Lord Dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) UK exporters, and (2) Scottish exporters, have participated in the High Value Opportunity programme.
Lord Dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold on Scottish company representation on trade missions organised by the UK Government.
Lord Dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to launch a public consultation concerning the institutions proposed by the Stormont House Agreement to address the legacy issues of Northern Ireland's past.
Lord Dunlop: My Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Lang and Lord Jay, for the way in which they introduced the debate. I welcome my noble friend Lord Duncan to the Front Bench and I look forward to his maiden speech. He has certainly been busy in the last four months, consulting groups across Scotland. As his immediate predecessor, I did the same thing. My progress across Scotland was always...
Lord Dunlop: My Lords, one hazard of speaking later in the debate is that many of the good points have already been made, so I apologise in advance if I indulge in a bit of reiteration. I warmly welcome this Bill; I do not approach it as a space expert but as an amateur enthused by what a recent Goldman Sachs report called “the second space age”, with the space economy forecast to become a...
Lord Dunlop: Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards concluding City Deals for Edinburgh, the Tay Cities and Stirling.
Lord Dunlop: Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement their 2017 manifesto commitment to support the development of those wind projects in the remote islands of Scotland that are intended to directly benefit local communities.
Lord Dunlop: My Lords, the gracious Speech recognises the importance of strengthening the bonds of our union of four nations. Whatever message the recent elections delivered nationally, the message from Scotland could not have been clearer: overwhelmingly, Scots want the threat of a second independence referendum removed. In the general election, 62% in Scotland voted for parties that support the union,...
Lord Dunlop: My Lords, first, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to today’s proceedings, providing valuable and important exchanges on the Bill. I very much agree with what the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, said. Today, we have heard great wisdom from noble Lords across the House, as I think is always the case when we have debates about Northern Ireland. A theme of the debate has been that this is...
Lord Dunlop: My Lords, the context for this short and simple Bill is very clear. Northern Ireland has enjoyed the longest unbroken period of devolved government since the old Stormont Parliament was dissolved in 1972. It is now nearly 10 years since full power was restored to the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland following a prolonged period of suspension. In these years Northern Ireland has taken...
Lord Dunlop: We remain focused on securing the resumption of devolved government in Northern Ireland. However in its absence it is ultimately for the UK Government to provide for political stability and good governance in Northern Ireland. If talks fail in their objectives and no agreement is reached following the Easter recess, we will have to consider a range of options. The Government has, however,...
Lord Dunlop: Northern Ireland Office officials are currently undertaking a consolidation exercise to confirm the answer to these questions. I will write to my Noble Friend once this exercise has been completed.
Lord Dunlop: It is assumed that by ‘letters of comfort’ my Noble Friend means those letters issued under the administrative scheme introduced by the previous Labour Government which were intended to inform individuals that, as at the date of the letter, the recipient was ‘not wanted’ for questioning or prosecution in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK. Prior to 10 April 1998, no such letters...
Lord Dunlop: Protecting the safety and security of the people of Northern Ireland will always be our first priority. Prisoners released under the terms of The Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 will have been released on either a Life or a Determinate licence, depending on the sentence handed down by the courts at the time of conviction. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may suspend the...
