Written questions by Lockhart.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce since its establishment; and what recommendations the Taskforce has made in relation to investment projects in Northern Ireland.

At the International Investment Summit in 2024, the Government created the National Wealth Fund, to address the barriers to investment identified by the National Wealth Fund Taskforce. For more details on the Taskforce’s recommendations and the Government’s actions to implement them, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-wealth-fund-mobilising-private-investment/national-wealth-fund-mobilising-private-investment-accessible The Taskforce recommended that “where possible, any transactions should deliver against a wider set of public policy objectives, including jobs, supply chains and regional growth.” The National Wealth Fund has an enhanced regional mandate, with a dedicated Northern Ireland director to actively seek investment opportunities. It also works closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and other local partners to provide financing and expertise.

Innovation and Technology, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the UK National Quantum Strategy.

Over the past year, we’ve taken major steps to support the quantum sector and deliver on the UK’s National Quantum Missions. This includes launching new research hubs, opening the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), and funding research projects through Innovate UK.We are strengthening international collaboration through initiatives like NMI-Q (announced at the G7) to advance global standards in quantum technologies.Last month, we announced £670 million in quantum computing investment as part of the Industrial Strategy—including over £500 million for the Quantum Computing Mission and 10-year funding for the NQCC.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many official visits were made by foreign diplomats to Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely monitor the travel of foreign diplomats based in the UK within the country.  They are able to meet a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, without the need for permission from the Government. This principle - that diplomats be allowed to undertake engagement without approval of the host State government - is consistent with how we expect our own diplomats working overseas to be able to operate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Somalia at the United Nations.

The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the treatment of Christians and other religious minorities in Somalia, where persecution is severe and often exacerbated by insecurity and extremist violence.The UK has supported human rights mechanisms that address religious persecution. We continue to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses on the international stage, through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.The UK is committed to defending FoRB globally and will continue to advocate for the rights of all individuals in Somalia to practise their religion or belief freely and without fear.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Mali at the United Nations.

The UK strongly condemns attacks on religious minorities in Mali. We have consistently called on all actors in Mali to respect human rights and adhere to international human rights law. For example, at the April 2025 Security Council briefing on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, the UK expressed concern at the human rights abuses committed in the Sahel and called on the UN to lead the way in emphasising the importance of international humanitarian law. Through the Magna Carta Fund, the UK has also promoted ancient Malian texts enshrining progressive values such as religious tolerance. This has helped to underline that such values have local roots and undermine the notion that human rights are a Western import.

What recent steps his Department has taken to promote collaboration between the (a) Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, (b) Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee in Northern Ireland and (c) Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland.

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee in Northern Ireland, Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and the Welsh Government meet twice a year as the Accessibility 4 Nations Group, to engage and collaborate on accessibility matters. These meetings are co-ordinated and chaired on a rotational basis by the respective secretariats, including the DPTAC secretariat within the Department for Transport. The latest meeting took place in April 2025 with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland chairing.

What discussions he has had with public transport bodies on (a) partnering with AccessAble and (b) providing equivalent information to improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

Innovative approaches to providing accessible information has an important role to play in delivering transport networks which allows disabled people to be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. Improving accessibility is a collaborative effort, with operators, industry, and entrepreneurs all having key parts to play – alongside disabled passengers. Initiatives such as those developed by AccessAble provide an example of how this can be achieved. As detailed in the Department’s response to the Transport Committee inquiry into accessible travel, the Department for Transport is undertaking discovery work to capture bus and rail accessibility assets within the National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN) which is a national dataset of all public transport ‘stops’ in England, Scotland and Wales. This discovery work is the starting point for accessibility journey planning.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to (a) join AccessAble and (b) provide publicly available information on disability access to (i) public buildings and (ii) services.

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces. It is the duty of local authorities to comply with all relevant employment and equalities legislation and there is no role for central government intervening in this, except where specific provision has been made in legislation. Like all service providers and those exercising public functions, local authorities are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their customers, under the Equality Act 2010. This includes providing information about disabled access and facilities as well as the actual facilities. Local authorities are also within the scope of the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their policies and actions might affect people with particular protected characteristics, such as disability.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, in the context of the number of Christians who were killed in Islamist attacks in April 2025.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the adequacy of the steps take by the Nigerian government to (a) protect religious minorities and (b) prevent attacks by Fulani Islamist militias.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered implementing (a) sanctions and (b) conditionality on development aid to Nigeria in the context of attacks on (i) Christians and (ii) other religious minorities in the Middle Belt region.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.We do not publicly speculate on future sanctions as doing so can limit their impact. The UK has a modern development partnership with Nigeria across the full spectrum of development needs. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not provide bilateral Official Development Assistance directly to the Government of Nigeria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his Nigerian counterpart on the accountability of militant groups targeting Christian communities in (a) Benue and (b) Plateau States.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.During his visit to Nigeria on 28-30 May, the Minister for Africa met ministers and officials to address insecurity and intercommunal violence, with a focus on tackling root causes. Most recently, he raised FoRB with Nigerian counterparts during the third UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue on 15-16 July in London.

Whether he has plans to invest in (a) new and (b) upgraded defence infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland in the next five years.

The UK Government, through the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), will make defence an engine for growth ensuring that our defence spending boosts prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all nations and regions. The SDR outlines the need for infrastructure recapitalisation, recommending a single Infrastructure Recapitalisation Plan that establishes a holistic assessment of Defence infrastructure requirements over the next decade, including Northern Ireland. This plan is due to report by February 2026.

What the condition is of the Moyle Interconnector; and what plans he has for the development of new energy interconnectors between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Moyle is a point-to-point interconnector that has been in operation since 2002. It is a commercially developed interconnector and operates without government financial support. On future interconnection between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ofgem gave in-principle approval in November 2024 for the proposed LirIC electricity interconnector. This project is being taken forward under the Ofgem cap and floor regulatory regime.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) farmers and (b) landowners in Northern Ireland have equitable access to UK-wide (i) environmental and (ii) biodiversity funding streams.

The UK Government works closely with ministers and officials in Northern Ireland to engage on environmental topics, including biodiversity. For example, they recently jointly published the UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, are collaborating closely on its implementation and producing a 7th National Report on progress. However, there is no funding associated with these activities. There are relevant Sector Capacity grants which are open to lead applicants based anywhere in the UK (including Northern Ireland). The three grants include: Tree Production Innovation Fund Tree Production Capital Grant Seed Sourcing Grant Information sharing regularly takes place at official level and through the Tree Planting Taskforce to help address UK wide challenges and share lessons learned on grant mechanisms.

How many additional (a) neonatal, (b) stillbirth and (c) maternal deaths have occurred since 2018 compared to the Government’s target to halve 2010 rates by 2025; and what steps he is taking to meet these targets.

While there has been some good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirths and neonatal death, the most recent data indicates that we are not on track to meet the Maternity Safety Ambition, set under the previous administration.We do not hold analysis on the specific ask, but we track progress against the ambition trajectory using various data sources, which are publicly available, including data from the Office for National Statistics and from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK. In 2015, the rate of neonatal death and stillbirths was 1.6 per 1,000 live births and 4.4 per 1,000 births respectively. In the period 2014 to 2016, the rate of maternal death was 9.8 per 100,000 maternities. The most recent data shows that: in 2023 the rate of neonatal death was 1.4 per 1,000 live births; in 2024 the rate of stillbirths was 3.8 per 1,000 births; and in the period between 2021 and 2023 the maternal mortality rate was 12.7 per 100,000 maternities.We are committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive the high-quality care that they deserve. This is why my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity, and staff representatives, in order to identify the actions needed to improve care.But action cannot wait. We are also taking steps to improve care now. We have announced a package of immediate actions to boost accountability and safety. This includes a new system to better identify safety concerns to support rapid action and developing best practice standards to reduce maternal mortality.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to (a) maternity and (b) bereavement care services for Black and Asian families.

It is a priority for this Government to make sure all women and babies receive high-quality and equitable access to care, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity. As part of NHS England's three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, all local areas now have in place Equity and Equality action plans. These plans tackle inequalities and barriers to access for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas and also set out how they will equip staff to provide culturally competent care. Integrated Care Boards are responsible for assuring implementation of these plans, and evidence suggests the plans have led to prioritisation of equity for mothers and babies, and increased engagement with service users. NHS England is also ensuring that maternity healthcare professionals receive training on culturally competent care, which can be a barrier to equitable access for black and Asian women. This is done through their Core Competency Framework and provision of the Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety in Maternity Services e-learning course. Over 15,400 maternity staff have completed this. NHS England has also embedded equity-focused leadership development through the Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme. All 150 maternity and neonatal units in England have participated in the programme.With regards to bereavement care services, all trusts in England are now signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which covers a range of circumstances of baby loss. The aim is to ensure that all bereaved parents, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity, are offered equal, high quality, personalised, safe and sensitive care. In addition, ‘7 days a week’ bereavement services are being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death. We recognise that to deliver consistently high-quality care, much more is required. On 23 June 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced he would be launching an independent, national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care, and to rapidly put in place solutions to improve maternity safety and quality. Alongside this, he also announced that we would be establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which he will chair. Membership of that taskforce will be representative of those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of immigration enforcement operations in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

UK wide enforcement of immigration law is critical to a functioning immigration system and effectively implementing the Government’s policies. As the public would expect, we continually review and evolve the different methods we use to prevent illegal migration, ensure compliance and enforce the UK’s immigration laws.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of global fertiliser supply chain disruptions on farmers in Northern Ireland; and what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact.

We monitor both domestic and international fertiliser markets and remain in regular contact with a wide range of industry stakeholders. Government regularly runs a duty suspensions process allowing businesses to apply for duty suspensions (on imported raw inputs to production) to help them to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Enabling raw input prices to be more competitive can have a downward pressure on domestic prices. Good nutrient management practices on farm also help make most efficient use of all sources of nutrients including bought in fertilisers. Government continues to monitor the functioning of the fertiliser supply chain and works closely with the sector in case of any disruptions.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will allow exhibition poultry from Northern Ireland to return from short-term events in Great Britain under general licence subject to veterinary certification.

Poultry can move from Northern Ireland to England under the general licence published on GOV.UK. Under the Windsor Framework, poultry moving from England to Northern Ireland are subject to the import rules in Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Bird gatherings, including shows and exhibitions, are not permitted within a disease control zone. Outside of these areas, bird gatherings are only permitted if licensed. Bird gatherings general licences have been made available by Defra and the devolved governments permitting certain bird gatherings, provided that the gathering has been notified to the Animal and Plant Health Agency in Great Britain and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland at least 7 days before the event and it meets all the requirements of the relevant general licence. Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved governments to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. Whist poultry (Galliforme or Anseriforme birds) gatherings are permitted in Northern Ireland, due to the heightened risk of avian influenza in Great Britain poultry gatherings remain prohibited in England, Wales and Scotland.