Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he received the report from the Independent Monitoring Panel relating to the operation of the UK internal market; and when he plans to publish it.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government expects to receive the final report of the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework by 9 July, and the first report of the Independent Monitoring Panel in the coming weeks. Following receipt, the Government will then proceed with the publication of the respective reports in line with its existing commitments to do so.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he received the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework; and when he plans to publish it.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government expects to receive the final report of the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework by 9 July, and the first report of the Independent Monitoring Panel in the coming weeks. Following receipt, the Government will then proceed with the publication of the respective reports in line with its existing commitments to do so.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to help ensure the independence of the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework during the review process.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I would refer the Hon Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend the Paymaster General of 22 January 2025 (UIN 24053).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37521 on Import controls, on what date the border control posts will become operational.

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

In line with the commitments we have made under the Windsor Framework, SPS inspection facilities are already operational in Northern Ireland at the ports of Foyle (18 April 25) and Warrenpoint (20 June 25). Construction and preparation of the new facilities are well underway at Belfast and Larne, and they are scheduled to be operationally ready at the end of July 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37521 on Import Controls, when was construction of the border control posts completed; and what was the total construction costs of those posts.

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

In line with the commitments we have made under the Windsor Framework, SPS inspection facilities are already operational in Northern Ireland at the ports of Foyle (18 April 25) and Warrenpoint (20 June 25). Construction and preparation of the new facilities are well underway at Belfast and Larne, and they are scheduled to be operationally ready at the end of July 2025.

The Government has committed to a maximum funding envelope of £192.3 million for all the facilities at each of the 4 ports. Of this envelope, Defra has spent £111.3 million up to the 30 June 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37521 on Import Controls: Northern Ireland, whether EU officials have assessed the completed border control posts.

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

EU officials have assessed the SPS facilities at Foyle and Warrenpoint, we await their formal report.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures HMRC (a) has and (b) plans to put in place for validating goods from Great Britain presented on the red lane at (i) Belfast, (ii) Larne, (iii) Warrenpoint and (iv) Foyle for release into the EU Single Market; how many (A) HMRC members of staff and (B) other government employees will be employed at the four ports to discharge these procedures from August 2025; what port infrastructure (1) has been (2) is being built at (a) Belfast, (b) Larne, (c) Warrenpoint and (d) Foyle to facilitate the discharging of these procedures; what the cost to the public purse has been of the construction of that infrastructure; and whether that infrastructure is (A) completed, (B) operational and (C) under construction.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Goods moving from Great Britain to the EU via Northern Ireland will complete a full customs declaration and pay the applicable rate of duty, subject to any waivers or reliefs, as an international goods movement. These customs declarations are validated electronically by HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS).

There are no HMRC employed staff at ports in Northern Ireland, and HMRC does not have, and is not building, any port infrastructure at ports in Northern Ireland.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24053 on Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, what steps he has taken to ensure the (a) support arrangements for that review were independent and (b) independence of the review process in general.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Terms of Reference of the Review clearly state that the Secretariat arrangements provided to it should operate with full regard to the independence of the Review. It has remained a matter for the Reviewer to fulfil those Terms of Reference and reach their conclusions and recommendations independently of Government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money HMRC has taken in (a) duties and (b) tariffs for the EU on goods moving from Great Britain to the EU at (i) Belfast, (ii) Larne, (iii) Warrenpoint and (iv) Foyle in 2025; and what is the value of any (A) duties and (B) tariffs outstanding.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is responsible for collecting customs duties on behalf of the UK Government, not the European Union.

Under the Windsor Framework, where goods are moving from Great Britain to the EU via Northern Ireland, HMRC will charge the EU rate of duty. This duty is paid to HMRC and not remitted to the EU.

HMRC publishes data on customs duties collected on an annual and monthly basis. However, this is provided on a national level and is not broken down into movements via specific ports. The information can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.

HMRC does not disclose the value of outstanding customs duties as this data may be commercially sensitive. HMRC has well established processes to collect duties that are due, such as duty deferment accounts.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to prevent people smuggling at the border from Ireland into Northern Ireland.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Journeys from Ireland to the UK are within the Common Travel Area (CTA). As part of the CTA arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls of individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland.

The UK does however operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes – away from the land border. This is to detect those who intend to abuse CTA arrangements. Operational activity must be targeted and supported by specific intelligence of CTA abuse.

There is a high level of cooperation on migration and border security between all members of the CTA (UK, Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies) to identify and tackle migration trends as they emerge.

Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) pregnancies and (b) abortions involving girls under the age of 16 have been reported by (i) NHS and (ii) independent abortion providers to (A) the police and (B) local authority safeguarding teams in each of the past five years; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all such cases involving potential (1) rape and (2) sexual exploitation are being (a) referred, (b) investigated, and (c) prosecuted.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Information on the number of pregnancies and abortions involving girls under the age of 16 years old that have been reported by National Health Service and independent abortion providers is held by the police and local authority safeguarding teams.

We recognise the devastating impact sexual violence can have. The Government is committed to tackling rape and sexual offences and achieving the best possible outcome for victims. We expect every sexual offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress, published in April 2025, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to the final recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s report. This includes the introduction of mandatory reporting, requiring individuals working with children, including health professionals, to report child sexual abuse when they are made aware of it.

National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.

Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children accessing their services. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and coercion and to know how to respond. In addition, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has published national safeguarding guidance for children under 18 years old accessing early medical abortion services, which aims to ensure that robust safeguarding processes are embedded in all services. We expect all providers to have due regard to this guidance.

Decisions to investigate and bring prosecutions in England and Wales are for the police and Crown Prosecution Service respectively.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Lord Tebbit

12 July celebrations and commending the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland

Royal Black Preceptory 1000, Royal Black Institution and the Royal 13th at Scarva

Impact of net zero targets on UK agriculture and rural communities

Twelfth July Celebrations 2025

Irish Republic and Israel

Portstewart Strand award

Equitable national prostate cancer screening

30th anniversary of the Soufrière Hills volcanic eruption in Montserrat