Written questions by Campbell.

Pursuant the Answer of 2 September to Question 69743 on Universal Credit: Expenditure, whether she has had discussions with the OBR on the sustainability of the forecasted levels of expenditure on Universal Credit payments by the end of the current Parliament.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024. The financial sustainability of the benefit system, including Universal Credit, is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process.

If she will have discussions with representative bodies of car manufacturers on the extent of the recall of Citroën cars in connection with potential airbag problems.

The Secretary of State recently wrote to Stellantis to express serious concerns about the customer impact of the stop-drive recall currently affecting Citroën and DS Automobiles cars in the United Kingdom. That correspondence urged Stellantis to take immediate steps to:Improve the effectiveness of their customer support, and that they make effective their commitments for ensuring that all affected owners – especially those with urgent mobility needs – are provided with viable alternatives, whether through courtesy cars, financial compensation, or at-home repair servicesPrioritise vulnerable customers who rely on their vehicles for essential travel – such as key workers, carers, and individuals with disabilitiesEnhance transparency by clearly communicating the timelines for resolution, and the alternative transport or compensation provisions that are in place.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 59984 on Fire Prevention, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the response to wildfires during summer 2025.

Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in its local area (including wildfire), through the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) - having regard to the views of other key local responders. As the lead government department for wildfire, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) maintains regular engagement with other government departments including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Cabinet Office on this national risk. This is alongside the department’s work with national bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements and mitigations. Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs that have been created in the small business sector in Northern Ireland in the period since the inception of the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland.

The £70million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has been open for applications since November 2023. From inception to May 2025, a total of £18million has been lent or invested in 35 businesses in Northern Ireland; this investment has also led to the crowding in of an additional £12million in private sector funding.It is not possible at this early stage to estimate the number of jobs that have been created as a result. The benefits generated by the fund for the Northern Ireland economy, including additional Gross Value Added and jobs created, will be assessed by independent evaluations of the fund, likely to take place in 2026 at the earliest.

What will be the next steps following the launch of the Development Phase of the Global Combat Air Programme.

As set out in the joint statement following the Secretary of State for Defences’ meeting with H.E. Mr Nakatani Gen, Minister of Defense of Japan on 28 August 2025 “Recognising the significance of the GCAP”, the Ministers reaffirmed their personal commitment to it and to accelerating work to conclude the first international contract between the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) and industry joint venture, Edgewing, by the end of 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 70326 on Hamas: Guided Weapons, if he will make representations to the UN on the need for an independent verifiable assessment of the number of missiles fired by Hamas into Israel on the dates in question, and which does not solely rely on data produced by Israel or Hamas.

The missile attacks in question are completely unacceptable, their source and impact are clear, and they reinforce why Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza.

When he expects to receive the report of the latest review of prostate cancer diagnosis from from the UK National Screening Committee.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) received two evidence review reports about screening for prostate cancer and is considering them alongside experts. Subject to no further revisions being required, a public consultation will start this calendar year. This will run for three months as usual, and the UK NSC will then make a recommendation on prostate cancer screening. Once the recommendation is made, ministers will consider whether to accept it or not.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help increase participation among the 18 – 25 age group in forthcoming elections.

The government is committed to encouraging participation in our democracy, as set out in our manifesto. We recognise the importance of engaging young people in the democratic process and are taking active steps to address this. We are actively developing proposals to deliver this manifesto commitment, and are collaborating closely with the Electoral Commission, local authorities, think tanks, academics, and civil society organisations. Our work is focused on identifying the attitudinal barriers that prevent young people from participating in elections, and exploring effective interventions to overcome these challenges.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63282 on Business: Cybercrime, what steps the National Cyber Security Centre is taking to tackle those incidents of cyber crime.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) works closely with Law Enforcement partners to respond to cyber crime. The NCSC also provides a range of services and guidance to help organisations defend against cyber incidents. These include the Early Warning service that shares threat intelligence of precursor indicators of ransomware.Additionally, the NCSC regularly publishes advice and guidance on the mitigations that organisations can implement to help prevent them becoming a victim of cyber crime (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/top-tips-for-staying-secure-online/). For example, the Cyber Essentials scheme is recommended as the minimum standard of cyber security for all organisations (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/overview). Organisations are 92 per cent less likely to make a claim on their cyber insurance if they have implemented the five controls outlined in Cyber Essentials.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for the future use of properties utilised as Northern Ireland Points of Entry.

The Northern Ireland Points of Entry are critical for food security and biosecurity. These facilities will continue to be used to fulfil this critical function. The future use of these facilities once the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement is in place will depend on the final shape of that agreement, however the Government is clear that its priority is to reduce barriers to trade and red tape.

Representing the Members Estimate Committee, how much Representative Money has been made available to elected Members who have not taken the Oath in each year between 2006 and 2025.

This information is available from the Library. Appendix 3 of the House of Commons Library briefing on Short Money provides data from 2005/06 onwards.This table is reproduced below.Representative Money allocations, 2005/06-2025/26 Financial yearMain budget (£)Travel budget (£) 2005/06*35,163.00868.002006/0786,245.002,136.072007/0890,036.002,230.052008/0993,639.002,319.262009/1094,482.002,340.13 2010/11** (1 Apr-5 May)9,277.00229.78(6 May-31 Mar)87,133.002,493.732011/12101,004.002,890.592012/13105,850.003,029.342013/14109,135.003,123.252014/15112,076.003,207.58 2015/16 # (1 Apr-7 May)11,511.00329.45(8 May-31 Mar)87,783.001,898.902016/1797,556.002,224.32 2017/18 $ (1 Apr-8 Jun)18,737.00431.41(9 Jun-31 Mar)130,970.002,901.642018/19165,864.003,674.62 2019/20 ^ (1 Apr-11 Dec)117,986.272,613.95(12 Dec-31 Mar)48,243.741,200.052020/21161,296.874,007.682021/21162,265.314,025.022022/23171,032.154,239.212023/24188,991.694,688.332024/25 ^^ (1 Apr-3 Jul)50,618.041,255.14(4 Jul-31 Mar)150,724.724,541.302025/26208,077.316,252.97 Notes: * from 1 November 2005-31 March 2006 ** general election year full year allocations based on 2005 and 2010general election results would have been: Main budgetTravel budget2005 results£96,747£2,396.302010 results£96,374£2,758.22 # general election year full year allocations based on 2010 and 2015general election results would have been: 2010 results£113,867£3,258.902015 results£97,655£2,112.46 $ general election year full year allocations based on 2015 and 2017general election results would have been: 2015 results£99,116£2,282.092017 results£161,500£3,578.03 ^ general election year full year allocations based on 2015 and 2017general election results would have been: 2017 results£169,345£3,751.792019 results£159,074£3,956.92 ** general election year full year allocations based on 2019 and 2024general election results would have been: 2019 results£196,548.79£4,873.672024 results£203,005.64£6,116.51

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 60425 on Sustainable Farming Incentive, what his planned timetable is for announcing further details of the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Further information about the reformed SFI will be provided shortly.

If he will have discussions with representatives of Londonderry Port on its viability as a national maritime defence asset.

Foyle Port remains an important regional logistics hub for the Royal Navy. Foyle Port is able to provide the logistical requirements necessary for ships on operational taskings. The Royal Navy undertakes routine discussions with Foyle Port regarding the planning of ship visits for replenishment. As stated within the Strategic Defence Review, the Home Defence Programme will work with the private-sector to ensure Defence has ready access to private-sector infrastructure for operations.

What steps she is taking to help increase the number of people employed by the Government Social Research Profession in Northern Ireland.

All Civil Servants employed as Government Social Researchers are directly employed by Departments, Devolved Administrations, and other UK Civil Service organisations. They are not centrally managed or centrally employed by HM Treasury. HM Treasury has no specific plans to increase the number of Government Social Researchers employed by HM Treasury and located in Northern Ireland.

If he will have discussions with the US Consulate General in Belfast on how (a) heritage and (b) community groups in Northern Ireland can commemorate the 250th anniversary of the USA.

The UK Government is keen to collaborate and provide support for work to celebrate the 250th anniversary of US Independence.

If he will have discussions with Invest Northern Ireland and the Minister for the Economy of Northern Ireland on inward investment opportunities following the golf Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in July 2025.

I continue to take every opportunity to promote investment into Northern Ireland, following the success of the golf Open Championship, and regularly engage with the Northern Ireland Executive and its relevant bodies to support a thriving, competitive and regionally balanced economy in Northern Ireland through increased investment and job creation to boost living standards.

How many employees of the National Employment Savings Trust will be paid more than £160,000 in the current financial year.

Nest is a Public Corporation which operates independently of Government. However, they have provided the following narrative: At the start of the 2025/26 financial year, there were 25 employees on roll with a full-time equivalent salary above £160,000 per annum at the National Employment Savings Trust Corporation.

What assessment she has made of the change in the estimated worth of the frozen assets of the previous Libyan regime between 2011 and 2025.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury published in its 2023-2024 Annual Review that £13.4 billion in assets relating to the Libya sanctions regime have been reported as frozen as of September 2023. This is an aggregated total of all entities and individuals listed on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets. OFSI does not hold a comparable figure for 2011. OFSI’s next Annual Review is due to be published later in 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 53819 on Ministry of Justice: Translation Services, what was the change in the cost of language services between 2019 and 2024.

The cost for each of the four language service contracts in the years requested are in the table below (in £s): Face to faceTranslation & TranscriptionVisual and TactileQuality AssuranceTotal 201924,293,224.102,577,197.451,001,106.93531,035.9728,402,564.44 202016,425,864.812,066,580.041,199,690.68525,412.5620,217,548.09 202120,542,402.562,398,276.411,603,427.73518,512.0125,062,618.71 202223,189,695.491,816,523.531,480,500.68512,592.0126,999,311.71 202325,873,556.972,186,420.941,796,135.58517,936.9530,374,050.44 202426,729,057.532,826,541.951,550,246.80519,312.0731,625,158.35

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN on the need for an independent verifiable assessment of the number of missiles fired by Hamas into Israel between (a) July 2022 and September 2023, (b) October 2023 and January 2024 and (c) February 2024 and May 2025.

The UK regularly uses - and will continue to use - our seat on the United Nations Security Council and our voice in the UN to condemn Hamas' terror attacks against Israel. The UK has consistently stressed that Hamas can have no place in the future governance of Gaza and should never again threaten Israel's security. Israel already produces data on the number of missiles fired by Hamas into Israel. Israelis and Palestinians must be able to live in peace and security. Hamas must cease all such attacks.