Northern Ireland Secretary set to meet EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic
The Government has said it will make a 'huge difference to consumers and businesses in Northern Ireland'.
Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland remains aligned with EU single market rules for goods following the UK's departure from the EU.
The new deal between the UK and EU has been described as aiming to facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK's internal market, reducing costs for businesses and improving consumer choice.
It is also aimed at saving businesses hours of time and money by removing swathes of paperwork and numerous health certificates, checks and processes – with those using the red lane expected to save close to £1 million per month.
Mr Benn said he will emphasise the UK Government's commitment to continue to deliver the Windsor Framework, in the meeting which the minister for EU relations Nick Thomas–Symonds will also attend.
'The agreement the UK Government recently reached with the EU will help us to deliver on our core mission to grow the economy, and shows the benefits of a closer partnership with our friends in Europe,' he said.
'I look forward to meeting with Commissioner Sefcovic today, to emphasise this Government's commitment to continuing to implement the Windsor Framework and to delivering the new SPS agreement as soon as possible.
'This will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and protect the UK's internal market.'
Mr Benn added: 'Northern Ireland will, of course, continue to enjoy its unique access to the EU's single market, a key competitive advantage.
'All of this means that Northern Ireland is set to become an even more attractive destination for investment in the years ahead.'
Mr Benn is also to meet representatives from the EU diplomatic community and attend a roundtable of business stakeholders including the British Agriculture Bureau and the Confederation of British Industry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
More than 11,000 no-fault bailiff evictions in past year, figures show
More than 11,000 households in England have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs following a no-fault eviction process since last year when the Labour government came into its manifesto, Labour promised to "immediately abolish" Section 21, also known as no-fault, evictions which allow landlords to remove tenants without a reason. A bill ending the practice was announced last year and is expected to become law when Parliament returns from its summer charity Shelter said it was "unconscionable" that "renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately". A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill."We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the bill becomes law."The Renters' Rights Bill will introduce a new system giving new tenants a 12-month "protected period" where they cannot be evicted if the landlord wants to move in or sell the can still get rid of tenants for other reasons including non-payment of rent or criminal behaviour by the tenants. After the first year, landlords would have to give tenants four months' notice to leave, doubling the current time period, and provide a specific reason for ending a tenancy. In September, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook had said he hoped the bill would be passed "within the first half or around summer next year". However, when Parliament paused for the summer, the bill had just been passed by the House of Lords, albeit with some changes September, the House of Commons will debate and vote on the changes. Both houses of Parliament will need to approve the bill before it can become law. In the latest figures, released by the Ministry of Justice, the number of repossessions by a county court bailiff following a no fault eviction rose from 10,576 between July 2023 and June 2024 to 11,402 the following represents an increase of 8%, a more modest rise compared to the previous two years which saw jumps of 29% and 60% if a tenant doesn't leave a property by a specified date, a landlord can make a possession claim to the courts, with an accelerated procedure, which could lead to a the year to June, there were 30,729 claims, a 4% decrease on the previous 12-month period. Mairi MacRae, Shelter's director of campaigns and policy, said: "To curb record homelessness and ensure renters can live free from the threat of no-fault eviction, the government must deliver on this commitment, pass the bill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 will finally be scrapped."The charity said around 950 households could be evicted for every month a ban is delayed. The National Residential Landlords Association echoed Shelter's demands for the government to set a date when the changes would come into said a "lack of certainty" had "led to a great deal of confusion and concern amongst landlords".The association also noted a rise of more than two weeks in the length of the court process for recovering properties over the past year.A spokesperson added it was "essential that we have clarity about what support will be given to the courts service to ensure it is able to cope with the added pressures which will be created by these reforms". Earlier this month, the homelessness minister Rushanara Ali was forced to resign after revelations about how she handled a property she was renting out. The i newspaper reported that a former tenant of Ali's had been sent an email in November giving four months' notice the lease would not be said shortly after she and the three other tenants had moved out, the house in east London had been re-listed at a rent £700 a month higher, in a practice that would be banned under the Renters' Rights bill would prevent landlords from re-listing a property for rent, if they have ended a tenancy in order to sell, for six months.
Glasgow Times
36 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Migrants attempting to enter UK in refrigerated trailers are ‘constant threat'
The study, published by logistics company Oakland International, stated that 4,415 instances of a truck or van being found with stowaways seeking to reach the UK were recorded between 2016 and 2023. An average of nearly 100 people per month were detected infiltrating trucks entering the UK between January and September last year. People hiding in trailers cause delays, increased costs, potential damage to goods and disposal of produce, researchers found. Companies transporting food, household goods and healthcare items dispose of an average of 56% of stock on an infiltrated lorry. The value of lost stock can be up to tens of thousands of pounds, research found. This can result in revenue loss several times higher. The report, produced with research company Analytiqa, stated: 'The use of refrigerated trailers to gain illegal access for stowaways remains a constant threat to food safety and contributes to considerable unnecessary waste and risk within the food supply chain.' Oakland International co-founder Dean Attwell said: 'The rise in clandestine infiltration is not just a statistic, it's a ticking time bomb for food safety, driver security and public health. 'Every compromised load puts the public at risk and costs the industry millions per year. 'We need urgent, co-ordinated action across the supply chain to implement robust security protocols, improve traceability and ensure accountability at every stage.' In cases where a vehicle is found carrying a hidden entrant, the Government can issue the transport company with fines of up to £10,000 per stowaway. Road Haulage Association senior public affairs lead Ashton Cull said failings within Border Force and the Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme mean 'all the responsibility and liability is being unfairly shifted onto drivers and businesses who have taken all possible steps to secure their vehicles'. He added: 'We repeat our call for further and urgent investment in training and technology at our borders to help keep loads secure. 'We want to see a fair system in place that protects drivers, goods and businesses as well as our borders. 'We look forward to seeing greater urgency on this issue.' The Home Office was approached for a comment.
Glasgow Times
36 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
No-fault evictions by bailiffs up 8% in Labour's first year in Government
The party has pledged to end no-fault evictions under its Renters' Rights Bill, which is in the final stages of going through Parliament. Shelter branded it 'unconscionable' that renters 'continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs' a year after Labour came to power. There were 11,402 repossessions by county court bailiffs following a Section 21 notice – known as a no-fault eviction – between July last year and June, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice. This was up 8% from 10,576 for the previous 12-month period. There were 2,679 in the three months to June, which was down from 2,931 the previous quarter and down from 2,915 for the same April to June period last year. The latest Government data also showed 30,729 claims had been issued to households under the accelerated procedure in the year to June. Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a Section 21 notice. The current figure was down 4% from 32,103 for the previous 12-month period. Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, said: 'It is unconscionable that more than a year after the Government came to power, thousands of renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the Government said would be scrapped immediately. 'For far too long, tenants' lives have been thrown into turmoil by the rank injustice of no-fault evictions. At the whim of private landlords, thousands of tenants are being left with just two months to find a new home, plunging them into a ruthless rental market and leaving many exposed to the riptide of homelessness. 'The Renters' Rights Bill will overhaul a broken system and usher in a long-overdue era of stability and security for tenants. To curb record homelessness and ensure renters can live free from the threat of no-fault eviction, the Government must deliver on this commitment, pass the Bill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 will finally be scrapped.' Shelter described no-fault evictions as one of the leading causes of homelessness, giving landlords the power to evict tenants without any reason given. Rushanara Ali resigned last week as homelessness minister (David Woolfall/UK Parliament/PA) The charity said its analysis of the latest figures suggested that for every month a ban on no-fault evictions is delayed, around 950 households could be removed from their homes by bailiffs. Echoing the call for an urgent ban, homelessness charity Crisis said many are at risk of homelessness if faced with eviction. The charity's chief executive, Matt Downie, said: 'Despite good intentions from the Westminster Government, thousands of people are still being unjustly evicted from their homes and threatened with – or even forced into – homelessness. 'We know the UK Government has had a packed agenda, but we now need ministers to rebuff efforts to weaken the Renters' Rights Bill and get this new legislation onto the statute book as soon as possible when Parliament returns. Unfreezing housing benefit in the autumn would also ensure that more people in England can afford a safe and stable home.' The Renters' Reform Coalition, said the year-on-year fall in accelerated procedure claims 'blows apart the myth of a 'landlord exodus' and eviction surge caused by the Renters' Rights Bill' and urged the Government to 'press on and abolish section 21 immediately once the Bill is passed'. The new data comes a week after Rushanara Ali resigned her role as homelessness minister following a report that she gave tenants at a property she owned in east London four months' notice to leave before relisting the property with a £700 rent increase within weeks. Ms Ali's house, rented on a fixed-term contract, was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only relisted as a rental because it had not sold, according to the i newspaper. Such a move would likely be prohibited under the Renters' Rights Bill, which is set to introduce new protections for tenants including banning landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property from relisting it for rent for six months. In her resignation letter Ms Ali insisted she had 'at all times' followed 'all legal requirements' and taken her responsibilities 'seriously', but added that continuing in her role would be 'a distraction from the ambitious work of the Government' and therefore was stepping down. Responding to Thursday's figures, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill, which is a manifesto commitment and legislative priority for this Government. 'We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the Bill becomes law.'
