Carla Lockhart Portrait

Carla Lockhart

Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann

7,406 (15.6%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 12th December 2019


Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
8th Nov 2022 - 30th May 2024
Local Government (Pay Accountability) Bill
15th May 2024 - 22nd May 2024
British Sign Language Bill
9th Feb 2022 - 23rd Feb 2022
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill
5th Jan 2022 - 12th Jan 2022


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Carla Lockhart has voted in 99 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Carla Lockhart Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Hilary Benn (Labour)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
(11 debate interactions)
Jess Phillips (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
(8 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Northern Ireland Office
(13 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(12 debate contributions)
Ministry of Justice
(10 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Carla Lockhart's debates

Upper Bann Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.

We think that changing inheritance tax relief for agricultural land will devastate farms nationwide, forcing families to sell land and assets just to stay on their property. We urge the government to keep the current exemptions for working farms.


Latest EDMs signed by Carla Lockhart

4th June 2025
Carla Lockhart signed this EDM as a sponsor on Wednesday 4th June 2025

Christian persecution in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Tabled by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
That this House notes with extreme concern reports of recent widespread jihadist-driven attacks in Nigeria, including the coordinated targeting of at least six predominantly Christian villages in the Danko Wasagu local government area of Kebbi State between 8 and 15 May 2025: further notes that the communities of Waje, Tsalon …
10 signatures
(Most recent: 5 Jun 2025)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 5
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Liberal Democrat: 2
Labour: 1
2nd June 2025
Carla Lockhart signed this EDM as the primary signatory on Monday 2nd June 2025

Support for families affected by childhood cancer

Tabled by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
That this House recognises the unimaginable pain experienced by families receiving a childhood cancer diagnosis; pays heartfelt tribute to David and Sara Watson, who, following the devastating loss of their much loved son Adam, have channelled their grief into tireless campaigning to support other families on this harrowing journey; notes …
5 signatures
(Most recent: 6 Jun 2025)
Signatures by party:
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Liberal Democrat: 1
Independent: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
View All Carla Lockhart's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Carla Lockhart, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Carla Lockhart has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Carla Lockhart has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Carla Lockhart has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade what assessment he has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on availability of jobs in the (a) legal and (b) financial sectors; and what steps he is taking to support workers transitioning to new roles.

In November 2023, the Department for Education published a report showing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on areas within the UK labour market and education The impact of AI on UK jobs and training - GOV.UK. The report noted that professional occupations are more exposed to AI, particularly those associated with more clerical work and across finance, law and business management roles.

The government is committed to ensuring both learners and employers have access to crucial digital and artificial intelligence skills that have the potential to increase productivity and create new high value jobs in the UK economy. To achieve this, the government is reforming the skills system. The government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs.

AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to legal professionals by automating routine work, allowing them to focus on matters of higher value and interest. AI and lawtech is also creating new jobs within the profession, such as legal technologists and tech developers.

Supporting the safe adoption of AI in legal services is essential to ensuring the sector remains world leading. The Ministry of Justice does this via LawtechUK, a grant funded industry led programme created to support the development of lawtech. Across the past year LawtechUK has hosted a series on Generative AI, brining experts in law, technology, and regulation to explore the benefits of AI and how to mitigate any risks.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 in protecting (a) people and (b) animals from negative impacts of fireworks.

The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.

To inform any future decisions on the legislative framework, the Government intends to engage with stakeholders to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
19th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support vulnerable people with fluctuations in the cost of energy.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers, including vulnerable individuals, permanently. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

However, we recognise the need to support vulnerable households struggling with their bills as we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the £150 Warm Home Discount to around 3 million households last winter. In February, we published a consultation to expand the Warm Home Discount to bring an extra 2.7 million households into the scheme, which would push the total number of eligible households up to around 6 million households from next winter. The consultation has now closed, and the Department is evaluating responses.

I urge any vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills to contact their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice to see what support they can receive.

Miatta Fahnbulleh
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to improve the resilience of the electricity grid to extreme weather conditions.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. Network operators have completed a significant number of improvements to the resilience of Great Britain’s electricity network which means the electricity system is in a much better place to mitigate power disruption during extreme weather events such as Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn. The Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) work to identify lessons after all large energy incidents to ensure continuous improvement to the network. E3C will work with network operators in Northern Ireland as part of this process to ensure, where necessary, improvements are made across the UK.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology what safeguards are in place to ensure that his officials do not input (a) sensitive and (b) classified information into artificial intelligence tools.

All civil servants are trained in appropriate information management practices for handling sensitive or classified information. We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI usage. For example the AI Playbook for the UK Government, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, and the generative AI framework on GOV.UK which includes a section on using generative AI safely and responsibly.

OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE information can safely be included in prompts to AI tools that are hosted within the DSIT IT eco-system, or by providers with whom the department has an agreement in place around the secure processing of such data. For example, DSIT has an enterprise agreement with Microsoft to provide all staff with secure access to Copilot Chat and 1,500 staff with licenses to the cross-government Microsoft 365 Copilot experiment. Additional tool-specific guidance is provided to individuals at the point-of-use.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to increase the resilience of telecommunications infrastructure in Northern Ireland, in the context of recent ransomware attacks in the last 12 months.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK's telecommunications infrastructure. The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 introduced a robust security framework throughout the United Kingdom and requires public telecoms providers to identify, reduce, and prepare for security and resilience risks, including ransomware attacks. Ofcom is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with this framework. The Government keeps its telecoms security and resilience policies under constant review to ensure evolving risks to UK telecommunications networks are effectively mitigated.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of broadcasting regulations on the impartiality of news coverage in Northern Ireland.

The regulation of due impartiality in broadcast news is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide (a) tuition fee, (b) financial and (c) other support to students from Northern Ireland studying at universities in Great Britain.

The Northern Ireland Executive has devolved responsibility for higher education in Northern Ireland and determines the student finance arrangements for Northern Irish students, including those students studying in England, Scotland and Wales.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to (a) regulate and (b) reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 April to Question UIN 45139.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that farmers have low cost access for disposing of tractor tyres.

Every business that produces or deals with waste tyres has a legal duty of care to make sure that their waste is managed appropriately by an authorised person to ensure that risks to the environment are minimised. Any holder of end-of-life tractor tyres is able to check that someone is appropriately authorised to handle that waste through the Environment Agency's or their national equivalent environmental regulator's public register.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining (a) bee and (b) pollinator populations on UK food production and what steps he is taking to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.

This Government is committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042.

For pollinator species, we are considering lessons learned from a recently completed review of our 2021-24 Pollinator Action Plan, which set out actions to address key risks to insect pollinator populations, including monitoring potential or emerging risks.

Although honeybees face many of the same environmental pressures as wild pollinators, their population is driven largely by the number of beekeepers willing and able to keep bees. Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are quite stable.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators, and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity, and build resilience to climate change.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to regulate and reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.

Drinking water quality is a devolved matter and therefore I can only respond in relation to England.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published two research projects on microplastics in drinking water – one in January 2019 reviewing the potential risks from nanoparticles and microplastics and another in October 2022 looking at the removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes. This found that more than 99.99% of microplastic particles were removed through conventional drinking water treatment processes and that microplastics were present at very low levels in drinking water. Their contribution to total daily exposure, and presenting a potential risk to human health, was likely to be low or insignificant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended that routine monitoring of microplastics in drinking water was not necessary at this time.

The DWI published a report in December 2024 recommending revisions to some of the parameters listed in the drinking water regulations.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining bee and pollinator populations on UK food production; and what steps he plans to take to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.

This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. We are committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.

For our pollinator species we are considering lessons learned from the recently completed review of our Pollinator Action Plan (PAP), which set out plans to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the National Pollinator Strategy over the last three-year period from 2021-24.

Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are stable.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to review the Border Target Operating Model to introduce mandatory spot checks on all vehicles entering the UK, in the context of illegal meat smuggling.

The Border Target Operating Model aims to mitigate sanitary and phytosanitary risks, while enabling the flow of legitimate goods through our ports and airports. We will continue to operate a compliance first approach enabling importers and the public to move compliant goods, backed up by robust, intelligence-led, enforcement controls on illegal activity.

We take illegal meat smuggling very seriously, as it may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase (a) funding and (b) other resources for enforcement agencies for the (i) detection and (ii) prevention of illegal meat imports at ports.

Border Force is responsible for securing our borders and officers have powers to stop and search vehicles and passengers at ports and airports. Border Force may call on Port Health Authorities for assistance in seizing any illegal meat detected. Border Force is funded by the Home Office.

We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities

This includes Defra’s offer of funding to Dover Port Health Authority to support Border Force with enforcement in 2025/26.

The Secretary of State is also working with Home Office and Border Force on plans to seize the cars, vans, trucks and coaches used by criminal gangs to smuggle illegal meat into our country and crush them so they can’t be used again.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the illegal importation of meat from regions affected by (a) African swine fever and (b) foot and mouth disease on risks to the UK agricultural sector.

Whilst we have never had an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the UK, it remains a key priority in terms of exotic notifiable disease preparedness. The overall risk of an incursion is currently assessed to be medium, and we continue to prepare for a possible outbreak. To safeguard the UK’s pork and pig industries, Defra, Devolved Governments, together with the pig industry and veterinary bodies have been working together to raise awareness of the risks of the introduction of ASF to the UK. Defra announced further controls in September 2024, restricting the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain.

The risk of incursion of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) to Great Britain was increased to medium following the confirmation of disease in Germany on the 10 January 202 and then Hungary on 6 March 2025. The Government has taken decisive and rapid action to protect the UK by suspending the commercial import of susceptible animals from Germany and restricting personal imports of animal products from across the EU. The UK has robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of this disease as set out in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with law enforcement agencies on taking steps to help tackle organised criminal networks involved in the illegal meat trade; and what steps he plans to take to help disrupt this activity.

We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities.

Where non-compliant meat is identified inland, the Food Standards Agency works closely with its local authority partners, who hold responsibility for this aspect of enforcement, to remove the goods from potential sale in the UK market. This work is conducted by the Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit who work with partners to disrupt, prevent and where appropriate investigate those involved in food crime.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of recent flooding on agricultural productivity; and whether he plans to provide funding to help farmers improve drainage management on their land.

The 2023 to 2024 Autumn and winter season were the wettest in 30 years, this meant that many farms in affected areas experienced difficulty cultivating or grazing over that period. The primary impact of this on agricultural productivity is a shift from winter cropping to spring cropping. According to the AHDB annual harvest insight there was a shift in barley crops of 24% between winter and spring and much of this spring crop may get lower yields. To assist farmers with the impact of the extreme wet weather £57.5 million has been paid in farming recovery payments, to around 12,700 farmers.

The Government has invested £50 million to internal drainage boards (IDBs) as part of the one-off £75 million IDB Fund to support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities in the long term. The IDB Fund will accelerate IDBs’ recovery from the winter 2023-24 storms and provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets that protect agricultural land and rural communities.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided to help tackle bovine TB outbreaks in areas of high incidence in each of the last five years.

Policy on bovine TB is devolved to governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In England, in the last five years, my department has spent approximately £100 million per year on disease control measures tackling bovine TB.

It is not possible to break down the amount spent, by individual TB risk area.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the protection of assistance animals from abuse and neglect; and what additional steps he plans to take to improve safeguards for these animals.

Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, including assistance animals, is an offence under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The maximum sentence for this offence is five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Those convicted of an offence may also be disqualified from owning or keeping animals.

The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs which provides owners and keepers with general welfare information including a specific section on how to provide the correct environment for their dog and protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing to (a) poultry farmers and (b) wildlife conservation groups to help contain the spread of avian influenza.

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate highly pathogenic avian influenza, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery as set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales.

All registered bird keepers receive regular updates and guidance to help protect their birds from avian influenza. Biosecurity guidance and self-assessment checklists are available on each of the UK administration’s websites to assist bird keepers in maintaining good biosecurity and complying with the requirements of disease control and preventions zones.

The Mitigation Strategy provides guidance to wildlife trusts, conservation charities and other organisations on how to respond to findings of avian influenza in wild birds. It sets out how these groups, together with the government and its delivery partners, can mitigate the impact of avian influenza on wild bird populations whilst protecting public health, the wider environment and the rural economy.

Whilst disease control is a devolved matter, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response to disease threats.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) resources and (b) training his Department provides to the Animal and Plant Health Agency to assist in the detection of puppies being smuggled through UK ports.

The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals.

We work closely with UK enforcement bodies including the Animal and Plant Health Agency to develop guidance and ensure they have the correct tools and resources to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.

Daniel Zeichner
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve transport (a) connectivity and (b) infrastructure in under-served regions (i) in rural areas, (ii) in semi-rural areas and (iii) across the UK.

Transport is a devolved matter, and the Department for Transport is predominantly responsible for transport in England only on most issues.

The government knows that integrated public transport is vital to keeping communities connected. We also know that in rural and semi-rural areas, bus services can be a lifeline for many and can be the only means of accessing services, including other modes of transportation such as rail links.

The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services and infrastructure in England outside London.

In the financial year 2025 to 2026 the government is also providing over £390 million for local transport infrastructure investment to boost growth and connectivity beyond city regions in England. This funding will enable local leaders to invest in local priorities, supporting the government’s Plan for Change. Future funding for areas outside of major city regions will be announced following the conclusion of the multi-year spending review.

Simon Lightwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recommendations the Motor Insurance Taskforce has made on reducing motor insurance costs.

This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums. It will look at the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce most recently met on 28 April 2025 and further meetings are being planned. The Secretary of State also met with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Minister for the Economy and officials from the Department for Infrastructure on 6 May 2025, to hear their perspective on the market and relevant policy options.

The Taskforce has yet to make recommendations. The Government will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

Lilian Greenwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle changes in the levels of haulage costs for transporting goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Hauliers play a very important role in supporting trade within the UK. The Government meets regularly with stakeholders involved in trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including representatives of the road haulage industry, particularly in view of the implementation of the Windsor Framework and cost pressures.

Lilian Greenwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the change to the Winter Fuel Allowance entitlement on terminally ill patients.

Pensioners with a terminal illness who meet the Winter Fuel Payment eligibility criteria will receive a payment in winter 2024/25. Winter Fuel Payments are payable to pensioner households entitled to Pension Credit, or the other qualifying benefits: Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.

This means that the Winter Fuel Payment will be better targeted to low-income pensioners. The Government wants those eligible for Pension Credit but not currently claiming it to receive the benefits they are entitled to, including their Winter Fuel Payment.  As part of this, we have started a new drive to increase take-up of Pension Credit. We know there are low-income pensioners who are not claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply.

Pensioners with a long-term or terminal health condition may be eligible for Attendance Allowance. It provides a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs a long-term health condition can face. It is paid in addition to any other benefits received.

Attendance Allowance also gives rise to a disability addition in Pension Credit, meaning that disabled pensioners are more likely to be entitled to Pension Credit, and at a higher amount, than those without disabilities.

Emma Reynolds
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent) [2025] UKSC 16.

Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by the Government. The recent Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case has provided much needed confidence and clarity for the National Health Service and adult social care providers to adapt their policies to ensure that same-sex spaces are always protected. This includes NHS England’s review of the Delivering same-sex accommodation guidance, as well as providers’ policies on same-sex spaces for staff.

This is the law, and we expect all public service bodies to comply.

Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the suicide prevention strategy; and what steps he is taking to help reduce suicide rates.

There has been significant work and progress across the Government, the National Health Service, the police, the voluntary sector, academia, and wider partners to deliver the strategy.

As part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 mental health workers specially trained to support people at risk of suicide, to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

The Government also continues to fund the Multicentre Study of Self-harm, whose work is vital in informing the development of policy, and of clinical practice.

The Online Safety Act puts new duties on social media companies and search services to help protect children and adults from harmful content online.

Between August 2023 and March 2025, £10 million was made available to voluntary, community, and social enterprises in England through the national 2023 to 2025 Suicide Prevention Grant Fund. The Department is now evaluating the impact of the fund, and learning from the evaluation will help to inform the delivery of the Government’s mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of NHS spending on cancer (a) research and (b) treatment in each of the last five years.

The information is not available in the requested format for cancer care in England. The Department allocated £14 billion to NHS England from 2022/23 to 2024/25 specifically for the National Health Service in England to recover elective and cancer care. This comprised of £8 billion of resource funding and £5.9 billion of capital funding, as described in the November 2021 Budget and Spending Review. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s next budget, on 30 October 2024, will finalise the funding position in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the NHS in England, and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. The report will inform the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS in England, including further detail on how we will improve outcomes for cancer.

Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the public purse was of cancer care in each of the last five years.

The information is not available in the requested format for cancer care in England. The Department allocated £14 billion to NHS England from 2022/23 to 2024/25 specifically for the National Health Service in England to recover elective and cancer care. This comprised of £8 billion of resource funding and £5.9 billion of capital funding, as described in the November 2021 Budget and Spending Review. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s next budget, on 30 October 2024, will finalise the funding position in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the NHS in England, and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. The report will inform the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS in England, including further detail on how we will improve outcomes for cancer.

Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost per patient for palliative care was in each of the last five years.

Palliative care services are included on the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) in England must commission. It is difficult to quantify the total provision of, or spend on, palliative and end of life care at either a national or local ICB level because it is delivered every day by a wide range of specialist and generalist health and care workers providing care for a wide range of needs that include, but are not always exclusive to, palliative care.

That care is provided across multiple settings, including in primary care, community care, in hospitals, in hospices, in care homes, and in people’s own homes. Therefore, not all palliative and end of life care will be recorded or coded as such.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what steps he has taken as part of the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (a) to help prevent the persecution of religious minorities and (b) to support progress in defeating Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa.

Nigeria is facing rising conflict and insecurity. This includes terrorist groups in the North East such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa who target all those who do not subscribe to their extremist views. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), we are working with Nigeria's security forces to tackle insecurity and violence against civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and belief systems. For example, in North-East Nigeria our partnership is delivering vital risk education around Improvised Explosive Devices and establishing civilian-military engagement to address local security needs. As part of the SDP, we have also committed to working with Nigeria to respond to the shared threat of terrorism and violent extremism. At the last UK-Nigeria SDP dialogue in February 2024 we welcomed a commitment from Nigeria on timely, effective and human rights compliant investigations of, and prosecutions for, terrorism crimes.

Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs how much and what proportion of the humanitarian aid budget has been allocated to preventing (a) maternal and (b) newborn deaths over the past three years; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in the humanitarian aid budget on future funding in this area.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure is reported via the Statistics on International Development publications (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development).

We report spending based on OECD Development and Assistance Committee sector codes. The UK takes a multisectoral approach to ending preventable maternal, child and newborn deaths. We do not hold data to accurately estimate the humanitarian aid budget specifically for preventing maternal and newborn deaths. The tables below show bilateral spending on sectors contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health but do not represent that the total of this funding was therefore used on it as it is not possible to disaggregate. Core funding was excluded from these estimates, as it is used flexibly by partners and its contribution to specific sectors cannot be tracked directly.

Table 1: UK humanitarian programme bilateral ODA on sector codes contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH), in £:

2021

2022

2023

Humanitarian bilateral ODA on sector codes contributing to RMCNH

44,100,000

45,200,000

31,000,000

Note: figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Based on OECD sector codes: 12110, 12220, 12240, 12250, 12261, 12262, 12263, 12281, 13020, 13040, 14030, 14031, 14032.

The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of GNI on ODA will require significant shifts, building on those already underway as the government implements its modernised approach to development. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
8th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of prioritising aid for Christians and ethnic faith groups in Myanmar following the recent earthquake.

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the earthquake in Myanmar, including ethnic and religious minorities.

The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations and will prioritise the most in need.

The UK Government is committed to defending religious freedom for all in Myanmar. In April this year, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar, emphasising the importance of eliminating all forms of discrimination against ethnic and religious minority groups and stressing the importance of equal access to health services, education, livelihood opportunities, and basic services.

Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
8th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what types of humanitarian aid his Department is providing to Myanmar; and what assurance his Department has that the aid will reach those in need.

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. This includes up to £5 million to match the British public's generous donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations. UK-funded food, water, healthcare and shelter supplies are already reaching affected areas, helping over 86,000 people so far.

Since the 2021 coup the UK has provided more than £170 million in live-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare and education support, and work to support civil society and local communities in Myanmar.

Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of Government funding for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief was allocated to supporting persecuted religious communities globally in the each of the last three financial years.

The UK champions and remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) John Bunyan Fund (JBF), the designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects has a budget allocation of £460,720 in the financial year 2024/25. In the financial year 2023/24 the JBF spent £170,000 and in financial year 2022/23, £70,000. The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the treatment of Uighur peoples in Xinjiang, China.

This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. These concerns were raised directly by the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to China. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on China's human rights situation at the UN Third Committee on 22 October.

Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Chinese government on the treatment of Uighur peoples in Xinjiang.

This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. These concerns were raised directly by the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to China. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on China's human rights situation at the UN Third Committee on 22 October.

Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) scale and (b) nature of the persecution and murder of Christians in Nigeria.

Terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa have sought to undermine the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) by attacking those who do not subscribe to their extremist views, including both Christians and Muslims. These incidents are distinct from the ongoing intercommunal violence across Nigeria. The root causes of this violence are complex, and whilst religious identity can play a role, so can loss of economic opportunity, competition over land and natural resources, disruption to traditional ways of life created by environmental degradation, and historical grievances. The precise scale of people killed in attacks in Nigeria recently remains uncertain, particularly as not all attacks are reported to local authorities.

19th May 2025
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal support is available to (a) churches and (b) faith-based charities facing (i) increased energy costs and (ii) a decline in donations.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting churches and other listed places of worship.

Through the National Lottery Heritage fund, churches have access to grants ranging from £10,000 to £10million to support repair work for listed buildings and address issues around workforce and volunteer capability to manage heritage. Alongside this, the Government has extended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, with a budget of £23m until 31 March 2026, and this provides churches and other listed places of worship with grants of up to £25,000. This scheme will continue to enable religious organisations to claim grants covering eligible VAT costs paid towards repairs and renovations.

On support for increased energy costs, in the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

From 19 December 2024 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees can now access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards

Charities may also, depending on their status, be able to benefit from buying their energy through Crown Commercial Service. Crown Commercial Service are a trading fund of Cabinet Office and their frameworks allow charities to benefit from the collective purchasing power of the UK public sector.

More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

James Murray
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue she expects to raise from changes to Agricultural Property Relief in Northern Ireland; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those changes on farming families in Northern Ireland.

The overall changes to both agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 are expected to raise £520 million in 2029-30, based on the latest available data. This is the total UK revenue expected to be raised from estates with relevant assets across all types of businesses.

Up to around 520 estates making claims for agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, across the UK are expected to be affected by this policy in 2026-27. This means almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of these changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

The Government is aware of the concerns from the farming industry in Northern Ireland. Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional or national breakdowns of the revenue or number of estates expected to be affected. For more information, please see my recent letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46267/documents/232537/default/.

James Murray
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
25th Nov 2024
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Northern Ireland on ensuring that businesses in Northern Ireland that pay into the Apprenticeship Levy receive direct funding from the levy.

HMT ministers engage regularly with the Northern Ireland Finance Minister through the Finance Inter-Ministerial Committee.

While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.

Darren Jones
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the long-term sustainability of the financial settlement provided to Northern Ireland under the Barnett formula.

The independent Northern Ireland Fiscal Council calculated that the relative need in Northern Ireland is 24% more per head than the rest of the UK for equivalent spending.

As part of the 2024 restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive agreed to add a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett Formula from 2024-25. This is part of a financial package worth over £3.3 billion.

Including this additional funding, the Northern Ireland Executive is being funded above its relative need in 2024-25. The UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to agree a final Fiscal Framework.

Darren Jones
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
13th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) quantity and (b) estimated street value of drugs retrieved from flotation devices at sea have been seized by Border Force in 2025; and what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of those devices for illegal activity.

Border Force has made one seizure of drugs so far in the calendar year 2025 that was packaged as an At Sea Drop-Off (ASDOs). The total seizure was 1464kg (Net) Cocaine and would have a street value of approximately £58,560,000 (£40,000 per kg). This was not directly retrieved from a flotation device as Border Force detected and seized before it entered the sea.

Border Force works around the clock to disrupt drug supply chains and will continue working closely with national and overseas partners to identify and prevent the new methods criminals take to smuggling illegal drugs. The collective response in dismantling drug smuggling operations from Police, the National Crime Agency and Border Force is helping the government deliver its safer streets mission by smashing organised crime gangs and saving lives.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
6th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how revenue generated from passport fees is allocated.

Revenue generated from passport fees contribute to the recovery of the costs provided for under section 86 of the Immigration Act 2016: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/19/section/86.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people identified as illegal migrants are being housed in Northern Ireland; and what funding they have received in the last five years.

As at 30 September 2024, there were 2,632 people in receipt of Asylum Support being housed in Northern Ireland. Further data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle illegal immigration into the UK via the Republic of Ireland.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.

The UK operates intelligence-led operational activity on routes between Ireland and the UK and everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has issued to police forces on ensuring that their methods of assessing silent prayer respect individuals' rights to freedom of (a) thought, (b) conscience and (c) religion.

The Home Office has not issued any guidance to police forces on the topic of silent prayer.

The College of Policing have primary responsibility for publishing police guidance and are operationally independent from Government.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)