Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total annual funding provided to the Community Security Trust.

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

The Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant provides protective security measures (such as security personnel services, CCTV and alarm systems) at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and community sites. It is managed on behalf of the Home Office by the Community Security Trust. The Community Security Trust will receive funding of £18 million per year through the JCPS from 2024/25 to 2027/28.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether imports from the United States of America to Northern Ireland which are not in transit to the European Union will be subject to EU trade defence measures.

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

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom customs territory and internal market. We are looking closely at the retaliatory tariffs announced by the EU and any impact these might have on Northern Ireland businesses.

Under the Windsor Framework, where US imports into NI do not subsequently enter the EU, traders can reclaim any additional duties through the Duty Reimbursement Scheme in full without any limit on total claims.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that imports from the United States of America to Northern Ireland which are not in transit to the European Union do not have tariffs applied at the rate prescribed to the EU.

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

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom customs territory and internal market. We are looking closely at the retaliatory tariffs announced by the EU and any impact these might have on Northern Ireland businesses.

Under the Windsor Framework, where US imports into NI do not subsequently enter the EU, traders can reclaim any additional duties through the Duty Reimbursement Scheme in full without any limit on total claims.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people from Ukraine are currently living in the UK under temporary visas, and how many of these people have applied for permanent settlement through the long residence application process.

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

The Home Office publishes statistics relating to entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics’ quarterly release, published on gov.uk. Data on visas issued are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the entry clearance detailed dataset. The latest data relates up to the end of 2024.

Information on Settlement can be found within the ‘How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?’ topic within the Immigration System Statistics publication

Grants of settlement on the basis of long residence to Ukraine nationals

Notes:

Latest data is up to the end of 2023

A grant of settlement does not necessarily mean that the person is living in the UK.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reimpose restrictions on the Central Bank of Syria.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories announced in Parliament on 13 February, we are making changes to the Syrian sanctions regulations to support the Syrian people in re-building their country and promote security and stability while maintaining sanctions for those responsible for abuses committed during the conflict. On 6 March, the Government lifted asset freezes on 24 Syrian entities, including the Central Bank of Syria, that were previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the Syrian people. We keep our sanctions under close review to ensure they are used as a responsive tool. We do not comment on future designations as to do so lessens their potential impact.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what sanctions they intend to place on the government of Syria.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories announced in Parliament on 13 February, we are making changes to the Syrian sanctions regulations to support the Syrian people in re-building their country and promote security and stability while maintaining sanctions for those responsible for abuses committed during the conflict. On 6 March, the Government lifted asset freezes on 24 Syrian entities, including the Central Bank of Syria, that were previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the Syrian people. We keep our sanctions under close review to ensure they are used as a responsive tool. We do not comment on future designations as to do so lessens their potential impact.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what aid is currently being provided to the government of Syria and its arm's-length bodies.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have not given any humanitarian funds to the interim Syrian authorities. We provide funding to non-governmental organisations and United Nations organisations operating in Syria to deliver assistance and meet the needs of the most vulnerable across the country. As with all our work, we have controls in place to ensure our aid reaches those who need it. In this financial year (2024/25), the UK provided £148 million to support people across Syria with food, healthcare, protection, agricultural support, education, and other lifesaving services.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much duty has been returned to firms based in Northern Ireland as a result of the Duty Reimbursement Scheme.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Information on duty reimbursed to firms specifically based in Northern Ireland under the scheme is not held by HMRC.

The Duty Reimbursement Scheme has been operational since 2023, allowing businesses who move goods into Northern Ireland to reclaim or remit duty provided that the goods can be shown not to have subsequently entered the EU. HMRC has published extensive guidance and will continue to support businesses to use the scheme effectively, as well as other schemes like the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost to firms in Northern Ireland of applying for reimbursement from the Duty Reimbursement Scheme.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

No assessment has been made of the total cost to businesses in Northern Ireland of applying for reimbursement from the Duty Reimbursement Scheme.

The Duty Reimbursement Scheme allows traders to reclaim or remit full EU applicable duties on goods entering Northern Ireland. There is no limit on the number of claims that can be made. HMRC has published extensive guidance on the scheme and will continue to support businesses to use it effectively.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of imports from the United States of America to Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The value of goods imported from the United States of America to Northern Ireland was £639m in 2022, £835m in 2023 and £753m in 2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 754 schools announced as early-adopters of the breakfast club scheme are currently offering breakfast club schemes, and in how many schools will this represent new provision.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The aim of the early adopter scheme is to test and learn what works in advance of national rollout on breakfast clubs to all primary schools. The schools taking part in the early adopter scheme were therefore selected to be broadly representative of the national picture. Across all primary schools, an estimated 22% have no breakfast club provision at all before school, and the remaining 78% have some provision, according to the 2022 School and College Panel. However, we know that provision is usually charged for or has limitations on the number of children who can attend. This figure will shortly be updated to reflect changes in provision since 2022.

Our new early adopter breakfast clubs are free, open to all pupils in the school, last at least 30 minutes and include food. This will save parents up to £450 per year, meaning more money in their pockets.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many hospital admissions for preventable cardiovascular disease there have been in each of the past three years.

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

The Department does not hold data on the number of admissions for cardiovascular disease which are preventable. However, we know that up to 70% of cardiovascular disease is preventable and linked to behavioural, metabolic, and environmental risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, living with obesity, and air pollution.

The Government is tackling the root cause of preventable heart disease and stroke through the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, implementing advertising regulations for less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, and giving councils stronger, clearer powers to block the development of new fast-food shops near schools.