Written questions by Campbell.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Eritrean counterpart on reported discrimination of Evangelical Christians who are serving members of the Eritrean armed forces.

We consistently raise human rights with the Eritrean government, including religious freedoms. We advocate for the end of discriminatory detentions based on religion or belief, as we have stated at the UN Human Rights Council. We call for all those unjustly incarcerated to be released. The UK's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea raised human rights during her most recent visit to Eritrea in April 2025 and the UK supports the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2025.

How many electronic travel authorisations were issued to visitors traveling to Northern Ireland from the Irish Republic between January and June 2025.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 June to Question UIN 59294.

How many people who were born in the Irish Republic have applied for a UK passport through the naturalisation process between 2019 and 2024.

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

How many people were diagnosed with dementia in (a) 2020 and (b) 2024.

The data requested is not collected centrally.We can provide a count of patients with a recorded diagnosis of dementia. This is a count of patients with a dementia diagnosis on their general practice record at the specified point in time irrespective of when the diagnosis was made. The data has been published under the Primary Care Dementia Data publication series since April 2022, and under the Recorded Dementia Diagnoses publication series prior to that.The following table shows the dementia diagnosis figures for all ages for December of each year for 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024:DateRecorded dementia diagnoses for all agesDecember 2024498,221December 2023479,540December 2020438,361December 2019472,890 It is worth highlighting that these represent an estimate of the total number of people living with a diagnosis of dementia, and that changes over 2020 and over 2024 do not reflect only new diagnoses.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Bundesbank's report entitled What’s behind the sustained decline in German export market shares?, published on 14 July 2025.

Germany is the UK’s second-largest trading partner globally. We recognise the importance of resolving trade frictions between the UK and Germany where they occur. Our new UK-Germany Treaty, signed on 17 July, has economic growth and industrial collaboration at its heart. This will help drive trade between the UK and Germany through both a series of ‘Lighthouse projects’ and a broader implementation plan. For example, a new Business-Government Forum will connect the UK and German governments with leading businesses to identify opportunities and barriers to growth, with a focus on growth-driving sectors including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and financial services.

Whether the outcome of the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial will be shared with Health Departments in each of the devolved institutions.

The TRANSFORM screening trial, funded in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, is investigating new prostate cancer screening methods. This national randomised control trial will provide data to policymakers for a decision on recommending prostate cancer screening. Results will be shared with the UK National Screening Committee, representing all four nations.

Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with the Semiconductor Advisory Panel on the ongoing work of Northern Ireland based clusters.

The Government recognises the strategic importance of the semiconductor sector across the UK, including the growing cluster in Northern Ireland with strengths in photonics, power, and sensors. The Semiconductor Advisory Panel, co-chaired by Lord Vallance, meets quarterly and plays a key role in shaping our national approach to support the semiconductor industry, including supporting the development of clusters. The Government is committed to supporting the Northern Irish cluster, such as through the SmartNano NI Initiative funded with £42.4 million from UKRI, and the Panel will continue to discuss the Northern Ireland cluster as part of its ongoing work.

If he will extend the closing date for applications to the Connect Fund beyond 10 August 2025.

The Connect Fund will support communities in Northern Ireland, funding projects between £300 and £50,000 with a clear East-West lens that deliver on building connections, sharing information, and collaborative community work. Funding is available in two rounds, with the first round running from now until 30 April 2026, and the second round running from 1 May 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Connect Fund is rolling and applications can therefore be submitted throughout these two periods, with the 10th of the month being the deadline for each month. If one were to miss the 10th of the month deadline, an application will be considered the following month. Further information is available on the grant page at:https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/connect-fund-1#objectives

If she will make an assessment of whether the National Wealth Fund is operating on an equitable basis throughout the UK.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) identifies investment opportunities across the UK and has dedicated directors in each of the four nations to support its view of markets across the country. 80% of the NWF's portfolio is outside of London and the South-East.The NWF's success is assessed across a range of measures, including that it should have a good geographical spread of its activity across the nations and regions of the UK

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 65724 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many projects have been successfully completed under the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.

59 Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects that involved either a Northern Ireland (NI) based business, or a NI based university or FE college successfully completed in the last 3 years. A breakdown of these projects in each year is:2022 – 282023 – 172024 – 14

What representations she has received from the public on the use of reparations for those convicted of criminal offences.

The Department has interpreted ‘representations’ to mean correspondence sent to the Secretary of State for Justice or her Ministers. One piece of correspondence related to this issue was received by the Department.

What information his Department holds on the number of children recommended to have annual eye tests who have not done so in each of the past five years.

Free National Health Service sight tests are widely available for children under 16 years old and under 19 years old in full time education. It is recommended that all children under 16 years old should have an annual sight test. Sight tests for children under seven years old with binocular vision anomaly or corrected refractive error and children over seven and under 16 years old with binocular vision anomaly or rapidly progressing myopia are recommended every six months.Although data on the number of NHS sight tests is collected, it is not routinely broken down to be able to identify the numbers of sight tests provided to children. We are therefore unable to estimate the number of children who have not had a sight test.

What estimate he has made of the number of new jobs created in Northern Ireland as a result of increased defence spending.

Northern Ireland plays a crucial role in the defence of the United Kingdom, with a defence industrial base that is at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and our enduring support to Ukraine. For example, in March 2025 we announced a £1.5 billion contract for Lightweight Multirole Missiles to Ukraine, which will create 200 direct jobs in Northern Ireland with more expected to be created in the supply chain. The UK Government will set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy how we will make defence an engine for growth, ensuring that our defence spending boosts prosperity, jobs and security for working people across all the nations and regions of the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

What steps he is taking to reduce the number of deaths from late diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The Department remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including prostate cancer. We recognise that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis and treatment.To combat late diagnosis, the Government is investing £16 million towards the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which is seeking to find ways to catch prostate cancer in men as early as possible.The Department will publish a National Cancer Plan which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, and ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The overarching goal is to drive up this country’s cancer survival rates and provide a National Health Service that is there when you need it.

Whether she plans plans to review the Legal Aid regulations where (a) assistance has been received for a case and (b) several appeals are lodged with legal aid assistance to prevent the release of information via Freedom of Information legislation about the cost of such assistance.

Legal aid for proceedings within England and Wales is subject to the provisions of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and regulations made under that Act. The legislation places restrictions on the scope of services funded and the eligibility criteria which need to be satisfied before legal aid is granted.Civil legal aid services relating to an appeal arising from or relating to a decision to release information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are not within the scope of funded services. Legal aid may be available as exceptional case funding where failure to provide legal aid would breach or risk breaching an individual’s human rights or other enforceable legal rights. There are no plans to review the scope of legal aid in this area.Applications for legal aid, including that provided as exceptional case funding, are subject to a merits test. This helps ensure that public funding is used responsibly and not spent on cases that are unlikely to succeed or are repeated without new grounds.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his plans are for future import of (a) animals and (b) animal meat products from Germany, in the context of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that country.

The import restrictions brought in as a result of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Germany were lifted on 14 May 2025. However, other import restrictions are in place linked to other disease outbreaks in the EU. These restrictions mean that live animal imports are not possible, for example, from bluetongue affected countries including Germany. Furthermore, restrictions on personal imports of many meat and dairy products are in place from the whole of the EU. A full list of restrictions on imports from the EU is available here and is kept constantly up to date to assist traders and the public: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/imports-and-exports-of-animals-and-animal-products-topical-issues.

Pursuant to the Answers of 23 June 2025, 30 June 2025 and 7 July 2025 to Questions 60413, 61747 and 63990 on Asylum: Northern Ireland, whether she plans to purchase (a) tower blocks and (b) student accommodation solely to house people already living in Northern Ireland and claiming asylum not the wider cohort living elsewhere.

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer he received on 23 June 2025 to UIN 60413.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58921 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many companies were awarded contracts for Innovation grants in Northern Ireland in 2024.

In 2024, 3 Contracts for Innovation (CfI) grants were awarded by Innovate UK to companies in Northern Ireland, totalling just over £2 million.The majority of CfI competitions in Northern Ireland are organised and delivered by other public bodies; for which Innovate UK do not hold data.

Innovation and Technology, how many grant assistance programmes are run in partnership between Innovate UK and Invest NI for Companies based in Northern Ireland.

Innovate UK and Invest NI co-fund the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme, which partners businesses with graduates. Approximately 450 projects have been successfully completed in Northern Ireland since 2003.More widely, Invest NI is part of the Innovate UK Business Growth Delivery Programme. Although not a grant assistance programme, this programme has supported 339 businesses in Northern Ireland in the last 3 years.

What estimate he has made of the number of people with dementia in (a) 2025 and (b) 2029.

No specific estimate has been made for the number of people with dementia in 2029.The Dementia Surveillance Factsheet estimates that, in May 2025, there were 740,640 people aged 65 years old and over estimated to have dementia in England. Of these, 485,653 have been formally diagnosed.This factsheet uses Primary Care Dementia Data, which replaced the Recorded Dementia Diagnosis data in October 2022.