Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the outcome of the UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We estimate that the Emission Trading System and food and agriculture elements of the agreement alone will boost the economy by nearly £9 billion by 2040.
Implementation costs will be confirmed in due course when we have negotiated the details of these arrangements. This will include proportionate contributions in specific and limited areas, such as where access to specific IT systems will help to remove trade barriers for UK firms or help us to manage biosecurity risks. We will not be making general contributions to the EU budget.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on increasing the rate of construction of social housing.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Construction of Social Housing is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department of Communities.
The UK Government has provided the Executive with a record £18.2bn for 2025-26. This includes an additional £1.5bn for 2025/26 and represents the largest settlement in the history of devolution. It is for the Executive to allocate money to the Department of Communities for social housing construction.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and I have met with the Minister for Communities, Gordon Lyons MLA, to discuss a range of issues, including social housing.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU reset deal on businesses in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government's new strategic partnership with the EU will deliver greater prosperity and security for Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole. In particular, the new SPS Agreement with the EU will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses and improving consumer choice.
The Summit also marked the establishment of a new security and defence partnership that will help us work together with the EU on threats to national security and will support our defence industry, which has more than 9,000 aerospace, defence, space, and security jobs in Northern Ireland. In addition, we announced a closer law enforcement relationship with the EU that will help prevent crime and bring perpetrators to justice.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the (a) Northern Ireland Protocol and (b) Windsor Framework on the number of businesses based in Great Britain that have ceased trading with Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to the Windsor Framework and to protecting the UK internal market. The Framework guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the UK market and also supports traders to do business. Many are taking advantage of the support provided by the Trader Support Service.
On 1 May 2025, the Government introduced important new arrangements for freight and parcels movements to ensure that goods can continue to move smoothly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The new arrangements ensure that goods sent to or from consumers will not be subject to customs declarations or duty. We have also introduced a range of schemes to support businesses by removing unnecessary checks and paperwork; over 10,000 businesses are already signed up to the UK Internal Market Scheme.
Furthermore, the Government’s renewed partnership with the EU will deliver a broader range of benefits for people and businesses across the UK, including the SPS Agreement which, once implemented, will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, reduce costs for businesses and improve consumer choice.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the growth of the Dartmoor pony population.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To help enable growth, Defra supports the conservation of livestock and equines, including the Dartmoor Pony, by monitoring populations of native breeds, with data published in the annual UK National Breed inventory. Defra also protects eligible native breeds at risk from culling during notifiable disease outbreaks. Defra can utilise the Zootechnical animal breeding legislation to support the recognised breed society to meet the aim of their approved breeding programme.
Actions will be available in Countryside Stewardship for grazing with both cattle and ponies. The Dartmoor Pony is listed on the Native Breeds at Risk list so are eligible for payments under the native breeds supplements. Defra have also made it clear within the new offer that ponies are exempt from stock removal requirements, in recognition that removal of ponies from moorland is neither feasible nor desirable in most circumstances.
For those with existing Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements and those currently working with Natural England on new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier applications, the new moorland offer will be subject to monitoring and evaluation, particularly in the first year. Any change in the pony population during this time will be investigated and further mitigations will be explored if necessary.
At present Defra are focussed on developing a new and improved SFI offer, more information will be available in due course.
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 relevant stakeholders on reports of businesses in Northern Ireland processing card transactions in euros, in the context of currency conversion charges for customers.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The decision on which currencies to accept for payment, including whether to process card transactions in euros or any other international currency, is a matter for individual businesses across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
Businesses are responsible for ensuring transparency in any associated currency conversion charges applied to customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the conduct of financial services firms in the UK and sets out rules to ensure customers are treated fairly, including in relation to payment services and foreign exchange disclosures.
The Government continues to monitor developments and maintain dialogue with relevant regulators and stakeholders where appropriate.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussion he has had with Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on the potential impact of regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom on the oversight of post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I speak regularly on a wide range of matters to Northern Ireland Executive Ministers and the Northern Ireland political parties. This includes discussion of the Government's commitment to safeguarding the UK internal market, handling divergence and encouraging economic growth, in line with the Government's manifesto and the five missions.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) oversight of and (b) international collaboration in research into solar radiation management technologies.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification. Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.
The Department works closely with the international research community to evaluate the latest research on Solar Radiation Modification including participating in forums such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to increase the number of serving personnel in the British Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration, and we are committed to addressing this through a range of targets, initiatives and measures.
The British Army continues to implement Future Soldier, with a whole force of over 100,000 comprising of 73,000 Regular Service Personnel and 30,100 Army Reserve.
Recruiting and retention remain one of our highest priorities - the Army/Capita Recruiting Partnering Project is completely focused on delivering a significant increase in recruitment in 2025-26, with the Army’s Retention Strategy focusing on reducing voluntary outflow.
On 6 February 2025 we announced the award of the contract for the new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS). It will provide a streamlined, single-entry point for prospective recruits, with the aim of attracting the best talent from across the country into the Armed Forces. The service will launch in 2027, replacing the individual schemes run by the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force.
Further announcements will be made in due course, in line with the future Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a new approach to help tackle hyper prolific offending through (a) the monitoring of offenders, (b) effective intervention programmes and (c) the enforcement of appropriate legal penalties; and whether she has had discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the potential impact of its Reducing Offenders Unit on crime rates.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We take prolific offending seriously and recognise that prolific offenders commit a disproportionate number of offences. Between 2000 and 2021, for example, prolific offenders represented nearly 10% of offenders but accounted for just over 50% of convictions.
That clearly cannot continue. That is why the Lord Chancellor asked David Gauke to specifically consider the issue of prolific offenders as part of the Sentencing Review, to ensure that we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.
Prolific offenders often have a complex set of needs, and to tackle the underlying causes of offending community sentences may also have rehabilitative requirements attached, including drug, alcohol and mental health difficulties. We are: