Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the US ambassador on opportunities to attract increased US investment to Northern Ireland; and what steps his Department is taking to facilitate such investment.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government engages regularly with the US administration to promote investment opportunities in Northern Ireland and I met the US Ambassador in Northern Ireland in July. Recent major investments, like Bank of America’s Belfast expansion, bringing with it over 100 jobs, confirm the significant interest in Northern Ireland from US businesses and investors. The UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal provides an important framework to reduce trade barriers, ensuring Northern Ireland remains an attractive destination for American firms.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many requests have been (a) made by the ICRIR to An Garda Síochána since their establishment and (b) answered.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) is an independent body. As such, the Government does not hold this operational information and the Right Honourable Gentleman may wish to request it from the Commission directly.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on NHS Dentist provision.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I regularly engage with the Northern Ireland Executive on the importance of delivering good quality, accessible healthcare in Northern Ireland. As Health and Social Care, including dental services, is a devolved matter, the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH) is responsible for these services.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to make additional funding available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to meet the costs arising from the 2023 data breach.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to set a budget for Departments, and for the Minister for Justice to allocate funding to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Government is providing the Executive with a record settlement over the Spending Review period, averaging £19.3bn per year. This is the largest in the history of devolution.

On 17 December 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to providing £119m to the Department of Justice to fund the costs of the data breach.

Concerns about the implications of costs associated with the data breach should be raised via the existing mechanisms in the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what consideration he has given to ring-fencing any element of the Local Growth Fund allocation for Northern Ireland for community and voluntary sector services.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive have worked to provide community and voluntary sector organisations with the certainty they need to plan for this year.

The RDEL element of the Local Growth Fund in 2026/27 will be split between economic inactivity provision delivery partners and Go Succeed, in the same proportion to funding received in 2025/26 under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This was agreed between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The record £19.3bn settlement for the Spending Review period - as well as the £370m announced at the Budget - provides the Northern Ireland Executive with the means to provide additional funding to support the voluntary and community sector, should they wish to do so.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what engagement his Department has had with business organisations in Northern Ireland on the practical challenges of complying with dual market access requirements, and what issues have been raised.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Dual market access is a unique trading advantage that can attract further investment in Northern Ireland.

I meet a wide range of businesses in Northern Ireland - and recently visited the Camlin Group, Leckey and the Exact Group who all highlight dual market access as a source of competitive advantage for them.

As set out in the Government’s response to the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, we are committed to ensuring that businesses can realise these benefits and are taking forward an enhanced ‘one stop shop’ business support service that will support Northern Ireland’s trade within the UK and with the EU markets.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what support his Department is providing to help firms in Northern Ireland maximise the potential benefits of dual market access while managing regulatory and administrative burdens.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Dual market access is a unique trading advantage that can attract further investment in Northern Ireland.

I meet a wide range of businesses in Northern Ireland - and recently visited the Camlin Group, Leckey and the Exact Group who all highlight dual market access as a source of competitive advantage for them.

As set out in the Government’s response to the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, we are committed to ensuring that businesses can realise these benefits and are taking forward an enhanced ‘one stop shop’ business support service that will support Northern Ireland’s trade within the UK and with the EU markets.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on re-profiling the Local Growth Fund allocation for Northern Ireland to increase the resource element.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Following the announcement of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland at the Spending Review in June 2025, I have had regular engagement with the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, as well as Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, as we continue to work in partnership on the design and delivery of the Fund.

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Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to the Local Growth Fund on community and voluntary sector organisations in Northern Ireland, including the number of organisations that have closed, reduced services, or issued redundancy notices since the transition process began.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive designing an Investment Plan for delivery of the new Local Growth Fund. The Local Growth Fund represents a significant step change in UK investment strategy, supporting each nation and region to deliver long-term infrastructure for sustained economic growth.

The devolved governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive have also received substantial budget increases through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities. This provides the devolved governments with additional flexibility enabling them to target resource to their priorities.

We appreciate the urgency of providing certainty about Local Growth Fund delivery and acknowledge the pressures facing the voluntary and community sector. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has therefore agreed with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive to commission economic inactivity delivery for 2026-27, and engagement with project deliverers is already underway. In addition, MHCLG are also providing additional flexibility to projects to use any UK Shared Prosperity Fund budget that remains unspent at the end of March 2026, for activities up to September 2026.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive are also planning engagement from early 2026 to collaborate with the sector to design economic inactivity support from 2027 onwards.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what engagement his Department has undertaken to date with community and voluntary sector organisations in Northern Ireland on the design and delivery of the Local Growth Fund, and whether he will publish a timetable and list of stakeholders engaged prior to the commencement of the Fund in April 2026.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive designing an Investment Plan for delivery of the new Local Growth Fund. The Local Growth Fund represents a significant step change in UK investment strategy, supporting each nation and region to deliver long-term infrastructure for sustained economic growth.

The devolved governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive have also received substantial budget increases through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities. This provides the devolved governments with additional flexibility enabling them to target resource to their priorities.

We appreciate the urgency of providing certainty about Local Growth Fund delivery and acknowledge the pressures facing the voluntary and community sector. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has therefore agreed with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive to commission economic inactivity delivery for 2026-27, and engagement with project deliverers is already underway. In addition, MHCLG are also providing additional flexibility to projects to use any UK Shared Prosperity Fund budget that remains unspent at the end of March 2026, for activities up to September 2026.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive are also planning engagement from early 2026 to collaborate with the sector to design economic inactivity support from 2027 onwards.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland, including on the loss of community and voluntary sector services in areas of deprivation.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive designing an Investment Plan for delivery of the new Local Growth Fund. The Local Growth Fund represents a significant step change in UK investment strategy, supporting each nation and region to deliver long-term infrastructure for sustained economic growth.

The devolved governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive have also received substantial budget increases through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities. This provides the devolved governments with additional flexibility enabling them to target resource to their priorities.

We appreciate the urgency of providing certainty about Local Growth Fund delivery and acknowledge the pressures facing the voluntary and community sector. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has therefore agreed with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive to commission economic inactivity delivery for 2026-27, and engagement with project deliverers is already underway. In addition, MHCLG are also providing additional flexibility to projects to use any UK Shared Prosperity Fund budget that remains unspent at the end of March 2026, for activities up to September 2026.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive are also planning engagement from early 2026 to collaborate with the sector to design economic inactivity support from 2027 onwards.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help address changes to the level of funding for community and voluntary sector organisations in Northern Ireland during the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to the Local Growth Fund.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive designing an Investment Plan for delivery of the new Local Growth Fund. The Local Growth Fund represents a significant step change in UK investment strategy, supporting each nation and region to deliver long-term infrastructure for sustained economic growth.

The devolved governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive have also received substantial budget increases through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities. This provides the devolved governments with additional flexibility enabling them to target resource to their priorities.

We appreciate the urgency of providing certainty about Local Growth Fund delivery and acknowledge the pressures facing the voluntary and community sector. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has therefore agreed with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive to commission economic inactivity delivery for 2026-27, and engagement with project deliverers is already underway. In addition, MHCLG are also providing additional flexibility to projects to use any UK Shared Prosperity Fund budget that remains unspent at the end of March 2026, for activities up to September 2026.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive are also planning engagement from early 2026 to collaborate with the sector to design economic inactivity support from 2027 onwards.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will outline how community and voluntary sector organisations in Northern Ireland will be formally involved in the design of the Local Growth Fund delivery model.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive designing an Investment Plan for delivery of the new Local Growth Fund. The Local Growth Fund represents a significant step change in UK investment strategy, supporting each nation and region to deliver long-term infrastructure for sustained economic growth.

The devolved governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive have also received substantial budget increases through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities. This provides the devolved governments with additional flexibility enabling them to target resource to their priorities.

We appreciate the urgency of providing certainty about Local Growth Fund delivery and acknowledge the pressures facing the voluntary and community sector. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has therefore agreed with the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive to commission economic inactivity delivery for 2026-27, and engagement with project deliverers is already underway. In addition, MHCLG are also providing additional flexibility to projects to use any UK Shared Prosperity Fund budget that remains unspent at the end of March 2026, for activities up to September 2026.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Executive are also planning engagement from early 2026 to collaborate with the sector to design economic inactivity support from 2027 onwards.

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