Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

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.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for 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.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many firearm licenses have been revoked in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

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.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

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.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

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.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the PSNI on the Provisional IRA Army Council.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

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.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

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.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

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.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

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.

Question to the Home Office:

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.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Home Office:

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.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

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.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

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.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

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.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

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.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

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.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

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.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

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.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

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.

Agricultural Property Relief (No. 2)

Harry Ferguson Museum of Innovation

Anniversary of Rev Robert Bradford MP's murder

Taxing low paid workers

Northern Ireland Assembly vote on Protocol issues

Reformation Day on 31 October

Retail movement scheme regulations

Exiting the European Union

Wrightbus

Olympics opening ceremony