Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of live animals moved either from or via Northern Ireland to be slaughtered in Europe or North Africa.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

No recent assessment has been made, although livestock and horses for slaughter or fattening cannot be moved from Northern Ireland to Europe or North Africa through Great Britain under the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment ministers have made of the eligibility criteria for the holiday activities and food programme in England.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is specifically targeted at children and young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) from households with annual earnings of £7,400 or less, focusing on families facing the greatest levels of disadvantage. The department is spending more than £200 million a year to provide free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children during school holidays. This benefits their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn, with more than 500,000 children benefitting from HAF over the last year.

To ensure HAF reaches as many children who need it as possible, local authorities may also use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places to children who do not meet the eligibility criteria but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities or other additional needs.

HAF sits alongside wider support for low-income families, including the expansion of FSM, free breakfast clubs, and broader action through the child poverty strategy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many children living in poverty are currently ineligible for the holiday activities and food programme in England.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is specifically targeted at children and young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) from households with annual earnings of £7,400 or less, focusing on families facing the greatest levels of disadvantage. The department is spending more than £200 million a year to provide free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children during school holidays. This benefits their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn, with more than 500,000 children benefitting from HAF over the last year.

To ensure HAF reaches as many children who need it as possible, local authorities may also use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places to children who do not meet the eligibility criteria but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities or other additional needs.

HAF sits alongside wider support for low-income families, including the expansion of FSM, free breakfast clubs, and broader action through the child poverty strategy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for asylum have been made in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes regular statistics on individuals in receipt of asylum support. The most recent published statistics show that, as at the end of March 2026, 2,379 asylum seekers were receiving Home Office support in Northern Ireland (Immigration system statistics, table Asy_D11). These statistics will next be updated on 27 August 2026 to reflect the position at the end of June 2026.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost implications to Northern Ireland of complying with Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery and repealing Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 73/361/EEC.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Engagement with industry stakeholders indicates that the Regulation is expected to deliver overall benefits for businesses in Northern Ireland. In particular, it preserves dual-market access to both the UK Internal Market and the EU Single Market.

The Regulation also introduces measures intended to reduce administrative burdens, including provisions enabling the use of digital documentation in place of paper documentation, which are expected to generate cost savings for businesses.

In addition, the Government is legislating to continue recognising products that meet the updated EU machinery requirements in Great Britain. This will enable many manufacturers to place the same products on the markets in Northern Ireland and Great Britain without the need for additional conformity assessment. The Government expects this approach to support the smooth flow of trade within the UK Internal Market while reducing costs and administrative burdens for businesses operating across the United Kingdom.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have claimed asylum in Northern Ireland in the last 24 months have travelled from the Republic of Ireland.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants were removed from Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; of those, which ten (1) nationalities, and (2) countries, were most involved; and of the 1,000 people removed in 2025 who, according to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in an interview with GB News on 11 June "had no right to be here", how many were confirmed as leaving the United Kingdom, and what means are normally employed to effect such departures.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Between 1 July 2024 and 31 May 2026, Immigration Enforcement conducted 2,913 enforcement visits in Northern Ireland resulting in 2,425 arrests, with nearly 1,000 (963) people subsequently returned, almost 500 (493) of whom had a destination of Ireland.

There is published transparency data relating to enforcement activity in Northern Ireland here - Northern Ireland enforcement activity between 1 October 2022 and 31 May 2026 - GOV.UK. Returns from the UK include both voluntary and enforced returns.

More detailed information on removals from Northern Ireland, including nationalities and countries involved, is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff are currently employed at the UK Visas and Immigration's Drumkeen House Belfast office, and what are the running costs for that office for each of the last 3 years.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The below shows running costs for Drumkeen over last three financial years.