Northern Ireland Office written question – answered at on 23 October 2025.
Robin Swann
UUP, South Antrim
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Northern Ireland Minister for the Economy ‘s decision not to engage with the Government’s trade talks with Israel.
Hilary Benn
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Trade policy is a reserved matter and the UK Government is responsible for negotiating international trade agreements on behalf of all the nations and regions in the UK.
This Government suspended trade negotiations with Israel on 20 May, owing to the actions of the Israeli Government in Gaza and the West Bank.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
