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 42 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
(6 debate interactions)
Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat)
(4 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Northern Ireland Office
(8 debate contributions)
Department of Health and Social Care
(5 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(5 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).

Petitions with highest Upper Bann signature proportion
Carla Lockhart has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Carla Lockhart

17th December 2024
Carla Lockhart signed this EDM as the primary signatory on Tuesday 17th December 2024

Violence against women in Northern Ireland

Tabled by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
That this House expresses its deep concern at the scale of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland; notes with sadness that seven women have lost their lives this year alone, contributing to a total of 25 women murdered since 2020, with many of these killings occurring within their …
10 signatures
(Most recent: 19 Dec 2024)
Signatures by party:
Democratic Unionist Party: 3
Labour: 3
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Alliance: 1
Liberal Democrat: 1
Independent: 1
Green Party: 1
10th December 2024
Carla Lockhart signed this EDM as a sponsor on Thursday 12th December 2024

Anniversary of the murder of Kenneth Smyth and Daniel McCormick

Tabled by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
That this House notes the anniversary of the murder of Kenneth Smyth and his colleague Daniel McCormick on 10 December 1971 as they travelled to work; notes that Kenneth was off duty and that Daniel had left the UDR and they were slaughtered as they headed to work together; further …
5 signatures
(Most recent: 19 Dec 2024)
Signatures by party:
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Conservative: 1
Ulster Unionist Party: 1
Traditional Unionist Voice: 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 24 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
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)
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)
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)
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
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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)
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.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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
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)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on assessing whether silent prayer is taking place during public protests or gatherings whereby that action may constitute a breach of the law.

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)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that former Armed Forces personnel based in Northern Ireland are adequately supported through veterans' services.

The Government is committed to ensuring that veterans are able to access the appropriate support they require wherever they live in the UK and will be seeking to more effectively coordinate and cohere the support that is available.

Specialist statutory support is delivered by the Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland, which has been successfully expanded to all veterans and their families across Northern Ireland. This provides information and practical support to veterans and their families, including physiotherapy and psychological therapies for eligible veterans.

In addition, the £500,000 Defence Medical Welfare Service pilot, which supports veterans’ health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland, is providing valuable insight to improve our understanding of veterans’ health needs.

These initiatives also build on the work of the 11 Veterans’ Champions in Northern Ireland and the recent enhancement of the Office for Veterans Affairs’ presence in Northern Ireland.

Al Carns
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that Northern Ireland is integrated into the national defence strategy for (a) cyber defence and (b) hybrid threats.

Cyber defence and hybrid threats are crucial considerations as part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which will establish the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

The first duty of Government is to defend the UK and its citizens, making the defence of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales a priority for the SDR. The Reviewers have invited the views of the devolved administrations and will ensure that Defence is central both to the security, economic growth and prosperity of the United Kingdom.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a right of tenants in social housing to keep a pet.

Many social landlords set out their pet policies in their tenancy agreements and will allow tenants to keep pets where it is appropriate to do so. Consideration is given to whether the pets can be well looked after and any adverse effects on the lives of neighbours and those living nearby. We encourage all social landlords to adopt similar policies. The circumstances in which pets may be kept is, however, for social landlords to determine locally, taking account of the views of their tenants.

Matthew Pennycook
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
22nd Oct 2024
IRA
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the PSNI on the Provisional IRA Army Council.

The PSNI and UK security agencies continually assess the threat, risk and harm posed by paramilitary, terrorist and organised crime groups to inform the most appropriate operational response.

Although it is acknowledged that some individuals engaged in serious criminality may also have ties to former paramilitary Republican organisations, such activity does not present a threat to national security.

However, the national security threat in Northern Ireland is wholly driven by violent Dissident Republicans who reject the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), and not by Groups that support the GFA.

Where any criminality exists, I am clear that it should be dealt with fully by the police.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to improve cross-border cooperation on tackling (a) organised crime and (b) paramilitary activities in Northern Ireland.

The UK and Irish Governments work together to tackle security challenges and keep people on both sides of the border safe. The UK Government has regular discussions with the Irish Government on a range of issues, including cross-border security.

Non national security criminal justice matters are a matter for the devolved Department of Justice. The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Cooperation on Criminal Justice Matters provides a mechanism for the Northern Ireland Justice Minister to meet her counterpart in the Irish Government to discuss matters of shared concern.

The NI Executive leads on tackling paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and the UK Government jointly funds the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC). EPPOC aims to create safer communities, resilient to paramilitarism, criminality and coercive control by tackling paramilitary activity in all its forms.

I commend the PSNI and An Garda Síochána for their work in keeping people on both sides of the border safe, including the work of the cross border Joint Agency Task Force (JATF) which was established to tackle organised and cross jurisdictional crime.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many firearms have been registered in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Policing and justice are devolved matters. The control of firearms in Northern Ireland is exercised by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Figures relating to firearm registration are held by the PSNI.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many firearm licenses have been revoked in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Policing and justice are devolved matters. The control of firearms in Northern Ireland is exercised by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Figures relating to firearm licence revocations are held by the PSNI.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on steps to improve Northern Ireland’s transport connectivity with the rest of the UK.

The Government is committed to ensuring greater connectivity and economic integration between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Secretary of State for Transport has already met with John O’Dowd MLA, Minister for Infrastructure, to discuss shared transport priorities, given that transport policy is largely devolved. By working together, both governments can encourage economic growth, deliver integrated transport networks, promote social mobility, and tackle regional inequalities by improving connectivity across the whole of the UK.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
27th Aug 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the commercial movement of potatoes from Scotland to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

The Windsor Framework has lifted the ban on the movement of seed potatoes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Plant Health Label scheme.

Once planted in Northern Ireland, the new crop of seed potatoes can be sold with no restrictions. This reflects long-standing arrangements for biosecurity, and our commitment to upholding a smooth flow of trade with Northern Ireland.

Kirsty McNeill
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)