Robin Swann

The Government has announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.

An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

The Household Support Fund operates in England only. It is for the Devolved Governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.

Improving maternity and neonatal care remains a priority for the Government. Whilst health is a devolved matter, there will be shared challenges and opportunities for improvement, so we are considering the report to help inform our next steps. A formal assessment of the report has not been made to date.

An interministerial group meeting is currently being diarised for December 2024. At this meeting, all of the Health Ministers from across the United Kingdom will convene to discuss the 10-Year Health Plan in further detail, including any opportunities for alignment and information sharing across the UK.

Department officials working on the 10-Year Health Plan have had, and will continue to have, meetings with working level contacts in each of the devolved administrations. These conversations will continue to explore how best to identify potential areas of United Kingdom-wide policy alignment, as the plan is developed.

HMRC holds the information of those estates which make claims for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) within its digital administrative systems if the estate was taxpaying, or could be taxpaying after compliance checks have been performed.

It does not hold readily available information about the geographical location of the assets qualifying for the relief – it only holds the value of the assets qualifying for the relief, and the amount of relief given against those assets, in a format available for further analysis.

As such, it is not possible to provide this information within current cost limits.

The Government recognises the importance of access to useful and appropriate financial products. We work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the UK's financial services sector, to ensure that customers are treated fairly by firms.

While the pricing and availability of financial services and products is a commercial decision for firms, FCA rules require the price a consumer pays for a product or service be reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive. The FCA also expects that customers get the right support with their financial products, particularly where their personal circumstances, including health conditions, may make them more susceptible to harm.

The Government is committed to improving financial inclusion and will continue to work with regulators, firms, and the third sector to this end.

The European Union’s Consumer Credit Directive 2008 was implemented into UK law in 2010. In November 2023, the EU passed a new Consumer Credit Directive that will replace the previous Directive and which Member States must transpose into domestic law by November 2025. As the UK has left the European Union, this Directive will not apply in the UK, including Northern Ireland.

The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to Departmental Expenditure Limits, rather than when policies or funding are announced. When UK Government departmental budgets change, the Barnett formula will apply in the usual way.

Any Barnett consequentials for the Northern Ireland Executive resulting from the recent public sector pay awards in England in 2024-25 would be confirmed at Autumn Budget 2024 or Supplementary Estimates 2024-25.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. In relation to the Windsor Framework, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland also regularly engages with businesses including meeting with industry representatives in Belfast in late August.

The Government’s key focus is to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements for the movement of goods under the Windsor Framework. Officials have regularly engaged business representative organisations and businesses on the technical delivery elements of the changes. This includes a workshop group with the haulage industry which has covered a range of topics in relation to the specific challenges faced by hauliers.

EES is a European Union initiative due to be introduced in the autumn of this year that applies to non-EU travellers visiting countries forming part of the Schengen area. As neither the Republic of Ireland nor Northern Ireland form part of the Schengen area, EES will not apply.

This Government recognises the unique commitment that Service families make to our country. We remain sympathetic to those widows and widowers who forfeited pensions under historic rules because they remarried or cohabited.

The War Widow(er)s Recognition Payment Scheme has received 357 applications and accepted and paid 240 claims since it was launched on 16 October 2023. Of those, 99% of all claims have been processed and the Recognition Payment Scheme is delivering effectively to those it was established to recognise.

Information relating to the branch of service and regiment of individuals whose widows have received payments under the scheme is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

No.

Since 2021 the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust has provided £2.9 million funding for projects supporting veterans specifically in Northern Ireland (NI). In addition, £9.4 million has been provided for UK-wide projects, most of which have also benefitted veterans in NI. Together, this funding has supported 48 projects in NI and a further 68 UK-wide.

The Veterans Welfare Service in Northern Ireland (VWS NI) delivers professional one-to-one support to veterans and their families, Service leavers and the bereaved families of Service personnel. Their role focuses on providing information, guidance and support to members of the Armed Forces community. This includes, but is not limited to, transitioning from service, bereavement, or changes affected income, finance, or housing.

VWS NI also work alongside voluntary organisations, Service charities, other Government Departments, the devolved administrations and local authorities to ensure a joined-up approach which ensures our veterans, and their families receive the information and assistance they need.

The Ministry of Defence is currently in discussion with legal counsel on the implications of the judgment and the possibility of appealing.

The department regularly engages with the Northern Ireland Executive on a range of policy areas including housing. Recently this has included ministerial attendance of the British Irish Council's Planning and Places meeting in November, as well as through direct bilateral engagement.

Property law is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. However, in early 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister will be chairing the first inter-ministerial meeting for Housing, Local Governments and Communities with the devolved governments.

The appointment of a new Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland is a matter for the First Minister and deputy First Minister.

The Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework and to taking all steps necessary to protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. Commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper support this objective, and the Government continues to make progress in delivering them.

It will be a matter for Lord Murphy to consider the programme of work of the Review. In line with the Terms of Reference, the Review will be obliged to consult with a range of stakeholders, including Northern Ireland political parties, and can engage with the Assembly and its committee functions as it considers appropriate.