Written questions by Campbell.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with refence to the Answer of 1 May 2024 to Question 23837 on World Bank: Climate Change, whether he expects all new financial flows to be aligned with the Paris Agreement by July 2025.

The World Bank Group's International Development Association and International Bank of Reconstruction and Development have aligned all their new financial operations with the Paris Agreement since 1 July 2023. The Group has committed to align the rest of its institutions, the International Financial Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, with the Paris agreement in their new financial operations from 1 July 2025.

If she will review eligibility rules to allow grandparents to take out share based ISAs for grandchildren.

To ensure that the Junior Individual Savings Accounts (JISA) regime remains simple and sustainable, HMRC specify who can open and manage an account to prevent more than one JISA of each type (cash or stocks and shares) being opened in error. It also ensures that there is a single point of contact for the giving of instructions. Given the nature of the role, the ISA rules require this to be someone with parental responsibility for the child. A grandparent who does not have parental responsibility is therefore unable to open or manage a Junior ISA on behalf of their grandchild but can add funds to the account, up to the value of £9,000 a year. The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.

Whether he has plans to fund a financial incentives scheme to help pregnant women to stop smoking during this Parliament.

Health is a devolved matter. In England, the Government is funding a broad package of measures to support current smokers to quit, including the National Smoke-free Pregnancy Incentives Scheme. The future settlement for the scheme will be confirmed in due course.

What assessment he has made of the impact of occupational and state pension payments on eligibility for Carer's Allowance.

I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to question UIN 6904, this outlines the interaction between Carer’s Allowance and State Pension. Personal pensions paid to the carer are not treated as earnings and therefore do not affect their Carer’s Allowance award. Some contributions to personal pensions can be deducted from earnings so as to calculate the net earnings figure for Carer’s Allowance purposes. Social security is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland.

If he will hold discussions with his NATO counterparts on the potential merits of seeking financial contributions from non-NATO countries who are advantaged by their immediate proximity to NATO countries.

NATO partnerships are key for the Alliance in helping promote and maintain global security. They are mutually beneficial and enable NATO and partners to develop and strengthen unity on key issues, including support to Ukraine, and uphold the rules-based international order. The UK has championed NATO’s global outlook and will continue to do so. All NATO Allies have signed up to the Washington Treaty and the principle of collective defence. As part this commitment, Allies contribute to NATO’s common funding in support of the Alliance’s objectives, priorities and tasks. In line with NATO’s Defence Investment Pledge, all Allies agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence – a figure the UK has exceeded every year since 2006. We continue to encourage all Allies to do so.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with funding bodies on the potential implications for their policies of reports of a recently released hostage having been held in UNRWA premises.

This Government is relieved about the release of hostages, including that of Ms. Damari, and hope all others will also soon return safely to their families. Reports that hostages have been held in United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) premises are very concerning. We welcome the fact that UNRWA has said that they take all allegations extremely seriously, and there should be independent investigations into any misuse of its facilities by Palestinian armed militants, including Hamas. We also note UNRWA's statement that it was forced to vacate all its installations in the north of Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, on 13 October 2023. Following Catherine Colonna's Independent Review, UNRWA set out an action plan with detailed management reforms. As a result, we are assured that UNRWA is taking action to ensure it maintains the highest standards of neutrality. As the Minister for Development told the House on 28 January, she has discussed the issue of neutrality with UNRWA's leadership, including directly with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. She also spoke to UNRWA staff members on their work to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report during her visit to the region on 3-5 December. A Memorandum of Understanding governs UK financial support to UNRWA. We continue to monitor UNRWA's activity through due diligence and annual assessments.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland since it was established.

The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland was launched in November 2023 with the aim to deliver a £70 million commitment to smaller businesses in Northern Ireland, alongside investment from the private sector. Since its launch, the fund has deployed almost £10 million in debt funding and equity investment to local businesses at differing stages of their growth journey.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has funded the BBC Media Action charity in each of the last five years.

The BBC Media Action charity has not received funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in any of the last five years. Sources of funding for BBC Media Action can be found in their annual reports.

If he will make an estimate of future trends in the level of prostate cancer rates up to May 2028.

An increase in prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing in recent years has led to increased prostate cancer diagnoses. However, it is worth noting that the increase in diagnosis has not impacted upon mortality rates.We know that the best way to treat prostate cancer is by identifying it as early as possible. The Department is investing £16 million into the Prostate Cancer UK-led Transform screening trial, which seeks to find better ways to detect prostate cancer. This trial will compare the most promising tests that look for prostate cancer in men that do not have symptoms and aims to address disparities in detection rates across different groups. This will contribute to our further understanding of prostate cancer including its prevalence. The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those living with prostate cancer.

Innovation and Technology, what outcomes there were through Innovate UK's Launchpad initiative in Northern Ireland in 2024.

Innovate UK has allocated up to £7.5 million for the Life and Health Sciences Launchpad in Northern Ireland. An initial allocation of funding was made to 14 business-led projects in April 2024. 18 additional projects targeting early-stage businesses in this cluster were funded in summer 2024. Competitions are currently in planning to allocate the remaining Launchpad funds.Innovate UK is evaluating the impact of all the Launchpads, including the one in Northern Ireland. It will publish interim findings from early 2027 via UKRI’s public website. A full impact evaluation will subsequently report from late 2028.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Launchpad Initiative in Northern Ireland by Innovate UK on the life and health sciences sector.

Innovate UK Launchpads is an £80 million programme that builds on local innovation strengths to support emerging clusters of SMEs to deliver jobs, growth, and high productivity. For each Launchpad, Innovate UK invests up to £7.5 million for business-led innovation projects.The Northern Ireland Launchpad is dedicated to the advancement of healthcare solutions and medical breakthroughs. Innovate UK has appointed independent consultants to evaluate the impact of this and the other Launchpads and will publish interim findings from early 2027 via UKRI’s public website. A full impact evaluation will report from late 2028.

If he will publish the (a) guarantees, (b) insurance policies and (c) loans issued by UK Export Finance to businesses in Northern Ireland in 2024.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) produces audited details of businesses supported each financial year as part of its transparency protocols.Details of all UKEF support for businesses for 2023/24 and previous years can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-export-finance-business-supportedThe corresponding return of all businesses supported during financial year 2024/25 will be published in the summer.UKEF does not publish a breakdown by UK nations and regions.

What services the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will have available at Post Offices between 2027 and 2029.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s current contract with Post Office Ltd expires on 31 March 2026, with an option to extend until 31 March 2027.  The DVLA is preparing to launch a procurement for a new contract for the service currently provided by Post Office. This contract which will begin when the current contract expires.  The requirements for this contract are currently being developed and the winning supplier will be determined in compliance with UK public procurement regulations.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2024 to Question 18292 on Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands, what estimate she has made of additional tax revenue raised by freezing the (a) standard and (b) higher rate income tax thresholds (i) for each financial year and (ii) in total to 2029-30.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) routinely publish this information in their Economic and Fiscal Outlooks (EFO). The table below is extracted from the OBR’s most recent EFO, from October 2024 (Table 3.9, available here: https://obr.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlooks/). This shows the per annum reduction in government borrowing arising from the freeze in both the Personal Allowance and the Higher Rate Threshold up to 2027-28. From 2023-24 to 2029-30, these measures raise a total of £207.9bn. £ billion Forecast 2023-242024-252025-262026-272027-282028-292029-30PA and HRT freezes-13.2-23.3-27.6-31.8-36.0-37.5-38.6 The current Government is committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds. As a result, they will rise with inflation from April 2028, meaning working people will keep more of their earnings.

With reference to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Question 5762 on World Economy, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on strengthening the international debt architecture.

The Government is committed to tackling unsustainable debt and the Chancellor has called for international partners to work together on this, including through enhancing debt transparency and promoting adoption of Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs). HM Treasury continues to engage regularly with international partners, including the IMF, World Bank, borrower countries, other official creditors, private sector, and civil society organisations, on strengthening the international debt architecture. These discussions take place through various international fora, including the G7, G20, Paris Club and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.

What large transport infrastructure projects outside the South East she is considering.

Future funding for capital investment in transport will be determined as part of the spending review. This will be underpinned by a range of analysis, to ensure that the right investments are made in the right places. The Government remains committed to improving transport infrastructure across all parts of the United Kingdom, ensuring that benefits are felt at both a regional and national level. While transport is largely devolved to Northern Ireland, the Department for Transport is taking steps to improve links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by funding Transport Scotland’s A75 feasibility study to explore options to bypass Springholm and Crocketford, supporting the Windsor Framework to streamline transport and customs processes, and through investment in green shipping corridors through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The government is also subsidising flights between City of Derry Airport and London Heathrow Airport through a Public Service Obligation.

When she plans to publish the next National Road Traffic Projections.

The National Road Traffic Projections were last published in December 2022. The Department regularly reviews evidence and data on the drivers of travel demand and will publish an update in due course.

What estimate she has made of how many hotels will be required as temporary accommodation for people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland by the end of 2025.

This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain. We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.Since the General Election, there has been a net increase of six hotels in use across the UK; however, ten are scheduled for closure by the end of March 2025. It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in office. Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). In terms of the accommodation of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland, it remains the case that only those claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there.

If he will list the support offered to businesses in Northern Ireland by UK Export Finance in 2024.

UKEF offers its full range of products and services to exporters across the UK, including Northern Ireland. Full details of the UKEF’s product and support offering can be found online at: www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk/products-and-services/. UKEF also has a network of Export Finance Managers across the UK who are valuable points of contact for local businesses and can provide information on the range of support available. Contact details for the EFMs can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-export-finance-manager.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK.

The UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is expected to support jobs and create opportunities for business growth in every part of the UK. An impact assessment was published regarding the UK's accession to CPTPP and the potential long-run economic impact of the agreement. The analysis detailed the prospective impacts on all the UK’s regions and nations and demonstrated that UK GDP could increase by £2.0 billion every year in the long run.