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 he has made of the number of patients aged 80 and over who have experienced corridor care in Accident and Emergency departments in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific information requested by the Hon. Member is not centrally held, but we recognise that older people, particularly those living with frailty or other complex needs, can be particularly vulnerable to the risks associated with prolonged waits, overcrowding and receiving care in inappropriate environments. On the action we are taking as a result, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17438.
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 steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the use of corridor care for older patients and (b) improve timely access to hospital beds.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific information requested by the Hon. Member is not centrally held, but we recognise that older people, particularly those living with frailty or other complex needs, can be particularly vulnerable to the risks associated with prolonged waits, overcrowding and receiving care in inappropriate environments. On the action we are taking as a result, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17438.
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 she has made of the potential impact of Accident and Emergency corridor care on patients aged 80 years and over.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific information requested by the Hon. Member is not centrally held, but we recognise that older people, particularly those living with frailty or other complex needs, can be particularly vulnerable to the risks associated with prolonged waits, overcrowding and receiving care in inappropriate environments. On the action we are taking as a result, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17438.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment has been made of the level of threat from organised crime and gang activity in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Policing and Justice, apart from National Security, are devolved. The Police Service of Northern Ireland monitors the threat from organised crime groups in order to inform their operational response.
The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, which is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government, works to tackle the presence of paramilitaries through evidence-based early interventions, targeted law enforcement measures and initiatives that provide direct support to help build safer communities which are more resilient to paramilitarism and linked criminality.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland’s economy.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland is in a unique position as the only place in the world where businesses can sell goods into the UK Internal Market and the EU Single Market without customs friction or tariffs.
A growing chorus of businesses across a range of sectors have publicly cited dual market access as beneficial to their business performance and future growth opportunities.
Northern Ireland has one of the strongest economies in the whole of the UK and has experienced one of the fastest rates of economic growth since Brexit.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment has been made of the impact of political instability on public services.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
The UK Government is clear that a stable devolved government is best placed to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
Whilst public services are a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, my ministerial team and I will be meeting regularly with Executive Ministers to discuss how the UK Government can support the Executive to deliver sustainable public service reform in Northern Ireland.
The Government has provided a record financial settlement, in addition to significant project funding such as the £235m Transformation Fund which will reform and improve public service outcomes for people across Northern Ireland.
The UK Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure stable governance and the sustainable delivery of public services in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent comparative assessment her Department has made of average house prices and average household incomes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th July is attached.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to improve broadband and digital infrastructure in rural areas.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK Government is delivering gigabit broadband to 99% of UK premises by 2032, through a mix of commercial and subsidised rollout, and has an ambition for all populated areas across the UK to be able to access higher quality standalone 5G by 2030; this includes rural communities across Northern Ireland.
As of January 2026, according to Ofcom reporting, 95% of premises in Northern Ireland have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection, this is above the UK average of 88%.
We are making good progress on Project Gigabit, and as of the end of March 2026, over 1.4 million premises in hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes. A further 550,000 premises are currently included in Project Gigabit contracts for gigabit coverage in areas not covered by commercially funded plans.
Regarding Northern Ireland, In December 2025, a £34.6 million Project Gigabit contract was signed by the Northern Ireland Department for Economy with the broadband supplier Fibrus. This contract is funded by UK Government and will deliver gigabit-capable broadband to up to 9,330 premises across Northern Ireland, of which 3,080 have been reported complete.
The rollout of higher quality standalone 5G is commercially led by the network operators, and all three have committed significant investment plans which align with the UK Government’s ambition. The UK Government is undertaking a Mobile Market Review to assess what further action can be taken to support the sector in delivering comprehensive, high-quality connectivity.
In parallel we continue to work closely with the industry to identify and remove barriers to telecoms deployment where necessary and practical.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are being taken to improve public confidence in Northern Ireland’s political institutions.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Devolved decision-making, with decisions taken on the basis of power-sharing, is one of the cornerstones of the Good Friday Agreement and one of its most significant achievements.
This Government is committed to working with all political parties and communities to ensure the stability of devolved government in Northern Ireland, with the aim of improving public services, the sustainability of public finances and building public confidence.
To that end, we remain committed to being an active partner in supporting the Executive to achieve its goals, including the delivery of sustainable, accessible and high-quality public services in Northern Ireland that are equal to those available in the rest of the UK.
This includes providing a record financial settlement, in addition to significant projects such as the £235m Transformation Fund which will reform and improve public service outcomes for people across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving vocational and technical training opportunities for young people.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Skills and tertiary education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy and NIO Ministers will continue to work closely with them to improve opportunities for young people.
The UK Government’s £50m Defence Growth Deal for Northern Ireland is an example of one of the ways in which we are supporting skills development and the creation of new high quality, high skilled jobs across Northern Ireland.
We are also investing in skills and growth initiatives with £617m of UK Government funding through the City and Growth Deal and £150 million towards Enhanced Investment Zones in Northern Ireland. For instance, a £2 million advanced manufacturing skills pilot is being delivered through UKG’s £150 million Enhanced Investment Zone, which will develop essential workforce skills, providing NI businesses with skilled employees essential for their success.