Claire Hanna: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Claire Hanna: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. If Members are referring to content, they should quote me accurately. I said that the current designation structures, as operated, were locking in sectarianism. Is it appropriate for Members to misquote other Members?
Claire Hanna: Is it in order, Madam Deputy Speaker, for Members to misquote other Members? I said in my speech that the current designation mechanisms, as operated, were locking in sectarianism. The hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) has accused me of attempting to lock in sectarianism.
Claire Hanna: When we last debated this Bill in June, the context was that Sinn Féin had just threatened the collapse of the institutions. Fast forward back to groundhog day, and we are here again with the DUP dangling the future of those same institutions before us. The context of both those threats is the same: the pandemic is still rampant, there are issues in the education service, we have the worst...
Claire Hanna: I agree entirely. Among the many things that we discussed under the Good Friday agreement, the primacy of the rule of law and of trust are contained in that as well. They have gone out of the window in recent months, which is having a knock-on effect in Northern Ireland. I regret that our amendments were not adopted, but the mechanisms that we tried to insert into the Bill were around that...
Claire Hanna: I agree entirely, as the Assembly is supposed to be local power in local hands. The culture of telling people that sharing is losing is a big part of the problem that we have today. That opportunity is still on the table, and my hon. Friend the Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) tried in Committee to introduce such legislation through an amendment that faithfully transcribes what was agreed...
Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish guidance on the requirement of logistics businesses delivering goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to provide statistical returns specifying which goods are being transported.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposal to establish a Global Centre for Secure and Intelligent Regulatory Technologies in Northern Ireland.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the timeframe for all energy performance certificate data becoming fully available for Northern Irish (a) homes and (b) businesses.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what mechanisms her Department has put in place to enable the devolved Administrations to collaborate on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what engagement her Department had with the (a) Northern Ireland Executive and (b) other devolved Administrations as part of the recent CEDAW interim report preparation.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent updates she has (a) sought and (b) received from the National Crime Agency on its inquiry into NAMA's sale of its Northern Ireland loan book.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Government spent on studies to examine the feasibility of building a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for asylum have been outstanding for eight weeks or longer in South Belfast constituency.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for asylum applications in South Belfast constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the EU Settlement Scheme have been outstanding for eight weeks or more in South Belfast constituency.
Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to process applications to the EU Settlement Scheme is in South Belfast constituency.
Claire Hanna: Northern Ireland did not seek Brexit and it has been very destabilising for the region, but from the Social Democratic and Labour party’s pragmatic perspective, we are trying to make lemonade out of the lemons that we have been handed. It is disappointing that Northern Ireland’s unique dual market access is not among the opportunities that the Paymaster General has identified. The fact is...
Claire Hanna: South Belfast is a relatively prosperous constituency. It is one of those that would be described as “leafy” in political commentary, along with the presumptions and generalisations that mask the economic diversity and substantial need that exist in the community I represent. It includes the highest levels of universal credit claimant rises in Northern Ireland throughout the pandemic, and...
Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to retain the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme beyond September 2021 for sectors of the economy that have not returned to pre-covid-19 pandemic levels of customers.