Written questions by Robinson.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

What maritime and aerial support has been provided to the Republic of Ireland in the last 5 years; and at what cost.

Over the past five years, the only UK support to Ireland has been Search and Rescue assistance provided on five occasions. There was no additional cost identified for this activity. We have not provided maritime support to Ireland.

How many sites earmarked for disposal in Better Defence Estate 2016 have been sold; and when those sites were sold.

Of the sites earmarked for disposal under Better Defence Estate 2016, 31 sites were released for alternative use between 2016 and 2025.

Which sites earmarked for disposal in Better Defence Estate 2016 remain unsold.

Following the 2020 Integrated Review, Spending Reviews, and Future Soldier announcements, 32 of the sites earmarked for disposal under Better Defence Estate 2016 are awaiting disposal following completion of reprovision works.

Whether he plans to conduct a further assessment of potential site disposal across his Department.

On 27 March 2025, the Government announced a new taskforce to deliver thousands of homes on surplus public land, with Defence land becoming a ‘trailblazer’ for the new partnership approach to development. This is an opportunity for all parts of the country, helping meet the Government’s ambition for 1.5 million homes. As part of this, the Defence Secretary has identified the long-term capacity on surplus Ministry of Defence (MOD) land for at least 100,000 homes. Trailblazer sites include a site in Ripon, which was transferred from MOD to Homes England to allow construction at Deverell Barracks to start within 12 months to expedite the delivery of 1,300 homes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on trends in the level of (a) economic output and (b) employment in the glass manufacturing sector in the next five years.

In autumn last year my department published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme on packaging producers as a whole including impact on CPI inflation and impact on consumers weekly expenditure, when the regulations were laid in parliament. This does not include an assessment of the impact on specific materials or sectors. However, my department has engaged extensively with the glass manufacturing sector to understand the impacts on them. This engagement will continue.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the attractiveness of foreign investment in glass manufacturing in (a) the UK, (b) France and (c) Germany following the introduction of the Extended Producer Responsibility.

My department has not undertaken an assessment of this specific topic, but has engaged extensively with other countries that operate extended producer responsibility schemes across the EU and across the world. Extended producer responsibility is an internationally recognised model to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling levels. The UK’s largest waste management companies have pledged a £10 billion investment in the UK’s reprocessing capacity, creating around 25,000 jobs on the back of the packaging reforms.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on the level of (a) food and (b) retail consumer inflation in each of the next five years.

In autumn last year my department published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme on packaging producers as a whole including impact on CPI inflation and impact on consumers weekly expenditure, when the regulations were laid in parliament.

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 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 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 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 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.