Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 23 June 2025, 30 June 2025 and 7 July 2025 to Questions 60413, 61747 and 63990 on Asylum: Northern Ireland, whether she plans to purchase (a) tower blocks and (b) student accommodation solely to house people already living in Northern Ireland and claiming asylum not the wider cohort living elsewhere.

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 Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of new jobs created in Northern Ireland as a result of increased defence spending.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Northern Ireland plays a crucial role in the defence of the United Kingdom, with a defence industrial base that is at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and our enduring support to Ukraine. For example, in March 2025 we announced a £1.5 billion contract for Lightweight Multirole Missiles to Ukraine, which will create 200 direct jobs in Northern Ireland with more expected to be created in the supply chain.

The UK Government will set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy how we will make defence an engine for growth, ensuring that our defence spending boosts prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all the nations and regions of the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of deaths from late diagnosis of prostate cancer.

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

The Department remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including prostate cancer. We recognise that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis and treatment.

To combat late diagnosis, the Government is investing £16 million towards the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which is seeking to find ways to catch prostate cancer in men as early as possible.

The Department will publish a National Cancer Plan which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, and ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The overarching goal is to drive up this country’s cancer survival rates and provide a National Health Service that is there when you need it.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans plans to review the Legal Aid regulations where (a) assistance has been received for a case and (b) several appeals are lodged with legal aid assistance to prevent the release of information via Freedom of Information legislation about the cost of such assistance.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Legal aid for proceedings within England and Wales is subject to the provisions of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and regulations made under that Act. The legislation places restrictions on the scope of services funded and the eligibility criteria which need to be satisfied before legal aid is granted.

Civil legal aid services relating to an appeal arising from or relating to a decision to release information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are not within the scope of funded services. Legal aid may be available as exceptional case funding where failure to provide legal aid would breach or risk breaching an individual’s human rights or other enforceable legal rights. There are no plans to review the scope of legal aid in this area.

Applications for legal aid, including that provided as exceptional case funding, are subject to a merits test. This helps ensure that public funding is used responsibly and not spent on cases that are unlikely to succeed or are repeated without new grounds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people with dementia in (a) 2025 and (b) 2029.

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

No specific estimate has been made for the number of people with dementia in 2029.

The Dementia Surveillance Factsheet estimates that, in May 2025, there were 740,640 people aged 65 years old and over estimated to have dementia in England. Of these, 485,653 have been formally diagnosed.

This factsheet uses Primary Care Dementia Data, which replaced the Recorded Dementia Diagnosis data in October 2022.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his plans are for future import of (a) animals and (b) animal meat products from Germany, in the context of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that country.

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

The import restrictions brought in as a result of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Germany were lifted on 14 May 2025. However, other import restrictions are in place linked to other disease outbreaks in the EU. These restrictions mean that live animal imports are not possible, for example, from bluetongue affected countries including Germany. Furthermore, restrictions on personal imports of many meat and dairy products are in place from the whole of the EU. A full list of restrictions on imports from the EU is available here and is kept constantly up to date to assist traders and the public: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/imports-and-exports-of-animals-and-animal-products-topical-issues.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations she has received from the public on the use of reparations for those convicted of criminal offences.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Department has interpreted ‘representations’ to mean correspondence sent to the Secretary of State for Justice or her Ministers. One piece of correspondence related to this issue was received by the Department.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will extend the closing date for applications to the Connect Fund beyond 10 August 2025.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Connect Fund will support communities in Northern Ireland, funding projects between £300 and £50,000 with a clear East-West lens that deliver on building connections, sharing information, and collaborative community work. Funding is available in two rounds, with the first round running from now until 30 April 2026, and the second round running from 1 May 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Connect Fund is rolling and applications can therefore be submitted throughout these two periods, with the 10th of the month being the deadline for each month. If one were to miss the 10th of the month deadline, an application will be considered the following month.

Further information is available on the grant page at:

https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/connect-fund-1#objectives

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 65724 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many projects have been successfully completed under the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.

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

59 Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects that involved either a Northern Ireland (NI) based business, or a NI based university or FE college successfully completed in the last 3 years. A breakdown of these projects in each year is:

2022 – 28

2023 – 17

2024 – 14

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with the Semiconductor Advisory Panel on the ongoing work of Northern Ireland based clusters.

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

The Government recognises the strategic importance of the semiconductor sector across the UK, including the growing cluster in Northern Ireland with strengths in photonics, power, and sensors. The Semiconductor Advisory Panel, co-chaired by Lord Vallance, meets quarterly and plays a key role in shaping our national approach to support the semiconductor industry, including supporting the development of clusters. The Government is committed to supporting the Northern Irish cluster, such as through the SmartNano NI Initiative funded with £42.4 million from UKRI, and the Panel will continue to discuss the Northern Ireland cluster as part of its ongoing work.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of whether the National Wealth Fund is operating on an equitable basis throughout the UK.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) identifies investment opportunities across the UK and has dedicated directors in each of the four nations to support its view of markets across the country. 80% of the NWF's portfolio is outside of London and the South-East.

The NWF's success is assessed across a range of measures, including that it should have a good geographical spread of its activity across the nations and regions of the UK

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the outcome of the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial will be shared with Health Departments in each of the devolved institutions.

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

The TRANSFORM screening trial, funded in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, is investigating new prostate cancer screening methods. This national randomised control trial will provide data to policymakers for a decision on recommending prostate cancer screening. Results will be shared with the UK National Screening Committee, representing all four nations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with dementia in (a) 2020 and (b) 2024.

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

The data requested is not collected centrally.

We can provide a count of patients with a recorded diagnosis of dementia. This is a count of patients with a dementia diagnosis on their general practice record at the specified point in time irrespective of when the diagnosis was made. The data has been published under the Primary Care Dementia Data publication series since April 2022, and under the Recorded Dementia Diagnoses publication series prior to that.

The following table shows the dementia diagnosis figures for all ages for December of each year for 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024:

It is worth highlighting that these represent an estimate of the total number of people living with a diagnosis of dementia, and that changes over 2020 and over 2024 do not reflect only new diagnoses.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who were born in the Irish Republic have applied for a UK passport through the naturalisation process between 2019 and 2024.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many electronic travel authorisations were issued to visitors traveling to Northern Ireland from the Irish Republic between January and June 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 June to Question UIN 59294.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost of Universal Credit payments were in each year between 2022 and 2024.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Expenditure on Universal Credit was:

£40.6billion in the 21/22 financial year

£41.9billion in the 22/23 financial year

£52.1billion in the 23/24 financial year

Figures are taken from DWP's Spring Statement 2025 Benefit Expenditure and Caseload publication table 1a

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Bundesbank's report entitled What’s behind the sustained decline in German export market shares?, published on 14 July 2025.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland

Germany is the UK’s second-largest trading partner globally. We recognise the importance of resolving trade frictions between the UK and Germany where they occur. Our new UK-Germany Treaty, signed on 17 July, has economic growth and industrial collaboration at its heart. This will help drive trade between the UK and Germany through both a series of ‘Lighthouse projects’ and a broader implementation plan. For example, a new Business-Government Forum will connect the UK and German governments with leading businesses to identify opportunities and barriers to growth, with a focus on growth-driving sectors including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and financial services.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 15 July 2025 on Afghanistan, Official Report, column 149-152, when was he first informed of the data protection breach.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As outlined in the oral statement of 15 July 2025, the Secretary of State for Defence stated that:

As shadow Defence Secretary, I was initially briefed on the ARR by James Heappey, the former Armed Forces Minister, on 12 December 2023, and issued with the super-injunction at the start of that meeting.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she plans to make on the implementation of the 10 year infrastructure strategy by the end of 2026.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

This government is committed to implementing the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy published in June. By the end of 2026, we will have delivered several of its key reforms, moving to improve project delivery, and provide industry stakeholders with increased confidence to invest in UK infrastructure and jobs.

The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy sets out further details of the Government’s plans, which is available at the following link: CP 1344 – UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with businesses on levels of need for apprentices.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the Industrial Strategy.

The development of the growth and skills offer is informed by Skills England’s analysis and engagement. Skills England is working closely with employers, training providers and other stakeholders to identify priority skills gaps, helping to ensure that the levy-funded growth and skills offer meets the needs of businesses and helps to kick start economic growth.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Eritrean counterpart on reported discrimination of Evangelical Christians who are serving members of the Eritrean armed forces.

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

We consistently raise human rights with the Eritrean government, including religious freedoms. We advocate for the end of discriminatory detentions based on religion or belief, as we have stated at the UN Human Rights Council. We call for all those unjustly incarcerated to be released. The UK's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea raised human rights during her most recent visit to Eritrea in April 2025 and the UK supports the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2025.

Celtic FC supporters and banner

Irish Republic and Israel

100 Years of Comber Bowling Club

80th Anniversary of the Wellington Memorial Silver Band

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