Sorcha Eastwood MP: written questions
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025
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Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
17 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Public Expenditure: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 5 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57798More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 June 2025, HCWS682, on School Food, what estimate she has made of the potential Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland following the expansion of free school meals t
Answer: The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.When changes to the Department for Education’s budget were confirmed at Spending Review 2025 on 11 June, the Barnett formul...
Answered 13 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Care Services: VATTreasuryTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51606More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT on beauty and hair salons.
Answer: VAT is the UK’s third largest tax. It is forecast to raise £180 billion in 2024/25, which funds public services. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Care Services: VATTreasuryTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51605More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT applicable to beauty and hair salons.
Answer: VAT is the UK’s third largest tax. It is forecast to raise £180 billion in 2024/25, which funds public services. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 9 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51186More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she is taking steps to improve processing time for applications to join the UK Internal Market Scheme.
Answer: The UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) was launched in June 2023, allowing businesses across the United Kingdom to apply, and HMRC has successfully encouraged over 10,000 traders to get authorised. HMRC is required to take a decision regarding the outcome ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 9 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51185More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process business applications to join the UK Internal Market Scheme.
Answer: The UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) was launched in June 2023, allowing businesses across the United Kingdom to apply, and HMRC has successfully encouraged over 10,000 traders to get authorised. HMRC is required to take a decision regarding the outcome ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 9 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51184More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for businesses awaiting admission to the UK Internal Market Scheme.
Answer: The UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) was launched in June 2023, allowing businesses across the United Kingdom to apply, and HMRC has successfully encouraged over 10,000 traders to get authorised. HMRC is required to take a decision regarding the outcome ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: VATTreasuryTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36900More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT on hospitality.
Answer: To support hospitality businesses, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with Rateable Values below £500,000, from 2026-27. Ahead of these changes being made, the Govern...
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: VATTreasuryTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36899More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will consider reducing the rate of VAT on hospitality.
Answer: To support hospitality businesses, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with Rateable Values below £500,000, from 2026-27. Ahead of these changes being made, the Govern...
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Expenditure: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21479More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Department of Health and Social Care's press release entitled Biggest investment into hospices in a generation, published on 19 December 2024, whether any Barnett consequentials will be made av
Answer: The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to UK Government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). As this funding for adult and children’s hospices is being re-allocated from within existing Department of Health and Social Care budgets the...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Inclusion Committee: Public AppointmentsTreasuryTabled 6 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18433More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had on the potential merits of appointing a Northern Ireland representative to the Financial Inclusion Committee.
Answer: On 5 December, I convened a Financial Inclusion Committee which has been established to tackle the problems of financial exclusion. Through this committee, I will work with consumer groups and industry on the development of a Financial Inclusion Strategy....
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFinancial Inclusion Committee: Public AppointmentsTreasuryTabled 6 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18432More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a representative from Northern Ireland to the Financial Inclusion Committee.
Answer: On 5 December, I convened a Financial Inclusion Committee which has been established to tackle the problems of financial exclusion. Through this committee, I will work with consumer groups and industry on the development of a Financial Inclusion Strategy....
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic Expenditure: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5793More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will fund an updated version of the report entitled Cost of Division: A benchmark of performance and expenditure, published by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre in January 2016.
Answer: As part of the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) the UK Government and NIE agreed to add a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett formula as it applies to the NIE from 2024-25. This is part of the financial package worth over £3.3 billi...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic Expenditure: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5792More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will conduct a comprehensive review of (a) relative need and (b) associated implications for the level of the fiscal floor for Northern Ireland required to ensure equivalent levels of service provision across
Answer: As part of the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) the UK Government and NIE agreed to add a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett formula as it applies to the NIE from 2024-25. This is part of the financial package worth over £3.3 billi...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic Expenditure: Northern IrelandTreasuryTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5791More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the fiscal floor for Northern Ireland.
Answer: As part of the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) the UK Government and NIE agreed to add a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett formula as it applies to the NIE from 2024-25. This is part of the financial package worth over £3.3 billi...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordMotor InsuranceTreasuryTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5501More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the comparative costs of car insurance in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain.
Answer: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis. The Government is determined that insurers should treat all customers fairly and insurance companies are req...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordInsurance: Payment MethodsTreasuryTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5500More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the (a) comparative costs of paying (i) vehicle and (ii) household insurance (A) annually and (B) in monthly instalments and (b) impact of such co
Answer: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis. The Government recognises that the ability to pay insurance premiums in instalments is an important tool for...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCredit: RegulationTreasuryTabled 25 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 1882More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate buy-now-pay-later financial products.
Answer: Regulating Buy Now Pay Later products is crucial to protect people and deliver certainty for the sector. The government will be looking to work closely with all interested stakeholders and will set out its plans shortly.
Answered 31 Jul 2024
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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