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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when did the Inter Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last meet: and what agenda items were discussed.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Inter-Ministerial Group for EFRA met on 24 November. The group discussed the following agenda items: water quality and collaboration on nutrient management; the Fisheries and Coastal Growth Fund; funding; the EU-UK SPS agreement; CO2 Supplies and Defra Food Strategy. A communique will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on linking America250 initiatives to transatlantic tourism promotion focused on Ulster migration and maritime heritage in the North West of Northern Ireland.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS recognises the significant cultural and historical ties between Northern Ireland and the United States as we approach the America250 in 2026.

While tourism is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, DCMS maintains a regular dialogue with Ministerial counterparts through the Interministerial Group for Tourism. This forum will provide a valuable opportunity to discuss how America250 can be leveraged to drive economic growth and tourism across all parts of the United Kingdom.

VisitBritain is the national tourist board for Britain, it has a statutory duty to promote England, Scotland, and Wales as a destination to international visitors. As set out in the Good Friday Agreement, tourism is an area of North-South co-operation, as such the promotion of destinations across the Island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, falls under the remit of Tourism Ireland. VisitBritain has a strong relationship with both the travel trade and tourist board in Northern Ireland, and regularly work together on joint funded projects and activity such as trade missions.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of people whose ongoing living is in unconventional accommodation such as a vehicle or shed between 2020 and 2025.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Housing and homelessness is devolved. This government inherited a homelessness crisis in England. Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out a credible plan to get back on track to ending homelessness in England.

Our strategy will address the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, reforming renters’ rights, and tackling poverty. We will support councils and public services to shift from crisis to prevention setting cross government targets, record levels of investment with £3.5bn for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next 3 years, and new duties on services to work together to prevent homelessness. And we will tackle the worst forms of homelessness by ending the unlawful use of B&Bs for families and halving long term rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering homelessness services in England. The government works closely with local authorities to share and develop good practice in response to changes in patterns of homelessness. This includes the development of new services to assess and support people in unconventional accommodation to resolve their homelessness.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the (a) Northern Ireland Executive and (b) US Semiquincentennial Commission on how Northern Ireland’s status in the America250 programme will be used to promote economic opportunities in areas beyond the Greater Belfast area.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The British Embassy in Washington DC is working with the Northern Ireland Bureau (the Northern Ireland Executive’s diplomatic mission to the US) regarding plans to celebrate the America250 commemoration and the economic opportunities for Northern Ireland within that.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people undertook the Essential Digital Skills qualification in the past two years and how many did not complete the course.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 23,930 aim enrolments and 19,320 aim achievements on Essential Digital Skills qualifications in England by adult further education and skills learners. In the 2023/24, academic year there were 28,430 and 22,310 respectively. These figures are published in additional supporting files accompanying the ’Further education and skills’ accredited official statistics publication and have been available since November 2025. The ‘Further education and skills’ publication is available at:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2024-25.

Aim enrolments and aim achievements are separate measures and should not be used to infer progress within an academic year. Additionally, learners may undertake or achieve more than one learning aim in an academic year.

Achievement rates for Essential Digital Skills qualifications are published in the national achievement rate tables in the ‘Further education and skills’ publication. The latest published data, available since March 2025, covers the 2023/24 academic year in England and is available at:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5137b787-5c7f-41c5-9510-08de4155ee12.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Londonderry and Strabane Council on potential support for programming at the Londonderry North Atlantic (DNA) Maritime Museum.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Responsibility for museums is a devolved matter and support for Northern Ireland’s museums is a matter for the Northern Ireland Communities Minister. I would therefore encourage Derry City and Strabane District Council to discuss support for the programming of the North Atlantic Maritime Museum in Derry/Londonderry with the Minister for Communities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) UK and (b) overseas military and civilian personnel will be routinely employed at the Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation in Reading when it is fully operational.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation (GIGO) is validating and refining its organisational design.

Tri-nation planning for the Organisation includes a workforce of around 500 employees when fully operational. Exact numbers will fluctuate based on the programme requirements. A third of employees will come from each of Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, there will be a mixture of military and civilian employees from each nation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the case of Hasan Ali al-Taraki.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the matured Child Trust Fund accounts which were unclaimed in September 2025 have since been claimed.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold monthly data on the status Child Trust Fund account holders, therefore the requested breakdowns cannot be provided.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the approximate value of the 758,000 matured but unclaimed Child Trust Fund accounts as of September 2025.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The value of funds held in matured Child Trust Fund accounts that have not been claimed or transferred to an ISA can be found in the Child Trust Fund tables of the Annual Savings Statistics. The latest published data is up to 5 April 2025.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2025

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to WPQ 94153, what steps she is taking to help reduce insolvencies in Road Freight Transport companies.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department for Transport officials regularly meet representatives of the road haulage industry, including through the Freight Council and the Road Freight Industry Engagement Group. These discussions are wide ranging and include the market conditions for road freight and cost pressures.

Government measures that support the road freight sector include the extension of the 5 pence cut in fuel duty until the end of August 2026 and for Great Britain, discounts of up to £120,000 on new electric trucks are available thanks to an additional £18m to increase the Plug-in Truck Grant until the end of March 2026. Existing rates apply to Northern Ireland.

The Small Business Plan outlines how the Government will support small and medium sized businesses to grow and thrive across the UK through reforms to tackle late payments; finance to support start-ups and scale ups; removing unnecessary red tape and delivering growth boosting support for Digital and AI Adoption. The new Business Growth Service makes it easier for SMEs to access the right support for any stage of their growth journey.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will hold discussions with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council on additional UK Government support for the Coleraine Future Town Fund.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government’s flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million each to 244 places over the next decade, including Coleraine.

As part of the Pride in Place Programme, the Coleraine Future Town Fund board, and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council as the Accountable Body, are receiving dedicated support from the Communities Delivery Unit in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The Communities Delivery Unit will work with other government departments to identify relevant programmes, data and support for the Coleraine Future Town Fund board, and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, as they develop and deliver their local plans.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the transparency data entitled Returns from the UK and illegal working activity from 5 July 2024 to 4 January 2025, published on 12 January 2026, how many of the enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK were located in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 92954 on Connect Fund: Northern Ireland, whether the unsuccessful applicants to the Connect Fund were offered a meeting to discuss their applications.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Unsuccessful Connect Fund applicants can request feedback on their applications, with the aim of supporting them to re-submit a successful application in a future round of the Connect Fund.

The Northern Ireland Office is running roadshows across Northern Ireland, starting on 12 January and running until 19 January, to promote Year 2 of the Fund, which opened on 7 January and will close on 12 February. The roadshows offer guidance on applications and budget preparation, and provide an opportunity to receive advice on potential application ideas. Roadshow materials will be available on the Connect Fund's webpage in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs were created in the past twelve months through the Support for Maritime Training fund.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are strongly supportive of the Support for Maritime Training fund (SMarT). 680 new cadetships were supported by SMarT in the financial year 2023/24. There are approximately 1500 cadets currently in training.

Statistics for the 2024/25 financial year are expected to be published on 25th February. The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of jobs created through SMarT.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expect to publish details of each implementation project arising from the publication of the cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The cross-government taskforce’s final report highlights the wider range of areas in which government is taking action; including taking steps to address vehicle theft and the cost of repairs. The government will continue to deliver against the actions set out in this report. The departments leading on specific actions are responsible for providing updates on the work being undertaken.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what co-ordination there is between Veterans Commissioners and VALOUR support centres in providing easier access to essential care and support for veterans.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The competition for round one development funding for VALOUR Recognised Centres is currently underway. Once VALOUR Recognised Centres are established, they will be expected to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including Veterans’ Commissioners.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with her Irish counterpart on undertaking joint efforts to identify Russia, Iranian and Venezuelan registered oil tankers in British and Irish waters that may be avoiding sanctions on oil.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK and Ireland continue to discuss how we can improve our security cooperation, including maritime and cyber security. On 3 December, the Foreign Secretary spoke to her counterpart Helen McEntee, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence, about defence, security and other matters.

That follows the commitments made by the Prime Minister and Taoiseach at the UK-Ireland Summit in March 2025 to deepen defence cooperation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 104634 on Global Combat Air Programme, whether he expects the posts in the UK to be filled from existing staff in his Department or external applicants.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Currently, posts for the UK in the Global Combat Air Programme – International Government Organisation (GIGO) are filled primarily by staff from the Ministry of Defence, or other Departments when specific skills are required.

The GIGO Treaty states that Personnel for the GIGO shall primarily be composed of Government officials drawn from the Parties.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when will she respond to the correspondence dated 9 October 2025 from the Hon. Member for East Londonderry.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

A response to the hon. Member for East Londonderry was sent on 19 January 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will review the adequacy of the 7.75% rate of interest chargeable on unpaid income tax after each January deadline.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Late payment interest is charged whenever tax is paid late or paid where amounts have been overpaid.

The interest charged ensures people aren’t encouraged to overpay their tax to secure a higher interest rate than available commercially. It also ensures those paying late don’t get an unfair advantage over those paying on time.

The rates operated by HMRC are linked to the Bank of England Base Rate, with late payment interest set at Base Rate +4% and repayment interest set at Base Rate – 1%.

The rates of interest operated by HMRC are set in legislation following consultation with stakeholders. HMRC does not charge or pay interest for a commercial purpose.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people over 75 self referred for bowel cancer screening in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme plays a vital role in the Government's ambition to change the National Health Service so that it diagnoses earlier and treats faster.

Although people aged 75 years old and over are not routinely invited, they can self-refer and ask for a bowel cancer screening kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline.

In 2023, 132,425 people aged 75 years old and over requested a test kit. Of these, 99% completed the screening test.

In 2024, 99,516 people aged 75 years old and over requested a test kit, with 98% completing the screening test.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether consideration is being given to granting Critical National Priority status to ports across the United Kingdom.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ports play an essential role in the supply chain and in enabling energy developments. The advancement of Critical National Priority (CNP) projects will stimulate ports to meet demand. In practice CNP projects will bring about a demonstrable need for port capacity, and in conjunction with the strong weight attached to the need to service such demand in the National Policy Statement for Ports (NPSP), will provide sufficient priority for port development.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions were calls to HMRC ended before the caller was connected, during January (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Every year, HMRC answers millions of calls. HMRC has published monthly telephony performance data which covers the requested time period. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports

This data includes information about the number of calls received, the number of customers who wanted to speak to an adviser and the proportion of callers that got through to an adviser (adviser attempts handled – AAH).

There are several reasons why somebody calling HMRC may not speak to an adviser – the customer may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time.

Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.

HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the recent announcement by NHS England that a life-extending drug for prostate cancer will shortly be available on the NHS, if he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Health Minister on providing that drug to patients in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Health Minister on abiraterone access in Northern Ireland. Decisions on the availability of medicines in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what change has there been in diagnosis rates for genetic haemochromatosis during the past three years.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England requires the NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs) to report Patient Level Contract Monitoring data, to understand capacity and activity volumes, to ensure that they deliver a comprehensive testing offer. As of December 2023, National Health Service genomic testing activity data has been published on the NHS England website, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/genomic-testing-activity/

NHS England is continuing to work with the NHS GLHs to develop this dataset, including routinely reporting outcome data, to understand changes in diagnosis rates. The most recent data between 2024/25 and 2025/26 shows that the diagnosis rates for genetic hemochromatosis have been consistent. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of this outcome data, including the reporting requirements and improving the informatics systems that support the data collection.

Apprenticeship Week 2026

50th anniversary of the King's Trust

Legacy of British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq

Honour and gratitude for British armed forces

Legacy of British troops in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq

Burns Night 2025 and the legacy of Robert Burns

Sir Norman Stronge and Major James Stronge

Anniversary of Teebane Murders

Darlington nurses tribunal decision

Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Week