Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Northern Ireland will be included in the changes to rules on a fixed customs duty on small parcels entering the European Union.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of the action being taken by our trading partners on small parcels. The facilitations under the Windsor Framework remain in place for goods entering Northern Ireland. We will continue to engage with the EU to give certainty over future arrangements and ensure businesses are informed ahead of any changes. At the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced the removal of the £135 customs duty relief, making low value imports subject to customs duty, with a consultation currently underway considering a new set of customs arrangements for these goods. The government will collaborate with its trading partners to ensure its new low value import customs arrangements work effectively with other regimes while meeting its objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for political asylum and protection status have been made in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Information regarding basis of claim is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for members of the public calling His Majesty's Revenue and Customs by phone.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes its call waiting times on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
In 2024-25, HMRC handled 71.5% of adviser attempts across their helplines and had an average call answer time of 18 minutes 38 seconds. This year (April – September 2025), HMRC have handled 83.8% of adviser attempts and average call wait times have decreased to 13 minutes 30 seconds.
HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for political asylum have been made in Northern Ireland in each of the past eight quarters; and what are the ten countries from which the most applications have been received.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Information regarding basis of claim is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.