Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to invest in (a) new and (b) upgraded defence infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland in the next five years.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK Government, through the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), will make defence an engine for growth ensuring that our defence spending boosts prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all nations and regions.

The SDR outlines the need for infrastructure recapitalisation, recommending a single Infrastructure Recapitalisation Plan that establishes a holistic assessment of Defence infrastructure requirements over the next decade, including Northern Ireland. This plan is due to report by February 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote collaboration between the (a) Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, (b) Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee in Northern Ireland and (c) Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee in Northern Ireland, Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and the Welsh Government meet twice a year as the Accessibility 4 Nations Group, to engage and collaborate on accessibility matters. These meetings are co-ordinated and chaired on a rotational basis by the respective secretariats, including the DPTAC secretariat within the Department for Transport. The latest meeting took place in April 2025 with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland chairing.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with public transport bodies on (a) partnering with AccessAble and (b) providing equivalent information to improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Innovative approaches to providing accessible information has an important role to play in delivering transport networks which allows disabled people to be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. Improving accessibility is a collaborative effort, with operators, industry, and entrepreneurs all having key parts to play – alongside disabled passengers. Initiatives such as those developed by AccessAble provide an example of how this can be achieved. As detailed in the Department’s response to the Transport Committee inquiry into accessible travel, the Department for Transport is undertaking discovery work to capture bus and rail accessibility assets within the National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN) which is a national dataset of all public transport ‘stops’ in England, Scotland and Wales. This discovery work is the starting point for accessibility journey planning.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what are the primary countries of origin for legal migrants in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legal migrants have settled in Upper Bann constituency in the past five years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to (a) maternity and (b) bereavement care services for Black and Asian families.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for this Government to make sure all women and babies receive high-quality and equitable access to care, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity.

As part of NHS England's three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, all local areas now have in place Equity and Equality action plans. These plans tackle inequalities and barriers to access for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas and also set out how they will equip staff to provide culturally competent care. Integrated Care Boards are responsible for assuring implementation of these plans, and evidence suggests the plans have led to prioritisation of equity for mothers and babies, and increased engagement with service users.

NHS England is also ensuring that maternity healthcare professionals receive training on culturally competent care, which can be a barrier to equitable access for black and Asian women. This is done through their Core Competency Framework and provision of the Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety in Maternity Services e-learning course. Over 15,400 maternity staff have completed this. NHS England has also embedded equity-focused leadership development through the Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme. All 150 maternity and neonatal units in England have participated in the programme.

With regards to bereavement care services, all trusts in England are now signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which covers a range of circumstances of baby loss. The aim is to ensure that all bereaved parents, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity, are offered equal, high quality, personalised, safe and sensitive care. In addition, ‘7 days a week’ bereavement services are being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

We recognise that to deliver consistently high-quality care, much more is required. On 23 June 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced he would be launching an independent, national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care, and to rapidly put in place solutions to improve maternity safety and quality. Alongside this, he also announced that we would be establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which he will chair. Membership of that taskforce will be representative of those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional (a) neonatal, (b) stillbirth and (c) maternal deaths have occurred since 2018 compared to the Government’s target to halve 2010 rates by 2025; and what steps he is taking to meet these targets.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

While there has been some good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirths and neonatal death, the most recent data indicates that we are not on track to meet the Maternity Safety Ambition, set under the previous administration.

We do not hold analysis on the specific ask, but we track progress against the ambition trajectory using various data sources, which are publicly available, including data from the Office for National Statistics and from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK. In 2015, the rate of neonatal death and stillbirths was 1.6 per 1,000 live births and 4.4 per 1,000 births respectively. In the period 2014 to 2016, the rate of maternal death was 9.8 per 100,000 maternities. The most recent data shows that: in 2023 the rate of neonatal death was 1.4 per 1,000 live births; in 2024 the rate of stillbirths was 3.8 per 1,000 births; and in the period between 2021 and 2023 the maternal mortality rate was 12.7 per 100,000 maternities.

We are committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive the high-quality care that they deserve. This is why my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity, and staff representatives, in order to identify the actions needed to improve care.

But action cannot wait. We are also taking steps to improve care now. We have announced a package of immediate actions to boost accountability and safety. This includes a new system to better identify safety concerns to support rapid action and developing best practice standards to reduce maternal mortality.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the condition is of the Moyle Interconnector; and what plans he has for the development of new energy interconnectors between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Moyle is a point-to-point interconnector that has been in operation since 2002. It is a commercially developed interconnector and operates without government financial support.

On future interconnection between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ofgem gave in-principle approval in November 2024 for the proposed LirIC electricity interconnector. This project is being taken forward under the Ofgem cap and floor regulatory regime.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of immigration enforcement operations in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

UK wide enforcement of immigration law is critical to a functioning immigration system and effectively implementing the Government’s policies. As the public would expect, we continually review and evolve the different methods we use to prevent illegal migration, ensure compliance and enforce the UK’s immigration laws.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) places of worship and (b) religious sites (i) damaged and (ii) destroyed in Ukraine since February 2022; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of contributing to international efforts to (A) restore and (B) protect those sites.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), and the damage done to places of worship and religious significance. As of April 2025, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified damage to 149 religious sites. The UK remains committed to the protection of cultural heritage sites jeopardised by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's reconstruction, starting with early recovery measures, remains a key priority. We have committed up to £283 million in bilateral assistance for 2025/2026 to fund humanitarian, energy, stabilisation, recovery and reconstruction programmes. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) International Cultural Heritage Protection (ICHP) Programme continues to fund protection of cultural heritage. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, DCMS's ICHP has supported Ukraine funded NGO 'Blue Shield' to carry out war-crime investigations, capacity building programmes for the Office of the Prosecutor General and funding the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Heritage Crime Task Force in Ukraine.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports about the treatment of (a) non-Orthodox and (b) minority faith groups in Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Orthodox Church of Ukraine clergy, Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Protestant Churches suffer repression and physical abuse, including the prohibition of religious literature and arbitrary arrests and detentions. Religious figures are reportedly subjected to torture. Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned altogether. The UK condemns Russia's attempt to destroy Ukraine's religious and belief communities. We engage regularly with Ukrainian religious groups on this issue. In February, a delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches met Parliamentarians and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials to discuss religious persecutions. I was personally appalled to hear and see evidence of Russian actions against the religious communities in Bucha during their earlier occupation when I visited earlier this year and met with local civic and religious leaders.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) farmers and (b) landowners in Northern Ireland have equitable access to UK-wide (i) environmental and (ii) biodiversity funding streams.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Government works closely with ministers and officials in Northern Ireland to engage on environmental topics, including biodiversity. For example, they recently jointly published the UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, are collaborating closely on its implementation and producing a 7th National Report on progress. However, there is no funding associated with these activities.

There are relevant Sector Capacity grants which are open to lead applicants based anywhere in the UK (including Northern Ireland). The three grants include:

• Tree Production Innovation Fund

• Tree Production Capital Grant

• Seed Sourcing Grant

Information sharing regularly takes place at official level and through the Tree Planting Taskforce to help address UK wide challenges and share lessons learned on grant mechanisms.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of global fertiliser supply chain disruptions on farmers in Northern Ireland; and what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We monitor both domestic and international fertiliser markets and remain in regular contact with a wide range of industry stakeholders.

Government regularly runs a duty suspensions process allowing businesses to apply for duty suspensions (on imported raw inputs to production) to help them to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Enabling raw input prices to be more competitive can have a downward pressure on domestic prices.

Good nutrient management practices on farm also help make most efficient use of all sources of nutrients including bought in fertilisers. Government continues to monitor the functioning of the fertiliser supply chain and works closely with the sector in case of any disruptions.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role Northern Ireland will play in the implementation of the Strategic Defence Review 2025.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The SDR sets a path for the next decade and beyond to transform Defence and make the UK stronger both at home and abroad. The implementation of the Review’s recommendations will be a whole of UK Defence effort. We will publish a new Defence Investment Plan in the autumn set out our approach in detail.

All nations and regions across the UK play an important role in SDR implementation, driving jobs and prosperity through a new partnership with industry and our commitment to back UK business and use defence spending to grow the UK economy. Faster and more flexible procurement will create more opportunities for innovative businesses of all sizes to invest, grow skills, and put the UK and our Armed Forces at the forefront of civil and military technology.

The Defence dividend will benefit every nation and region in the UK, with Northern Ireland benefitting from, and contributing to, this national effort. We will support localised ecosystems and defence-related industries aligned to our national security priorities. We will work with local and devolved governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the regulatory oversight of (a) private and (b) unlicensed airfields in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Airports and aerodromes in Northern Ireland are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. However, overarching aviation policy, most Civil Aviation issues, safety and security are reserved to the UK government. As the specialist UK aviation regulator, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) advises the UK Government on aviation policy and regulation and regularly reviews safety across the UK.

The CAA takes a proportionate and risk-based approach to regulation. Any aerodrome conducting scheduled public transport, or transporting fare-paying passengers must be licenced, as must aerodromes operating heavier aircraft. Aerodromes that do not meet these criteria can choose to be unlicenced. In addition, the storage of Aviation fuel is also regulated at all aerodromes, whether licenced or not.

The CAA provides guidance for safe operations at unlicenced aerodromes in the Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 793, which outlines best practices for obstacle clearance, runway layout, and operational safety. Unlicenced aerodromes must also abide by general aviation safety standards and planning regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential link between the use of gabapentin and cognitive impairment in patients.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. Medicines are authorised on the basis that the benefits exceed the risks, and all products are licensed by the MHRA before being placed on the market.

Product information for gabapentin currently carries warnings of potential side effects of confusion, mental impairment, amnesia, and anxiety, and therefore patients should be advised to exercise caution until they are familiar with the potential effects of the medicinal product. All new safety information continues to be carefully considered, and regulatory action will be taken if considered necessary.

All medicines have side effects, although not everyone will experience them. The MHRA encourages anyone who suspects or experiences a side effect of their medicine to report it to the MHRA through the Yellow Card scheme.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help sheep farmers from Northern Ireland to participate in UK-funded livestock (a) genomics and (b) breeding research programmes.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Innovation Programme is Defra’s flagship programme for supporting research and innovation to help English farmers and growers increase productivity, sustainability and resilience. To harness expertise across our shared borders, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish companies and research organisations, and UK-wide organisations can collaborate in this programme. This includes innovation in sheep breeding to reduce methane emissions.

Defra has also funded scientific research exploring ways to reduce environmental impacts of livestock production, including research which found positive results relating to breeding sheep for reduced emissions and improved productivity (2023, 2024). Defra is also currently researching the best ways to incorporate environmental impact and productivity traits into sheep breeding across the UK.

Defra and the devolved administrations also work with the UK Genetics for Livestock and Equines Committee (UKGLE) who provide independent advice on livestock genetics including breeding.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on UK-wide civil contingency (a) planning and (b) response frameworks on cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Devolved Governments (DGs) have a vital role to play in our national resilience and were closely involved in the development of the Resilience Action Plan.

The UK Government is working hard to improve the cyber resilience of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), including by ensuring that CNI Owners and Operators are prepared to respond to, and recover from, cyber incidents through better planning and regular exercising. We work closely with the DGs to ensure appropriate resilience measures are in place and proportionate to the risks across all four Nations. Responding to a cyber incident is a cross-government responsibility with roles and responsibilities identified in the National Cyber Incident Management Framework.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many official visits were made by foreign diplomats to Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely monitor the travel of foreign diplomats based in the UK within the country.  They are able to meet a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, without the need for permission from the Government. This principle - that diplomats be allowed to undertake engagement without approval of the host State government - is consistent with how we expect our own diplomats working overseas to be able to operate.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether rare livestock breeders based in Northern Ireland are eligible to (a) contribute to and (b) benefit from UK-wide genetic preservation schemes for (i) heritage and (ii) exotic breeds.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Genetics for Livestock and Equines Committee (UKGLE) provides independent advice to Defra and the Devolved Governments on native breed issues, particularly their conservation and sustainable use.

Beneficial activities to protect and conserve UK livestock genetic resources include encouraging sustainable breeding programmes through Zootechnical legislation, monitoring populations of pedigree livestock including native breeds which are published in an annual UK National Breed inventory, maintaining at risk lists (and their equivalents), and protecting eligible native breeds at risk from culling during notifiable disease outbreaks.

Regarding zootechnical regulation, NI breed societies would be regulated by DAERA (as the competent authority) under the UK-wide assimilated 2016/1012. Breeding programmes in Northern Ireland, including those aimed at the preservation of breeds, are approved by DAERA although these programmes may link with breeding programmes approved by competent authorities for other parts of the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce since its establishment; and what recommendations the Taskforce has made in relation to investment projects in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

At the International Investment Summit in 2024, the Government created the National Wealth Fund, to address the barriers to investment identified by the National Wealth Fund Taskforce. For more details on the Taskforce’s recommendations and the Government’s actions to implement them, please see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-wealth-fund-mobilising-private-investment/national-wealth-fund-mobilising-private-investment-accessible

The Taskforce recommended that “where possible, any transactions should deliver against a wider set of public policy objectives, including jobs, supply chains and regional growth.”

The National Wealth Fund has an enhanced regional mandate, with a dedicated Northern Ireland director to actively seek investment opportunities. It also works closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and other local partners to provide financing and expertise.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help establish a UK-wide genetic resource bank for the cryopreservation of (a) embryos and (b) semen for rare livestock breeds.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra and the devolved administrations are engaging with the UK Genetics for Livestock and Equines Committee (UKGLE) who provide independent advice on livestock genetics including breeding conservation.

Defra has recently commissioned a livestock biobank scoping study. This study will gather evidence to explore ways to conserve livestock genetics including from

embryos and semen of native breeds.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the UK National Quantum Strategy.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Over the past year, we’ve taken major steps to support the quantum sector and deliver on the UK’s National Quantum Missions. This includes launching new research hubs, opening the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), and funding research projects through Innovate UK.

We are strengthening international collaboration through initiatives like NMI-Q (announced at the G7) to advance global standards in quantum technologies.

Last month, we announced £670 million in quantum computing investment as part of the Industrial Strategy—including over £500 million for the Quantum Computing Mission and 10-year funding for the NQCC.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to (a) join AccessAble and (b) provide publicly available information on disability access to (i) public buildings and (ii) services.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces. It is the duty of local authorities to comply with all relevant employment and equalities legislation and there is no role for central government intervening in this, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.

Like all service providers and those exercising public functions, local authorities are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their customers, under the Equality Act 2010. This includes providing information about disabled access and facilities as well as the actual facilities. Local authorities are also within the scope of the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their policies and actions might affect people with particular protected characteristics, such as disability.

50th anniversary of the Blair Memorial Flute Band

160th anniversary of the Salvation Army

Impact of terrorism glorification on reconciliation and victims

12 July celebrations and commending the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland

Royal Black Preceptory 1000, Royal Black Institution and the Royal 13th at Scarva

Impact of net zero targets on UK agriculture and rural communities

Road Traffic (No. 2)

EU Import Control System 2

Samaritans Awareness Day 2025

Road Traffic

Ballykeel Conservative Flute Band

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Celtic FC supporters and banner

Irish Republic and Israel

Twelfth July Celebrations 2025

Portstewart Strand award

80 years of Christian Aid

Dedication of LOL1363 Arch

Christian persecution in Taraba State, Nigeria

Northern Ireland's golfing legacy and the Open Championship

95th Anniversary of Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster