94 | 7.36 | 13.55 |
DAS Capital Costs | 3.20 | 7.79 | 3.12 | 14.11 |
Total | 3.45 | 13.73 | 10.48 | 27.66 |
*Spend to October 2022. A number of actuals remain outstanding.