Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard

Since the Government's response to HL1217 on 30 June, further information on Northern Ireland arrangements has been published on GOV.UK. These arrangements include certain dedicated Tariff Rate Quotas that allow eligible steel products to move into Northern Ireland, and serve to protect UK-origin steel moving within the UK from tariffs. Further detail on moving steel to Northern Ireland is contained in the Steel Notice and Government has communicated these arrangements to industry, with support continuing to be available to traders through the Trader Support Service and HMRC.

The public consultation seeks views on the proposed approach to implementing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting (delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment) in order to inform the drafting of the legislation.

We are separately engaging with a wide range of organisations, including employers, and gathering evidence in a more systematic manner on the likely costs and benefits of the proposed reporting requirements. This work will inform the impact assessment that will be published alongside the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers. The Convention applies to your question.

It can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May: “By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

27 October 2025

Dear Lord Elliott,

As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the value of goods imported from China to the UK each year for the past 10 years (HL11221).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes UK trade in goods data at country level in our trade in goods: country by commodity imports dataset as part of our monthly UK trade release[1]. This data is available up to August 2025.

Data on UK imports of goods from China can be found in Table 1. Please note that all data are in current prices and, as such, include the effect of inflation.

Table 1: UK imports of goods from China, 2015 – 2024

£ billion, current prices, including precious metals

Source: Office for National Statistics

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/datasets/uktradecountrybycommodityimports

In accordance with the Statement of Funding Policy on funding the devolved governments, the Government maintains its commitment to fund direct costs associated with reaching the required level of compliance to implement obligations under the Windsor Framework. A full breakdown of devolved funding can be found in Block Grant Transparency, the next update to which will be published in due course.

The Government will continue to provide a range of support to businesses and traders to facilitate the smooth flow of goods, reflecting our commitment to both the Windsor Framework and the UK internal market.

Paragraph 1.6 of the Ministerial Code states that "The Ministerial Code should be read against the background of the overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law, including international law and treaty obligations, and to protect the integrity of public life."

As set out in Chapter 2 of the Ministerial Code, Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the Code and for justifying their actions and conduct to Parliament and the public. The Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a minister.

There will be no increased involvement for the European Court of Human Rights in the United Kingdom resulting from the package agreed at the UK-EU Summit held on 19 May.

The Government has set out that specific arrangements will be in place to facilitate the movement of steel to Northern Ireland. We will continue to provide guidance on these arrangements and support traders moving goods through the Trader Support Service. This approach is consistent with the Government’s commitment in the Steel Strategy to tackling steel over capacity, and working with our international partners to do so.

The legislation implementing the new measure includes explanatory memoranda which set out how this measure will impact different types of businesses.

The Government is keen to ensure the UK's corporate reporting requirements support economic growth by providing the information that investors need to allocate capital effectively, while helping users of reporting understand how business activities align with the UK's net zero and environmental goals. The Government will shortly publish a consultation covering the endorsement of UK versions of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards.

The Government is currently conducting a review of the UK's non-financial reporting regime, which includes requirements for companies to report on various matters relating to governance, environment and wider society. The Government intends to consult on proposals to reform the UK's non-financial reporting framework later this year.

Data are presented in the table below. Production is the amount extracted from the North Sea along with small amounts of onshore production. Refinery receipts represent crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and process oils (i.e. partly refined oils) as received by UK refineries. Receipts can be processed or go into stock for later use at the refinery or exports. Indigenous refinery receipts represent crude oil and NGLs received by refineries from UK production. For gas, due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure and the consequent mixing of UK continental shelf production and imports it is not possible to determine exactly what proportion of indigenously produced gas is used domestically.

Notes.

Source: Energy Trends Tables 3.10 and 4.2

Years. Data in calendar years as published in Energy Trends.

Data are presented in the table below. Production is the amount extracted from the North Sea along with small amounts of onshore production. Refinery receipts represent crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and process oils (i.e. partly refined oils) as received by UK refineries. Receipts can be processed or go into stock for later use at the refinery or exports. Indigenous refinery receipts represent crude oil and NGLs received by refineries from UK production. For gas, due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure and the consequent mixing of UK continental shelf production and imports it is not possible to determine exactly what proportion of indigenously produced gas is used domestically.

Notes.

Source: Energy Trends Tables 3.10 and 4.2

Years. Data in calendar years as published in Energy Trends.

The Impact Assessment does not identify significant consumer price impacts and finds that compliance costs for domestic maritime operators are modest relative to their overall operating costs, with fuel and carbon costs forming only one part of total running costs. These findings are consistent with international evidence showing changes to ferry ticket prices in the low single digit range under equivalent carbon pricing.

The Government will review the maritime element of the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028 to ensure that its impacts remain accurate, proportionate and fully assessed as the sector continues to decarbonise.

There is a high bar for any exemptions from the UK ETS. We are exempting ferries serving Scotland’s islands and peninsula communities given the unique and pressing challenges they face and the legal duties to consider island populations under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.

We will be evaluating the impacts of the scheme, as well as the existing exemptions, in a review of the maritime regime in 2028. We will not be extending this exemption to other UK islands at this time.

Sizewell C Ltd plan to begin operating the power plant in the mid- to late-2030s.

The Government works closely with international partners and industry to ensure the security and resilience of trans-Atlantic subsea telecoms cables. At the UK-Ireland Summit in March 2025, both countries committed to collaborating on maritime security with an emphasis on safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure. For example, the Government is already working with Irish counterparts to improve our emergency response procedures. The Government also recently unveiled Atlantic Bastion, the Royal Navy's plan to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO. It will exploit advances in autonomy and artificial intelligence to deter the growing underwater threat in light of a modernising Russian submarine force.

Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, a total of £29,946,000 was allocated to the Scottish Football Association to deliver the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. The yearly breakdowns are:

2021/22: £2m (capital funding)

2022/23: £2m (capital funding), £120,000 (resource funding)

2023/24: £6m (capital funding), £360,000 (resource funding)

2024/25: £10.1m (capital funding), £250,000 (resource funding)

2025/26: £8.6m (capital funding), £516,000 (resource funding)

Successful applicants to the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme are published on gov.uk and are regularly updated. The most recent project list for Scotland can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2025-to-2026#scotland

The Secretary of State was clear in her statement in the other place that the Kneecap and Bob Vylan performances at Glastonbury were utterly appalling and unacceptable. This Government will not tolerate antisemitism – it has absolutely no place in our society and we will be unrelenting in our work to root it out and it should not be given a platform.

The BBC has made clear that there were serious failings in relation to events at Glastonbury. It is absolutely right that the BBC has now acknowledged the livestream should have been pulled, that it will no longer broadcast performances deemed “high risk” live, and will provide further editorial guidance around live events going forward.

Given the seriousness of what happened and the impact this has had on the Jewish community in this country, the Secretary of State has spoken to both the BBC Director General and Chair directly and has written to the Chair to ask for an urgent and detailed explanation about what immediate steps they intend to take.

Following conversations between the Secretary of State and members of the Jewish community on concerns about imagery and slogans on display at the festival, DCMS officials have also met with Glastonbury organisers for detailed discussions on their procedures to monitor imagery on site, and the due diligence processes undertaken for festival acts.

This Government recognises that wildfires can cause significant damage to natural habitats and protected species, across a wide range of habitats. To address this, this Government is strengthening its approach to wildfire resilience. Defra is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the lead department on wildfire, to improve cross-Government coordination across the full wildfire cycle, from risk assessment and prevention through to response and recovery. This Government is also investing in peatland restoration, landscape-scale habitat recovery and stronger protections for upland peat. These measures are designed to improve resilience and support biodiversity recovery.

In accordance with the Statement of Funding Policy on funding the devolved Governments (copy attached), the Government maintains its commitment to fund direct costs associated with reaching the required level of compliance to implement obligations under the Windsor Framework. A full breakdown of devolved funding can be found in Block Grant Transparency, the next update to which will be published in due course.

The Government has committed to a maximum funding allocation of £192.3 million for all the facilities at the four ports. Of this allocation, Defra has spent £111.3 million up to 30 June 2025.

Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period remains a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder consultation, the current situation indicates our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes. We do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations. The Government also set out two new schemes, The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme and the Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme, in its policy paper 'Protecting Animal Health' on 19 June. These two schemes are designed to build resilience and to plug any gaps that arise in the supply or availability of veterinary medicines necessary for animal health and welfare.

Since 26 August 2024, there have been 263 cases of BTV detected in Great Britain: 262 BTV-3 cases and 1 BTV-12 case. Of these, 42% were detected because animals showed clinical signs of disease. The remaining positive cases showed no clinical signs, but were detected through surveillance activities (27%), pre and post movement testing (16%) tracings from other positive cases (8%) and private testing (7%).

Clinical impacts of disease have been far less severe than feared, usually involving very small numbers of animals that have tended to recover from what have broadly been short-term effects. Vaccination is the most suitable long-term approach to controlling disease and safe and effective vaccines have been available since October 2024.

After the summit with the EU on 19 May, the UK and the EU committed to negotiating an SPS Agreement, which will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses, and improving consumer choice. While we do not expect this Agreement to cover veterinary medicinal products, this remains a priority for Government and we remain committed to safeguarding supply to protect animal health and welfare in Northern Ireland. Officials continue to engage regularly with the EU, and the Government will be setting out its approach on this in due course.

No DfT-sponsored road schemes in England have been stopped due to climate change considerations. Environmental considerations, including climate change impacts, are considered at key stages of the development of road schemes.

We do not have an estimate of the income or savings to be derived from the new mileage criteria. A series of measures were announced in the November 2025 Budget to strike the right balance between delivering a key service for disabled people and fairness to the taxpayer, saving over £1 billion by financial year 2030/31.

Motability Operations is an independent commercial company under contract to Motability to deliver the Motability Scheme. Motability Operations is owned by the four major banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS). No ordinary dividends are paid, and all profits are reinvested in the company to benefit Scheme customers or donated to Motability the charity.

Qualifying benefits for the Motability Scheme are the enhanced rate mobility component Personal Independence Payment (enhanced rate mobility component Adult Disability Payment in Scotland), higher rate mobility component Disability Living Allowance (higher rate mobility component Child Disability Payment in Scotland), Armed Forces Independence Payment and War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.

Attendance Allowance is intended to help those with a severe disability who have long term care or supervision needs which arise after reaching State Pension age. It has never included a mobility component, and so cannot be used in payment for a leased Motability Scheme vehicle. Government mobility support is focused on people who are disabled earlier in life; developing mobility needs in older life is a normal consequence of ageing, which non-disabled younger people have had opportunity to plan and save for.

There is no constraint on what an award of Attendance Allowance can be spent on, and a recipient may choose to use this benefit to fund mobility aids. Disabled people over the age of 65 can apply to their local authority for assessment under the Blue Badge Scheme, which helps people with severe mobility problems to park close to where they need to go. Assistance from other sources may be available and details can be found on the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) website.

His Majesty's Government has received no such request.

The UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership is an important agreement that will enable enhanced dialogue and cooperation on key issues including Ukraine, the Western Balkans, space, hybrid, maritime security and resilience of critical infrastructure, and military mobility. It also complements our relationship as a leading member of the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization, the cornerstone of the UK's defence. There are no costs directly associated with the partnership. As we implement the partnership and take forward key areas of collaboration, I will ensure that any commitment - whether financial or non-financial - provides value to the UK taxpayer and delivers the UK's defence and security objectives.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and UK embassies, high commissions and consulates provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad who need our support. An Israeli national would only be eligible for FCDO consular support in Ireland if they also held British nationality. Israeli/British dual nationals would be entitled to full FCDO consular services in Ireland.

The Government introduced important new arrangements for freight and parcels movements on 1 May 2025 ensuring goods continue to move smoothly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The arrangements were successfully implemented without significant impact on flow of goods into Northern Ireland, the new arrangements protect the vast majority of consumer parcels from customs declarations and duty.

HMRC were aware of a small number of cases where express operators charged duty incorrectly on business-to-business parcels. HMRC have worked with express operators and wider industry to minimise these instances.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

The UK Government has provided £50m of Capital Financial Transactions funding to redevelop Casement Park. While the UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive, it is up to the Executive to design and implement the Financial Transaction. The Financial Transaction will be provided to the Executive on a net basis, it does not need to be repaid to the UK Government and the Executive can recycle any repayments indefinitely.

The Northern Ireland Executive’s (NIE) Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlement since devolution. The NIE is receiving £18.2 billion in 2025-26, including an additional £1.5 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula.

The NIE is responsible for the allocation of its settlement to its devolved responsibilities, including the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland. To support this principle, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has agreed to baseline into 2025-26 the full amount provided to farmers, land managers, and fisheries in 2024-25.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief [1].

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

Estates claiming agricultural property relief are required to provide HMRC with the value of agricultural assets, and this is used when calculating whether tax is due. However, it is not possible to provide constituency level analysis on claims which may be made in the future.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms