Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential benefits derived to Northern Ireland people and businesses from the Belfast Office operational since December 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury has not made a standalone assessment of the benefits of the HMRC Belfast office, but having an operational presence in Belfast supports access to HMRC services, engagement with local businesses and stakeholders, and the effective administration of the tax system in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to ensure that in instances where serious injury or death results from the distribution of illegal substances, the distribution itself is made an offence directly linked to the injury or death.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no plans to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”) in this way. The maximum sentences for unlawful supply of controlled drugs under the 1971 Act are life imprisonment, a fine or both for Class A drugs, and 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both for Class B and C drugs. The classification of drugs under the 1971 Act is broadly based on harm, so longer sentences are available for those drugs considered the most harmful.
When considering the appropriate sentence for a person who has been convicted for supply offences under the 1971 Act, in addition to any statutory aggravating factors, judges may consider a range of factors. In England and Wales these are set out in sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council. These can be found at this link:
Factors increasing the seriousness of an offence, which may result in a longer sentence, include exposing a drug user to the risk of serious harm over and above that expected by the user, exposing those involved in drug dealing to the risk of serious harm and exposing third parties to the risk of serious harm. These factors are not exhaustive and judges may consider other factors, including those raised in victim personal statements.
In Northern Ireland judges rely on caselaw when considering sentencing in the Crown Court. Relevant caselaw can be found here: https://www.judiciaryni.uk/judiciary-decision-types/type/drug-offences-39.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does he expect to be able to reply to WPQ 117245 tabled on 3rd March 2026.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 March 2026 to Question 117245.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the change in the proportion of NHS GP's that are female between 2015 and 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the proportion of female full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) between September 2015 and September 2025, broken down by GP role:
GP type | September 2015 (%) | September 2025 (%) | Change (%) |
All doctors in GPs | 46.1 | 52.8 | 6.7 |
GP partners | 36.9 | 42.4 | 5.5 |
Salaried GPs | 65.9 | 65.7 | -0.2 |
GPs in training grades | 60.2 | 52.8 | -7.5 |
GP retainers | 89.8 | 76.3 | -13.4 |
GP regular locums | 33.6 | 46.2 | 12.5 |
Notes:
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does he expect the next phase of the review of the UK Foundation programme to be concluded.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The first phase of The Medical Training Review has concluded. Phase 1 identified key challenges and areas for improvement across postgraduate medical training, including for foundation training, alongside what currently works well. The Phase 1 diagnostic report can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/the-medical-training-review-phase-1-diagnostic-report/
Phase 2, which is already underway, will involve working with a wide range of stakeholders across the system to design a package of reform.
NHS England is also conducting a review of the Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) method, which was introduced in 2024 as the process for allocating applicants to the UK Foundation Programme to foundation schools.
Timelines for Phase 2 of the postgraduate medical training review and the PIA review will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to support people who have requested help and information on detransitioning.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working with NHS England to implement the recommendations from the Cass Review to ensure everyone gets the high-quality care they need. This includes setting up a clinical pathway and provision for people considering detransition.
Following engagement with those with lived experience, on 30 October 2025, NHS England published a call for evidence on a clinical pathway for adults who have previously undergone a gender transition and who wish to detransition to bring together professional opinion. The call for evidence closed on 28 December 2025.
NHS England is considering all relevant feedback that was submitted. It will collate views, evidence, and insights into a summary evidence report.
NHS England will use this evidence, together with other intelligence and further engagement, to begin to define a clinical pathway which will be tested through further stakeholder engagement and public consultation later this year.
While we work to establish this clinical pathway, patients who need the support of the NHS are encouraged to speak directly with healthcare professionals, including GPs and mental health services.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has held with the Metropolitan Police on the advisability of allowing the proposed Al Quds parade to take place in London on March 15, in the context of the current security situation in the Middle East.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, wrote to the Home Secretary on 9 March requesting her consent to an order under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986 to prohibit processions and counter-processions in relation to Al Quds Day.
The Home Secretary approved the order, to prevent serious public disorder. The Government’s foremost duty is the protection of its citizens, and this includes ensuring the safety of participants at the protest and counter-protests, as well as the wider public.
A decision to prohibit protests under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986 is exceptional. This power is used rarely and only where the legal threshold is met. The Metropolitan Police were clear that imposing conditions would not be sufficient to manage the risks in this case.
The decision reflects the unique circumstances this year, including the scale of the planned march, multiple counter-protests, and heightened tensions linked to events in the Middle East.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects to announce the Partnership Contingent Decision route in connection with the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The CSPS launched the Contingent Decision process for members who opted out of the scheme in July 2025. However, the process for members who switched to the Partnership pension scheme involves additional complexity, requiring the reconciliation of contributions between defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements. Planning is underway to define the process and timeline, and we aim to open the process later in 2026.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the change in the bowel screening age to 50 on rates of diagnosis of prostate cancer.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is committed to improving cancer screening services in line with the National Cancer Plan and as part of the 10-Year Health Plan’s shift from treatment to prevention. The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of lowering bowel cancer screening age to 50 years old on prostate cancer diagnoses as these are two separate conditions.
The Government is advised on all screening matters by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which is made up of leading medical and screening experts. Where the Committee is confident that to offer screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.
The National Health Service’s bowel screening programme in England was recently extended from people aged between 60 and 74 years old to those aged between 50 and 74 years old. This aligns with the evidence of where the screening programme can do the most good with the least harm caused. Harm can include increased anxiety, misdiagnosis, over diagnosis, where unnecessary and invasive follow up tests are offered, or unnecessary treatment.
Bowel cancer screening uses home tests called the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). FIT test was introduced into the bowel screening pathway with a sensitivity threshold of 120 micrograms per gram. The screening programme is currently in the process of improving the FIT sensitivity by moving it to 80 micrograms per gram. This will be rolled out gradually by 2028, to ensure colonoscopy capacity required is available.
When FIT80 is fully rolled out, an additional 700 bowel cancers and 2000 pre-cancerous polyps will be detected per year.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121703 on Fuel Oil: Northern Ireland, if he make an estimate of the number of homes in each Northern Ireland constituency that currently rely on oil central heating, given the continuing situation in the Middle East.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 23 March 2026 to Question UIN 121703 which provides the most recent data for the number of homes that use central heating oil in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency.