Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of postal deliveries across Northern Ireland.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. Earlier this month, I met the CEO of Royal Mail, Alistair Cochrane, to press him on Royal Mail’s progress in improving quality of service. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to set and enforce Royal Mail’s quality of service targets. Royal Mail is required by Ofcom to publish its quality of service results on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with Royal Mail to encourage timely deliveries in Lagan Valley.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. Earlier this month, I met the CEO of Royal Mail, Alistair Cochrane, to press him on Royal Mail’s progress in improving quality of service. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to set and enforce Royal Mail’s quality of service targets. Royal Mail is required by Ofcom to publish its quality of service results on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Northern Ireland will receive through Barnett consequentials from the support package for pubs further to her Department's press release entitled Government announces support package that backs British pubs, published on 27 January 2026.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Any Barnett consequentials for the Northern Ireland Executive resulting from policy changes will be confirmed at the relevant fiscal event.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Warm Homes Plan will generate Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The funding allocations for the Warm Homes Plan do include Barnett consequentials, however the Treasury has not yet confirmed the specific appointments for the Devolved Governments.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have unique devolution settlements. The age, tenure, type and size of building stock varies across different parts of the UK. Therefore, some aspects of the Warm Homes Plan will apply equally in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland while other parts will not be relevant in all nations of the UK.
The UK Government will continue to work closely with the Devolved Governments in delivering the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the removal of the 10 per cent wear-and-tear tax deduction for childminders as part of the move to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on (a) childminders in Northern Ireland, (b) the sustainability of the childminding sector and (c) the (i) affordability and (b) availability of childcare for local families.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor discusses a range of policy matters with Ministerial colleagues.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what engagement her Department had with the (a) Department of Education, (b) Department of Health and (c) Department of Finance in Northern Ireland in advance of the announcement of the phased removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance for childminders.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor discusses a range of policy matters with Ministerial colleagues.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Northern Ireland being the only part of the UK without routine access to abiraterone for men with non-metastatic prostate cancer on patient outcomes across the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to hold discussions with the Northern Irish Department of Health or the Health and Social Care Board on abiraterone access in Northern Ireland. Decisions on the availability of medicines in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.