Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1169 on Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, how many times he has requested a review of (a) a Troubles-related death under section 9(3) of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and (b) harmful conduct under section 10(2) of that Act since 1 May 2024.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
To date, I have not requested a review of (a) a Troubles-related death under section 9(3) of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, or of (b) harmful conduct under section 10(2) of that Act. This was also the case for my predecessor.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues on whether people living in the UK on a Graduate visa can start a Master’s degree while waiting for a decision in relation to their application for a Family visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK government website has guidance on all our immigration rules and criteria, including the requirements of the Student route and the study conditions of the Graduate route: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to review the apprenticeship levy.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Meeting the skills needs of the next decade is central to delivering the government’s mission. To support business and boost opportunity, the department will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy. This will allow employers to invest in a wider range of training and empower them to upskill their workforces for current and future challenges.
The department has already established Skills England which will work closely with employers, training providers, unions, Mayoral Combined Authorities and others across the skills landscape to identify the training for which the Growth and Skills Levy will be accessible.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding allocated to cancer research by his Department; and if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing such funding.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cancer remains a priority area for the Government, and £1.5 billion has been invested on health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group. The overall budget for research investment is agreed with the Treasury at the outset of each Spending Review period, and the Department regularly engages with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a range of issues.
Our investments in cancer are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and care.
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including all cancer types. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients, health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate buy-now-pay-later financial products.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Regulating Buy Now Pay Later products is crucial to protect people and deliver certainty for the sector.
The government will be looking to work closely with all interested stakeholders and will set out its plans shortly.
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill on (a) free movement within the Common Travel Area and (b) the land border.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of free movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) and has been recognised in law since the 1920s.
In support of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement there is no hard border and no immigration controls between Northern Ireland and Ireland and as part of the wider CTA arrangements the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on journeys made within the CTA.
The details of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill and the assessment of the Bill’s impact will be set out in due course.
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 make it his policy to publish monthly figures on the number of reviews opened by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery following requests from (a) his Department, (b) families and (c) others, including whether the reviews relate to (i) deaths and (ii) harmful conduct.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Commission is independent of Government. As such, it would not be appropriate for the Government to publish information about its operational activities. This is a matter for the commission, which is, I know, committed to openness in its work.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on changes to the level of the baseline minimum salary for family visas for spouses and partners.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The new Home Secretary will decide on the future of current Home Office policies in due course. Any changes will be announced to Parliament.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on whether social care workers should be able to bring their dependents to the UK on their visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The new Home Secretary will decide on the future of current Home Office policies in due course. Any changes will be announced to Parliament in the normal way.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on changes to the level of the baseline minimum salary for Skilled Worker visas.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The new Home Secretary will decide on the future of current Home Office policies in due course. Any changes will be announced to Parliament in the normal way.