Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer given by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 5 November (HL11229), what advice they have received from the European Court of Human Rights regarding the current status of the Republic of Ireland's interstate case against the United Kingdom; and what plans they have to propose that the government of Ireland withdraw the case at the 1545th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies at the Council of Europe in December.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Ireland v. the United Kingdom (III) at the European Court of Human Rights has not progressed beyond preliminary stages since it was lodged by Ireland in January 2024. On 2 July 2025, the United Kingdom received correspondence from the Court to confirm that it had adjourned its proceedings pending the final outcome of the ongoing domestic proceedings for judicial review in the case Dillon and Others, which is currently awaiting judgment by the United Kingdom Supreme Court.

The withdrawal of the case is a matter for the Irish Government. The UK Government is clear that the implementation of the Troubles Bill, which seeks to fulfil long standing commitments made by this Government, will mean that the basis for any interstate case will fall away.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the statutory basis of Operation Denton.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. In discharge of the Judicial instruction, the then Chief Constable of the PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Operation Denton's report findings will be permitted to adjudicate on the criminality of members of the armed forces and security services; and what assessment they have made of the application of article 6 the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to a fair trial, given that Operation Denton is not a police investigation.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Operation Denton is a thematic review, not a criminal investigation. As per its Terms of Reference, “the discovery of matters amounting to possible criminal misconduct which may be amenable to further criminal investigation will be brought to the attention of the Chief Constable of PSNI by the OIOC.”

In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. The then Chief Constable of PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.

I understand the Operation Kenova and Operation Denton reports are nearing completion and will be passed to the PSNI soon. The PSNI will then consider the final details around publication of the reports.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will confirm what statutory basis Operation Denton operates upon when it publishes its report.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. In discharge of the Judicial instruction, the then Chief Constable of the PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Operation Denton investigators travelled to Dublin on 8 October, and if so, whether they briefed campaign groups on their findings and confidential material.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

It is not for the Government to comment on the internal operational practices of Operation Denton or any other independent review or investigation.

I understand the Operation Kenova and Operation Denton reports are nearing completion and will be passed to the PSNI soon. The PSNI will then consider the final details around publication of the reports.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential barriers to implementing the provisions of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Northern Ireland in line with the Windsor Framework, following the opinions submitted by Greece, Romania and Slovakia to the European Commission expressing their view that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill would be incompatible with EU law.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Technical Regulatory Information System (TRIS) notification is a routine procedure required under the Windsor Framework. It is not an approval process.

Receiving detailed opinions are a part of the TRIS process. The Government’s position remains that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will apply in Northern Ireland and is consistent with both our domestic and international obligations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for political asylum have been made in Northern Ireland in each of the past eight quarters; and what are the ten countries from which the most applications have been received.

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

Information regarding basis of claim is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for members of the public calling His Majesty's Revenue and Customs by phone.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes its call waiting times on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.

In 2024-25, HMRC handled 71.5% of adviser attempts across their helplines and had an average call answer time of 18 minutes 38 seconds. This year (April – September 2025), HMRC have handled 83.8% of adviser attempts and average call wait times have decreased to 13 minutes 30 seconds.

HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.

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