Gavin Robinson

The Joint Committee has been working on the many difficulties presented to the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol by the EU’s decision to activate Article 16 on 29 January. There are outstanding issues to be resolved and we have taken temporary operational steps to avoid disruption to everyday life. We remain committed to working within the Joint Committee process to find solutions.

All guidance on duty free arrangements for Northern Ireland traders has been published, and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods.

The information requested is not held centrally. It could be held across a very wide range of paper files and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Under the Public Records Act, the records from 1997-1999 will be reviewed and transferred to The National Archives by 2022.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe consumer products can be sold in the UK, including through online marketplaces. Product safety legislation places obligations on distributors to act with due care to ensure products they are selling are safe and this includes online retailers selling goods via marketplaces.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) continues to engage with major online marketplaces to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe products. This includes developing a new voluntary commitment for online marketplaces to agree actions they will take to reduce the risks from unsafe products, including white goods subject to recall, being sold online, enabling them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the safety of their consumers in the UK.

In order to ensure that the UK’s Product Safety framework is flexible and fit for the future, the OPSS is conducting a review. The review will ensure we have a framework that delivers safety for consumers while supporting businesses to innovate and grow and will consider the impact on product safety of non-traditional business models, including third-party sales conducted via online marketplaces.

The OPSS is currently running a Call for Evidence that is open until 3 June to ensure a wide range of views and evidence are gathered: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe consumer products can be sold in the UK, including through online marketplaces. Product safety legislation places obligations on distributors to act with due care to ensure products they are selling are safe and this includes online retailers selling goods via marketplaces.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) continues to engage with major online marketplaces to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe products. This includes developing a new voluntary commitment for online marketplaces to agree actions they will take to reduce the risks from unsafe products, including white goods subject to recall, being sold online, enabling them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the safety of their consumers in the UK.

In order to ensure that the UK’s Product Safety framework is flexible and fit for the future, the OPSS is conducting a review. The review will ensure we have a framework that delivers safety for consumers while supporting businesses to innovate and grow and will consider the impact on product safety of non-traditional business models, including third-party sales conducted via online marketplaces.

The OPSS is currently running a Call for Evidence that is open until 3 June to ensure a wide range of views and evidence are gathered: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence.

The Government remains committed to the ambition set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, that as many homes as possible are improved to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective, and affordable.

At the Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer provided up to £50m for a UK-wide Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Demonstrator, to support jobs, improve energy efficiency and reduce bills for social tenants whilst demonstrating the benefits of the Whole House Retrofit approach to reduce costs overall. At the recent spending review the chancellor announced £60 million in 2021/22 for the SHDF in England.

The Government has also recently published the Social Housing White Paper where we committed to review the Decent Homes Standard to consider how it can better support the decarbonisation and energy efficiency of social homes. This will apply to England only, with the Devolved Administrations setting their own standards in social housing.

The aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with over £8.5 billion worth of support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development (R&D), loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports over the next 18 months.

The amount is made up of support across the Covid Credit Financing Facility (£2.7 billion), expected UK Export Finance support for aerospace and its aviation customers (£5.5 billion) and R&D support for aerospace (across 3 years over £500 million).

We will continue to back businesses strongly through the Covid-19 pandemic and as we return to growth.

As stated previously, the Government is providing over £6 billion of support to the aviation and aerospace sectors. UK Export Finance expects to support £3.5 billion of aerospace exports over the next 18 months, up sharply from £1.15 billion over the past two financial years.

Under the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Finance Facility, £2.16 billion of loans have been made to airlines and aerospace companies affected by a short-term funding squeeze.

We are also providing support over the next three years for research on the next generation of aerospace technologies, through £450 million of Aerospace Technology Institute programme funding, as well as £70 million through the Future Flight programme.

As outlined in my Written Ministerial Statement of 7 June, the Secretary of State has appointed Malcolm Sheehan QC to lead the independent review of the Football Index gambling product and we have published its scope and terms of reference on gov.uk. That independent review is underway and is expected to provide a report for publication in the summer. The statement can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-06-07/hcws63

The Government has made clear that it does not intend to proceed with Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry. This decision was reached following a public consultation and having taken into account all of the views and evidence submitted. Reopening the inquiry is no longer appropriate, proportionate, or in the public interest. This position was reiterated in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry. Today, our press is facing new and critical challenges that threaten its livelihood and sustainability.

The Inquiry and subsequent police investigations were comprehensive. More than 300 people gave evidence to the Inquiry, and over 40 people were convicted during the three major investigations. There have been extensive reforms to policing practices as well as significant changes to press self-regulation.

There now exists a strengthened, independent, self-regulatory system for the press. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. A number of smaller publishers have joined IMPRESS.

As my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19. Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current 2019/20 academic year.

To provide further support, we have worked closely with the Office for Students to enable providers to draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and to support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers will be able to use the funding – worth around £23 million per month for April and May - towards student hardship funds, including for the purchase of IT equipment and mental health support.

The government encourages universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.

The government guidance makes clear that tenants should continue to pay rent and abide by all other terms of their tenancy agreement to the best of their ability during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, published on 11 May, sets out a cautious roadmap to ease existing measures in a safe and measured way. The strategy allows for certain necessary travel if people take precautions.

In light of this, we are developing guidance on students travelling to and from student accommodation and this will be published today.

We have made clear meanwhile that we do not believe that students should be fined for failing to collect their belongings if this is because they are complying with the government’s travel advice.

If a student has asked their accommodation provider to store their belongings for collection once the COVID-19 lockdown period is over, there may be costs to the provider associated in carrying out this service. We would not expect a provider to make a profit from such a service.

The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS) will apply only to England. AGOSS constitutes new spend for the Department for Transport and Barnett consequentials will apply as standard.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Transport have held extensive discussions about the effect of travel corridors on the aerospace sector?with their counterparts across Government, including in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

BEIS is a member of the Global Travel Taskforce, which is tasked with considering robust and sustainable proposals that will facilitate safer international travel.

Specialist aerospace engineers and specialist workers responsible for ensuring the safe operation of aircraft are exempt from self-isolation measures.

Additionally, Department for Transport officials are working closely with BEIS officials as part of the Aerospace Growth Partnership Group.

The Clean Maritime Plan, published in July 2019, is the environmental route map of the Maritime 2050 Strategy, outlining the UK’s pathway to zero carbon emissions in domestic maritime. In launching the Clean Maritime Plan, the UK became one of the first countries to publish a strategy on domestic action to reduce shipping emissions following the agreement of the International Maritime Organization’s initial IMO strategy on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. Government has continued to make good progress in implementing the commitments in the Clean Maritime Plan.

At the end of March 2020, the Government published a document “Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge” kicking off our work on preparing a Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will include further details of the Government plans regarding the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Following extensive consultation, the Transport Decarbonisation Plan will be published later this year.

The use of face coverings on public transport is mandatory in both Northern Ireland and England. Guidance for both Northern Ireland and England can be found at: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-face-coverings and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own.

Some circumstances make it difficult for certain people to wear face coverings.

If a passenger has a condition which means they cannot wear a face covering they only need to say, if asked, that they cannot wear a face covering because they are exempt.

The reasons for a person not wearing a face covering may not always be visible.

It was an error to not include Northern Ireland in the list of options in response to the question “What region do you live in?”. I apologise for this error, which was not a purposeful omission. The question was part of the demographic information which was not a mandatory field and did not prevent responses to other questions being provided.

The online public feedback opportunity welcomed responses from across the United Kingdom, and was one of a number of ways people have fed into the development of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. Department for Transport officials regularly engage with counterparts from the Northern Ireland Executive, who participated in recent workshops on decarbonising transport.

The £20 per week uplift to everyone on Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021.

The lower rates for younger claimants under 25 years reflects the fact that they are more likely to live in someone else's household and have lower living costs and lower earnings expectations. It also reinforces the stronger work incentives that Universal Credit creates for this age group which have been aided by the Department’s £2bn Kickstart scheme which is already creating thousands of high-quality jobs for young people.

For claimants who live independently, Universal Credit already includes separate elements to provide support for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for disabled people and carers.

Care leavers up to the age of 22 are exempt from the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) Shared Accommodation Rate and are entitled to the higher, one bed LHA rate.

For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in DHPs to local authorities to support households with their housing costs.

The temporary Universal Credit Standard Allowance uplift was introduced to support those facing the most financial disruption due to the pandemic. There are no plans to extend the uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future.

Vaccination status is not requested when an individual reports the result of a lateral flow test they have taken in England via GOV.UK. However, there may be other instances where an individual is asked to provide details of their vaccination status. This information is requested in order to understand the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, including the effectiveness against different strains and variants of the virus and, where appropriate, to ask individuals to complete a repeat test.

The information requested on the number of number of women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome is not collected in the format requested. In our earlier answer of 7 November 2016, we provided the number of finished admission episodes (FAE) where the patient is female and a primary diagnosis for polycystic ovary syndrome was made in England. It should be noted that a FAE does not reflect the number of women who have had the syndrome as the same patient can be recorded on more than one occasion. In addition, diagnoses for this condition can occur in non-hospital settings, which is not recorded in this data.

The following table shows FAE activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector in each year from 2015-16 to 2019-2020.

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital

The Department continues to closely monitor the evidence on ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 from clinical trials taking place worldwide. On 23 June 2021, ivermectin was entered into the University of Oxford’s United Kingdom PRINCIPLE clinical trial as a potential treatment for COVID-19 in the community. We await the outcome from this trial early next year.

The Department has worked with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England, Health Education England and other delivery organisations to allocate £500 million of additional funding in 2021-22 to nationally-led programmes and local authority areas. The funding is enabling prevention and promotion activities in local authorities, expanding capacity across specialist mental health services, and training and developing the mental health workforce, in line with the commitments made in the recovery plan.

These programmes are being monitored through a Mental Health Recovery Board established to complement the existing governance of the NHS Long Term Plan commitments for mental health. The cross-Government actions in the recovery plan are monitored through the Mental Health Independent Advisory Oversight Group and the Ministerial Mental Health and Wellbeing Task and Finish Group on a quarterly basis.

This data is not held centrally.

The UK strongly condemns the brutal violence inflicted by the regime on the city of Daraa al-Balad, particularly the assault launched after the agreement of a ceasefire on 1 September and the ongoing deaths of civilians, including children. We remain alarmed by the continued humanitarian crisis and we call on all parties to avoid further death and displacement and adhere to the ceasefire, which resumed on 6 September. We further call for the regime and its backers to urgently grant humanitarian access to the UN and humanitarian actors for civilians trapped in Daraa, and we urge that the UN work to ensure effective provision of basic life-saving items such as food, water and medical assistance which remains in short supply there.

The Government remains extremely concerned about all dual British nationals detained in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees. The safety and security of dual British national detainees in Iran is of paramount importance, and we call on Iran to uphold its commitments under international law to treat all detainees in line with international standards. We continue to urge the Iranian Government immediately to release all British-Iranian nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran to enable them to return to their families in the UK. We continue to raise these cases at the most senior levels and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. We continue to raise Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case at the most senior levels, and discuss it at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports of widespread violence during recent protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including horrific reports of protestors being killed. We are following events closely and offer condolences to the families of those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. I also tweeted on 21 October to urge the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. The British High Commissioner in Abuja has raised the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government. I expressed my concern over recent violence in Nigeria to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October.

The Nigerian security services must uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations, investigate any incidents of brutality towards civilians and hold those responsible to account. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to support justice, accountability and a more responsive policing model in Nigeria.

The UK Government has made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting human rights for all. We encourage all parties to work together to enable the people of Nigeria to exercise their rights safely, peacefully and in line with the rule of law. On 6 July, the Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. This sanctions regime gives the UK a powerful new tool to target individuals involved in serious human rights violations or abuses. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.

The Government always represents the interests of the Falkland Islands robustly, particularly in relation to supporting the Islands' exports to the EU, and elsewhere. The Government is confident that a viable and profitable trading relationship between the Falkland Islands and the EU will continue after the transition period.

The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help.

The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 410,075 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,010 compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £220,406. The Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review.

The government is committed to maintaining the UK’s position a world-leading destination for fintech.

In line with this ambition, the Government is taking forward key recommendations of the independent Kalifa Review of UK Fintech as part of ensuring the UK remains at the global cutting edge of technology and innovation in financial services.

Government funding for future years will be confirmed as part of the Spending Review which will be announced on 27th October.

The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.

The Government also announced a significant change in access to the SEISS. Basing the fourth and fifth grants on 2019-20 Self Assessment tax returns means more than 600,000 people are brought into scope who either became self-employed in 2019-20; or were ineligible for previous grants, but now may be eligible for the fourth grant on the basis of submitting their 2019-20 tax return.

Using these returns requires time to deliver, due to the increased population and new data. In order to allow HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) time to process 2019-20 tax returns it has not been possible to invite applications or open the claims service earlier.

Individuals must have submitted their 2019-20 tax return by 2 March to be considered for the SEISS. This date balances access for the vast majority of eligible self-employed individuals, with the duty to protect the taxpayer against fraud as the details of the SEISS grants became public.

HMRC will open the online claims service for the fourth SEISS grant from late April 2021 and expects to notify potentially eligible people of their personal claim date from mid-April.

The SEISS is just one part of a wider package of support for the self-employed, including Restart Grants, the Recovery Loan scheme, business rates relief, and other business support schemes.

Introducing a zero rate of VAT would come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, estimated at about £4 billion per year, which would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, higher borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere. While the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to change the VAT treatment of the repair and renovation of buildings.A

The Government has carefully considered the arguments for extending the Self-Assessment filing date from 31 January and has decided on balance not to do so. The January deadline has been in place for many years and changing it could undermine customer understanding and trust in how the Self-Assessment system works. However, the Government recognises that some taxpayers will have difficulty submitting their Self-Assessment return due to the impact COVID-19 has had on their personal or business circumstances.

HMRC do not charge penalties for failure to submit a return on time where taxpayers have a reasonable excuse. HMRC’s guidance explains that they will accept the impact of COVID-19 as a reasonable excuse for submitting a return late, provided that taxpayers explain how they were affected and submit the return as soon as they can. More information is available in the HMRC online guidance covering the reasonable excuse provisions.

Once they have submitted their return, taxpayers who are unable to pay all of their Self-Assessment tax due on 31 January can access HMRC’s enhanced Time to Pay arrangements. These allow liabilities of up to £30,000 – increased from £10,000 – to be paid in up to 12 instalments without having to contact HMRC beforehand.

The latest information in respect of advice for visa holders can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents. This is kept under review.

The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak. We recognise that further adjustments are likely to be required to cater for all scenarios, and we are working through these, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.

The Home Office have not currently suspended asylum case decision making. Following health advice and government guidance we temporarily suspected evictions for asylum seekers who had a decision on their claim and continued to support them.

We have been engaging with the NI Executive on asylum matters through the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to do so.

A comprehensive cessation plan, on how to recommence support cessations and evictions is being worked through with discussions with Local Authorities, Other Government Departments and Stakeholders.

We remain committed to working closely with the accommodation providers and communicating with local authorities to relieve pressure and capacity as much as possible and ensure that health guidance is being followed.

The Home Office have not currently suspended asylum case decision making. Following health advice and government guidance we temporarily suspected evictions for asylum seekers who had a decision on their claim and continued to support them.

We have been engaging with the NI Executive on asylum matters through the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to do so.

A comprehensive cessation plan, on how to recommence support cessations and evictions is being worked through with discussions with Local Authorities, Other Government Departments and Stakeholders.

We remain committed to working closely with the accommodation providers and communicating with local authorities to relieve pressure and capacity as much as possible and ensure that health guidance is being followed.

As set out in the announcement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 27 April, family members of NHS workers who die as a result of contracting Coronavirus (Covid-19) will receive £60,000.

The Home Secretary has also confirmed the Home Office will grant Indefinite Leave to Remain to family members of migrant NHS workers who die as a result of contracting Coronavirus (Covid-19).

The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak, full details of which are published on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents.

These are unprecedented times and we may make further adjustments to requirements where necessary and appropriate, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.

As the Rented Living Accommodation Project Tender is still an ongoing procurement, we are unable to provide any detail on the possible outcomes or next steps as to do so would prejudice our commercial position.

The Ministry of Defence is currently conducting a commercial competition for Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier dry-docking periods, with work ongoing to identify a preferred bidder. This process is expected to conclude in early 2022, with the first dry-docking period planned for 2023.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar), on 16 April 2021, in response to Question number 174726.

The Ministry of Defence has a number of contracts for clothing, uniforms and personal protective clothing with a number of suppliers, but also procures items through local procurement arrangements. Details of the spend on items of clothing, uniform and personal protective clothing in each year since 2015 are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Responses from the single Services are as follows:

Naval Service

Army

Recruiting Year 2019-20

Royal Air Force

Recruiting Year 2019-20

Note:

The figures include applications processed via the Defence Recruiting System and all completed applications prior to initial eligibility vetting but do not include in-progress applications. Candidates who have been rejected or withdrawn their applications can reapply.

The Planning White Paper consultation closed on 29 October 2020, and we are currently considering the responses. My Department is undertaking further detailed policy development on individual elements of the proposals. Policy developed as part of these reforms will apply to England only.

The existing National Planning Policy Framework expects local authorities to prioritise brownfield land, which includes land containing existing buildings, for development wherever possible. Local authorities are best placed to assess the potential of individual sites, and each authority is required to publish a register of its developable brownfield suitable for new homes.

Any vandalism or attack on property should be met with the full force of the law. Attacking any memorial is an insult, and this is particularly true of a war memorial commemorating those who have given their lives fighting for our freedom.

The Government is currently reviewing the law in this area to ensure that where memorials are damaged or desecrated the courts are able to sentence appropriately at every level for this particular type of offending.

The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of prosecutions and convictions in England & Wales up to December 2019. This data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx

Select the pull down for ‘Detailed Offence’, and in the field search bar type ‘psychoactive substance’ and select all the options that appear.

The total number of prosecutions and convictions under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 in each year since 2016 can be found in row 31 and row 32 of the pivot table, respectively.

To identify the number of prosecutions and convictions specifically for use of nitrous oxide under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 would require a manual search of court records as this level of detail (specific substance) is not held within the courts proceedings database; which would be of disproportionate cost.

The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of prosecutions and convictions in England & Wales up to December 2019. This data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx

Select the pull down for ‘Detailed Offence’, and in the field search bar type ‘psychoactive substance’ and select all the options that appear.

The total number of prosecutions and convictions under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 in each year since 2016 can be found in row 31 and row 32 of the pivot table, respectively.

To identify the number of prosecutions and convictions specifically for use of nitrous oxide under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 would require a manual search of court records as this level of detail (specific substance) is not held within the courts proceedings database; which would be of disproportionate cost.

On 16 July 2020, we published the Government response to the consultation on same-sex religious marriage in Northern Ireland; the same day the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 were laid in Parliament to provide for same-sex religious marriage in Northern Ireland from 1 September 2020.

The Government response can be accessed on nio.gov.uk and outlines the background to the consultation, including the relevant legal powers of the Government to change the law, analysis undertaken for each question asked in the consultation and what the regulations provide.

The Government remains committed to delivering conversion entitlements regulations and publishing the Government response to that consultation as soon as possible before the end of 2020.

The Government is still carefully analysing the submissions received in response to both consultations. We appreciate the input of the individuals and organisations who took the time to respond.

The Government responses to the consultations on same-sex religious marriage and conversion entitlements will be published in due course.

We do not hold the information requested. As noted in the answer of 10 February 2020, the recall of individuals released on a life licence is primarily a matter for the Department of Justice (DoJ), who hold all the information requested, including data dated before 2010.

Since the devolution of policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2010, the recall of individuals released on a life licence, further to Section 9 of the Life Sentences (NI) Order 2001, has been a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, except where this relates to national security. The Department of Justice shall be able to provide details relating to the number of licences revoked.

Section 8 of the NI (Sentences) Act 1998 relates to the revocation of a declaration by the Sentence Review Commissioners that a prisoner is eligible for release. To date, two declarations have been revoked under this provision since 1998.