Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jim Allister this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 101–120 of 210 · this parliament
What steps he is taking to inform veterans who served in Northern Ireland of the Victims Pension Scheme.
The Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme is advertised on https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/ The scheme is being promoted locally in Northern Ireland via the veterans’ support network and victims and survivors groups.
How many of those who are recorded as having entered the U.K. illegally were (a) women and (b) men in the most recent period for which data is available.
The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on detected irregular arrivals by age group and sex is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of June 2025.
What the average age was of people recorded as having entered the U.K. illegally in the most recent period for which data is available.
The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on detected irregular arrivals by age group and sex is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of June 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department provides on whether live coral should be moved between Great Britain and Northern Ireland through the Green or Red Lane.
Live coral is not eligible for movement under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (the “Green Lane”), as the scheme applies only to retail goods intended for final consumption in Northern Ireland. Movements of live animals and live aquatic invertebrates, such as coral, must therefore follow the standard procedures via Official Controls Regulations, including the standard SPS Requirements. Where a species of coral is protected under CITES, it will require a CITES permit for movement from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, which are issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Food and Rural Affairs, whether moving live coral from Great Britain to Northern Ireland requires (a) an export number, (b) an Export Health Certificate, (c) a Common Health Entry Document and (d) using TRACES.
Live coral is not eligible for movement under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (the “Green Lane”), as the scheme applies only to retail goods intended for final consumption in Northern Ireland. Movements of live animals and live aquatic invertebrates, such as coral, must therefore follow the standard procedures via Official Controls Regulations, including the standard SPS Requirements. Where a species of coral is protected under CITES, it will require a CITES permit for movement from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, which are issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Food and Rural Affairs, whether a CITES permit is required to move live coral from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Live coral is not eligible for movement under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (the “Green Lane”), as the scheme applies only to retail goods intended for final consumption in Northern Ireland. Movements of live animals and live aquatic invertebrates, such as coral, must therefore follow the standard procedures via Official Controls Regulations, including the standard SPS Requirements. Where a species of coral is protected under CITES, it will require a CITES permit for movement from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, which are issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
What percentage of EU tariffs collected at the Irish Sea border were paid to the EU in the latest period for which figures are available.
HMRC is the department responsible for collecting customs duties on behalf of the UK Government. No duties are remitted to the EU in respect of any movement of goods into Northern Ireland.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the application of Import Control System 2 on goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland on the UK single market for goods.
The Import Control System 2 (ICS2) is the new safety and security IT system for certain goods moving by air, maritime, road or rail into Northern Ireland. ICS2 will introduce some new processes, improving existing safety and security arrangements for goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. HMRC has an extensive communications and engagement plan to support business readiness ready for the changes and businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can access the free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS), who are supporting businesses via webinars and direct communications. TSS currently supports businesses to meet safety and security arrangements and will support with any changes under ICS2. Businesses using the TSS will not need to register for ICS2. As per the new arrangements for consumer parcels moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland that came into effect on 1 May 2025, safety and security declarations continue to not be required.
Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64617 on the Independent Review on the Windsor Framework, whether he received the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework by 9 July 2025; and when he plans to publish it.
Lord Murphy provided the final report of the Independent Review to the Government on 9 July 2025. The Government will publish it in full accordance with its existing obligations to do so.
Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64618 on UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland, whether he has received the first report of the Independent Monitoring Panel; and when he plans to publish it.
The Government has not yet received the initial report of the Independent Monitoring Panel, whose first monitoring period ended on 30 June. We expect to receive the Panel’s report in due course and will publish it in accordance with the existing commitment to do so.
What estimate she has made of the potential combined impact of the (a) Windsor Framework (i) red and (ii) green lane border crossing requirements and (b) the implementation of the EU Import Control System 2 from 1 September 2025 on costs to businesses.
The Import Control System 2 (ICS2) is the new safety and security system for certain goods moving by air, maritime, road or rail into Northern Ireland. Businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can access the free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS), who will continue to support businesses to meet the arrangements under the Windsor Framework and safety and security declarations, including ICS2. This means that businesses using the TSS to bring goods into Northern Ireland will not need to register for ICS2. As per the new arrangements for consumer parcels moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland that came into effect on 1 May 2025, safety and security declarations continue to not be required.
If she will make a comparative estimate of the potential impact of the EU Import Control System 2 on costs to businesses of the trade movements of goods (a) between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and (b) within other international internal markets.
The Import Control System 2 (ICS2) is the new safety and security system for certain goods moving by air, maritime, road or rail into Northern Ireland. Businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can access the free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS), who will continue to support businesses to meet the arrangements under the Windsor Framework and safety and security declarations, including ICS2. This means that businesses using the TSS to bring goods into Northern Ireland will not need to register for ICS2. As per the new arrangements for consumer parcels moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland that came into effect on 1 May 2025, safety and security declarations continue to not be required.
Pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 15 July 2025 on Zero Emissions Vehicles, HCWS82, what support is being provided to public transport providers to purchase zero emission buses.
The Government is reducing the number of different funding streams we pay to Local Transport Authorities. Major city regions will benefit from the recently announced £15.6bn Transport for Cities fund while our smaller cities, towns and rural areas will receive £2.3bn from the Local Transport Grant and over £800m bus capital funding. Local leaders can use this funding to invest in local prioritises, such as investment in new zero emission buses (ZEBs). To support the domestic ZEB industry, the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel was established in March 2025. A key objective of the Panel is to help create a steady pipeline of manufacturing orders. This pipeline involves gathering the necessary data on bus orders over the next ten years into one place so that it is accessible to all ZEB stakeholders. This will offer greater planning certainty to local transport authorities as they develop future decarbonisation strategies. Equally, UK-based manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this stability.
What procedures HMRC (a) has and (b) plans to put in place for validating goods from Great Britain presented on the red lane at (i) Belfast, (ii) Larne, (iii) Warrenpoint and (iv) Foyle for release into the EU Single Market; how many (A) HMRC members of staff and (B) other government employees will be employed at the four ports to discharge these procedures from August 2025; what port infrastructure (1) has been (2) is being built at (a) Belfast, (b) Larne, (c) Warrenpoint and (d) Foyle to facilitate the discharging of these procedures; what the cost to the public purse has been of the construction of that infrastructure; and whether that infrastructure is (A) completed, (B) operational and (C) under construction.
Goods moving from Great Britain to the EU via Northern Ireland will complete a full customs declaration and pay the applicable rate of duty, subject to any waivers or reliefs, as an international goods movement. These customs declarations are validated electronically by HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS).There are no HMRC employed staff at ports in Northern Ireland, and HMRC does not have, and is not building, any port infrastructure at ports in Northern Ireland.
How much money HMRC has taken in (a) duties and (b) tariffs for the EU on goods moving from Great Britain to the EU at (i) Belfast, (ii) Larne, (iii) Warrenpoint and (iv) Foyle in 2025; and what is the value of any (A) duties and (B) tariffs outstanding.
HMRC is responsible for collecting customs duties on behalf of the UK Government, not the European Union. Under the Windsor Framework, where goods are moving from Great Britain to the EU via Northern Ireland, HMRC will charge the EU rate of duty. This duty is paid to HMRC and not remitted to the EU. HMRC publishes data on customs duties collected on an annual and monthly basis. However, this is provided on a national level and is not broken down into movements via specific ports. The information can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. HMRC does not disclose the value of outstanding customs duties as this data may be commercially sensitive. HMRC has well established processes to collect duties that are due, such as duty deferment accounts.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24053 on Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, what steps he has taken to ensure the (a) support arrangements for that review were independent and (b) independence of the review process in general.
The Terms of Reference of the Review clearly state that the Secretariat arrangements provided to it should operate with full regard to the independence of the Review. It has remained a matter for the Reviewer to fulfil those Terms of Reference and reach their conclusions and recommendations independently of Government.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 65431, what proportion of overall costs the contracts for the construction of the border control posts allocate to payment on completion of the project.
As stated in the answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 65431, the Government has committed to a maximum funding allocation of £192.3 million for all the facilities at the 4 ports. Of this allocation, Defra has spent £111.3 million up to the 30 June 2025. Contractors invoice on a monthly basis for works completed within the period. Forecasts indicate that spend will be within budget.
How many (a) pregnancies and (b) abortions involving girls under the age of 16 have been reported by (i) NHS and (ii) independent abortion providers to (A) the police and (B) local authority safeguarding teams in each of the past five years; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all such cases involving potential (1) rape and (2) sexual exploitation are being (a) referred, (b) investigated, and (c) prosecuted.
Information on the number of pregnancies and abortions involving girls under the age of 16 years old that have been reported by National Health Service and independent abortion providers is held by the police and local authority safeguarding teams.We recognise the devastating impact sexual violence can have. The Government is committed to tackling rape and sexual offences and achieving the best possible outcome for victims. We expect every sexual offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress, published in April 2025, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to the final recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s report. This includes the introduction of mandatory reporting, requiring individuals working with children, including health professionals, to report child sexual abuse when they are made aware of it.National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children accessing their services. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and coercion and to know how to respond. In addition, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has published national safeguarding guidance for children under 18 years old accessing early medical abortion services, which aims to ensure that robust safeguarding processes are embedded in all services. We expect all providers to have due regard to this guidance.Decisions to investigate and bring prosecutions in England and Wales are for the police and Crown Prosecution Service respectively.
When the Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum plans to respond to the correspondence of 16 June 2025 from the hon. Member for North Antrim on a meeting arising from communal disorder in his constituency.
I thank the Hon Member for his question. My officials have been in touch with his office on this matter.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37521 on Import Controls, when was construction of the border control posts completed; and what was the total construction costs of those posts.
In line with the commitments we have made under the Windsor Framework, SPS inspection facilities are already operational in Northern Ireland at the ports of Foyle (18 April 25) and Warrenpoint (20 June 25). Construction and preparation of the new facilities are well underway at Belfast and Larne, and they are scheduled to be operationally ready at the end of July 2025.The Government has committed to a maximum funding envelope of £192.3 million for all the facilities at each of the 4 ports. Of this envelope, Defra has spent £111.3 million up to the 30 June 2025.