Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Statement of Strategic Priorities for the National Wealth Fund in March 2025 on Northern Ireland.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Strategic Plan sets out the National Wealth Fund’s ambition to accelerate place-based investment across all four nations of the UK. It has a dedicated director based in Northern Ireland, and opened a Belfast office in December 2024.
The National Wealth Fund is already investing in Northern Ireland, for example in rural broadband development
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to Questions 112100 and 115340, what was the breakdown in each of the years specified in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
None in 2024 and 4 in 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated in the next financial year to assist research into prosopagnosia.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
No funding for the next financial year has allocated specifically to prosopagnosia. However, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including prosopagnosia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she review the overall objectives of the Local Transport Grant to ensure that manufacturers of zero emission buses across the whole of the UK can benefit.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department keeps the objectives and operation of all its local transport funding streams under regular review to ensure they support decarbonisation, growth and improved passenger outcomes. Our wider zero emission bus policy is designed to stimulate demand across the UK, with bus operators and local transport authorities transitioning fleets and creating opportunities for domestic manufacturers.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, how many listed churches have been demolished in each of the last five years.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church Commissioners can only answer questions about the buildings in the care of the Church of England. Of the 16,000 church buildings in its care, over 12,000 are listed.
Demolition of a church is a last resort and happens very rarely, and only after all other options have been considered. Over the last five years, only one listed church building has been demolished, and consent has been granted for the demolition of one further case, which is yet to be implemented. In both cases, the churches had significant structural flaws arising from their construction or defects in their building materials, making repair impossible or too costly. In both cases, alternative provision has been and continues to be made for the worshipping community.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of a recent report from COELIAC UK indicating that sufferers spend in excess of a third more on food purchases than the average consumer.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the increased costs incurred by people with coeliac disease because they must buy gluten-free options, which are often more expensive.
The current position in England that gluten-free bread and mixes can be provided to coeliac patients on NHS prescription, based on a shared decision between prescriber and patient, while being mindful of local and national guidance. However, local Integrated Care Boards can restrict or end the prescribing of gluten-free food locally as they retain the right to make prescribing policies meeting the needs of their local population within allocated resources.
Food prices depend on a range of factors including import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and exchange rates. Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for Government to set retail food prices or to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force employees were routinely employed at (a) Belfast, (b) Larne, (c) Foyle, and (d) Warrenpoint ports during 2025.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose port‑specific staffing information, as to do so could prejudice our law enforcement capabilities. Border Force operates a flexible resourcing model, regularly assessing operational needs and deploying staff dynamically in response to passenger volumes and security requirements.
As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence‑led operational activity on CTA routes—away from the land border. If an individual is suspected to be unlawfully in the UK, their biometrics may be checked in order to ascertain their identity and status.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to publish the outcome of the Artificial Intelligence regulatory approach discussions with the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK is committed to a proportionate AI regulatory approach which is grounded in science and supports growth and innovation.
The European Council has published its proposal for a decision to apply the EU AI Act to a limited extent in Northern Ireland under Article 13(4) of the Windsor Framework. The Act would only apply following an agreement at a Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, which will be subject to the mechanisms in Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
The UK Government is assessing the proposal and will continue to engage closely with the EU on it. Joint statements on previous Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee meetings can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Northern Ireland element of the Defence Growth Deal on (a) jobs and (b) private sector investment in areas beyond Greater Belfast.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal will combine defence and wider Government investment to support companies across a number of sub-sectors that are key for defence and align with Defence’s strategic priorities. The Deal will harness NI’s defence and dual-use strengths, driving innovation and increasing competitiveness. It is anticipated to attract significant private sector investment and support hundreds of jobs across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) supermarkets and (b) other retailers on the potential impact of the closure of the Movement Assistance Scheme on those businesses.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) was always intended to be time limited. It was originally scheduled to close in December 2023. The decision to extend MAS until June 2025 was made public on 10th October 2023 and there was never a suggestion it would extend beyond this date. However, the Department remains committed to ensuring the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market, as demonstrated by the ongoing support for traders moving goods to Northern Ireland and the work to reach an SPS agreement with the EU.
Last year, retailers and trade representative bodies were reminded that the scheme was closing as planned and large retailers were offered 1:1 meetings.