Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the absence of pension rights on retired Full Time Reserve Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross officers who served between 1972 and 1988; and what steps his Department is taking to support the finances and welfare of those affected.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The pension rights of retired police officers is a devolved matter for which the Department of Justice is responsible.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.
The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to build the UK's resilience to any potential escalation to conflict. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK, informed by and reflecting the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the British Council’s Study USA programme in Northern Ireland on career progression, global skills and economic mobility for university students, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds; and what steps he is taking to ensure support for students not otherwise able to access international study opportunities.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The British Council Study USA initiative is a great programme that has benefited the career development of many students in Northern Ireland over its 30 years. Skills and further/higher education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure the appropriate support for lower-income students wishing to study abroad is in place.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, how many (a) public engagements and (b) private meetings Ministers in their Department have undertaken related to the national conversation on defence and security.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues, officials, and external experts on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.
As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement so that Government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience. This will address the risks we face, including threats below and above the threshold of an armed attack.
The Northern Ireland Office is actively supporting this work by hosting roundtable discussions with defence industry representatives, businesses and academia to better understand the contribution of the defence sector in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether (a) his Department and (b) the arms length bodies sponsored by his Department are compliant with the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025].
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have set out our expectation that all duty bearers, including Departments and arms length bodies, follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary. The Prime Minister has underlined this recently.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has submitted a draft Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations to Ministers, and we are reviewing it with the care it deserves. This will provide further guidance to duty bearers.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the differences in shipping tax between Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Wight under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Reforms to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are agreed jointly by Ministers in all four nations who have equal decision-making power. We have consulted extensively on this since March 2022. Obligations under the scheme apply uniformly to all nations in the UK.
A 50% deduction has been applied for voyages in either direction between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This will ensure parity and prevent distortions with routes between the island of Ireland and Great Britain, which are included under the EU ETS.
A limited exemption applies for ferries serving Scotland's islands and peninsulas given legal duties under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a list of commitments contained in the Safeguarding the Union command paper (CP1021), published on 31 January 2024, which have yet to be implemented in full.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to continuing to take forward the Safeguarding the Union command paper, and to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK Internal Market.
We continue to make progress on delivering the commitments made in the command paper. For instance in 2025, three centuries of the News Letter were digitised and there remains no Border Control Post at Cairnryan. In January, the East-West Council met for the third time, where the Government announced there would be a pilot for the UK school twinning programme. This will focus on reading and is being developed between the UK Government’s Department for Education and the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Education.
Other recent steps include the allocation of £2.25 million for Intertrade UK over the next three years and the opening of round two of the Connect Fund to support community and voluntary groups. In line with commitments made in Safeguarding the Union, in December the Government published our response to Lord Murphy’s Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, and is now taking action on its recommendations.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues about the potential impact on the a) effectiveness and b) future of the Common Travel Area between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland of the insistence of airlines that passengers travelling between both countries now require valid passports.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Common Travel Area is a long-standing successful arrangement. In the UK-Ireland 2030 Joint Statement, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach committed to working together to protect the integrity and security of the Common Travel Area. It is the case that many air and sea carriers require some form of identification in order to use their services and some carriers regard a passport as the only valid form of identification.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently chaired the East-West Council in Belfast where the Minister for Early Years reported on the significant collaboration between all four nations of the UK regarding the National Year of Reading.
This Government remains committed to working with partners across the United Kingdom to collaborate to share best practices.
Education is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive, and decisions about the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland are for the Northern Ireland Education Minister.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with InterTrade UK on the support his Department is able to provide on the (a) operations and (b) objectives of that body.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I engage regularly with Intertrade UK, most recently when I met its Chair Baroness Foster in January at the East-West Council in Belfast, where I heard an update on Intertrade UK’s work to date and its future plans.
The Northern Ireland Office provides secretariat support for Intertrade UK, as set out in its terms of reference, which are publicly available alongside the group’s work programme here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/intertrade-uk-terms-of-reference-and-work-programme
At last year’s Autumn Budget, the Government allocated £2.25 million over the next three years to Intertrade UK to support implementation of its published work programme. This formed part of a wider £16.6m package to strengthen trade within the UK internal market.