Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when information on the operation of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland will be available.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As announced at the Spending Review, from 2026-27 the UK Government will provide targeted, long-term local growth funding to support growth across Northern Ireland, once the UK Shared Prosperity Fund ends in March 2026.
My department is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive and Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to implement and develop the new Local Growth Fund. The Government is committed to engagement with 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: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will publish a breakdown of costs per government Department for the (a) Coagh and (b) Clonoe inquests.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Government Departments handle inquest costs in aggregate. We are unable to provide a breakdown of the costs for these specific inquests.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 63307 on Ministry of Defence: Belfast, if he will provide a timeline for a decision being made on his Department's site at Dunmore.
Answered by Maria Eagle
Decisions on future modernisation and optimisation of the Volunteer Estate are subject to the Defence Investment Plan which is currently under consideration.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond this year.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Scheme for 2025 to 2026 will close on 31st March 2026 or once the £23 million budget has been reached, whichever is earlier. Funding after March 2026 will be considered as the Department works through the output of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the appeal with the Employment Appeals Tribunal on Armed Forces Pensions for people who served in the Territorial Army.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
In reference to the Employment Tribunal of Milroy versus Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence did not agree with the judgment of the Employment Tribunal in this matter, and an appeal against the decision was lodged with the Employment Appeals Tribunal. An appeal hearing date has now been set and is due to convene on 4 December 2025. As this is an ongoing legal process we are unable to comment further at this time.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning the shooting of hares in their breeding season.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government considers the need for a close season for hares is justified more by animal welfare concerns than biodiversity and species conservation. In short, a close season should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, which runs from February to October, meaning that fewer leverets (infant hares) are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation. A close season is also consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Defra Ministers therefore support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England and are considering how this can be brought forward.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of veterinary medicine to treat botulism in cattle in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government is committed to taking steps to support the availability of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland after the end of 2025.
Regarding the botulism vaccines, the situation will not change. Veterinary surgeons can continue to access the vaccines after 31 December; in the same way they do now.
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 applications were (a) received, (b) granted and (c) rejected for (i) asylum, (ii) Spousal Visas and (iii) Skilled Worker Visas in the last financial year.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type, including Partner and Skilled Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2005 up to the end of March 2025.
The Home Office also publishes data on the number of people claiming asylum and the number of initial decisions is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. 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, what steps her Department plans to take to improve the asylum system.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon Member to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill introduced to Parliament on 30 January (Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025 - GOV.UK.) and the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May (Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK), both of which will drive forward the Government’s objectives to restore order to the asylum system, and cut costs it imposes on the taxpayer.
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 applications were received in Northern Ireland in the last financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Available data on people claiming asylum in the UK is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. Data on asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’.
The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025 and as at 31 March 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.