Lords Committee launches inquiry on ‘Strengthening Northern Ireland’s Voice’
Thursday 2 May 2024
A cross-party Lords committee is launching a new inquiry into how Northern Ireland’s voice can be strengthened in the context of the Windsor Framework.
The Windsor Framework Sub-Committee, which scrutinises EU legislation as it applies to Northern Ireland and the impact of the wider Windsor Framework, will start its inquiry on 8 May 2024 where its first session, at 3pm, will hear from:
- Professor David Phinnemore, Post-Brexit Governance Unit, Queen’s University Belfast
- Anton Spisak, Associate Fellow, Centre for European Reform
- Professor Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies, Open University.
In the second evidence session, at 4.30pm, the committee will hear evidence from:
- Dr Sylvia de Mars, Reader in Transnational Public Law, Newcastle Law School.
- Martin Howe KC, 8 New Square.
- Professor Colin Murray, Professor of Law and Democracy, Newcastle Law School.
This evidence session, which is open to the public and chaired by Lord Jay, will be held in Committee Room 4 of the House of Lords. It will also be streamed live on Parliament TV.
The Windsor Framework, announced in February 2023, includes a complex network of institutions.
The committee wants to ensure that the views and voices of policymakers, politicians, businesses and civil society in Northern Ireland are taken into account.
It is expected that the committee will write to the Government with its findings before the summer.
Questions the committee wants to address include:
- How successful are measures announced before or as part of the Windsor Framework in promoting Northern Ireland’s voice at a UK, and EU, level, and in UK-EU structures?
- What opportunities exist for businesses and civil society stakeholders to engage with the UK or the EU under the Windsor Framework?
- Does the return of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly create more opportunities for engagement at a political level?
- How would you assess the effectiveness of Northern Ireland Assembly mechanisms, including the Stormont Brake and the applicability motion procedure?
- What progress has been made on establishing the new structures announced in the Government’s ‘Safeguarding the Union’ Command Paper?
The Committee will issue a call for written evidence shortly, with a deadline of 5pm on 6 June 2024.
