Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of France about the departure of 1,195 asylum seekers in small boats on 31 May.

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

As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons on 2 June, the French Minister of the Interior and the French Cabinet have now agreed that their maritime rules need to change to tackle the kind of tactics seen on 31 May. We will continue to cooperate closely with our French counterparts on the action necessary to disrupt and dismantle organised immigration crime gangs.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect St Lucia Barracks in Omagh against arson attacks.

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

The Ministry of Defence owns a small area of the St Lucia site (known as the historic core), and the majority of the site is owned by the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure; it is for them to comment on any further steps they are taking to protect the site.

I would urge anyone with information about these attacks to contact the PSNI.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of applications for asylum made by those who have entered the UK illegally in small boats have been successful in the past three years.

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

Of the 105,754 people who arrived on a small boat between April 2022 and March 2025 and claimed asylum, 32,506 have subsequently been granted asylum or some other protection status. This data is published in Irr_D03 in the 'Irregular migration detailed datasets' as part of the 'Immigration system statistics quarterly release' on GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the integration of immigrants in the UK, and what programmes they provide to encourage integration.

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

The Home Office’s Immigration White paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced proposed reforms in a wide range of areas – including integration, community cohesion, and language requirements – further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be obliged to consult with the EU in advance of any foreign or defence policy or operation as a result of the UK–EU reset agreement.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

At the UK-EU Summit, the UK and the EU adopted a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). The SDP creates a strong basis to strengthen our foreign, security, and defence dialogue and cooperation. It does not oblige either party to consult the other on their respective foreign, security, or defence operations.

However, the SDP will enhance our cooperation across a broad range of areas including: maritime security; space security; hybrid threats; resilience of our critical infrastructure; irregular migration; global health; illicit finance; defence industry; and military mobility. It will complement our relationships through NATO - the bedrock of our Euro-Atlantic security, and other mechanisms such as the JEF.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what financial contributions they will make to the EU as a result of the UK–EU reset agreement, and when those contributions will commence.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

There will be implementation costs associated with the UK-EU reset agreement, which will be confirmed in due course once we have negotiated the details of the agreement. This will include proportionate contributions in specific and limited areas, such as where access to specific IT systems will help to remove trade barriers for UK firms or manage biosecurity risks. The UK will also negotiate fair financial contributions to the Erasmus+ programme which will reflect the benefits of participation. We will not be making general contributions to the EU budget.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the agreement with the European Union to dynamically align on sanitary and phytosanitary matters, what assessment they have made of the implications on trade deals with countries other than those in the EU.

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

The Government is committed to tackling trade barriers wherever they emerge as we have shown by securing a new free trade agreement with India and a new deal with the US.

The SPS agreement will reduce delays and paperwork at the border with the EU, make it easier and cheaper to take pets on holiday into the EU, and trade in products such as fresh sausages and seed potatoes will be able to resume.

We will always consider our economic interests in the round. The EU is our largest trading partner and there are significant opportunities from an SPS agreement. We will continue to work with trading partners throughout this process, both bilaterally and at the WTO.

The agreement with the EU does not impact on our ability to agree Free Trade Agreements with other trading partners. Any practical impacts on imports from the rest of the world will be communicated to traders in due course.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will establish a central register of divergence in regulations between Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the establishment of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade works closely with a number of Departments to monitor changes in EU legislation and assess the impact on businesses and consumers in all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland. DBT, along with other Departments, also engages closely with the EU institutions through structured channels, including the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) committee structures and Windsor Framework structures.

The UK Government remains committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith while protecting the UK Internal Market.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Spain about allowing UK passport holders to use e-gates at Spanish airports.

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

We have secured confirmation that there will be no legal barriers to eGates use for UK nationals travelling to and from EU Member States after the introduction of the EU's Entry/Exit System.

But the Prime Minister has been clear that we believe European countries should go further and faster now.

We are therefore working with individual Member States at pace to make that transition happen as soon as possible. This includes discussions with Spain.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the UK–EU reset agreement for Gibraltar.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The strengthening of the UK-EU relationship is an important development, as we work with the Government of Gibraltar to conclude a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar which protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, and which secures future prosperity for Gibraltar. All parties involved agree on the importance of finalising an agreement as soon as possible. The UK Government is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar and will only agree to terms with which the Government of Gibraltar is content.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This Government has no current plans to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The international frameworks governing refugee response have been discussed periodically in the United Nations - most recently between 2015 and 2018. Member States decided against reopening the legal regime at that time, focusing instead on improving implementation of existing frameworks.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what parts they own of the St Lucia Barracks in Omagh.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence owns what is known as the historic core at St Lucia Barracks and the St Lucia Cadet Centre.

The remainder of the site is owned by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to use St Lucia Barracks in Omagh as a museum of the service of the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Irish Regiment.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There are no plans to use any part of the site for a military museum.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people deported from the United Kingdom have returned illegally in the past three years.

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

A deportation order requires an FNO to leave the UK and prohibits them from entering the UK while it remains in force. Anyone discovered at the border attempting to do so will be automatically denied entry or detained.

Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, so if an individual who was previously deported is found again in the UK, other than at the border, they will again be liable to be detained and returned to prison.

Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they will provide to meet the cost of asylum applications for those entering the UK via small boats in the current financial year.

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

The Home Office does not allocate funding based on the route by which asylum seekers have entered the UK.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee members also present: Lord Carlile of Berriew; Lord Empey; Baroness

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: than cross-community vote is applied”.23 This concern was echoed by Ulster Unionist Party peer Lord Empey

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Please find full text enclosed as appendix 241 International Development: budget, 11th June 2013 Lord Empey