Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Year Two Fees for the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme will be published.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Illustrative pEPR fees for Year 2 (2026/27) were published on Gov.uk in December 2025. PackUK intends to publish confirmed fees for Year 2 and issue Notices of Liabilities to liable producers by the end of November 2026. This follows the final deadline of 1 September 2026 for producers to submit any corrections to their data, so that invoices and fees can be calculated.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to WPQ17732, to provide detail on how many occasions UK Border Force have used these powers in Northern Ireland; to include (a) the number of vehicle searches (b) number of bus/coach inspections and (c) the number of maritime boardings.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose location specific staffing information, as to do so could compromise operational effectiveness. Resources in Northern Ireland, including Inland Immigration Enforcement, form part of a wider UK-wide operational model, with deployments kept under continual review in response to intelligence, risk and operational demand. As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes - away from the land border.
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 UK Border Force Officers are permanently deployed in Northern Ireland and how many officers are dedicated to inland immigration enforcement.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose location specific staffing information, as to do so could compromise operational effectiveness. Resources in Northern Ireland, including Inland Immigration Enforcement, form part of a wider UK-wide operational model, with deployments kept under continual review in response to intelligence, risk and operational demand. As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes - away from the land border.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 15 July to Question 17732 on Immigration Controls, how many illegal entrants have been detected using these powers in Northern Ireland; how many have subsequently been detained; and how many have subsequently been deported.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose location specific staffing information, as to do so could compromise operational effectiveness. Resources in Northern Ireland, including Inland Immigration Enforcement, form part of a wider UK-wide operational model, with deployments kept under continual review in response to intelligence, risk and operational demand. As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes - away from the land border.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to WPQ17732, how many occasions these powers have been used within 3 miles of the land border between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose location specific staffing information, as to do so could compromise operational effectiveness. Resources in Northern Ireland, including Inland Immigration Enforcement, form part of a wider UK-wide operational model, with deployments kept under continual review in response to intelligence, risk and operational demand. As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes - away from the land border.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to WPQ17732, to detail on how many occasions these powers have been exercised jointly with PSNI in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is longstanding Home Office policy to not disclose location specific staffing information, as to do so could compromise operational effectiveness. Resources in Northern Ireland, including Inland Immigration Enforcement, form part of a wider UK-wide operational model, with deployments kept under continual review in response to intelligence, risk and operational demand. As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland. The UK does, however, operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes - away from the land border.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will extend energy energy support for manufacturers to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Every business in the country has paid the price of Britain’s dependence on foreign fossil fuel markets. The government is closely monitoring the impact of energy prices on businesses following the instability in the Middle East. The Chancellor confirmed in May that any support would be targeted at those businesses most exposed.
We are taking immediate action on high electricity prices through the Business and Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. The Northern Ireland Executive will receive funding to deliver an equivalent programme to BICS, subject to business case development.
We are continuing to develop policies to bring down electricity costs relative to gas for the non-domestic sector and intend to consult on options to reduce costs and make low-carbon heat the economically rational choice. Our intention is for any future support scheme to be available UK-wide, creating a common framework for incentivising electrification and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the introduction of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme to Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress to establish the arrangements for a comparable scheme.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
As energy policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will not directly extend to Northern Ireland.
However, the UK Government will provide funding to the Northern Ireland Executive to enable them to implement their own comparable scheme to support Northern Ireland businesses. Parameters for this support have been outlined to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Department for the Economy, and funding will be released following the standard approval of a business case demonstrating equivalent support for eligible businesses.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential merits of excluding glass from the Welsh Deposit Return Scheme, to align with the schemes in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government has engaged extensively with the devolved governments and stakeholders on the development of the Deposit Return Schemes across the UK, including proposals relating to the inclusion of glass in the Welsh scheme.
The decision to agree an exclusion under the UK Internal Market Act 2020 allowing Wales to include single-use glass in its Deposit Return Scheme reflects a proportionate approach to managing the UK internal market and balancing environmental and economic considerations, whilst respecting devolved decision-making.
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 third country asylum applications have been handled in Northern Ireland in each of the last 5 calendar years, following the applicants having been in the UK for 6 months and 1 day.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
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.
The safety and security of the United Kingdom is this government’s top priority. We work closely with the Irish government to stop illegal migrants and foreign national offenders exploiting the Common Travel Area.