Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of a cap of £25,000 on the amount of VAT that can be claimed back under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of supporting churches and other listed places of worship. That is why the decision was made to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2026, with a budget of £23m.
Against a tough fiscal picture, the difficult decision was taken by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to implement an annual limit of £25,000 per individual place of worship for the coming year. The changes to the scheme were necessary given the significant pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors.
Based on DCMS’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much annually managed expenditure the Treasury made available to the Northern Ireland Executive in each of the past three financial years for the purpose of funding the non-domestic renewable heating initiative; and how much was actually drawn down in each of those years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Programmes are funded by the UK Government in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) if they are demand-led and volatile in a way that could not adequately be controlled by the devolved governments. Where a devolved government offers broadly similar terms for an AME programme, the UK Government will fund the cost of this programme. Where a devolved government wishes to offer more generous terms for an AME programme, then the excess over that implied by adopting broadly similar terms for that programme (and therefore broadly comparable costs) must be met by the devolved government.
The Northern Ireland Executive received the following AME funding for the non-domestic renewable heating initiative; £27.97m in 2023-24, £33.47m in 2024-25, and £33.47m in 2025-26.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost per day of accommodating asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Wider asylum accommodation costs other than hotels are not routinely published by the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 17 July (HL9083), whether they will now answer the question put; namely what is the current daily cost of providing accommodation for asylum seekers other than in hotels; and how this compares with the daily cost in 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what legal costs they have incurred in dealing with claims for asylum, including appeals, launched by those arriving in the United Kingdom through irregular and illegal means in the past three years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what grants they have given to non-government organisations and other groups assisting those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom during the past three years, and to which organisations and groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information could only be collated and verified through manual checks by all grant making policy teams within the Home Office, something that could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional units of accommodation have been required to meet the increase in the population of the United Kingdom in the last five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Estimates vary as to the scale of delivery that is required to meet housing need, however, there is a broad consensus that to address the housing emergency we must deliver well above projections of population growth to deal with decades of undersupply. Increasing housing supply beyond current levels is integral to providing for population growth, moderating the rate of house price growth, and tackling affordability pressures. That is why we have committed to delivering 1.5m homes over this parliament.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for businesses in Northern Ireland of European Union retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the United States.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government continues to closely monitor the impact on Northern Ireland of any potential changes in global tariff rates, and notes the US letter of 12 July to the EU and subsequent pausing of any EU retaliatory measures until at least August.
Should EU countermeasures come into effect, in line with the agreed protection measures of both the UK and EU markets, a limited subset of US goods moving into Northern Ireland may be impacted. Where these goods do not subsequently enter the EU, the Duty Reimbursement Scheme enables traders to reclaim or remit any additional duties, without any limit on total claims. The UK remains fully committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and protecting the UK internal market.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ireland concerning the proposal to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023; whether they have held such meetings with the main political parties in Northern Ireland; and, if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government continues to undertake discussions on specific measures to be included in primary legislation; this includes with the Northern Ireland parties and bilateral discussions with the Irish Government. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland last met party leaders to discuss legacy matters on the 3 and 4 June 2025.
At the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in April, both the UK and Irish governments expressed a desire to reach agreement on a joint approach to addressing legacy issues. These discussions remain constructive, and we continue to work intensively with a view to reaching a formal agreement. This was highlighted by the Prime Minister’s recent constructive call with the Taoiseach on 18 July.
The effective participation of both the UK and Irish governments in a legacy process is vital if we are to provide as many families as possible with the information and accountability that they have long sought.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments of the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission regarding the independence of the Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery and the Commissioner for Investigations.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has confidence in the ability of the Independent Commission’s leadership and staff to effectively deliver for victims and survivors. The Court of Appeal has recognised the ICRIR’s structural independence and wide powers.
However, the confidence of families in the Commission’s work is paramount and that is why the Government is committed to reforming the Commission to further strengthen its powers and independence, as well as to ensure that legacy mechanisms are compliant with human rights obligations.