Written questions by Robinson.

When information on the operation of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland will be available.

As announced at the Spending Review, from 2026-27 the UK Government will provide targeted, long-term local growth funding to support growth across Northern Ireland, once the UK Shared Prosperity Fund ends in March 2026. My department is working in close partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive and Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to implement and develop the new Local Growth Fund. The Government is committed to engagement with stakeholders in Northern Ireland to help implement a package of funding that meets local needs and delivers impact. More information on the development of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland and engagement plans will be set out soon.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 63307 on Ministry of Defence: Belfast, if he will provide a timeline for a decision being made on his Department's site at Dunmore.

Decisions on future modernisation and optimisation of the Volunteer Estate are subject to the Defence Investment Plan which is currently under consideration.

If he will publish a breakdown of costs per government Department for the (a) Coagh and (b) Clonoe inquests.

Government Departments handle inquest costs in aggregate. We are unable to provide a breakdown of the costs for these specific inquests.

Media and Sport, if she will extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond this year.

The Scheme for 2025 to 2026 will close on 31st March 2026 or once the £23 million budget has been reached, whichever is earlier. Funding after March 2026 will be considered as the Department works through the output of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.

What progress he has made on the appeal with the Employment Appeals Tribunal on Armed Forces Pensions for people who served in the Territorial Army.

In reference to the Employment Tribunal of Milroy versus Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence did not agree with the judgment of the Employment Tribunal in this matter, and an appeal against the decision was lodged with the Employment Appeals Tribunal. An appeal hearing date has now been set and is due to convene on 4 December 2025. As this is an ongoing legal process we are unable to comment further at this time.

What plans he has for his Department's site at Dunmore in Belfast.

The Reserve Forces and Cadets Association Estate Optimisation Programme is an ongoing joint programme to optimise and improve the defence volunteer estate. This includes the Reserve Estate in Northern Ireland and the use of Army Reserve Centre Dunmore. No decisions have yet been taken.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on developing the Enhanced Investment Zone for Northern Ireland.

Since confirmation at Autumn Budget of the continuation of the Enhanced Investment Zone, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has worked in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive to drive forward the co-development of the design and delivery of the Enhanced Investment Zone. Further detail on the focus of the Enhanced Investment Zone will be confirmed later this year, following significant progress on developing proposals for the sectoral focus.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of veterinary medicine to treat botulism in cattle in Northern Ireland.

The Government is committed to taking steps to support the availability of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland after the end of 2025.Regarding the botulism vaccines, the situation will not change. Veterinary surgeons can continue to access the vaccines after 31 December; in the same way they do now.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of not implementing the proposed changes to Spousal and Skilled Worker Visa applicants set out in the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.

Further details and assessments of measures announced in the White Paper will be published in due course, when the relevant rules are introduced.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of allowing applications to be dealt with in the UK for asylum applicants who have been granted asylum in another European country.

Where a person already has asylum or subsidiary protection in another European country, the person’s claim will usually be declared inadmissible (meaning that their asylum claim will not be substantively considered in the UK), and they will be removed to that country, if they refused to return voluntarily.

If she will make it her policy to introduce VAT relief for pilot training.

Pilot training may be exempt from VAT when provided by an eligible body which meets certain conditions (for example, when provided by a government institution or certain regulated organisations), but otherwise will be subject to the standard rate. VAT-registered businesses paying for training will be able to recover any VAT they pay. The Government currently has no plans to remove VAT on pilot flight training courses more broadly.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the tax-free threshold for pensioners.

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast. The Government is also committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility, and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.

If he will estimate the number of asylum applicants who have had their initial claims rejected and subsequently made a further application.

Data on initial decisions on asylum claims, including refusals, is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Data on the number of further submissions is not available from published statistics.

What recent discussions his Department has had with the families of people killed in the 1994 Chinook Helicopter Crash on the Mull of Kintyre.

The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. The Chinook Justice Campaign, who represent many of the families of the Mull of Kintyre accident, have indicated their intention to bring legal proceedings against the Ministry of Defence. Given this ongoing situation, I am unable to comment further.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting a public inquiry into the 1994 Chinook Helicopter Crash on the Mull of Kintyre.

I want to extend my sympathies to the families of those killed in this tragic accident. Having lost personnel on operations myself, I know the pain that they feel. We have received a pre-action protocol letter from the Chinook Justice Campaign and are considering our response. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 29448 on Police: Workplace Pensions, what progress has been made on discussions with the Chief Constables in each of the devolved regions on the McCloud Judgement.

The Home Office has engaged with the National Police Chiefs’ Council in working to resolve issues related to the McCloud remedy in relation to England and Wales.As policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the policy and legislative responsibility for the police pension scheme in those regions lies with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will strengthen the provisions of the Hunting Act 2004.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans in a generation to improve animal welfare and that is exactly what we will do. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act and completely bans hare coursing. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. The Government has committed to a ban on trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 20971 on Aerospace Industry: Finance, what progress his Department has made on the allocation of the £975 million to boost the UK aerospace industry; and how much has been allocated to each devolved region.

Of the £975 million allocated to the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme between 2025/26 and 2029/30, £285 million has been committed so far. This funding is distributed across the Devolved Administrations as follows:RegionCommitted Spend from 2025/26England255,504,078Wales10,061,956Scotland6,383,129Northern Ireland13,284,097Total285,233,260 The Industrial Strategy announced ATI Programme funding of up to £2.3 billion over the next 10 years. With industry co-investment, this will result in nearly £3.8 billion of UK research activity—placing UK industry in a strong position to capitalise on growing demand for new technologies as the next generation of aircraft is developed.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with animal rights charities on phasing out the use of animal testing.

The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. To facilitate this Minister Vallance hosted a roundtable on 14.05.25 with representatives from animal welfare organisations, and officials have worked with animal welfare charities throughout strategy development. Minister Vallance also met with the Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on phasing out animal experiments in medical research and representatives from Animal Free Research on 01.04.25, with representatives from Lush UK on 15.05.25, and with representatives from the RSCPA on 26.11.24.

What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for the defence industry in Northern Ireland.

The UK Government, through the Strategic Defence Review will make defence an engine for growth ensuring that our defence spending boosting prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all nations and regions. This includes in Northern Ireland, where companies like Thales are at the forefront of both advanced manufacturing and our enduring support to Ukraine. In March, we announced a £1.6 billion deal to supply thousands of advanced air defence missiles to Ukraine, whilst creating 200 new jobs in Northern Ireland. It is the largest contract ever received by Thales in Belfast. We are committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that we have a thriving defence sector which supports jobs, skills and growth in Northern Ireland.