Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) she and (b) her officials have had discussions with Natwest Bank on fixed rate loans for small and medium-sized businesses taken out in the 2008 period.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the financial services landscape, and it is important that communication can take place in a free and frank way.

Officials and Ministers frequently engage with NatWest, as one of the UK's largest banks on a range of topics, including matters relating to SME lending.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers were housed in dispersed accommodation in Northern Ireland on 31 December (a) 2022 and (b) 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Only those individuals claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there.

Northern Ireland’s asylum population is proportionate to its population when compared to the UK. There were 1,853 asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation in Northern Ireland on 31 December 2022, and 2,285 on 31 December 2024.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation and by local authority is published on a quarterly basis, the most recent statistics release available is for December 2024. Statistics are available on GOV.UK at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what meetings he has had Northern Ireland based businesses following the publication of guidance for businesses on the new General Product Safety Regulation.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

My officials have been engaging regularly with businesses from across the UK on the updated General Product Safety Regulation in Northern Ireland. Since the guidance for businesses was published, officials have hosted numerous drop-in sessions for businesses, both before and after the Regulation took effect in Northern Ireland. The Department for Business and Trade will be publishing updates to the guidance to provide additional clarity to businesses, reflecting the queries and feedback we have received.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employees from the Trade and Investment Hub in Northern Ireland are working with Invest NI to promote investment before the Open Golf Championship at Royal Portrush in July 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

At end February 2025 DBT had 76 FTE from across the organisation based in our Belfast Hub. There are 10 people working in the trade and investment team, who all work collaboratively with Invest Northern Ireland on a range of events and initiatives throughout the year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of regional disparities in the number of public charging devices for electric vehicles by population.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle.

Chargepoint availability is increasing everywhere with public charging device numbers increasing by 45% in rural areas of England in 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to review the effectiveness of the implementation of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

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

The Government currently has no plans to review the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to reduce the number of car accidents among (a) recently-qualified and (b) young drivers.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads. As work progresses on the new road safety strategy, we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.

My Department’s THINK! campaign aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, and is primarily focused on men aged 17-24. THINK! plays an important role in raising awareness of risky driving behaviours amongst young people. This has recently included campaigns on drink-driving and speeding on rural roads.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on (a) ascertaining a court judgement and (b) informing a relevant local authority in cases where someone who (i) is seeking asylum, (ii) is housed in hotel accommodation and (iii) has been convicted of an offence has been given a non-custodial sentence.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

No specific guidance has been published for the scenario referenced, but the Home Office works closely with our contracted accommodation providers and law enforcement partners to deal with any cases of concern, and we will always do everything necessary to keep local communities safe.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to bring forward any legislative proposals from the first phase of the Pensions Investment Review.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The final report of the Pensions Investment Review, including the policy proposals to be legislated for, will be published in the Spring ahead of the introduction of the Pension Schemes Bill.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to implement the Tobacco and Vapes Bill across all parts of the United Kingdom.

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

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is United Kingdom-wide, and has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Department of Health and Social Care in England will work with the devolved administrations to implement the measures in the bill, including future regulations, once the bill receives Royal Assent.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to change funding committed to the International Development Association.

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

The UK is strongly committed to the International Development Association and its centrality in development finance. The impacts of the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent are still being worked through and we will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of police use of live facial recognition technology.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government supports the police use of live facial recognition technology and will continue to ensure the right balance is struck between ensuring public safety and safeguarding individuals’ rights.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on the development of artificial intelligence models.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Compliance, productivity and familiarisation costs savings of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning reforms in the Data (Use and Access) Bill have been considered and can be found in the indirect benefits and costs sections of the impact assessment (IA). The ethical assessment can also be found in the impact on individuals section. The assessment of the effect on different organisations by size and sector can be found in the small and micro business assessment section of the IA here (particularly, Table 14, 24, 25, 26 & 34).

Grand Central Station, Belfast

Comments made by Kneecap

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke Stress Awareness Month

Incitement of violence against political representatives

Supreme Court ruling on legal definition of a woman

Trevor Magowan

125th anniversary of the Irish Guards

Mothering Sunday for people who lost their sons during The Troubles

Found: March 2025 8 Early Day Motions Open Doors 2025 EDM 641 (session 2024 -25) 15 January 2025 Gregory Campbell