Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of the £50 million committed for Casement Park, the Gaelic Athletic Association has been asked to change any of its rules or aims, such as those relating to flying the Irish National Flag, playing the Irish National Anthem, or strengthening national identity, in order to make it more inclusive of the Northern Ireland community.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

No such request has been made. The UK Government has committed £50 million of Capital Financial Transactions funding to redevelop Casement Park. We will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to provide support. However, it is up to the Executive to design and implement the Financial Transaction in developing the stadium in partnership with the GAA

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the £50 million of funding they have committed to the Gaelic Athletic Association for the redevelopment of the Casement Park stadium has any clawback or repayment conditions attached.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

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.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide funding for association football in Northern Ireland, following the decision to contribute £50 million for the redevelopment of Casement Park.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government wants to see infrastructure in Northern Ireland for all sports. That is why we have invested, between 2021-2025, over £12 million of UK Government funding through the Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund, the Levelling Up Fund, and the Community Ownership Fund to improve and refurbish grassroots football facilities. The Government has also provided £5.1 million to Ulster Rugby for its Club Capital Improvement Project, to upgrade thirty rugby clubs under Ulster Rugby’s remit. And, between 2022-2025, the Government has invested over £30 million through the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Ownership Fund into a range of other sports and leisure facilities, including the redevelopment of Dundonald Ice Bowl in Belfast, the construction of Ballycastle Leisure Centre, and the construction of Canal Boxing Academy Sports Hub in Lisburn.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently met with Gerard Lawlor, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Football League, and Patrick Nelson, the Chief Executive of the Irish Football Association, to discuss football funding and other related matters.

The Culture Secretary confirmed on 19 June that work is continuing with the Home Nation football associations and devolved administrations to develop a bid for the UK to host the Women’s FIFA World Cup in 2035.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of bluetongue disease in cattle and sheep in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many currently used veterinary medicine products will not be available in Northern Ireland following the Windsor Framework proposals taking effect on 31 December.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks made at the Glastonbury Festival by the bands Kneecap and Bob Vylan; whether they have had discussions about this with (1) the BBC, and (2) the organisers of the Festival; and what steps, if any, they are taking in response.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

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.