Written questions by Lockhart.

Whether she has had discussions with (a) O2, (b) Vodafone, (c) EE and (d) other mobile network providers on tackling (i) SMS and (ii) calls-based scams; and whether she has plans to introduce stronger safeguards to protect consumers from mobile fraud.

We work extremely closely with mobile network providers, regulators, law enforcement and consumer groups to close the vulnerabilities that criminals exploit, and stop scam messages and calls reaching the UK public.We are currently developing a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter to build on previous success, and go further in identifying, preventing and disrupting this type of fraud.

If she will list her Department's integration schemes available for asylum seekers in Upper Bann constituency.

There are no integration schemes for asylum seekers as integration support is only available once refugee status is granted. As Integration is an area of devolved competence, integration support available to refugees in Northern Ireland is determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

How many asylum seekers have been housed in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years.

The Home Office publishes data on a quarterly basis on the number of asylum seekers in supported accommodation, broken down by local authority and located within Asy_D11 tab at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) detect and (b) prevent illegal immigration in Northern Ireland.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet the 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.

What are the primary countries of origin for legal migrants in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years.

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor the compliance of visa conditions in Upper Bann constituency.

The Home Office takes the monitoring of visa compliance seriously and has a range of measures in place to ensure individuals adhere to the conditions of their stay in the UK. Immigration Enforcement (IE) has dedicated regional teams based across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, who are responsible for identifying and taking appropriate enforcement action against those who breach immigration rules. These teams use a combination of intelligence-led operations, data analysis, and compliance visits to monitor adherence to visa conditions. Where non-compliance is identified, action may include curtailment of leave, removal from the UK, or prosecution where appropriate.

What is the average processing time for asylum applications for people based in Upper Bann constituency; and how many applications have been refused in the last five years.

The average time taken to process a substantive decision is not currently available from published data.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum detailed datasets’, as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.The Home Office publishes data on asylum claims that have been refused at initial decision in Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum detailed datasets’. The latest available data relates to the year ending March 2025.

How many people breached their visa conditions in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years; and how many people were subsequently deported.

The requested information is not held on a constituency level and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost. Our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on returns from the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many legal migrants have settled in Upper Bann constituency in the past five years.

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Scottish government’s decision to use ultra high frequency electronic identification technology for animals on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I am aware of the Scottish Government’s decision to adopt ultra-high frequency electronic identification technology for animals, and the Government is committed to understanding its potential implications for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.We will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that any developments are closely monitored and that robust livestock traceability is maintained across the UK.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the research presented to the Scottish government on ultra high frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.

Farming policy is a devolved matter, and the Government has not formally assessed the impact of the Scottish Government's decision. Defra officials are working closely with devolved administrations to ensure compliance with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020).In the recent UK-EU joint statement, the Government committed to building on the Windsor Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to reduce trade barriers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Scottish Government’s decision to use Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology for animals on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Farming policy is a devolved matter. The Government has not conducted a formal assessment on the impact of the Scottish Government’s decision. Defra officials are working closely with the devolved Governments to ensure compliance with the UK internal markets Act (2020). In the recent UK-EU joint statement, the government committed to building on the stable foundation of the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to further reduce barriers to trade. Moving goods between GB and NI will be easier, reducing the need for paperwork and checks due to the removal of SPS and other requirements.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of research presented to the Scottish Government on Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.

Defra is aware of research papers published by Scot EID and have gathered further evidence through our own research and extensive engagement with farmers and industry.Defra and the Welsh Government commissioned Harper Adams University to conduct an independent study of the two types of EID technology. This found fewer challenges associated with low frequency than ultra-high frequency technology. The findings of this study have now been published and can be found on Defra Science Search pages.Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK. This is to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on whether electronic identification technology for animals will be used in England and Wales of requirements to use low frequency electronic identification technology for animals in Northern Ireland.

Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK and to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.On 2 June, Defra announced its decision to use Low Frequency electronic identification technology for cattle in England.Under the Windsor Framework, should Northern Ireland introduce electronic ID for cattle, it will be required to use the same Low Frequency technology in line with EU requirements.Wales are yet to decide on which technology to implement.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the effective implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant in Northern Ireland; and whether he plans to take steps to improve access to veteran support services in the UK.

The Government has committed to extending the Covenant Legal Duty to cover UK Government Departments and the Devolved Governments, including Northern Ireland. We anticipate that the Duty extension will increase awareness of the Covenant, drive further improvements for the Armed Forces community, and help mitigate and tackle disadvantage. The Government has announced VALOUR, a new programme to establish the first ever UK-wide approach to veteran support services. A network of new regional field officers will work with local organisations to coordinate local delivery and ensure that services are designed to meet the needs of their local communities. The detailed structures and processes that will underpin VALOUR will be designed in collaboration with these local partners and others, with further details to be announced in due course. In Northern Ireland, veterans can access holistic support from the Veterans' Welfare Service Northern Ireland which provides a range of information and practical support to both veterans and their families. This includes access to timely physiotherapy and psychological therapies to eligible veterans. Veterans in Northern Ireland who are homeless or at risk of homelessness can also access the UK Government's single housing support pathway, Op FORTITUDE. Funding has also been made available via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to support the health and wellbeing of veterans in Northern Ireland, including via the Thrive Together programme and Defence Medical Welfare Service pilot.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) increase prosecution rates for online child sexual exploitation offences and (b) support victims throughout the legal process.

The Government continues work to deliver meaningful change for victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation. I refer the Hon Member to the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girl's statement made to Parliament on 08 April 2025, which provided an update on the Government's work to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation and respond to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The full statement can be found here: HansardUnder the Victims’ Code, all victims including children and young people, are entitled to be given information about their case and be referred to victim support services by the police to help them cope and recover. Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales also receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission support services for victims of all crime types and all ages. This includes funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors who play an important role in supporting victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, including children and young people, through the criminal justice process.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to specialist mental health support for disabled children who are (a) victims of and (b) witnesses to serious crime.

Many children and young people (CYP) face complex emotional and mental health challenges arising from trauma.Over the next decade, to deliver the Government’s missions, the National Health Service will play a key part in addressing the needs of these children, and the NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 is clear that integrated care boards should reduce local inequalities in access to CYP mental health services, between disadvantaged groups and the wider CYP population. We will deliver on our commitment to get every child who needs it, including disabled children who are victims of and witnesses to serious crime, access to mental health support in school, and over the course of this year we will roll that support out to nearly a million extra children. Under Government plans, all pupils will have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30.

How many asylum seekers are being housed in Houses in Multiple Occupation in Northern Ireland.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. In terms of the accommodation of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland, it remains the case that only those claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there.

What recent steps his Department has taken to tackle the sale of (a) illegal and (b) unregulated vaping products to children and young people.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement and crack down on rogue retailers selling illegal and unregulated vape products to children and young people. The bill introduces new £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales for certain tobacco and vape offences, including underage sales, enables the introduction of a retail licensing scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and enables the introduction of a new registration scheme for tobacco, vape, and nicotine products sold in the United Kingdom’s market.The Government is investing £10 million of new funding in 2025/26 into Trading Standards, to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales in England, and to support the implementation of the measures in the bill. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting approximately 80 new apprentices. The new funding will also support the storage and recycling of seized illicit vapes, the additional work to identify and seize illicit vape consignments at ports, and the training of Trading Standards officers on the new single use vapes ban.The devolved administrations will need to fund the delivery of the devolved measures in the bill for their nations. The Barnett formula will apply in the usual way, and it is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.The introduction of a new Vaping Products Duty in October 2026 will provide civil and criminal powers to HM Revenue and Customs, in order to assess for duty and seize products and equipment used to produce or transport illicit vape products.

What progress he has made on delivering the UK five-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029.

Following publication of the 2024 to 2029 UK AMR National Action Plan in May 2024, the Department is preparing the first annual report, summarising the progress made to date.The organisations responsible for delivery provide regular updates to the Department, and the appropriate governance structures ensure that delivery is kept on track and that progress is being made on the national action plan’s commitments and targets, alongside managing programme risks.The Department has also commissioned an evaluation of the 2024 to 2029 UK AMR National Action Plan, which will assess the implementation of antimicrobial resistance policy, provide evidence on the effectiveness of the national action plan, and inform future antimicrobial resistance policy development and implementation.