Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the European Court of Human Rights’ recognition of the Immovable Property Commission as an effective legal remedy for property disputes in Cyprus.

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

The European Court of Human Rights has issued several key judgments regarding the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), including most recently in June 2025 where it judged the IPC to remain a valid legal remedy to domestic property disputes in Cyprus, although also noted procedural delays. The Government monitors closely the continued effectiveness of the IPC, including through the Committee of Ministers for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a "coalition of the willing" in support of Taiwan against Chinese aggression.

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

The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and considers the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economy in Northern Ireland of increasing air passenger duty.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.

Following previous increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates to account for below inflation rates, the government will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and rounded to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze.

In 2012, the UK government devolved the power to set direct long-haul APD rates to the Northern Ireland Executive, and the Executive subsequently set these at zero. The UK government continues to set APD rates for short-haul international and domestic flights from Northern Ireland.

Reforms to APD took effect in April 2023, including the introduction of a new band for domestic flights, initially set at half the rate for short-haul international flights. The domestic rate applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and is currently set at £7 for economy passengers until 31 March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of additional people in Northern Ireland who will pay income tax due to the personal allowance threshold being frozen until 2031, and (2) the anticipated additional tax revenue for HM Treasury.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). This data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.19 Effect of personal tax threshold freezes on the number of taxpayers in each threshold (millions) [1]

The latest yield of personal tax measures can be found in Table 3.18 in the OBR’s November 2025 EFO. As above, this data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.18 Latest yield of personal tax measures(£billions) [2]

[1] https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

[2] https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised any concerns regarding the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, dated November, in discussions with that country’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

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

The US remains the UK's most important defence and security ally. The Foreign Secretary met the US Secretary of State in Washington DC on 8 December to discuss cooperation on issues vital to our shared interests and security, and UK ministers and officials are in regular dialogue with their US counterparts on a wide range of areas.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of Ireland regarding their ability to make a financial contribution towards the protection of undersea cables serving the British Isles from sabotage by Russia.

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

At the UK-Ireland Summit on 6 March 2025, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced their commitment to deepen cooperation between the two nations, including in the area of defence. The UK and Ireland continue to discuss how we can improve our cooperation in maritime security, including critical undersea infrastructure.