Today, Lord Murphy was before the Economy Committee to discuss his review of the Windsor Framework, which was published in September. See below for a summary...
- The review had two main themes: investigating the Windsor Framework’s democratic deficit and the impact it has on businesses in Northern Ireland
- Both the Terms of Reference and the deadline for the review were restrictive
- Lord Murphy requested a meeting with EU officials while completing his review, but this was denied
- On EU legislation, Northern Ireland’s voice must be heard before EU legislation relevant to Northern Ireland is tabled
- Lord Murphy acknowledged that SMEs face more barriers and bureaucracy associated with dual market access than larger businesses do
- For businesses, he recommended the UK Government produce a ‘one-stop-shop’ of easily accessible information on available schemes
- Lord Murphy was hopeful that the UK Government will accept the recommendations from his review, as well as the recommendations from the House of Lords Democratic Scrutiny Committee report
ALT The Rt Hon. the Lord Murphy of Torfaen before the Economy Committee