Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
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.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Transport:
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.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department plans to take steps to commission a public inquiry into the Kingsmill shooting of 5 January 1976.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Coroner in the Kingsmill Inquest delivered clear and detailed findings on 12 April 2024, setting out that this was a horrific and sectarian terrorist atrocity carried out by the IRA with absolutely no justification.
While these findings will have provided important information to the families, I also recognise that there remain unanswered questions. We now await the publication of the Police Ombudsman’s report into the Kingsmill shootings.
I would encourage any family still seeking answers in respect of this or any other Troubles-related death or serious injury to speak to the independent Commission about how they might be able to help.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to engage with the President of the United States to promote (a) trade, (b) investment and (c) cultural links with Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I hope to visit the US soon to build on the already strong partnership between the US and Northern Ireland - and indeed the whole of the UK - including in the crucial areas of trade and investment. The US has been pivotal in supporting peace, stability and prosperity for Northern Ireland, and we will continue working together, with the support of our Embassy in the US, to make Northern Ireland a great place to live, work and do business.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on (a) staffing levels, (b) recruitment challenges and (c) plans to address workforce shortages.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A well staffed and resourced PSNI is vital to the success and stability of Northern Ireland. I regularly engage with the Chief Constable and Justice Minister on issues of shared interest and concern.
The UK Government’s Autumn budget delivered a record £18.2 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive in FY 2025/26 – the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution.
Policing in Northern Ireland, apart from national security, is a devolved matter and the allocation of budget to the PSNI is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice (DoJ). I am aware that the DoJ is continuing to work closely with the Chief Constable and his team to build a robust case for the funding required to recover workforce numbers over the course of the current mandate.
We continue to support the PSNI and recognising the unique security situation in Northern Ireland, the UK Government will provide the PSNI with £37.8 million in Additional Security Funding in 2025/26, an increase from c£32m a year.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
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.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
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.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
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.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
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.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
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).
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
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.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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/.