Northern Ireland Protocol having direct impact on rising prices, says DUP MP Gavin Robinson

Mr Robinson said any serious discussion on the cost-of-living crisis “cannot credibly ignore” the Protocol’s effect on energy and food prices.

As Liz Truss is poised to announce a freeze on energy bills this winter as part of her first policy move as Prime Minister, the East Belfast also said that only the UK Treasury has the powers to make real and meaningful difference to household bills locally.

On the Protocol’s impact on rising prices, Mr Robinson said: “The imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on steel may seem remote to households but those are increasing the cost of construction in Northern Ireland and the cost of doing business.

“We also know that the Protocol has increased transport costs for goods being brought into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. Those costs don’t just evaporate, but are passed on to customers through higher bills for goods and services.”

He pointed out that still being inside the EU’s uniform VAT regime, thanks to the Protocol, also impacts on attempts to lower energy costs.

“The Protocol ties Northern Ireland to the EU’s VAT regime and we already know that previous measures to boost energy efficiency measures could not be applied to Northern Ireland because of this.

“The Protocol hampers the ability to take action on energy bills in all parts of the United Kingdom, “ he said.

The DUP MP said that Health Minister Robin Swann still has concerns about the future of medicine supply to the Province.

Meanwhile, SDLP leader Colm Eastwood warned on Tuesday that households in Northern Ireland could be “left out in the cold” over Liz Truss’ plans to freeze electricity and gas prices in GB.

Mr Eastwood pointed out that NI differs from GB because the majority of domestic homes here are heated with oil fired boilers.

Commenting on the proposed energy price freeze, the Foyle MP said: “These proposals offer no support to 68 per cent of households here who rely on oil central heating, a largely unregulated marker in the North, and the reason is because the parallel market in Britain is only 5 per cent of households, which would leave households in the North out in the cold.”