Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to (a) the report of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on communication of changes to women’s State Pension age and (b) the Work and Pensions Committee’s recommendations of May 2024 on compensation for women born in the 1950s affected by those changes, what the Government's policy is on establishing a compensation scheme for that cohort; and what assessment has been of the implications for Government policy of recent legal challenges regarding the basis on which compensation was declined.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State announced in his Oral Statement of 11 November that we will retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age. Information that was not considered at the time of the original decision has come to light. In retaking the decision, we will review the evidence alongside evidence previously considered.
The process to retake the decision is underway and we will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to implement increased defence expenditure to improve the preparedness and readiness of the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As outlined in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, Defence will increase expenditure to transform the Armed Forces into a more lethal integrated force, equipped for the future. On 25 February 2025, the Prime Minister announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War—rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, and to 3% in the next Parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow. We have already boosted defence by £5 billion this year. The Defence Investment Plan will set out how the Ministry of Defence will deliver the vision of the Strategic Defence Review including steps to improve preparedness and readiness of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of duty-free sales arrangements under the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland’s airports; and whether she has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on enabling passengers travelling from Northern Ireland airports to (a) Great Britain and (b) third countries to access duty-free sales on the same basis as passengers travelling from other UK airports.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Excise duty is due on excise goods due to be consumed in the UK. There are no plans to allow individuals moving from one part of the UK to another to purchase duty free goods.
Passengers travelling from Northern Ireland to a place outside the UK and the EU are entitled to purchase duty free goods in the same way as passengers travelling from Great Britain to a place outside the UK. Duty free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would require the application of personal allowances, to prevent the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU. The enforcement controls required for this would run counter to the shared ambitions of the UK and the EU set out in the Windsor Framework and the principle of the frictionless movement of people and goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
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 recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in (a) food and (b) drinking water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) aims to keep levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food as low as reasonably achievable and is keeping the issue of PFAS under review.
Food business operators have a legal responsibility to ensure that any food they place on the market complies with general food law, which states that food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Where products are found to breach these requirements, local authorities have the power to take enforcement action.
The Committee on Toxicity (COT), an advisory body which provides independent scientific advice to the FSA, is currently undertaking an assessment of PFAS. This assessment includes an extensive review of the available data and derivation of updated health-based guidance values where possible.
Drinking water quality policy is wholly devolved and the following response is in relation to England only.
Defra and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) are working together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on DWI’s recommendations.
The DWI have issued guidance to water companies on PFAS. Concentrations of ‘sum of 48 PFAS’ reported as greater than 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) must be reported to the DWI as a water quality event and all necessary actions to reduce concentrations below this value must be taken. No treated water samples in 2024 were reported in Tier 3 (≥0.1 micrograms/L), supporting the effectiveness of industry mitigation strategies.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department’s policy objectives are in relation to the UK’s support for Ukraine over the next 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided by the Foreign Secretary during departmental questions on 2 December, and to the statement made to the House by the Prime Minister on 25 November.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons part-time members of the Ulster Defence Regiment were not eligible for a pension under the terms of service at the time of their employment; and whether the Department has made any assessment of options for retrospective recognition or provision.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Full time members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) had an automatic entitlement to become members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). Part-time members of the UDR were engaged under different terms to full- time, regular members of the Regiment and were not part of the AFPS. These terms were similar to those of the Territorial Army and reflected that part-time engagements were often on an irregular, intermittent and short-term basis.
The Ministry of Defence values greatly the contribution of all those who served within the UDR, but there are no plans to review the pension entitlement for part-time members.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether individuals currently residing on a UK Ancestry visa and working towards Indefinite Leave to Remain under the existing five-year residency requirement will be required to meet the proposed ten-year residency rule in proposed changes to immigration rules.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are currently holding a public consultation on new settlement rules. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
o ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the introduction of national identity cards.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The design and delivery of the national digital identity credential are subject to a public consultation, which will launch in the new year. The feedback received from members of the public and wider stakeholders will inform our final approach and enable a more accurate assessment of costs.
While an early multi-year estimate from the OBR has been reported, we do not recognise it as an accurate cost for the programme. The scope of the scheme, and therefore its cost, have yet to be decided.
Any costs in this Spending Review period will be met within existing settlements, and a full consultation will be launched in the new year.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Windsor Framework on trade between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Government is committed to the UK internal market. That commitment was set out in Labour’s manifesto and we have made meaningful progress on it.
We have established Intertrade UK to promote trade across the full UK internal market. Over 15,000 businesses are now registered to use the UK internal market scheme to benefit from trading across all four nations.
Earlier this month, an independent report confirmed that 96% of goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland did so within the UK internal market.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the early flu season on (a) corridor care, (b) hospital capacity and (c) patient outcomes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We continue to monitor the impact of flu and the performance of hospitals over the winter months.
The Department is continuing to take key steps to ensure the health service is prepared for the colder months. This includes taking actions to try and reduce demand pressure on accident and emergency, increasing vaccination rates, and offering health checks to the most vulnerable, as well as stress-testing integrated care boards and trust winter plans to ensure that they are able to meet demand and ensure patient flow.
Flu is a recurring pressure that the National Health Service faces every winter. There is particular risk of severe illness for older people, the very young, pregnant people, and those with certain underlying health conditions. The flu vaccine remains the best form of defense against influenza, particularly for the most vulnerable, and continues to be highly effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.