Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
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, 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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
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 change has there been in diagnosis rates for genetic haemochromatosis during the past three years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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.