Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

On Wednesday the Affairs Committee met to hear an update from the PSNI.

Witnesses: Rt Hon MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland;

Chair Dr Andrew Murrison MP (Con, South West Wiltshire):

• Asked for a brief report on the current status of the Northern Ireland Executive restorations efforts. Mrs Bradley said it had been 18 months since a functioning executive in Northern Ireland. There were talks at the end of the year and those talks ended without agreement. Parties are keen to return to government but due to red line issues this has so far been impossible. There is no sustainable approach to Northern Ireland governance other than a devolved Assembly and Executive. However, there are no talks currently ongoing. Mrs Bradley said it was important to be realistic about the chances of restoring government based on the time of year and the level of distrust between the parties. • Asked what will be done to ensure that decisions can be made allow for functional government. Mrs Bradley said the longer this goes on the harder it becomes to sustain basic services. Currently the Civil services remit needs to be decided by the courts but a contingency plan will be prepared for whatever the courts decision may be. Mrs Bradley said that she was not prepared to give up on power sharing executive and devolution as long there was a possibility it may return and a desire to see it return. • Asked what preparations can be made to ensure the policing board is functioning to oversee the training of any additional police forces needed for border patrol after . Mrs Bradley said that all necessary steps will be taken to ensure the policing board will be operational to oversee the changes in Brexit. However, she could not comment on what will be required under the post-Brexit settlement before the Chequers cabinet meeting on Friday.

Sylvia Hermon MP (Ind, North Down)

• Asked what progress had been made on reducing MLA salaries. Mrs Bradley said there had been immediate action taken to prevent the increase in MLA salaries. The decision to reduce the salaries was a separate decision, which required consultation. An important point is that the MLAs continue to work hard for their constituents. In the past 18 months, MLAs have received (including national insurance and pension contributions) £6.3 million in payment in the last year.

Jim Shannon (DUP, Strangford)

• Asked about funding for community pharmacies and for the treatment for children with type one diabetes. Mrs Bradley said that this demonstrated the need for the restored executive. Mrs Bradley said the government was able to legislate on cannabis oil for Northern Ireland because the policing of drugs and illegal substances was a reserved matter with the Home Office, whereas the funding for diabetes and pharmacies are very much

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