Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Northern Ireland-specific performance data are collected under(a) the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts and (b) the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility contract.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office receives KPI performance data for AASC in Northern Ireland. This is sent in monthly by the provider for analysis as well as other data the Home Office acquires from other sources such as the AIRE data, property inspections, customer feedback etc. This data is commercially sensitive and would not be shared.
AIRE is a national contract and performance data covers the whole contract and is not analysed regionally. As with the AASC contracts, AIRE performance data is received monthly for analysis.
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 assessment he has made of the impact of decarbonisation policy costs on (a) industrial energy prices and (b) the international competitiveness of UK industry.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The only sustainable way to cut energy bills is to reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Clean Power by 2030 will help do that. In the nearer term, through the British Industry Supercharger (BIS), we are reducing electricity costs for energy‑intensive industries. Since April 2026, the discount on electricity network charges for these firms has increased from 60% to 90%.
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will also reduce electricity costs by up to £40/MWh for over 10,000 businesses across the Industrial Strategy’s growth sectors and key manufacturing supply chains.
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 estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals in Northern Ireland prisons, broken down by (a) nationality, (b) sentence status, (c) offence type and (d) immigration status.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The management and operational delivery of prisons in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
The specific information you have requested regarding the foreign national prison population is not available from published Home Office statistics.
However, all foreign nationals who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation consideration at the earliest opportunity by the respective prison service, irrespective of their immigration status. There has been an increase in the return of foreign national offenders (FNOs) by 36%, with almost 10,000 FNOs being returned since this Government came to power.
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 complaints, contract failures, service credits and financial penalties have been recorded against asylum accommodation providers in Northern Ireland since 2019.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The full set of contractual KPIs for each AASC region has been published online and can be accessed via Contracts Finder at the following links:
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NW - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract MEE - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NEYH - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Scotland - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NI - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts Finder
AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts Finder
Performance results for the AASC contracts are commercially sensitive. Releasing detailed, supplier level performance data could undermine the Department’s ability to manage and assure the delivery of these live contracts effectively. For this reason, the Home Office does not publish individual supplier performance results.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish a Northern Ireland-specific asylum expenditure table covering accommodation, subsistence, healthcare-related support, education-related support, legal support, transport, security, integration and contract administration since 2019.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not report on data at this granularity and would only be obtainable at disproportionate cost.
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.
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 sums her Department disbursed on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers in Northern Ireland in each month since January 2020.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not report on data at this granularity and would only be obtainable at disproportionate cost.
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the report by Women’s Policy Centre titled ‘The Case for a Universal Ban on Surrogacy’, dated April 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options and recognises the important part it can play in supporting people seeking to start a family. The Department has published guidance on the care of surrogates and intended parents in surrogate births, which is available at the following link:
The Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the implications of the report by Women’s Policy Centre, The Case for a Universal Ban on Surrogacy.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the costs to motorists arising from (a) emissions compliance costs, (b) electric vehicle transition policies and (c) other net zero transport policies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cost-benefit analysis for the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate and CO2 regulations estimated the net value to society of the regulations. This was estimated at a benefit of £39 billion (2021 prices) over the full appraisal period, between 2021 and 2071.
This includes all benefits and costs and covers the transition of cars up to 80% of all new cars to ZEV and 70% of new vans to ZEV from 2030 (and on an ongoing basis). Using figures reported across the cost benefit analysis (CBA) to estimate the net impact, households and business are estimated to save roughly £14 billion (2021 prices) from 2021 to 2071, accounting for increased upfront vehicle cost (£27 billion) and infrastructure costs (£13 billion), which is more than offset by lower fuel (£39 billion) and maintenance costs (£15 billion).
The CBA can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554be55544aea000dfb2d59/zev-mandate-consultation-final-cost-benefit-analysis.pdf.
Regarding other road transport policies, the Department for Transport (DfT) estimates the cost of supplying low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) each year. The latest estimate is c. £2 billion for 2023. This supported the delivery of c. 4 billion litres of low carbon fuels and saved c. 8 million tonnes of CO2e emissions. The latest RTFO costs and scheme outcomes can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-transport-fuel-obligation-annual-report-2023.
The 2024 annual report is expected to be published shortly.
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 estimate he has made of the contribution of net zero-related costs to the retail price per litre of (a) petrol and (b) diesel.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are no dedicated Net Zero levies on petrol or diesel in the UK.
The cost of fuel is influenced by a range of factors. As oil is a globally traded commodity, disruptions or uncertainty in any region can influence prices in the UK until global markets stabilise.
Nonetheless, we have taken several measures to protect drivers. The Chancellor has frozen fuel duty since this Government came to office, extending the 5p fuel duty cut until September. We have also implemented Fuel Finder, which my Department’s analysis suggests could save households that own a car around £40 per year on average.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the proportion of (a) fuel duty, (b) VAT on fuel, and (c) other motoring taxes that is attributable (i) directly and (ii) indirectly to net zero-related policies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Motoring taxes and VAT are primarily intended to raise revenue, which helps to fund vital public services and infrastructure, including investment in roads and transport.
However, some fuel and motoring taxes have secondary objectives or environmental effects, such Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), where different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions. The government considers the environmental impacts, including emissions, when making changes motoring taxes. More broadly, the government keeps motoring taxes under review as part of its approach to supporting the transition to net zero while maintaining a stable tax base and annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate.