Written questions by Campbell.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to review the effectiveness of the implementation of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

The Government currently has no plans to review the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to change funding committed to the International Development Association.

The UK is strongly committed to the International Development Association and its centrality in development finance. The impacts of the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent are still being worked through and we will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

How many asylum seekers were housed in dispersed accommodation in Northern Ireland on 31 December (a) 2022 and (b) 2024.

Only those individuals claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there.Northern Ireland’s asylum population is proportionate to its population when compared to the UK. There were 1,853 asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation in Northern Ireland on 31 December 2022, and 2,285 on 31 December 2024.Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation and by local authority is published on a quarterly basis, the most recent statistics release available is for December 2024. Statistics are available on GOV.UK at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What guidance her Department has issued on (a) ascertaining a court judgement and (b) informing a relevant local authority in cases where someone who (i) is seeking asylum, (ii) is housed in hotel accommodation and (iii) has been convicted of an offence has been given a non-custodial sentence.

No specific guidance has been published for the scenario referenced, but the Home Office works closely with our contracted accommodation providers and law enforcement partners to deal with any cases of concern, and we will always do everything necessary to keep local communities safe.

Whether (a) she and (b) her officials have had discussions with Natwest Bank on fixed rate loans for small and medium-sized businesses taken out in the 2008 period.

The Government regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the financial services landscape, and it is important that communication can take place in a free and frank way. Officials and Ministers frequently engage with NatWest, as one of the UK's largest banks on a range of topics, including matters relating to SME lending.

How many times the Export Finance Manager responsible for Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland visited Northern Ireland in 2024.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has a dedicated Export Finance Manager (EFM) based in, and visiting businesses all around, Northern Ireland since 2012, along with Regional Heads who oversee the work of clusters of EFMs. UKEF does not provide information about individual officials who are not senior civil servants.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 38944, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of people aged over 66 years old working (a) part time and (b) full time who paid income tax in the last financial year.

The information is not available. HMRC does not hold complete information on hours worked in an employment.

Whether her Department holds information on the dates of future meetings of the Global Sovereign Debt roundtable in 2025.

The Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meets at Principals (i.e., Finance Minister or equivalent) level during the IMF-World Bank Spring and Annual meetings, in April and October respectively. Technical and preparatory meetings, including open workshops, take place in the intervening months. As a participant in the GSDR, the UK is invited to all GSDR meetings when they are scheduled, and actively participates in the sessions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26424 on Cars: Credit, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of consumer credit debt relating to car purchases for the next five years.

The government believes it is vital that consumers have access to a thriving motor finance market to enable them to spread the cost of a vehicle in a way that is manageable and affordable.The government engages with a broad range of stakeholders such as the financial regulators, industry, debt advice charities and consumer groups to monitor trends in consumer debt and understand issues affecting consumers.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of people aged 66 and over who are in (a) full time employment and (b) part time employment.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 18th March is attached.

What steps she is taking to raise awareness of the Blind Person's Allowance.

Blind Person's Allowance is an extra amount of tax-free allowance that can be added to an individual’s Personal Allowance, for those who are blind or severely sight impaired. Blind Person's Allowance is £3,070 for the tax year 2024-25. If the recipient does not pay tax or have enough taxable income to use their full BPA, the remainder of the allowance can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.HMRC promotes the availability of Blind Person's Allowance through supporting and funding key charities, such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People, through dedicated communications partners and the 2024-27 HMRC Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Funding Programme. This ensures communications are accurate and reach the greatest number of eligible customers.Information on how to claim Blind Person's Allowance is available on the GOV.UK website and it can be claimed by telephone to HMRC. Blind Person’s Allowance is also signposted on the application form for registering any sight impairments with Local Authorities.HMRC follows comprehensive government accessibility standards. These include guidance on writing and producing braille developed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Sensory Trust as well as making social media accessible.HMRC’s ongoing support for Blind Person's Allowance campaigns seeks to raise awareness of the eligibility criteria for the allowance, encourage take-up and educate customers on how to claim.

How many people were identified as not being in possession of a valid Electronic Travel Authorisation in Northern Ireland in the first two months since its introduction.

Electronic travel authorisations were introduced in October 2023 to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream, and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the United Kingdom. They were more recently expanded to eligible non-European nationals (in November 2024) and Europeans (on 5 March this year). The Home Office will provide regular updates in the months and years ahead on how the ETA requirement is being implemented and enforced.

Innovation and Technology, Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28458 on Life Sciences: Northern Ireland, what the geographical spread was of the projects that received funding up to the summer of 2024.

The Life and Health Sciences Launchpad in Northern Ireland has so far funded 32 business-led projects. These were in the following local authorities:Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (1 project)Antrim and Newtownabbey (1 project)Ards and North Down (1 project)Belfast (18 projects)Causeway Coast and Glens (1 project)Derry City and Strabane (2 project)Lisburn and Castlereagh (3 projects)Mid Ulster (2 projects)Mid and East Antrim (3 projects)

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the maritime decarbonisation plan on the UK economy by 2029.

We will shortly set out our next steps for reducing shipping emissions in a forthcoming maritime decarbonisation plan, which will include a package of policy and regulatory measures. Maritime has a key role to play in supporting the Governments missions, including to Kickstart Economic Growth, and our plans will ensure that we seize the green growth opportunity of maritime decarbonisation, whilst limiting any impacts to business. We will publish an impact assessment and consult the industry on individual measures, and economic impacts will form part of these assessments.

When the Financial Conduct Authority will publish revised guidance on politically exposed persons under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2023.

The Government has been working closely with the FCA to follow up on the findings of its review into the treatment of Politically Exposed Persons by financial institutions, and to ensure firms improve their practices where necessary. The FCA expects that the revised guidance will be published and brought into effect in the first half of 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 36365 on HM Coastguard: North West, if she will take steps to distribute copies of the (a) assessments and (b) consequent service level changes to relevant stakeholders.

HM Coastguard would not normally share any documentation relating to operational decisions pertaining to the capability and capacity of Coastal Response Teams. HM Coastguard does however proactively engage with all relevant local partners when there is a change to Coastal Response Teams operational skillset. HM Coastguard remains available to re-engage with any stakeholder that has a concern relative to Coastal Response Team operations. Further, HM Coastguard has never entered into a service level agreement with City of Derry airport, for the provision of mud rescue capability. An internal review of HM Coastguard Mud Rescue capability concluded that the changes would not impact on the statutory role of search and rescue. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons in distress in the air, at sea, in tidal waters or at risk of injury or death on the sea cliffs and shoreline of the UK.

If she will make an assessment of the number of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points per hundred thousand people in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland on 1 December 2024.

The number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices per 100,000 population by country of the UK is published as part of the department’s quarterly electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics. These statistics are published quarterly so an equivalent summary as of 1 December 2024 is not available. Data as of 1 January 2025 is given in the table below: CountryCharging devices per 100,000 populationEngland111.0Wales99.9Scotland112.7Northern Ireland35.6

What steps she is taking to help reduce road (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries among young people.

The Government treats road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course. Road safety is devolved to Northern Ireland (as well as to Wales and Scotland).

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of tax reliefs provided to charities who work in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, but are physically based in Northern Ireland and constituted in the Irish Republic.

The UK tax regime for charities is among the most generous in the world with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024. In March 2023, the UK Government announced that from April 2024 charitable tax reliefs would be restricted to UK-based charities. This means that, to be eligible for UK charity reliefs, a charity must fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, or the Court of Session in Scotland. This can be achieved through registration with one of the UK charity Commissions or HMRC. Such a charity can continue to support charitable causes in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

What the value was of (a) exports and (b) imports between the UK and Ireland in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2024.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman or lady Parliamentary Question of 12th March is attached.