Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many requests have been (a) made by the ICRIR to An Garda Síochána since their establishment and (b) answered.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) is an independent body. As such, the Government does not hold this operational information and the Right Honourable Gentleman may wish to request it from the Commission directly.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to conduct a further assessment of potential site disposal across his Department.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 27 March 2025, the Government announced a new taskforce to deliver thousands of homes on surplus public land, with Defence land becoming a ‘trailblazer’ for the new partnership approach to development. This is an opportunity for all parts of the country, helping meet the Government’s ambition for 1.5 million homes.
As part of this, the Defence Secretary has identified the long-term capacity on surplus Ministry of Defence (MOD) land for at least 100,000 homes. Trailblazer sites include a site in Ripon, which was transferred from MOD to Homes England to allow construction at Deverell Barracks to start within 12 months to expedite the delivery of 1,300 homes.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the defence footprint in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Northern Ireland plays a vital role in defending the UK, from building the new Fleet Solid Support ships that will enable carrier group operations across the globe, through to manufacturing advanced weaponry used by our Armed Forces and allies, as demonstrated by the £1.6 billion contract with Thales the for Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM).
Defence and security requirements dictate the defence footprint in Northern Ireland and we review this regularly. More broadly we are working to launch a Defence Growth Deal that will invest in targeted interventions to support the defence industry in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any guidance exists for each Constabulary on the number of candidates they recommend to the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme in any given year to assist with professional development and succession in leadership.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.
Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.
The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many candidates from Police Service Northern Ireland successfully completed the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.
Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.
The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many candidates from Police Service Northern Ireland have attended the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.
Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.
The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.
Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.
The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police constabulary referred the (a) highest and (b) lowest number of candidates across the UK to the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.
Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.
The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sites earmarked for disposal in Better Defence Estate 2016 have been sold; and when those sites were sold.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Of the sites earmarked for disposal under Better Defence Estate 2016, 31 sites were released for alternative use between 2016 and 2025.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which sites earmarked for disposal in Better Defence Estate 2016 remain unsold.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Following the 2020 Integrated Review, Spending Reviews, and Future Soldier announcements, 32 of the sites earmarked for disposal under Better Defence Estate 2016 are awaiting disposal following completion of reprovision works.