Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnet consequentials for Northern Ireland will be in relation to the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have announced final allocations for the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26. Part of this funding comes from Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) agreed at the Phase 1 of the Spending Review 2025.

The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to UK Government department DEL, including at the Spending Review, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

The Barnett formula does not apply to spending financed by council tax.

The Northern Ireland Executive’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much financial support the Government has provided for local government in Northern Ireland to support with the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions.

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

At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the government announced an additional £515 million of support for local government in England to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs.

The devolved governments will receive funding through the Barnett Formula in the usual way in 2025-26.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27960 on the Cycle to Work Scheme: Northern Ireland and the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 5735 on Bicycles: Subsidies, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of working with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on improving access to cycles for people excluded from the cycle to work scheme.

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

Officials from this Department regularly meet with their counterparts from the other parts of the UK, including the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, to compare notes on how each is approaching a wide range of active travel issues. The Department’s officials would be happy to explore this topic with their counterparts in the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, but in practice nearly all of the ways of improving access to cycles for those people in Northern Ireland who are unable to use the cycle to work scheme would be devolved matters for the Northern Ireland government.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the release of Leah Sharibu.

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

The UK strongly condemns Leah Sharibu's abduction and has repeatedly called for her release and the release of all those abducted by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA). We have raised Leah's case with the Government of Nigeria, and the Minister for Africa will continue to do so in future engagements. More broadly, we continue to engage with the Government of Nigeria to support efforts to tackle insecurity and prevent further kidnappings, which includes support to Nigeria's anti-kidnap cell, through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27961 on Cycle to Work Scheme and the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 14753 on the Cycle to Work Scheme: Low Incomes, whether her Department plans to consult with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland during its evaluation of the cycle to work scheme.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has commissioned an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Cycle to Work scheme and will publish its findings in due course.

The government keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will list all Barnett consequentials that her Department plans to allocate to the Northern Ireland Executive that include additional funding to reflect the public sector cost of increased Employer NIC contributions.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to employer National Insurance Contributions policy.

The Northern Ireland Executive will receive funding through the Barnett formula for any changes to UK Government department budgets, including on this support, in the usual way at Main Estimates 2025-26. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

This funding will be in addition to the Northern Ireland Executive’s record Spending Review settlements for 2025-26, which are the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution. The Northern Ireland Executive are funded above their independently assessed level of relative need in 2024-25 and 2025-26 when including funding from the 2024 restoration financial package.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Crown Estate plans to extend Net Zero housing pilots to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Crown Estate is currently trialling net zero carbon homes through three demonstration projects aimed at improving home quality and energy security. These projects involve developing 200 homes across three sites in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Cheshire.

The aim is to explore how new homes can be delivered using less than 300kg/m2 of embodied carbon and operational energy use intensity of 35kWh/m²/year. The developments aim for a minimum 15% biodiversity net gain, on-site renewable energy generation, and alignment with the Passivhaus standard, promoting healthy and energy-efficient living.

The focus is on exploring innovative approaches to net zero carbon homes before considering how to scale these solutions across the UK. The Crown Estate will share insights and lessons learned, enabling policymakers, developers, and the wider market in Northern Ireland to benefit from the methods used in the demonstration projects to improve home quality and energy security.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to locate GRS Research Government Scheme Jobs in Northern Ireland.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government Social Research Profession (GSR) is made up of over 2,500 members living and working across the four nations of the UK in devolved administrations, departments, and arm’s lengths bodies. There are members of GSR located in Northern Ireland.

Each year, on behalf of its member organisations, the central profession team based in His Majesty’s Treasury run a mass campaign to recruit research officers into the profession. The locations available in any given campaign are provided by the participating devolved administrations, departments and arm’s length bodies and change based on recruitment need.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what outcomes relating to building inclusive communities and economic growth The Crown Estate has delivered in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As custodians of the seabed, The Crown Estate plays a crucial role in supporting Northern Ireland’s energy strategy, which aims to deliver 1GW of electricity from offshore wind from 2030, enough to power about a million homes. This initiative, outlined in the Energy Strategy Action Plan and the Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan, offers significant opportunities for both decarbonisation and economic benefits for communities and businesses in Northern Ireland.

The Crown Estate are also acutely aware and are strong advocates for the opportunity Northern Ireland businesses holds in the wider offshore wind industry of the UK and further afield, and the importance of the work of InvestNI and others such as Northern Ireland Maritime Offshore do to promote this.

Through partnerships with local councils and environmental groups, The Crown Estate has supported various coastal infrastructure projects. For example, the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s extension of harbour protection at Portrush, providing larger and safer mooring areas, and the provision of extended and improved berthing facilities at Rathlin Harbour.

The Crown Estate also manages a significant portion of Northern Ireland's foreshore and tidal riverbed, supporting activities such as oyster, mussel, and seaweed cultivation, which contribute to local economies and promote sustainable practices. For instance, The Crown Estate is aiding oyster restoration work in Belfast Lough by assisting the Ulster Wildlife Trust in establishing clarity around seabed ownership, thereby swiftly securing the necessary permissions for their trials. The recovery of native oyster reefs will not only boost local biodiversity but also improve water quality and create habitats for other species.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the Crown Estate has generated from rents paid by (a) public authorities and (b) councils in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The revenue The Crown Estate has generated from rents paid by public authorities in Northern Ireland is as follows: in 2020 the figure was £64,231.19, in 2021 the figure was £ 55,251.06, in 2022 the figure was £56,915.66, in 2023 the figure was £56,689.16 and in 2024 the figure was £46,748.87.

The revenue The Crown Estate has generated from rents paid by councils in Northern Ireland is as follows: in 2020 the figure was £212,545.13, in 2021 the figure was £241,800.99, in 2022 the figure was £267,414.88, in 2023 the figure was £256,387.66 and in 2024 the figure was £330,249.08.

The Crown Estate pays its entire net profits into the UK Consolidated Fund each year, contributing to the funding of vital public services across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much is the total value of (a) retail and (b) commercial assets owned by the Crown Estate in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Crown Estate’s assets in Northern Ireland predominantly fall under the coastal, marine or cable asset classes. The total value of these asset classes is currently £25,970,540 across telecommunication cables, coastal, interconnectors, pipelines, power cables, storage, and mines royal.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a national redress scheme for (a) mothers and (b) children living with fetal valproate syndrome.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity. Although the Hughes Report and its recommendations only cover patients harmed in England, the Government recognises that any response will likely have implications for Northern Ireland and is engaging with the Minister for Health in the Northern Ireland Executive on the Hughes Report.

Reductions in welfare spending

Provision of essential humanitarian supplies, electricity and water sanitation in Gaza

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Cash acceptance

Shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy

VAT on Automated External Defibrillators

Changes to Overseas Development Assistance

Citizenship for refugees

Israel’s military presence in the West Bank

Emergency Palestinian Family Visa Scheme

Refusal of Citizenship to refugees who have made irregular crossings

Interstitial Lung Disease

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Found: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Member present: Claire Hanna.

Found: Ms Diane Abbott Adrian Ramsay Kate Osborne Jeremy Corbyn Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Ms Diane Abbott Adrian Ramsay Kate Osborne Jeremy Corbyn Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Trickett Rosie Duffield Lillian Jones Kim Johnson Mr Richard Quigley Ian Byrne Siân Berry Claire Hanna

Found: Trickett Rosie Duffield Lillian Jones Kim Johnson Mr Richard Quigley Ian Byrne Siân Berry Claire Hanna

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Found: Sultana Ayoub Khan Ms Diane Abbott Adrian Ramsay Kate Osborne Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

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Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Helen Maguire Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna

Found: Voaden Ellie Chowns Chris Law Dr Simon Opher Jon Trickett Jess Brown-Fuller Alex Brewer Claire Hanna