Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the difference in annual net income during 2027 for people whose total gross income is £13,000 composed of (a) only the new State Pension, and (b) a basic State Pension plus a personal pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax.
As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.
The government will set out more detail next year.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there have been changes in the levels of (a) fraud and (b) error in the benefits system since July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since Autumn Budget 2024, including the new announcements at Autumn Budget 2025, the Government have committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in the welfare state in Great Britain.
The Department publishes yearly estimates of fraud and error in the benefit system. The latest of which is available here: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK, and relates to benefit claims sampled between September 2023 and October 2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Stellantis on the (a) recall and (b) check of (i) Citroën and (ii) DS Automobiles branded cars potentially affected by a airbag safety fault.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the answer to Question 74957 on 9 September, the Secretary of State wrote to Stellantis to express serious concerns about the customer impact of the stop-drive recall currently affecting Citroën and DS Automobiles cars in the United Kingdom.
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officials continue to have regular engagement meetings with representatives from Stellantis about the Citroën/DS recall and continue to support Stellantis, prioritising safety while minimising economic and social impact.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how will the recently announced pay per mile charge for EV drivers affect those Northern Ireland based drivers whose work and residence near the border means much of their annual travel is done in the Irish Republic.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs (electric vehicles) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. As with VED, eVED will apply to UK-registered vehicles; non-UK registered vehicles will be required to register for eVED after a period of six months in the UK.
The Government has ruled out charging tax based on when or where people drive to protect motorists’ privacy. This means non-UK mileage driven by UK registered cars will fall into scope of eVED, as with fuel duty, which does not vary by basis of where a car is driven.
The vast majority of eVED will be paid on travel in the UK; there were an estimated 225 billion car miles in Great Britain in 2024, and over 9 billion miles travelled by car in Northern Ireland in 2023.
The government has published a consultation on GOV.UK, which provides further detail on how eVED is intended to work and seeks views on its implementation, and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69282ac1a245b0985f034197/eVED_Consultation.pdf
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Budget announcement on EV vehicle drivers and pay per mile charge, what discussions she will have with the Irish Republic authorities regarding those Irish based EV drivers who regularly use Northern Ireland roads but will not face the same charge.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs (electric vehicles) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. As with VED, eVED will apply to UK-registered vehicles; non-UK registered vehicles will be required to register for eVED after a period of six months in the UK.
The Government has ruled out charging tax based on when or where people drive to protect motorists’ privacy. This means non-UK mileage driven by UK registered cars will fall into scope of eVED, as with fuel duty, which does not vary by basis of where a car is driven.
The vast majority of eVED will be paid on travel in the UK; there were an estimated 225 billion car miles in Great Britain in 2024, and over 9 billion miles travelled by car in Northern Ireland in 2023.
The government has published a consultation on GOV.UK, which provides further detail on how eVED is intended to work and seeks views on its implementation, and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69282ac1a245b0985f034197/eVED_Consultation.pdf
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, whether the NHS Federated Data Platform has completed roll out to all NHS trusts and integrated care systems.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The progress of the NHS Federated Data Platform’s uptake and deployment has exceeded programme expectations, surpassing the projected uptake. The programme planned to deliver to all National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) by 2027, based on a phased implementation over four and a half years. As of 27 November, the programme has signed up 41 of the 42 ICBs and a total of 165 trusts through a formal Memorandum of Understanding, with 122 trusts live or in delivery. Of those trusts signed up to the platform, there are 127 acute trusts, nine community trusts, 26 mental health trusts, and three ambulance trusts. It is anticipated that by the end of its third year the programme will have deployed tenancies to all 246 organisations.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Future of Flight Industry Group will consider air taxi routes in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Future of Flight Industry Group is the joint government and industry group for the future of flight in the UK. It acts as a senior decision-making body and provides insights to support the delivery of Future of Flight policy and recommendations on how to address challenges and opportunities facing the industry. One of the group’s aims is to deliver the objective of commercial electric vertical take-off and landing operations from 2028.
Whilst civil aviation is a reserved matter for the UK government, local transport is devolved.
Decisions on specific routes will be taken by industry, in consultation with devolved administrations, regional bodies and local authorities, within a framework that ensures accountability and supports the development of Future of Flight in a way that benefits communities.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she taking to support the development of electric vertical take off and landing vehicles in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry and to delivering on the future of flight objectives, which include piloted commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations from 2028.
The Future Flight Challenge was a £300m investment programme designed to support the development of new aviation systems — including electric and autonomous aircraft, drones, advanced airspace management, and supporting infrastructure. This year, over £4.4m of investment is funding projects to demonstrate progress towards commercialisation of Future of Flight technologies. These investments included projects in devolved administrations, such as SATE 1 and SATE 2, which explored the application of eVTOL aircraft.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that a national day to remember victims and survivors of terrorism is specifically for innocent victims.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to recognising and supporting victims and survivors of terrorism.
That is why, on 24 November, the Government announced plans to introduce a National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism to pay tribute to those whose lives have been lost or forever changed by terrorist attacks.
This followed a public consultation on these proposals from 19 March to 11 June which identified strong support for a national day.
The Government will continue to work with victims and survivors ahead of an inaugural event in 2026, to shape the format of the national day for future years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions army bomb disposal units were called out in Northern Ireland in the period between 1 January 2025 and 1 July 2025.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Data for the period 1 January 2025 to 1 July 2025 can be found below:
Total Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) Tasks | Total Conventional Munition Disposal (CMD) Tasks |
34 | 19 |