Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice on public confidence in sentencing decisions in Northern Ireland; and whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
It is important that there is confidence in the justice system. I regularly meet with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.
Policing and justice, with the exception of national security, are devolved matters. As such, I understand that the Minister of Justice has introduced the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which aims to create more stringent sentences for a range of offences.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet colleagues on the potential role of the Royal Navy in ensuring the safe passage of British-registered vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I have regular meetings with Cabinet colleagues on the conflict in Iran, and its impact..
The Government is committed to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict and ensuring the safety of British vessels, and the UK is playing a leading role jointly with France to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz through a multinational military mission. Further planning for the UK’s contribution to the multinational mission is ongoing in coordination with international partners.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department has been involved in discussions regarding the future ownership, management or financing of Northern Ireland public services or infrastructure by the Irish Government or its agencies.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office has not participated in any discussions regarding the future ownership, management, or financing of Northern Ireland’s public services, including infrastructure by the Irish Government or any of its agencies.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Government is taking steps to support voluntary search and rescue organisations in Northern Ireland, including K9 Search and Rescue (NI); and whether he has had discussions with relevant departments on the provision of funding to assist such organisations in carrying out their work.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Co-ordination of land and inland water rescue is devolved, with search and rescue policy the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice and co-ordination of land and inland water search and rescue operations falling to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I have had no discussions on the provision of funding to assist such organisations but understand that the Northern Ireland Department of Justice provides approximately £100,000 of grant funding each year, which is shared across the current nine voluntary search and rescue organisations to help to sustain their capability.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the department has to support the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I recently hosted the East West Council in Belfast where the Minister for Early Years noted the significant collaboration between all four nations of the UK to support the National Year of Reading.
Education is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. Decisions about the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland are for the Northern Ireland Education Minister.
This Government remains committed to working with partners across the United Kingdom to collaborate to share best practices and I look forward to seeing how this great initiative progresses throughout the year.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many administrative letters to individuals under the on-the-runs scheme were issued broken down by year.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This information is publicly available at Appendix 4: Chronology of The Report of the Hallet Review: An Independent Review into the On the Runs Administrative Scheme, which can be found here.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what consideration he has given to ring-fencing any element of the Local Growth Fund allocation for Northern Ireland for community and voluntary sector services.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive have worked to provide community and voluntary sector organisations with the certainty they need to plan for this year.
The RDEL element of the Local Growth Fund in 2026/27 will be split between economic inactivity provision delivery partners and Go Succeed, in the same proportion to funding received in 2025/26 under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This was agreed between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The record £19.3bn settlement for the Spending Review period - as well as the £370m announced at the Budget - provides the Northern Ireland Executive with the means to provide additional funding to support the voluntary and community sector, should they wish to do so.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on re-profiling the Local Growth Fund allocation for Northern Ireland to increase the resource element.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Following the announcement of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland at the Spending Review in June 2025, I have had regular engagement with the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, as well as Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, as we continue to work in partnership on the design and delivery of the Fund.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to make additional funding available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to meet the costs arising from the 2023 data breach.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to set a budget for Departments, and for the Minister for Justice to allocate funding to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Government is providing the Executive with a record settlement over the Spending Review period, averaging £19.3bn per year. This is the largest in the history of devolution.
On 17 December 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to providing £119m to the Department of Justice to fund the costs of the data breach.
Concerns about the implications of costs associated with the data breach should be raised via the existing mechanisms in the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many applications have been (a) received, (b) awarded and (c) refused under the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme; and in how many refused cases the applicant was in receipt of an occupational injury award, including (i) Civil Service Injury Benefit and (ii) an equivalent injury pension.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme is a devolved matter and is run by the Victims’ Payments Board on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Statistics on applications are publicly available on the Victims’ Payments Board’s website.