Secretary of State: EU laws under the Windsor Framework are of benefit to Northern Ireland - now and in the future

He was speaking at Northern Ireland questions in Westminster, where Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that goods moving into NI from GB should not be subject to EU “customs processes” – and that “save for animal health and the risk of smuggling” there should not be checks on goods.

Chris Heaton-Harris had been asked by Tory MP Jonathan Gullis if he accepted that “for as long as there are customs declarations, physical searches and ID checks on businesses moving goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland – even in the green lane – that the Prime Minister’s view of there being no sense of a border in the Irish Sea will ring hollow”.

The Secretary of State responded saying he did not accept that. “When we agreed to the Windsor Framework we committed to a certain number of EU laws being maintained in NI which has been of economic benefit to Northern Ireland even up to this point. And will continue to be in the future.

"But movements coming across the Irish Sea, pretty much everybody involved, the businesses involved, the new businesses that use them, believe they are very straightforward”.

Sir Jeffrey described Mr Gullis’s question as “excellent” and said that the DUP’s objective is to ensure that “Northern Ireland’s place in our biggest market – the United Kingdom – is restored and protected in law”.

He asked the Secretary of State to work with him to ensure that “where goods are moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland they are not subject to EU customs processes that are neither necessary or fair or right. Save for animal health and the risk of smuggling that there should not be checks on those goods”.

Mr Heaton-Harris said he enjoyed working with Sir Jeffrey on the aims he has set out. He added: “we have gone a long way in the Windsor Framework in this space so far. But I look forward to continued engagement with him in the next few days. Because we do need to find a resolution for these issues. It also means that we can reform Stormont and deal with other domestic issues in Northern Ireland”.

Chris Heaton-Harris and NIO minister Steve Baker also faced questions from opposition MPs on what they described as cuts to education and on childcare costs. In the absence of an Executive, the NIO set a budget for Stormont departments earlier this year.

Labour’s Mary Kelly Foy claimed that Northern Ireland is the most expensive region for childcare outside London. Steve Baker responded by criticising what he said was the failure of previous executives to use Barnett formula money to fund childcare in Northern Ireland to the same level as in England.