Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with representatives of the logistics industry on the cost of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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)

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets regularly with the logistics sector and businesses trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through the Northern Ireland Business Stakeholders Group.

Working with the EU and fast parcel operators, we have ensured that from 1 July the vast majority of low-value imports will not face EU duties when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, cutting costs and protecting GB-NI trade.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) farmers in relation to increased costs deriving from the Iran war, and (2) the long-term financial sustainability of farm businesses.

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

Defra is actively monitoring developments in the Middle East and the impacts on food and farming sectors. Measures have been taken to improve market transparency, promote advice, tools and guidance, and we have consulted on temporary suspension of tariffs for certain fertilisers and modernisation of fertiliser regulations.

The ongoing pressure on fertiliser underlines the need to shift to a more resilient farming system with reduced reliance on such inputs. In England, the Farming Roadmap shows how improving nutrient management and input efficiency will help farmers to reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers, cut input costs and boost resilience.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of youth unemployment trends in each region of the United Kingdom.

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

The information requested is published and available at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

The estimated youth unemployment levels can be found by selecting “Query data” on the NOMIS home page and selecting “Annual Population Survey/Labour Force Survey” and then “annual population survey – regional – labour market status by age (Dec 2004 to Dec 2025)” in the lists of data sources. The “Geography” and “Date” menus will need to be set accordingly. The age needs to be set to “16-24” and the Labour Market Status needs to be set to “Unemployed”. Then click “Download Data”.

The latest data, for the year January 2025 to December 2025, is given in the table below.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impacts of the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.

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

The Defence Industrial Strategy includes a range of initiatives to cut red tape, speed up development to delivery and ensure our defence investment benefits local communities. By backing UK businesses, reforming defence procurement and launching the defence industry skills programme, the Defence Industrial Strategy will drive sustainable economic growth and create jobs across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

On 22 April we also launched the Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal, which will deliver £50 million of defence investment in Northern Ireland. This funding will harness Northern Ireland’s defence sub-sector strengths and deliver the enabling interventions required to strengthen and grow Northern Ireland’s defence and dual-use ecosystem.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they will take to stop Chinese research vessels in UK waters (1) intercepting cargo ships, and (2) charting the seabed for submarines.

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

The Ministry of Defence keeps the security of our waters under continuous review, working closely with other Government Departments, industry and international partners in relation to hostile and other security related threats.

The Royal Navy continues to deliver persistent presence, surveillance and deterrence activity in UK waters. The government has been clear on its readiness and willingness to respond decisively to any maritime threat to the UK and its interests. Allocation of military assets is prioritised to respond to global operational needs, including the vessels and aircraft of the Royal Navy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have paid to the government of France to stop illegal immigrants arriving from boats into the United Kingdom.

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

The UK and France maintain a longstanding relationship on tackling illegal migration at our shared border. Joint work with France has prevented more than 44,000 crossing attempts since the last general election.

The UK and France have reached agreement on a deal covering the financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29, which aims to increase the number of personnel deployed by 53% and provide a significant increase in technological and intelligence resources to strengthen operations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any key target been removed from the Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty, due for publication later this year.

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

No target has been removed from the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia. The framework is still in development, and we are still considering all options to help improve dementia diagnosis and care, including reviewing targets, metrics, and data.

We are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia. As part of this exercise, we will develop a list of best evidenced interventions following analysis of the evidence and wider research.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have held concerning the replacement of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, and with whom.

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)

The Government continues to engage with a wide range of interested parties at ministerial and official level. This includes regular and recent discussions with victims groups, groups representing veterans, human rights organisations, elected representatives, and others including academics.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of the security threat in Northern Ireland.

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)

Despite the recent disorder, and the security incidents in Belfast, Lurgan and Dunmurry, the Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) in Northern Ireland threat level remains SUBSTANTIAL, following its reduction in March 2024.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre keeps the Threat Level from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism in Northern Ireland under constant review and formally reviews it twice a year.

I wish to recognise the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and security partners, who work day-in, day-out to keep our communities safe.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase energy security and lower energy costs; and what assessment they have made as to the potential impact of the conflict in the Middle East on domestic energy bills.

Answered by Lord Whitehead

The events in the Middle East underline the risks of continued dependence on fossil fuels and the importance of accelerating our transition to clean energy. That is why we are driving further and faster for clean homegrown power that we control to protect the British people and bring down bills for good.

The Government acted at last year’s Budget by taking on average £150 of costs off energy bills and we have also extended the Warm Home Discount to cover around 6 million households. We will continue to monitor the situation ahead of the winter and plan for all contingencies.