Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to recognising Somaliland as an independent state.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
It is the UK's long-standing position that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to decide through a consultative process and dialogue, in line with the principles of the UN charter.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 6 January (HL13173), what assessment have they made of the impact on the retention of playing fields if Sport England's role as a statutory consultee for development is stopped.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system closed on Tuesday 13 January 2026, and can be found (attached) on gov.uk here.
No decision will be made on Sport England’s role until feedback on the impacts of the consultation proposals has been fully reviewed.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about its decision to recognise Somaliland as an independent state.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Decisions on Israeli diplomatic recognition are a matter for the Government of Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure (1) that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill can be implemented in full in Northern Ireland, and (2) that the Bill is compatible with the Windsor Framework and European Union law.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of their consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system, what plans they have to alter Sport England's role as a statutory consultee for developments on playing fields; and what assessment they have made of the impact this may have on schools and sport clubs.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Sport England’s statutory consultee role in the planning regime and I encourage anyone interested to feed into that process. The aim of this consultation is not to reduce access to sports facilities. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed reforms.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Northern Ireland will be included in the changes to rules on a fixed customs duty on small parcels entering the European Union.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of the action being taken by our trading partners on small parcels. The facilitations under the Windsor Framework remain in place for goods entering Northern Ireland. We will continue to engage with the EU to give certainty over future arrangements and ensure businesses are informed ahead of any changes. At the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced the removal of the £135 customs duty relief, making low value imports subject to customs duty, with a consultation currently underway considering a new set of customs arrangements for these goods. The government will collaborate with its trading partners to ensure its new low value import customs arrangements work effectively with other regimes while meeting its objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for political asylum and protection status have been made in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.
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.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.