Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when funding allocations will be confirmed for outstanding Darwin Plus applications.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is now working with Darwin Plus applicants to confirm and award new project grants under the programme. Applicants have been advised to expect updates over the summer. Updates will also be made available on the Darwin Plus website.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the use of asylum accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels were one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.
We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.
The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.
To support that goal, as allocated as part of the Spending Review, the Government will be investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and local councils, in order to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers.
In particular, this fund will support local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.
MHCLG and the Home Office are committed to continue working closely with devolved governments and local government to co-design this new model, building on the work undertaken to date. We will be writing to local authorities shortly to update them on this new model.
This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels. These reforms will also go hand-in-hand with the wider reforms set out in the Immigration White Paper to reduce inflow to the asylum system.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans have arrived in the UK under the relocation scheme arising from the 2022 data leak of their identities.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As of 15 July 2025, under the Afghanistan Response Route, 900 principals are in Britain or in transit, together with 3,600 family members.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants are claiming Universal Credit in the UK at present, and how many did so for each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recently published Universal Credit Immigration status and nationality summary statistics on GOV.UK and this shows that 96.0% of UC claimants are either citizens or have been living and contributing to the UK for a very long time.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many traders are registered on the Trader Support Service.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Over 60,000 businesses have registered with the Trader Support Service to date.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they have had with the Federation of Small Businesses about their report Windsor Framework Realities, published on 24 June.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland discussed the findings of the report at the East West Council in June, which was attended by representatives of Intertrade UK who are also considering the report as part of their work to promote trade across the UK. The Government has engaged extensively with Northern Ireland businesses and representative organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses on the implementation of the Windsor Framework. We will continue to do so, including in relation to the report in question.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that Fulani militants murdered Christians in Yelewata, what assessment they have made of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria about protections for Christians facing violence in that country.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like SPRiNG (Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria) and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
During my visit to Nigeria from 28 to 30 May, I met ministers and officials to address insecurity and intercommunal violence, with a focus on tackling root causes. Most recently, I raised FoRB with my Nigerian counterpart during the third UK-Nigeria SDP Dialogue (15-16 July) in London.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that new car prices in Northern Ireland could increase by around £4,000 compared to Great Britain by 2026 under new regulatory divergence; what steps they are taking to prevent the emergence of a divided UK car market; and what discussions they are having with relevant UK and EU partners about that issue.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to meeting our obligations under the Windsor Framework relating to the approval of vehicles for the market in Northern Ireland, and to ensuring that consumers in NI are not restricted in their choice of vehicles.
Since the requirements for vehicle approval in Great Britain are derived from the EU's it makes sense to consider amendments made by the EU favourably. This government closely monitors those amendments and takes an explicit presumption in favour of alignment with them.
To this end the government will consult on proposals to align with Euro 6e emissions regulations, and is considering options for requiring the fitment of the safety technologies mandated by the EU's general safety regulation.
The government meets regularly with individual manufacturers, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and has met the National Franchise Dealers Association to understand the issues facing them, including those caused by misalignment between the GB and EU schemes.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to prevent those interned in Northern Ireland during the Troubles from being eligible for compensation following the repeal of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023; and, if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has set out previously in answers to the Honourable Member for Stockton North and the Honourable Member for Reyleigh and Wickford (UIN 63126 and 65213), the main issue here is the application of the Carltona principle in the context of ICOs. The previous Government’s attempt to address this following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams was found by the Northern Ireland courts to be unlawful and we need to find a better way of reaffirming this principle.
The Government will therefore legislate to address this issue in forthcoming primary legislation when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and protect Army personnel and veterans from vexatious legal claims, and to provide veterans with protection against prosecutions.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The vast majority of Service personnel maintain the highest standards of behaviour, in the most challenging of circumstances. There are safeguards in place to reduce the risk of vexatious claims against them.
The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act was introduced in 2020 with the aim to provide greater certainty for service personnel and veterans in relation to claims and potential prosecution for historical events that occurred on overseas operations. This includes a statutory presumption against prosecution, meaning that it will be "exceptional" for Service personnel or veterans to be prosecuted in those circumstances.
The Act does not prevent victims of alleged offences by Service personnel from bringing forward their allegations, which will be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
All members of the Armed Forces, including the Reserve Forces and Ministry of Defence civilians, plus veterans, are provided with welfare and legal support at public expense where they face criminal or civil allegations that relate to actions taken during their employment or service, and where they were performing their duties. This applies regardless of where in the world the alleged offence took place, or when.