Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) legal costs and (b) other support provided to Soldier F relating to the case of the alleged murders of James Wray and William McKinney.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence is committed to supporting veterans and their families. As part of this, Soldier F has received legal and welfare support throughout his legal proceedings at public expense.
The legal fees associated with these proceedings (including associated judicial reviews) amount to £4.3 million, which may rise marginally once final bills are received. These costs cover the period from when Soldier F was initially charged in March 2019. This includes costs associated with the Judicial Review leading to the PPS recommencing proceedings in 2022. Legal representation has been provided by the same experienced legal team since the Saville Inquiry, supplemented by leading solicitors and barristers, including King's Counsel, based in Northern Ireland.
Other costs associated with the support of Soldier F, such as pastoral care, arrangement and payment of travel and accommodation, etc, are met from a central budget and involve the time of various employees for which a specific cost cannot be calculated.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on delivering the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced at the Spending Review, from 2026-27 the UK government will provide targeted, long-term local growth funding to support growth across the UK, once the UK Shared Prosperity Fund ends in March 2026.
In Northern Ireland, we are working closely with the Northern Ireland Office to develop and implement the new Local Growth Fund, in collaboration with the Northern Ireland Executive. The government is committed to engagement with key stakeholders in Northern Ireland to help implement a package of funding that meets local needs and delivers impact. More information on the development of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland and engagement plans will be set out soon.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October 2025 to Question 76347 on Palestine Action, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to proscribe Palestine Action on Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Decisions on proscription are not taken lightly. They are informed by a robust evidence-based process, with contributions from a wide range of experts from across government, the police and the intelligence community. The intelligence and advice from the UK’s world leading counter-terrorism system was clear – Palestine Action satisfied the relevant tests in the Terrorism Act 2000, and should be proscribed.
The Home Secretary takes into account various factors when exercising her decision to proscribe including; the nature and scale of an organisation’s activities, the specific threat that it poses to the UK and the impacts of proscription.
The enforcement of proscription offences is an operational matter for police forces, which includes the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department had discussions with the (a) Department of Justice in Northern Ireland and (b) Police Service of Northern Ireland prior to the decision to proscribe Palestine Action.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Decisions on proscription are not taken lightly. They are informed by a robust evidence-based process, with contributions from a wide range of experts from across government, the police and the intelligence community.
Counter terrorism is a reserved matter. I can confirm that Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) were consulted prior to the decision to proscribe Palestine Action.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the resumption of inquests into deaths at Loughgall in 1987.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State has already said today in this House, he is working closely with the Northern Ireland Secretary on policy proposals in relation to the Legacy Act, including to ensure that we discharge our duty to Veterans.
We must find a way forward for the Armed Forces, and the wider NI community, who have been abandoned because of the previous Government’s failure to get this right.
The Legacy Act was found to be unlawful, was not supported by any of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and was built on false promises to our Veterans.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a resettlement scheme for Palestinian refugees seeking to join family members resident in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 13 March to Question 35970.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to develop new country information for Syria; and when she plans to resume processing asylum claims.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As we explained at the time of announcing a pause on decision making, we have kept that pause under constant review. Without stable, objective information on which to base an accurate assessment of a claimant’s risk on return to Syria, we are unable to make robust, reliable decisions on claims for international protection. The Home Office has been gathering and assessing objective country information from a range of sources about the situation in Syria since the fall of the al-Assad regime. As soon as there is a sufficiently clear basis upon which to make determinations, asylum decision-making will recommence.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 January 2025 on Stormont Brake: Response to the notification made under Schedule 6B Northern Ireland Act 1998, HCWS374, what recent steps he has taken to progress the consultation on a consistent regime for the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Further to the answer provided by Noble Friend in UIN HL4285, on 20 January the Government set out its commitment to take any future steps necessary to avoid new barriers that would affect supplies of such products into Northern Ireland, and to consult on whether to apply a consistent regime across the UK. Work on this consultation is ongoing and it will happen as soon as possible. The output from the consultation will determine what further actions are considered necessary to safeguard the UK internal market.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered pausing the creation of new Carer’s Allowance overpayment debts until after the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has published its recommendations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that overpayments have caused anxiety for some people. This is why it is important to take the time to independently review these circumstances, so we can find out exactly what went wrong and make things right. The review is not a substitute for legal proceedings and the existence of the review does not prejudice any business-as-usual activity by DWP. It would not be appropriate to speculate on the findings of the review or pre-empt any potential outcomes.
We do carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments with safeguards in place to manage repayments fairly. Carers have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award. Support remains in place with DWP’s Debt Management Service available to speak to anyone who has had an overpayment about the terms of their repayment.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will meet with (a) Addameer, (b) Defence for Children International Palestine and (c) other Palestinian organisations representing (i) prisoners, (ii) detainees and (iii) abductees.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (FSRHA) regularly meets with NGOs, to discuss topics including prisoners and detainees. This has mostly been organised via the Palestine Platform and the BOND Israel-OPTs Working Group - both collectives of different NGOs that work on Israel and the OPTs. The Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Development and I regularly meet NGOs, including those which represent prisoners and detainees. This includes me and the Minister for Development meeting quarterly with international NGOs working on Israel and the OPTs, including discussions about prisoners and detainees. The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment of detainees. We continue to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities. We continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority, including during the Foreign Secretary's three visits to Israel and the OPTs since taking office.