The DUP and UUP have strongly backed the findings of House of Lords committee which found the Windsor Framework oversight is “impossible” to navigate and called for “urgent action” from government on the matter.

The House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee report, published on Wednesday, found that democratic oversight arrangements designed to give Stormont politicians and other stakeholders a say in post-Brexit rules in Northern Ireland are “overwhelmingly complex” and “impossible” to navigate.

It also said the measures were “insufficient” and called for “urgent action” from the government to address the concerns.

The committee heard evidence from a range of witnesses, including the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland, the Ulster Farmers' Union and Northern Ireland Retail Consortium.

placeholder image — A sign a Larne Port highlighting unionist concerns at cross community approval being suspended in the Belfast Agreement in order to allow Stormont to approve the NI Protocol. The Protocol has been superceded by the Windsor Framework, but unionists remain deeply concerned about the underlying issues.

The peers urged the government to “urgently consider” how to simplify the framework arrangements, which it described as a “complex and opaque structure”.

Government's Trader Support Service for businesses trying to navigate the rules is “not providing a good quality of service” they added.

Committee chairman, Lord Carlile, said: “It was clear from the concerns raised by businesses, civil society and political representatives – both in formal evidence and during our visit to Newry and Belfast – that the democratic deficit [on the Windsor Framework] in Northern Ireland remains unresolved."

Affirming the findings, DUP Peer Lord Dodds called for the framework to be "dismantled".

He said: "Every day that this situation is allowed to persist further erodes Northern Ireland’s constitutional position, harms consumer choice, and imposes unnecessary costs and burdens on businesses. The effects on businesses and consumers here have been highlighted by Andrew Lynas who runs one of Northern Ireland’s biggest catering firms as well as by the recent devastating report of the Federation of Small Businesses."

He added: "It is vital that this undemocratic framework is dismantled, and Northern Ireland’s rightful place fully restored within the United Kingdom’s internal market, legal system, and democratic institutions.”

UUP Peer Lord Empey, who was a member of the committee, said the framework "continues to create unnecessary complexity and regulatory divergence, leaving Northern Ireland businesses and communities in an impossible position".

He added: “In the Prime Minister's reset with the EU, this disaster needs to be a top priority in forthcoming negotiations”.