Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)

My noble friend raises yet another heartbreaking case related to the Troubles; every Member of your Lordships’ House who has been touched by the Troubles has their own story and their own heartbreak. On my noble friend’s substantive point, the Government remain fully and unequivocally committed to the protection of human rights and safeguards in Northern Ireland, including our statutory obligations under Article 2 of the Windsor Framework. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission play a vital role in the dedicated mechanism to monitor, advise on and report on these commitments. While the funding of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, the Northern Ireland Office maintains regular active dialogue with executive colleagues on a wide range of issues impacting rights and governance across Northern Ireland. The UK Government also provided ring- fenced funding of £1.1 million in 2025-26 to enable the ECNI to deliver its dedicated mechanism commitments, with similar levels of annual ring-fenced funding committed to until the end of the current spending review period. I have a much more extensive answer than that for my noble friend, but I will write to her with the details.