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, 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.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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 assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and what steps he plans to take to help ensure (a) its decisions are transparent and (b) it is held accountable for its decisions.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Decisions regarding parades in Northern Ireland are an operational matter for the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland in line with the legislation contained within the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998. Details of any determinations made by the Commission are published on their website as a matter of course. The Parades Commission continues to have the full support of the Government.
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 support his Department is providing to (a) poultry farmers and (b) wildlife conservation groups to help contain the spread of avian influenza.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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 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.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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).
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
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.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The regulation of due impartiality in broadcast news is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans in Northern Ireland (a) to access UK-wide veterans' services and (b) in other ways.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government is committed to ensuring that veterans are able to access the appropriate support they require wherever they live in the UK. In Northern Ireland, the Office for Veterans Affairs, within the Ministry of Defence has established a local presence to support strategic coordination of organisations, programmes and initiatives for veterans wellbeing. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently announced the appointment of David Johnstone as the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner.
Specialist statutory support for veterans resident in Northern Ireland is delivered by the Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland (VWS NI) and a £500,000 Defence Medical Welfare Service pilot supports veterans’ health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland by linking veterans with local services to ensure they are receiving the help available.
Veterans resident in Northern Ireland can also access a range of UK-wide support, including the Career Transition Partnership. The Reducing Veterans Homelessness (RVH) Programme includes the referral pathway OP FORTITUDE supporting veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust supports the Thrive Together Programme, which operates across the UK. In Northern Ireland, this is led by the charity Brooke House.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
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.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
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.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
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.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
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.