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 third country asylum applications have been handled in Northern Ireland in each of the last 5 calendar years, following the applicants having been in the UK for 6 months and 1 day.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The safety and security of the United Kingdom is this government’s top priority. We work closely with the Irish government to stop illegal migrants and foreign national offenders exploiting the Common Travel Area.
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 powers UK Border Force has to stop, board and inspect vehicles, public transport, buses and boats for immigration purposes.
Answered by Mike Tapp
Border Force officers have a range of powers to stop, board, examine and search vehicles and vessels for immigration purposes.
Under Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971, immigration officers may board ships and aircraft in connection with the exercise of their immigration functions. They may also search vehicles or containers that have been brought to, or are to be brought to, the United Kingdom by ship, aircraft or train for the purpose of establishing whether there are persons whom they may wish to examine under the Act. These examination powers apply in respect of passengers travelling by private vehicle, public transport, coach, bus, rail, air and maritime services.
In the maritime environment, the Immigration Act 2016 included Part 3A and Schedule 4A, expanding the Immigration Act 1971 to include provide powers, in specified circumstances and where relevant immigration offences are suspected, to stop, board, divert and detain vessels for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting such offences.
The exercise of all Border Force powers is subject to the relevant statutory framework and operational guidance.
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 times UK Border Force has exercised powers to stop, board and inspect vehicles, public transport, buses and boats for immigration purposes in each of the last five calendar years.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the number of occasions Border Force has exercised powers to stop, board and inspect vehicles, public transport, buses and boats for immigration purposes in each of the last five calendar years.
Border Force officers have powers under immigration legislation to stop, board, examine and search vehicles and vessels for immigration purposes. These powers are exercised routinely as part of day-to-day border operations and are not routinely recorded or centrally collated in a way that would enable the Department to provide the figures requested.
While Border Force maintains operational records relating to passengers and immigration checks, it does not hold data on the number of vehicles or vessels examinations undertaken.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people served in the Armed Forces as Reservists between 2000 and 2015.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Statistics on UK Reserve Forces are published on gov.uk at the following links:
UK Regular Reserve Forces figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Reserves And Cadets Strengths available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145334/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/military/reserves-and-cadets-strengths
UK Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Defence Statistics Compendium available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145634/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/UK-defence-statistics-compendium
UK Regular Reserve Forces and Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 2012 - 1 April 2015 have been taken from the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, the latest edition of the publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2025
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people served in the Armed Forces as Reservists between 1997 and 2015.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Statistics on UK Reserve Forces are published on gov.uk at the following links:
UK Regular Reserve Forces figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Reserves And Cadets Strengths available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145334/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/military/reserves-and-cadets-strengths
UK Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Defence Statistics Compendium available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145634/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/UK-defence-statistics-compendium
UK Regular Reserve Forces and Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 2012 - 1 April 2015 have been taken from the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, the latest edition of the publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2025
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of claimants to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme who have less than 12 months to live; and whether they are being prioritised.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
IBCA are prioritising claims for those who are sadly nearing the end of their lives, followed by older age groups, as recommended by the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Based on community feedback, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is prioritising claims for people who have been told by a medical professional that they may have 12 months or less to live. This is regardless of whether they are infected, affected, a beneficiary of an estate of a deceased infected person, or registered with an Infected Blood Support Scheme. IBCA collects information regarding this via their registration service, allowing them to prioritise claims appropriately.
The delivery of compensation is a matter for the IBCA as an operationally independent body. IBCA publishes regular updates on its website of the progress made in delivering compensation, including how many individuals have received compensation payments across all groups. The latest update can be found here: https://ibca.org.uk/statistics/registration-and-compensation-progress-update-9-April-2026.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) capacity of and (b) progress within the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
As of 9 April, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has paid over £2 billion in compensation. As of 1 October 2025, IBCA had asked every living infected person who is registered with a support scheme to come forward and start their claim. IBCA has now opened the service for the first claims from infected people who were never compensated, deceased infected people, and living affected people. This met the Government’s targets for compensation delivery in 2025.
With each new cohort, IBCA are starting small, allowing them to learn what additions to the claim service are needed. This will allow them to open their service to more people as the service is built around specific needs. Whilst the roll out of the scheme is an operational decision for IBCA as an independent body, the Government fully supports its commitment to moving forward as swiftly as possible.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the claims handlers employed by the Davies Group with authority to negotiate and settle claims on behalf of his Department are (a) full-time employees,(b) part-time employees and (c) agency, contractor or temporary staff.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Davies Group claims handlers with authority to negotiate and settle Ministry of Defence compensation claims are assigned to claims arising in Northern Ireland or from NI solicitors firms.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Davies Group claims handlers with authority to negotiate and settle Ministry of Defence compensation claims were assigned to each UK jurisdiction in each of the last five years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.