Carla Lockhart MP: written questions
368 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Meat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36145More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase (a) funding and (b) other resources for enforcement agencies for the (i) detection and (ii) prevention of illegal meat imports at ports.
Answer: Border Force is responsible for securing our borders and officers have powers to stop and search vehicles and passengers at ports and airports. Border Force may call on Port Health Authorities for assistance in seizing any illegal meat detected. Border Fo...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36144More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the illegal importation of meat from regions affected by (a) African swine fever and (b) foot and mouth disease on ri
Answer: Whilst we have never had an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the UK, it remains a key priority in terms of exotic notifiable disease preparedness. The overall risk of an incursion is currently assessed to be medium, and we continue to prepare for ...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36143More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to strengthen border checks to prevent illegal meat imports from entering the UK through (a) Dover and (b) other ports of entry.
Answer: Defra has made additional funding of £1.9 million available to Dover District Council for the Port Health Authority, for the remainder of this financial year (2024 to 2025), to support Border Force to conduct safeguarding checks on the illegal import of p...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUSA: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28648More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to engage with the President of the United States to promote (a) trade, (b) investment and (c) cultural links with Northern Ireland.
Answer: I hope to visit the US soon to build on the already strong partnership between the US and Northern Ireland - and indeed the whole of the UK - including in the crucial areas of trade and investment. The US has been pivotal in supporting peace, stability an...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: Inheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28647More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue she expects to raise from changes to Agricultural Property Relief in Northern Ireland; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those changes on farming families in Northern Irela
Answer: The overall changes to both agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 are expected to raise £520 million in 2029-30, based on the latest available data. This is the total UK revenue expected to be raised from estates with...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUndocumented Migrants: Northern IrelandHome OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28646More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people identified as illegal migrants are being housed in Northern Ireland; and what funding they have received in the last five years.
Answer: As at 30 September 2024, there were 2,632 people in receipt of Asylum Support being housed in Northern Ireland. Further data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUndocumented Migrants: Republic of IrelandHome OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28645More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle illegal immigration into the UK via the Republic of Ireland.
Answer: 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 ri...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordTerrorism: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28644More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department plans to take steps to commission a public inquiry into the Kingsmill shooting of 5 January 1976.
Answer: The Coroner in the Kingsmill Inquest delivered clear and detailed findings on 12 April 2024, setting out that this was a horrific and sectarian terrorist atrocity carried out by the IRA with absolutely no justification. While these findings will have prov...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice Service of Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on (a) staffing levels, (b) recruitment challenges and (c) plans to address workforce shortages.
Answer: A well staffed and resourced PSNI is vital to the success and stability of Northern Ireland. I regularly engage with the Chief Constable and Justice Minister on issues of shared interest and concern.The UK Government’s Autumn budget delivered a record £18...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: FloodsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28641More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of recent flooding on agricultural productivity; and whether he plans to provide funding to help farmers improve drainag
Answer: The 2023 to 2024 Autumn and winter season were the wettest in 30 years, this meant that many farms in affected areas experienced difficulty cultivating or grazing over that period. The primary impact of this on agricultural productivity is a shift from wi...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28640More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle changes in the levels of haulage costs for transporting goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answer: Hauliers play a very important role in supporting trade within the UK. The Government meets regularly with stakeholders involved in trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including representatives of the road haulage industry, particularly in v...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Grid: WeatherDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28639More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to improve the resilience of the electricity grid to extreme weather conditions.
Answer: Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. Network operators have completed a significant number of improvements to the resilience of Great Britain’s electricity network which means the electricity system is in a much better place to mitigate po...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordStudents: Northern IrelandDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28638More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide (a) tuition fee, (b) financial and (c) other support to students from Northern Ireland studying at universities in Great Britain.
Answer: The Northern Ireland Executive has devolved responsibility for higher education in Northern Ireland and determines the student finance arrangements for Northern Irish students, including those students studying in England, Scotland and Wales.
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterans: Northern IrelandMinistry of DefenceTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24496More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans in Northern Ireland (a) to access UK-wide veterans' services and (b) in other ways.
Answer: This Government is committed to ensuring that veterans are able to access the appropriate support they require wherever they live in the UK. In Northern Ireland, the Office for Veterans Affairs, within the Ministry of Defence has established a local prese...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadcasting: Political ImpartialityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24495More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of broadcasting regulations on the impartiality of news coverage in Northern Ireland.
Answer: The regulation of due impartiality in broadcast news is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBovine Tuberculosis: Disease ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24494More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided to help tackle bovine TB outbreaks in areas of high incidence in each of the last five years.
Answer: Policy on bovine TB is devolved to governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, in the last five years, my department has spent approximately £100 million per year on disease control measures tackling bovine TB. It is not poss...
Answered 27 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAssistance Animals: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24493More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the protection of assistance animals from abuse and neglect; and what additional steps he plans to take to improve safeguards for the
Answer: Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, including assistance animals, is an offence under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The maximum sentence for this offence is five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Those convicted of an offen...
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordParades CommissionNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24492More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and what steps he plans to take to help ensure (a) its decisions are transparent and (b
Answer: Decisions regarding parades in Northern Ireland are an operational matter for the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland in line with the legislation contained within the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998. Details of any determinations made by the Commiss...
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAvian Influenza: Disease ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24491More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing to (a) poultry farmers and (b) wildlife conservation groups to help contain the spread of avian influenza.
Answer: Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate highly pathogenic avian influenza, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery as set out in the Notifiable Avi...
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordApprentices: TaxationTreasuryTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15842More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Northern Ireland on ensuring that businesses in Northern Ireland that pay into the Apprenticeship Levy receive direct funding from the levy.
Answer: HMT ministers engage regularly with the Northern Ireland Finance Minister through the Finance Inter-Ministerial Committee. While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments r...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCybersecurity and Hybrid Warfare: Northern IrelandMinistry of DefenceTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12161More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that Northern Ireland is integrated into the national defence strategy for (a) cyber defence and (b) hybrid threats.
Answer: Cyber defence and hybrid threats are crucial considerations as part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which will establish the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-fir...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordVeterans: Northern IrelandMinistry of DefenceTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12160More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that former Armed Forces personnel based in Northern Ireland are adequately supported through veterans' services.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that veterans are able to access the appropriate support they require wherever they live in the UK and will be seeking to more effectively coordinate and cohere the support that is available. Specialist statutory su...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: PetsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12159More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a right of tenants in social housing to keep a pet.
Answer: Many social landlords set out their pet policies in their tenancy agreements and will allow tenants to keep pets where it is appropriate to do so. Consideration is given to whether the pets can be well looked after and any adverse effects on the lives of ...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFireworks Regulations 2004Department for Business and TradeTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12158More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 in protecting (a) people and (b) animals from negative impacts of fireworks.
Answer: The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide gui...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDogs: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12157More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) resources and (b) training his Department provides to the Animal and Plant Health Agency to assist in the detection of puppies being smuggled through UK ports.
Answer: The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals. We work closely with UK enforcement bodies including the Animal and Plant Health Agency to develop guidance and ensure they have th...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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