Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recommencement of processing settlement applications from Syrians.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 14 July 2025, we published updated country information which enabled decision making to resume on Syrian asylum and settlement protection claims. Where an applicant arrived in the UK via the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, we will proceed straight to considering a grant of indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Claimants will be required to meet the relevant validity (i.e. apply on the relevant form and establish their identity) and suitability requirements (i.e. consideration of any criminals' convictions) of the settlement protection policy.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on managing applications from Syrians who entered the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 14 July 2025, we published updated country information which enabled decision making to resume on Syrian asylum and settlement protection claims. Where an applicant arrived in the UK via the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, we will proceed straight to considering a grant of indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Claimants will be required to meet the relevant validity (i.e. apply on the relevant form and establish their identity) and suitability requirements (i.e. consideration of any criminals' convictions) of the settlement protection policy.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding Ofcom has received year on year since the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023; the current number of staff allocated to leading investigations; and what assessment she has made of whether the current level of funding adequately meets the need and demand of developments in technologies and their harms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom has received approximately £281.3 million in online safety funding since 2020, including a projected £92 million for 2025/26, up from £71 million in 2024/25. This uplift reflects Ofcom’s increased duties as implementation of the Act progresses. In 2025/26, Ofcom has 556 Full-time equivalent staff working on online safety across its teams. Its staffing model allows resources to be deployed dynamically across teams to meet evolving demands.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish the UK-US pharmaceutical deal.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In December 2025 we agreed a landmark deal with the US that results in 0% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US for 3 years – the lowest rate offered to any country. As you’d expect, there will now be further work to finalise underpinning details.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the spending review period are expected to be around £1bn. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 January 2026 on Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes, whether the changes announced will apply to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Technology Secretary announced on 12 January that the offence criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images would be commenced as a matter of urgency. This offence will apply in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own, separate offences for dealing with image-based abuse.
It was also announced that the offence would be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act (OSA), meaning that services will need to take steps to prevent this content appearing online and swiftly remove it if it does. The OSA applies to any relevant service that is ‘linked to the UK’.