Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many super-injunctions are currently in effect in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There is currently one super-injunction in force which was made in the Kings Bench Division of the High Court.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on defence as a share of gross domestic product in each year since 2010.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
NATO’s published figures for UK defence spending as a percentage of GDP spend since 2010 are below.
Year | Share of gdp |
2010 | 2.47 |
2011 | 2.38 |
2012 | 2.16 |
2013 | 2.24 |
2014 | 2.14 |
2015 | 2.03 |
2016 | 2.09 |
2017 | 2.08 |
2018 | 2.10 |
2019 | 2.08 |
2020 | 2.35 |
2021 | 2.29 |
2022 | 2.29 |
2023 | 2.28 |
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Defence or the Minister for Armed Forces attended the meeting between the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Micheál Martin, the Republic of Ireland’s Minister for Defence, in London on 13 December 2023; and what defence-related matters were discussed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Neither the Secretary of State for Defence nor the Minister for Armed Forces attended the meeting in question. The Foreign Secretary and the Tánaiste discussed a wide range of foreign policy, defence and security matters, including international development, peacekeeping, the Israel-Gaza conflict, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the shared threat we face from malign state actors.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence has spent in each of the past five years on surveillance operations to protect the network of undersea cables serving the British Isles from sabotage by hostile actors; and what proportion the government of the Republic of Ireland has contributed towards the cost of those operations.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government takes the security and resilience of our critical infrastructure very seriously and we focus on the full range of threats and risks. The responsibility for maintaining subsea cables is a commercial one for the owner-operators. However, the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero work closely with the operators, regulators and other stakeholders to assess risks and ensure that the appropriate mitigation measures, including the provision of specialist capabilities are in place to enable an effective response to actual or potentially disruptive incidents.
The Ministry of Defence constantly monitors activity within UK waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone to counter and deter detected threats. British warships frequently patrol throughout the UK marine area. We have invested in our under-water capabilities able to monitor and assure the seabed including the Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) programme which we do not comment on in detail. These capabilities are used for a variety of purposes and roles meaning that we cannot provide a cost for surveillance.
Questions on critical national infrastructure are for individual nations to answer, therefore any questions on Irish subsea cables should be directed to the Irish Government.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Gaelic Athletic Association with regard to increasing the £15 million intended to contribute towards the redevelopment of Casement Park in Belfast; and how much the overall project is currently estimated to cost.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland is responsible for the procurement process for the redevelopment of Casement Park, including direct engagement with local partners on their funding contributions.
We are working closely with partners in Northern Ireland to make sure that EURO 2028 leaves a lasting legacy across the whole United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to release the Levelling Up Fund Round 3 allocation ring-fenced for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to review official travel advice for UK nationals visiting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus. We regularly review official travel advice for UK nationals travelling abroad, including to the Republic of Cyprus.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many written meeting requests relating to his ministerial responsibilities the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland received in 2023; how many were granted; and how many are yet to receive a reply.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All meetings that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland undertakes as part of his ministerial responsibilities can be found in transparency reports. Links for January to March 2023, April to June 2023, and July to September 2023 are available. The transparency report for October to December 2023 is due to be published in due course. The exact number of meeting requests granted and yet to receive a reply are not centrally collated and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Northern Ireland Office processes all ministerial meeting requests in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British expats currently reside in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and by how many this number has increased since 2004.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus. Approximately 30,000 British Nationals reside in Cyprus, of which we estimate that 10,000-15,000 are based in the north of the island. We do not monitor year on year changes in the number of British Nationals residing in the north of Cyprus.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what tangible outcomes have resulted from the Northern Ireland Investment Summit in Belfast on 12–13 September.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
1000 jobs were announced at the Summit and work is now underway to deliver a strong legacy from it, with more investments expected as a result, including follow up activity such as the No. 10 hosted venture capital roundtable, aimed at encouraging venture capital investment into Northern Ireland. We also offered support for Joe Kennedy III’s incoming mission to Northern Ireland in October 2023 (US Special Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland).