Ian Paisley

I am delighted that, as part of our deal with the EU, we have agreed to associate to Horizon Europe. This represents a valuable collaboration on science and research to tackle global challenges, and in fields that will benefit UK citizens including the people of Northern Ireland.

We recognise the importance that ambition, and a supportive policy framework have had in building investor confidence in the development of low carbon technologies in the UK.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030.

The Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper both set out that the Government, working with industry, aims to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030.

In support of this we have announced a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund for capital co-investment in new low carbon hydrogen production, to bring forward a combination of CCUS-enabled ‘blue’ hydrogen and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen projects. We have also committed to consulting this year on a preferred hydrogen revenue mechanism, which will support private sector investment.

The Government will publish a dedicated Hydrogen Strategy in the first half of this year. This will offer more detail on how we will work with industry to meet the 2030 ambition.

The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.

Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.

UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.

The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.

Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.

UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.

At the time of a marketing authorisation, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) will include a full list of the drug substances and excipients. There are statutory requirements for what is required in an SmPC document and we will follow those for Covid-19 vaccines. More information is available in the “Guideline on Quality Aspects Included in the Product Information for Vaccines for Human Use”.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

The government encourages universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.

Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current, 2019/20, academic year. Students who are tenants with individual private landlords are entitled to support if they are impacted by COVID-19, such as repayable rent reductions or postponements.

Accommodation providers should not instruct students to return home. If any accommodation provider did formally instruct a student to leave the property then it would be unacceptable to continue to charge student rents.

If a student thinks their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/; https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and: https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.

The Government is taking forward an ambitious programme of action on behaviour, exclusion and alternative provision (AP) which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion when they need to, enable schools to support children at risk of exclusion, and ensure that excluded children continue to receive a good education. We will expand AP and improve the quality of the sector so that pupils in AP receive an education on a par with that received by their mainstream peers and receive the support they need in other areas. Further information on the timeframes for this work will be provided in due course.

The Department for Education is working closely with over 1600 schools across the country who are acting, on a voluntary basis, as early adopters of relationships education; relationships and sex education (RSE); and health education. As early adopters, these schools have indicated their intention to start teaching the new requirements: relationships education (for primary aged pupils), RSE (for secondary aged pupils) and health education (all pupils in state-funded schools), during the academic year 2019/20, ahead of the subjects being compulsory from September 2020.

The Department is working closely with these early adopter schools to develop a programme of support. Recently four national conferences took place, to help early adopters plan for delivery of the new subjects, and to enable the Department to learn about their current practices and assess support needs. Following feedback from the conferences, consideration is being given to what further regional support may be required.

This engagement with early adopter schools is helping the Department develop its programme of support for the new subjects, which will be available to all teachers from spring 2020. The programme will focus on tools that improve schools’ practice and will offer opportunities for teachers to improve subject knowledge, build confidence and share best practice. This support will be accessed through a new online service and will include an implementation guide, which will accompany the statutory guidance, case studies from early adopter schools, and innovative materials to support staff training. We will continue to test this package with early adopter schools.

The first 25 Mental Health Support Team (MHST) trailblazer sites, delivering 59 MHSTs were announced in December 2018. These MHSTs are all expected to have completed their training by the end of 2019/early 2020 and will be fully operational following this. As a result, it is too early to assess their effectiveness in schools and colleges.

The national, early evaluation of the trailblazer programme formally commenced on 1 October 2019. The protocol for the first phase of the evaluation is available at https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/16/138/31, and findings are expected to be published in Spring/Summer 2021.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 10 September, PQ UIN 905828.

[https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-10/905828]

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is an essential humanitarian and stabilising force in the region, providing vital services to millions of Palestinian refugees every day. The UK recognises the need for UNRWA to reform to help ensure its sustainability. To this end, in 2018 UNRWA undertook serious steps to improve its long-term viability by broadening its donor base and securing funding from 12 new donors, signing 8 new multi-year funding commitments in 2018, and implementing significant programme reform measures

DFID has robust measures in place to ensure UK Aid reaches its intended beneficiaries. UK aid to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) health and education sectors is channelled through the EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism. Our money goes into a dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. The bank account is only used for UK aid. Independent auditors check that the money paid out from this bank account only went to the vetted individuals after every disbursement.

UK assistance to the PA for water and energy will be through the World Bank Partnership for Infrastructure Development in the West Bank and Gaza Multi Donor Trust Fund. UK aid will flow from the trust fund to dedicated accounts that will be managed by the PA in accordance with rules established by the World Bank, and be subject to the review of external financial auditors to provide assurance that the expenditure of funds was only on agreed programme activities.

The UK Government, alongside other governments, works in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to improve the lives of Palestinians in support of our commitment to maintain the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This includes humanitarian support to meet immediate needs in Gaza, support to key services such as education and health in the West Bank, and promoting economic development across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DFID’s work supports stability and the development of a capable and accountable Palestinian Authority that can act as an effective partner for peace with Israel. We also support People to People work that aims to bring together Israelis and Palestinians to cooperate on issues that can have a positive impact on both communities. Building understanding between people on both sides of the conflict will be crucial in helping build support for a peaceful, negotiated lasting resolution.

The UK government is committed to achieving the removal of punitive tariffs impacting UK industries, such as Northern Irish Whiskey Distillers, by de-escalating this dispute.

The Secretary of State for International Trade will be engaging the Biden administration at the earliest opportunity to find a mutually beneficial and balanced settlement that works for the whole of the UK and to the benefit of UK businesses. We want to de-escalate and resolve the disputes so that we can deepen trading ties with the US and move onto the next phase of our trading relationship.

The Department for International Trade consistently champions the British music industry and the incredible talent which makes the sector such a great success story for the UK.

The Government has put in place unprecedented support for businesses and workers to protect them against the economic impact of COVID-19. In 2020/21, the Government is providing export support of around £1 million to UK music companies. Most of this is grant support offered to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK’s music sector through the International Showcase Fund and the Music Export Growth Scheme. Companies in Northern Ireland have benefited from both schemes, with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland supporting the International Showcase Fund as funding partners.

During the pandemic, the Government has provided support for digital events so music companies can continue to do business with international customers. The Government is working closely with the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board, which includes music representatives, to develop a creative industries trade and investment recovery strategy which will enable the UK music sector to maintain its strong international position.

As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. UK bus manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this funding for zero emission buses.

17 local transport authorities are working to produce business cases under the standard process of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme. The Department will award funding to successful business cases under the standard process in Spring 2022.

The Department for Transport is working with Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care and Border Force to ensure the UK border is ready for the return of international travel. This includes modelling demand scenarios, flexing resource deployment and increasing automation at the border, including the use of e-gates to increase capacity.

The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution included ambitious new policies and investment in hydrogen transport projects including:

• £20 million to support the development of cost-effective, zero emission heavy goods vehicles in the UK
• £20 million to help develop clean maritime technology
• £3 million in the recently announced Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub

We will build on those announcements and set out the role for hydrogen in our forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will set out how we intend to reduce emissions and deliver transport’s contribution to net zero by 2050.

The Secretary of State has not had any specific conversations with the Prime Minister regarding the timeline for allocating the buses portion of the £5 billion funding package, that was announced in February this year.

Details of the 4,000 zero-emission buses from the funding package, including how the funding will be distributed, will be announced in due course.

Data on whether both pills are taken at home or in a clinic is collected through the statutory abortion forms that clinicians send to the Chief Medical Officer. Data for 2020 will be published later this year as part of the annual abortion statistics.

Medical devices can continue to move into Northern Ireland without checks. Medical devices are goods marked with a conformity assessment marking – for example, the CE mark or UKCA mark, and are regulated under a different set of rules from medicines. As long as medical devices are compliant with the European Union acquis, they can be placed on the Northern Ireland market. Medical devices are not required to comply with the requirements of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive and they are not included in the grace period for medicines.

The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working closely with the health and care system, suppliers and industry to put in place robust measures to help ensure the continued supply of medicines and medical devices to the whole of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.

This information is not collected or held centrally.

The information is not held in the format requested.

The Test and Trace Support Payment is available in all local authorities in England. The Department works closely with the devolved administrations which run similar schemes.

To be eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment, an individual must be employed or self-employed, unable to work from home, and currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit.

Where an individual is not in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits but meets the other eligibility criteria and may face financial hardship if they have to self-isolate, local authorities can make a £500 discretionary payment.

I express my deepest sympathies to UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, and all victims of Troubles.

This is an important issue; and I recognise this House takes a close interest.

Ministers across Government are carefully considering the internal scoping report Mr Shawcross has produced in order to do justice to the important and sensitive issues it covers, giving due respect to the victims.

The Government is carefully considering the internal scoping report that Mr Shawcross has produced in order to do justice to the important, complex and sensitive issues it covers.

The information is not available. Most businesses submit VAT returns to HM Revenue and Customs quarterly, and quarterly returns are for differing accounting periods. Businesses are not required to provide figures for different products or services on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

In order to support the cash flow and viability of about 150,000 businesses and to protect over 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors, which will now end on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent will be introduced for these goods and services to ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. The new rate will end on 31 March 2022.

This relief is estimated to be worth over £7 billion to the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Each year OFSI carries out a review of frozen assets held by UK institutions. Anyone who holds frozen assets (including funds and economic resources) is required to report them to OFSI.

Economic resources means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable (such as goods, property or rights) which are not funds themselves but which can be used to obtain funds, goods or services. Funds means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including but not limited to:

• cash, cheques, claims on money, drafts, money orders and other payment instruments

• deposits with financial institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt obligations

• loans and mortgages

• publicly and privately traded securities and debt instruments, including stocks and shares, certificates representing securities, bonds, notes, warrants, debentures and derivatives contracts

• interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by assets

• credit, right of set-off, guarantees, performance bonds or other financial commitments

• letters of credit, bills of lading, bills of sale

• documents evidencing an interest in funds or financial resources

• any other instrument of export-financing

The aggregate figure of funds frozen under the Libya regime as at September 2019 was approximately £11.809 billion. However, the Treasury does not break down the return data by category and institution in the manner requested.

Since its establishment in 2016, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has undertaken an annual frozen asset review, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI, from which the following figures are taken.

The figures are each an approximate total value of frozen Libyan assets in the UK. The figures for the 2020 Frozen Asset Review are still being finalised, and will be published in OFSI’s Annual Review later this year.

September 2017 £12.061 billion

September 2018 £11.222 billion

September 2019 £11.809 billion

The Treasury does not hold information on the total interest that has accrued on Libyan frozen assets.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) undertakes an annual frozen asset review requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen funds in the UK to report to OFSI. OFSI’s published Annual Review provides an aggregate figure for the value of Libyan frozen funds held by UK institutions. However, there is no requirement for banks to report interest separately in the annual returns on frozen assets they provide to OFSI.

The Home Secretary has engaged with the Irish Government as part of a wider dialogue, but not to specifically discuss extremism.

Work in relation to the Muslim Brotherhood is a matter for the Home Office, so we are responding on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

There has not been formal inter-Ministerial engagement on the Muslim Brotherhood. The Government keeps under review the activities of those associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK in accordance with the five commitments included in the former Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I are working closely with the First Minister, deputy First Minister and the rest of the Executive on the response to Covid-19.

As my honourable Friend will be aware, health is a devolved matter. In May, the Department of Health published the Covid-19 Test, Trace and Protect Strategy, which is led by the Public Health Agency.

Testing has always been a critical part of the UK’s response. The Testing Strategy in Northern Ireland is aligned with the UK strategic approach, and through working with a number of key stakeholders and delivery partners across the Health and Social Care Sector, local universities and industry, testing capacity has increased significantly.

As with any diagnostic test there is always the small possibility of a false negative or a false positive result. All tests have been assessed as performing to manufacturers’ specifications before being used.

The New Decade, New Approach agreement included a commitment to close down the existing RHI scheme and replace it with a scheme that effectively cuts carbon emissions in Northern Ireland. This pledge was part of text about the programme for government for the new Executive and not a UK Government commitment.

To support the new Executive, UKG has guaranteed at least £1bn of Barnett-based funding to support investment, alongside £1bn of new resource and capital spending. This funding is not intended to absorb the costs to the Executive of the RHI voluntary buy-out scheme and/or addressing financial hardship experienced by scheme participants as a result of adjusted RHI tariffs.

The RHI Inquiry was commissioned by a Northern Ireland Minister and fundamentally concerns devolved issues. The Government does, however, expect to see rapid progress in implementing all of Sir Patrick’s recommendations, alongside continued implementation of the reforms in New Decade, New Approach, and is working closely with the First and deputy First Minister to ensure this is done.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has not opposed the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020.

The debate in the Assembly on 2 June 2020 was focused on one aspect of those regulations, severe fetal impairment, and does not have any binding effects on the Regulations we have made.

As abortion remains a devolved issue in Northern Ireland, the Assembly remains able to legislate on abortion, subject to the usual Assembly and other procedures, including compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK Government will continue to ensure we abide by our domestic and international legal obligations.