Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) enforce and (b) monitor the application of legislation on the rights of migrants to (i) rent and (ii) otherwise reside in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Right to Rent Scheme (the Scheme) requires landlords and letting agents to check that prospective adult tenants have the relevant permission to access the private rental sector. The Scheme is in force in England only and has not been rolled out to the devolved nations and therefore does not apply to Northern Ireland. The Home Office continues to keep the Scheme’s operation under review.
Immigration Enforcement teams are active in Northern Ireland as they are in the rest of the UK. As part of our Plan for Change, this government is cracking down on criminal industry at every level, including stepping up our visits to businesses where illegal working is taking place, and increasing our enforcement action both against illegal workers and the people who employ them in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) country the number of asylum claims granted protection to (i) asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel by sea and (ii) all asylum seekers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum, including by nationality, age and sex, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims, by the date of the decision, is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims from small boat arrivals, by the date of arrival, is published in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed tables’ and by the date of decision in asylum summary tables Asy_02c and Asy_02d.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers processed had an application for asylum granted in another country in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers subsequently submitted an application for family reunion by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) country of origin in each of the last five years; and how many family members were included in each application.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics relating to family visas in the Immigration system statistics publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Entry clearance visa data tables. Table Vis_D01 relates to applications of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons, by nationality. Data on family reunion grants by age and sex can be found in the family reunion detailed dataset.
The Home Office does not publish statistics regarding sponsorship detail.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the merits of the further submissions criteria in the asylum system.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
All Further submissions must be considered in line with the UK’s obligations to assess whether the additional evidence means that an individual requires protection.
We aim to deal with further submission claims quickly so that there is no incentive to lodge spurious claims to frustrate removal.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many outstanding calculations remain for retired police officer pensions arising from the McCloud Judgement within each police force in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Calculations for the police pension scheme, including those related to the McCloud remedy, are produced for each scheme member by the relevant scheme administrator.
While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations in England & Wales, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces. The devolved governments have overarching policy and legislative responsibility in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable.
The Home Office is actively collaborating with policing to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the McCloud judgement [2018] EWCA Civ 2844, how many outstanding police pensions cases HMRC had yet to assess on 6 February 2025; and what HMRC's timetable is for the completion of this work.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is committed to providing a good customer service for individuals affected by the McCloud remedy. It is working closely with individual pension schemes to ensure they and their members have the support they need. For police, HMRC has received 662 and processed 136. HMRC has 526 police force cases which have been submitted and are yet to be processed.
HMRC checks and processes the submissions based on the information provided and has 90 days in which to process a refund where applicable.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the market for small (a) artisanal brewers, (b) distillers and (c) vintners.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports growth and increases the market for small brewers, distillers, and vintners by leveraging trade agreements, removing market entry barriers, and showcasing producers at global trade shows. We recently led a drinks trade mission to India and will support UK companies to participate in ProWein Dusseldorf in March 2025.
DBT's Export Academy launched a food and drink programme in October, which offers upskilling opportunities for emerging and experienced brewers, distillers and vinters looking to grow through exports. DBT also works closely with trade bodies in each sector to drive growth and signpost export opportunities.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press release of 14 November 2024 entitled PM boosts UK aerospace industry with £975 million to drive growth and jobs, how much of that funding will be spent in each of the devolved administrations.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Budget confirmed £975m over 5 years to the Aerospace sector, which will be delivered through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. UK based industry applications for R&D co-investment from the Programme enter a competitive process. Competition for funding is fierce and only the best projects are selected: those that offer real innovation, reduced emissions, and tangible UK economic benefits. As the Programme is industry led and competitive the budget is not pre-allocated to regions or devolved administrations.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 and (b) subsequent amendments to that Act; and how many prosecutions there have been under the Act in each year since it came into force.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (as amended) currently provides an effective framework for managing public processions and related protests in Northern Ireland. As set out in the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, any alternative arrangements for managing public processions in Northern Ireland would need to be agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive. Prosecutions under the Act are a matter for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service.