Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 56158 on Prisons: Research, when she expects the research findings process for that Ipsos MORI research project to conclude.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Ministry of Justice officials received research findings from Ipsos MORI in November last year (2024) and are currently considering the implications of the work.

Research findings are published in accordance with Government Social Research guidelines, following a peer review process to ensure the quality and robustness of the work. Until that has taken place findings cannot be published.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 61117 on Business: Northern Ireland, what his planned timetable is for allocating the remaining funding to businesses in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The £70 million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland launched in November 2023. The Fund has an investment period of five years, so the approximately £52 million remaining should be fully invested by November 2028.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the First Minister of Northern Ireland on the potential impact of her attendance at IRA commemorative events on inter-community relationships in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I speak regularly with Northern Ireland’s Ministers and Party Leaders on a variety of issues. The attendance of Northern Ireland’s political representatives at commemorative events is a matter for the political parties to decide themselves.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the change in the quantity of sheep meat imports from Ireland between 2022 and 2024.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data held by the UK Government shows the net mass (kg) of sheep meat moving from Ireland to Great Britain dropped from 9.4kt in 2022 to 6.9kt in 2024. This data is published at: Overseas trade data table.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Syrian authorities following the suicide bombing that resulted in twenty three deaths and scores injured at a Church in Damascus on 23 June 2025.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK strongly condemns the horrific terrorist attack at Mar Elias Church in Damascus, and remains committed to combatting terrorism in all forms. I sent a personal message to Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani, expressing my condolences and the UK's continued support to the people of Syria. The UK Special Representative for Syria visited Damascus last week and discussed the assessment of the situation with the Syrian authorities, including the Foreign Minister and also gave her condolences. We will continue to advocate for the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all Syrians.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60821 on Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland, whether Operation Gull is currently operating in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Yes, Operation Gull is an intelligence led operation and is deployed on that basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the current number of people with Activated P13K-delta syndrome.

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

NHS England does not hold data on the current number of patients diagnosed with activated P13K-delta syndrome.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 62538 on State Retirement Pensions: Northern Ireland, what the total cost to the public purse was of all payments of the State Pension in Northern Ireland in 2024.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold complete information on State Pension payments in Northern Ireland, as some of these are administered by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.

The annual cost of State Pension payments administered by DWP to people resident in Northern Ireland is estimated to be around £4.34 million in 2024. This is based on latest figures for the quarter ending November 2024. Source: DWP Stat-Xplore.

This figure reflects State Pension payments made by DWP to people living in Northern Ireland and does not include any State Pension payments administered under the devolution settlement by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information the National Cyber Security Centre holds on the number of cyber attacks that were carried out against UK-based businesses between 2022 and 2024.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The cyber threat picture in the UK is diverse. Cyber security incidents can be reported into several different agencies within the UK depending on the type and severity of the incident. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides practical, expert guidance tailored to help businesses of all sizes build resilience against evolving cyber threats. NCSC also addresses a wide range of national cyber threats, from protecting citizens against online harm to responding to major cyber incidents. I recently met with NCSC colleagues to discuss the trends in threats and attacks and how we ensure high levels of resilience.

Since September 2024, NCSC have managed more than 200 incidents, with a significant proportion impacting businesses across the UK. This includes twice as many nationally significant incidents as the same period a year ago. As published in the NCSC Annual Review (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/NCSC_Annual_Review_2024.pdf) the breakdown of incidents managed by the NCSC Incident Management team is as follows:

Other credible reports on cyber incidents include the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's Cyber Security Breaches survey from each of the last three years: 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2022/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2022), 2023 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023) and 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2024/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2024). The Information Commissioner's Office also has an Incident Trend Report (https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/complaints-and-concerns-data-sets/data-security-incident-trends/) on cyber incidents reported to them.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61724 on Defending Democracy Taskforce: Northern Ireland, whether she plans to hold meetings in Northern Ireland in 2025.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

Meetings of the Taskforce are attended by Ministers and senior officials from multiple Government departments and have to date taken place in secure Government premises within the Whitehall estate.

There are currently no plans for the Taskforce to meet in Northern Ireland. However, meetings of the Taskforce are complemented by official led engagement with Devolved Governments including Northern Ireland.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she if taking to help ensure that funding from the National Wealth Fund benefits t(a) nations and (b) regions across the UK.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government has set a strong mandate for the National Wealth Fund to deliver on priorities across all the regions and nations of the UK.

The National Wealth Fund also works collaboratively with the Scottish National Investment Bank, Development Bank of Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive. It has dedicated directors in each of the UK’s four nations to support the NWF’s view of markets across the country.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to support national campaigns which (a) raise awareness of glaucoma and (b) encourage regular eye tests for preventable sight loss conditions.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department seeks to support national campaigns where possible, such as national eye health week. The NHS.UK website provides information about glaucoma and the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 30 June to Questions 60413 and 61747 on Asylum: Northern Ireland, whether she plans to purchase (a) tower blocks and (b) student accommodation to house people claiming asylum in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer he received on 23 June 2025 to UIN 60413.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she expects to receive the conclusions of the Payment Vision Delivery Committee.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, set out the government’s ambition for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.

To drive forward the activities required to achieve this, the government established the Payments Vision Delivery Committee – a senior cross-authority group, chaired by HM Treasury and comprising senior representatives of the Bank of England, FCA and PSR. The Committee is supported by the Vision Engagement Group including over 30 representatives from across the sector.

The Committee will shortly update on its first deliverable to set out an approach for the development and delivery of the UK’s retail payments infrastructure needs and the required governance and funding model to achieve it. It will also publish the Payments Forward Plan by end-2025, including a sequenced plan of future initiatives, and a recommended monitoring approach.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62537 on Crown Estate: Northern Ireland, for what reason the rent income received from public authorities in Northern Ireland was higher in 2020 than any of the dates listed.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The higher rental income received from public authorities in Northern Ireland in 2020, compared to the years listed in the response to Question 62537, was due to a one-off backdated rent payment. Specifically, in 2020, a backdated rent invoice was issued covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 5 April 2020. This resulted in a significant uplift in reported income for that year.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62540 on Journalism: Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Justice Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the number and proportion of cases that resulted in files being forwarded to the Prosecution Service for consideration.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Responsibility for policing and justice in Northern Ireland, excluding national security matters, was devolved in 2010. Nevertheless, I hold regular meetings with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.

The UK Government is committed to media freedom and ensuring the safety of journalists, and to bringing to justice those responsible for crimes against journalists.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing Enhanced Combination Orders for more offences.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Enhanced Combination Orders are a disposal available in Northern Ireland. They are not available in England and Wales. Justice is devolved to Northern Ireland.

In England and Wales, as part of a community order, the Sentencing Framework gives courts the flexibility to choose and balance a range of requirements such as unpaid work and treatment, with the intention of punishing the offender, providing reparation to the community, and addressing any rehabilitative needs which may otherwise increase the likelihood of reoffending.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62940 on Occupational Money Purchase Schemes, what steps she is taking to encourage awareness of collective defined contribution schemes by (a) employers and (b) employees.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

My officials and I have been engaging extensively with a range of stakeholders to produce the legislative framework needed to accommodate whole-life CDC schemes with multiple unconnected employers, including with numerous employers. Regulations to implement this will be brought forward in the autumn.

We have ensured that the Money and Pensions Service’s MoneyHelper guidance, which is available to any member of the public, provides information on CDC schemes.

The Government has also published ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’ which sets out plans to support the growth of CDC provision.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many grant assistance programmes are run in partnership between Innovate UK and Invest NI for Companies based in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Innovate UK and Invest NI co-fund the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme, which partners businesses with graduates. Approximately 450 projects have been successfully completed in Northern Ireland since 2003.

More widely, Invest NI is part of the Innovate UK Business Growth Delivery Programme. Although not a grant assistance programme, this programme has supported 339 businesses in Northern Ireland in the last 3 years.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58921 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many companies were awarded contracts for Innovation grants in Northern Ireland in 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

In 2024, 3 Contracts for Innovation (CfI) grants were awarded by Innovate UK to companies in Northern Ireland, totalling just over £2 million.

The majority of CfI competitions in Northern Ireland are organised and delivered by other public bodies; for which Innovate UK do not hold data.

Portstewart Strand award

Loan Charge and settlement terms offered to large companies and individuals

Road Traffic (No. 2)

EU Import Control System 2

Road Traffic

12 July celebrations and commending the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland

Royal Black Preceptory 1000, Royal Black Institution and the Royal 13th at Scarva

Impact of net zero targets on UK agriculture and rural communities

Twelfth July Celebrations 2025

Lord Tebbit

NI Equality Commission and Supreme Court ruling

Sarcoma Awareness Month 2025

Found: Cooper Lizzi Collinge Martin Rhodes Afzal Khan Dawn Butler Naz Shah Abtisam Mohamed Mr Gregory Campbell

Found: Cooper Lizzi Collinge Martin Rhodes Afzal Khan Dawn Butler Naz Shah Abtisam Mohamed Mr Gregory Campbell

Found: Cooper Lizzi Collinge Martin Rhodes Afzal Khan Dawn Butler Naz Shah Abtisam Mohamed Mr Gregory Campbell

Found: Sir Edward Leigh Sir John Hayes Sir Desmond Swayne James McMurdock Andrew Rosindell Mr Gregory Campbell