Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his expected timeline is for (a) receiving and (b) responding to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Sir Wyn Williams is committed to progressing matters as swiftly as he can. Now that the final Phase of gathering oral evidence is complete, Sir Wyn will look to deliver his report on what happened, what went wrong and why. He said in December 2024 that publication would take “many months”. Once the report is published, the Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his UN counterparts on the potential merits of creating a UN Convention on the rights of older persons.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to equality and opportunity for all, with a particular focus on those most likely to be marginalised and discriminated against, including on the grounds of their age. We are open in principle to the idea of a multilateral instrument dedicated to the human rights of older people and will continue to play a constructive role in discussions on this issue at the UN and other relevant fora. UK officials continue to discuss the issue with international counterparts.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will amend the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019 to include siblings and parents in the entitlement to claim compensation in respect of deceased person criteria.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019 provides for a redress scheme for victims who suffered abuse while resident in these institutions in Northern Ireland.
The legislation was put in place by the previous UK Government due to the prolonged absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly during that period. As a devolved matter, however, it was drafted by The Executive Office, which is now responsible for administering the Scheme. The Executive Office is therefore the appropriate department to which the Honourable Member for Lagan Valley should direct her query.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings of the Motor Insurance Taskforce have taken place; and when the next meeting will take place.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce met for the first time on 16 October 2024. The Government will provide updates on the Taskforce’s work in due course.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the report entitled AI Opportunities Action Plan, published on 13 January 2025, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland Executive on the implementation of that plan in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology engaged with Northern Ireland’s Ministerial representatives about the Action Plan. We will continue to engage widely as government takes the Action Plan forward.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to create a visa scheme for Palestinians that is similar to the Ukraine Family Scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Immediate family members of British citizens, and those settled in the UK, who wish to come and live in the UK and do not have a current UK visa can apply under one of the existing family visa routes. There are no plans to create a bespoke family reunion scheme at this stage.
Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa.
We will accept applications, which would normally have to be made in the country where the person is living, at any of the UK’s Visa Application Centres.
Visa Application Centres are open and operating in Egypt, in both Cairo and Alexandria, and Amman in Jordan.
The FCDO is also providing consular assistance to those with British nationality, or dual nationality including British, who are in Gaza or who have left Gaza to a third country. Dual national British-Palestinians are not required to make a visa application as they have the right of abode in the UK. Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate.