Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on the UK internal market of divergence between Northern Ireland and Great Britain arising from proposed European Union regulations on food supplements.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 8 September 2026 in response to Question 20033.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding and support is available for joint faith infrastructure.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Interfaith relations are vital for strong, cohesive communities.
The Government is funding Inter Faith Week 2026, which provides a national platform for organisations and communities across England to come together, strengthen relationships between different faith and belief communities, and deliver joint interfaith activity. This funding supports the development of joint faith infrastructure by enabling organisations to collaborate and build connections through shared activity, including through a new microgrant scheme for grassroots organisations.
More broadly, the Government supports interfaith activity taking place in communities, including through programmes such as Near Neighbours and the Common Ground Resilience Fund. These programmes support local organisations to bring communities together, build relationships across faith and belief groups and strengthen community cohesion.
The Government continues to engage with the faith and belief sector as it considers the future of interfaith co-ordination in England, as faith is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support galleries and museums.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We will invest up to £760 million in our national, local and regional museums over this Parliament, to fund urgent repairs, strengthen financial resilience, and widen access to culture in communities across England. This investment is additional to core museums funding including the c. £44 million a year that Arts Council England invests in museums and galleries through its National Portfolio, Museum Development Programme, and Project Grants.
Whilst Museums policy is devolved, tax schemes including the Museum VAT Refund Scheme and the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief benefit the entire United Kingdom.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the European Commission's proposed maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements under Directive 2002/46/EC on Northern Ireland.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Northern Ireland, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) holds policy responsibility relating to food supplements and the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to foods.
At present there are no maximum levels of vitamins and minerals set in legislation, in either Great Britain or the European Union. The EU is currently working on an initiative that will propose maximum levels for vitamins or minerals that may be added to food supplements and fortified foods, and minimum levels for specific vitamins and minerals when added to food supplements. Any proposals will be consulted upon by the EU, however, the consultation has not yet been published.
The FSA is monitoring the progress of the EU’s planned proposals, including any consultation, and further analysis will be carried out when further information is available. FSA officials will be working with counterparts across the United Kingdom through the Nutrition-related Labelling, Composition and Standards provisional Common Framework policy group to manage any changes relating to this area.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that commissioning practices do not disadvantage Independent Fostering Agencies when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department recognises the impact that lengthy allegations investigations can have on foster carers and the children they care for. Through the proposed new Fostering Quality Standards, currently out for consultation, we are seeking to improve the allegations process to make it more proportionate and timely, while maintaining robust safeguards for children. The consultation will inform next steps on improving the allegations process for all foster carers, including those approved by independent fostering agencies.
We have launched an ambitious fostering reform programme that aims to create 10,000 additional foster placements by 2029. As part of this programme, our enhanced regional hub model is improving regional coordination and visibility of fostering capacity across local authority and non-profit independent fostering agency provision. This will help local authorities make better use of all available fostering provision when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child, while increasing fostering capacity across the sector so children can be matched with homes that best meet their needs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the department plans to introduce national timescales for allegations investigations involving foster carers approved by independent fostering agencies.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department recognises the impact that lengthy allegations investigations can have on foster carers and the children they care for. Through the proposed new Fostering Quality Standards, currently out for consultation, we are seeking to improve the allegations process to make it more proportionate and timely, while maintaining robust safeguards for children. The consultation will inform next steps on improving the allegations process for all foster carers, including those approved by independent fostering agencies.
We have launched an ambitious fostering reform programme that aims to create 10,000 additional foster placements by 2029. As part of this programme, our enhanced regional hub model is improving regional coordination and visibility of fostering capacity across local authority and non-profit independent fostering agency provision. This will help local authorities make better use of all available fostering provision when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child, while increasing fostering capacity across the sector so children can be matched with homes that best meet their needs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure school canteen food is locally sourced.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to our ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards, and we are open to considering all lawful means of achieving this.
The school food standards allow school chefs and cooks creative freedom to adapt to the preferences of the children at their school, source seasonal or local food, and take advantage of price fluctuations. Presently, schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards for food and catering, which includes advice around sourcing their school food.
The National Procurement Policy Statement already sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.
The department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools in rural communities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is making a significant investment in the core schools budget in the 2026/27 financial year, with an extra £2.3 billion for schools.
The schools national funding formula (NFF), which distributes funding for mainstream schools, accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This funding recognises the financial challenges small and remote schools can face, such as fewer opportunities to find efficiencies, the significant role they play in the rural communities they serve and that without such, pupils could face long travel distances to attend school.
In the 2026/27 financial year, the sparsity factor provides eligible primary schools up to £58,600, and all other eligible schools up to £85,200. In addition to this, all small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2026/27, including the NFF lump sum set at £152,700. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is not affected by pupil numbers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how will the government support Northern Irish hospitality businesses to compete with ROI counterparts.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We recognise the challenges hospitality businesses face. To support businesses and families across the United Kingdom over the summer period, between 25 June to 1 September the Government introduced a temporary reduced rate of VAT on children's menu meals and eligible family attractions.
This was a targeted and temporary scheme to reduce the costs of children’s meals in restaurants, children’s tickets for theatres and cinemas and tickets for everyone for attractions like soft play, adventure centres, and theme parks, helping families enjoy a day out for less, and benefiting businesses across the United Kingdom including in Northern Ireland.
VAT is a UK-wide tax and introducing regional VAT rates would add complexity for businesses and the tax system, and would reduce revenue available for vital public services.
Wider business support is devolved in Northern Ireland and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. The Northern Ireland Executive’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlement since devolution and they receive over 24% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support small businesses with insurance costs associated with training apprentices.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Apprenticeships are a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government provides £1,000 to both employers, of all sizes, and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been, or are, in care.
Additionally, we are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need, and support the industrial strategy.
We are providing considerable financial support to employers, particularly smaller employers who play such a vital role in creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people.
We are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months are also eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant since June 2026.
These payments can be added together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible. Employers can choose how they spend these payments, including to offset any additional insurance costs associated with training apprentices.
The government also now fully funds apprenticeship training for all eligible under 25s at employers of all sizes, as we prioritise funding toward young people.
Furthermore, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).