Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the eligibility of households that rely on heating oil as their primary source of home heating for support through the Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Winter Fuel Payments are paid to all pensioners in England and Wales. They provide a lump sum payment to the majority of pensioners quickly and automatically, without the need for a claim and irrespective of the source of home heating.
Other support is available through Cold Weather Payments which are targeted at those who are more vulnerable to severe weather such as older people, disabled people, and children under five who receive qualifying income-related benefits. Payments are made from 1 November to 31 March when the average temperature in the eligible recipient’s postcode area is recorded as (or forecast to be) 0°C or below over seven consecutive days.
The Warm Home Discount is also available to eligible low-income households, who pay their electricity bill directly to a participating domestic supplier, including those off the gas grid.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who were returned to Ireland by Immigration Enforcement subsequently returned to the UK (a) once and (b) on multiple occasions in each year since 2020.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from Ireland to the UK, with no immigration checks being undertaken on the Northern Ireland-Ireland land border. The UK does however operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes – away from the land border to detect those who intend to abuse CTA arrangements.
To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office prefers to refer to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.
Our published data Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK includes details on returns to Ireland in table Ret_D02 of the ‘returns detailed datasets’.
Passenger arrivals and detected arrivals via illegal entry routes are also included in the published data Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK although the data does not detail arrivals to the UK specifically from Ireland.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2026 to Question 35191 on Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Republic of Ireland, when he last met his Irish counterpart to discuss the impact of the Irish VAT rate on the tourism and hospitality sectors in Northern Ireland.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor last met his Irish counterpart at Informal ECOFIN in Dublin on 18 September.
Information on Ministers' meetings is published as part of the Government's transparency programme and is available on GOV.UK: HM Treasury: ministerial overseas travel and meetings - GOV.UK
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to protect rural households that rely on heating oil to heat their homes from supply disruptions and price volatility.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government is determined to ensure consumers reliant on heating oil are treated fairly and better protected, including during times of international volatility.
The government published its formal response to the CMA heating oil report on 13 October, confirming it will take forward proposals to introduce stronger regulations for the first time, and agreeing with the CMA that we will not be replicating the gas and electricity price cap. Instead, we will focus on a programme of reform to strengthening consumer protections.
However, this Government does recognise the impact that heating oil price increases has had on households. In March 2026, the Government announced £53 million of targeted support for low-income households who heat their homes with oil. Wales was allocated £3.8 million, reflecting the number of Welsh households that rely on heating oil. Using this funding, the Welsh Government is providing a one-off £200 payment to low-income households that use heating oil or LPG and receive support through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with his Irish counterpart on introduction of a 9% VAT rate on the tourism and hospitality sectors in the Republic of Ireland; and if he will ask his Irish counterpart to publish their analysis of the impact of that reduction on the Irish economy.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor maintains regular engagement with his Irish counterpart through routine bilateral discussions.
Decisions on the publication of analysis relating to Irish tax policy are a matter for the Irish Government.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with the Irish government to remove taxation on air travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will take steps to ensure that the taxation of air travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is included on agenda of the next meeting between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government recognises the importance of connectivity between Northern Ireland and Ireland - particularly for the North West region - in supporting local trade, tourism, and cross-border community links.
We continue to work with regional partners to safeguard Northern Ireland’s transport resilience and ensure local airports remain viable drivers of regional growth.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland holds regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, including what may be included on agendas of any bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, and will always ensure Northern Ireland's interests are represented in those discussions.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2026 to Question 128318 on Public Expenditure, how much funding he plans to provide to the Northern Ireland Executive for comparable support available through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme; when it plans to provide that funding; and whether he has had discussions with the Executive on how it plans to use that funding.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK Government has committed to provide the Northern Ireland Executive with funding to deliver support comparable to the Exchequer funding available as part of delivering the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.
The funding will be confirmed at Budget in the usual way.
Decisions on the design and delivery of any comparable scheme in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much (a) Departmental Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure funding has been spent by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery in each financial year since its establishment.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was formally established in December 2023. The outturn expenditure for the Commission in each financial year to date, including initial setup costs, is provided in the following table, broken down by Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME).
Financial Year | Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) | Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) |
2022-23 | £0.77m | £0.00m |
2023-24 | £7.51m | £0.00m |
2024-25 | £23.34m | £5.16m |
2025-26 | £13.71m* | £12.41m* |
2026-27 | £4.41m** | £6.89m** |
*The full year Figures for 2025-26 remain provisional pending final audit and publication of the Annual Report and Accounts. Finalised, audited expenditure for completed financial years is also published within the ICRIR's and the Northern Ireland Office’s Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are available on GOV.UK.
**Figures for 2026-27 represent actual year-to-date expenditure up to August 2026.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on expanding Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts, as recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to enhancing support for victims of domestic abuse and improving the criminal court’s response to domestic abuse cases.
In our Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the Government committed to rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders – our strongest order yet for domestic abuse - across England and Wales. We are also introducing a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases to enable police, prisons and probation to more consistently identify domestic abuse offenders. This Government has also made trauma-informed training available to all HMCTS court staff, helping them to better understand domestic abuse and apply trauma-informed practice in their interactions with victims.
We are actively considering how to expand the use of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts in the criminal division as part of our wider work to improve outcomes for victims of domestic abuse, in response to recommendations made by the Independent Sentencing Review.