Written questions by Campbell.

Communities and Local Government, if he will hold discussions with the boards of (a) Londonderry and (b) Coleraine Future Towns funds on the expansion of those funds.

The government’s flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million each to 284 places over the next decade, including Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine. In Northern Ireland, other UK Government Investment programmes are also coming into delivery, or expected imminently, supporting growth including £150 million for the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone and ongoing delivery of c£600 million UKG funding for City and Growth Deals. The UK Government has delivered the largest real-terms settlements since devolution in 1998. On average, £92.5 billion per year will be provided to the devolved administrations between 2026-27 and 2028-29. This includes, £19.3 billion per year on average for the Northern Ireland Executive. As part of the Pride in Place Programme, the boards in Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine are receiving dedicated support from the Communities Delivery Unit in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Communities. They will work with other departments to identify support for the boards, as they develop and deliver their local plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) supermarkets and (b) other retailers on the potential impact of the closure of the Movement Assistance Scheme on those businesses.

The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) was always intended to be time limited. It was originally scheduled to close in December 2023. The decision to extend MAS until June 2025 was made public on 10th October 2023 and there was never a suggestion it would extend beyond this date. However, the Department remains committed to ensuring the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market, as demonstrated by the ongoing support for traders moving goods to Northern Ireland and the work to reach an SPS agreement with the EU. Last year, retailers and trade representative bodies were reminded that the scheme was closing as planned and large retailers were offered 1:1 meetings.

What analysis his Department has undertaken on the reasons for increases in the numbers of successful applications for Universal Credit in the last three years.

People moving from old legacy benefits onto Universal Credit – almost four in every five – account for the vast majority of the increase over the past year. This is a transition we inherited from the previous government, alongside a system that writes people offWe are fixing this. We've already legislated to remove incentives that discourage work, and have redeployed 1,000 work coaches to support thousands of sick and disabled people who were previously left without contact for years. Alongside this, there has been an increase in the working age population, as a result of population growth and a rising state pension age, as well as an increase in the proportion of the working age population in receipt of incapacity benefits (including ESA and those on the UC Health Journey) over this period. The latest Universal Credit (UC) statistics published on 17 February 2026 now include a breakdown of those who received a migration notice and have moved from legacy benefits to UC as part of the Move to UC programme, and can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-8-january-2026

Pursuant to Question 112100 answered on 23 February 2026, if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers approved in both (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade approved 67 grant awards for the Music Export Growth Scheme in 2024 and 59 grant awards in 2025.

How best practice in the roll out of fracture liaison services in England is being shared with the devolved institutions.

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians.The Fracture Liaison Service database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by Fracture Liaison Services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It captures data that NHS datasets are not designed to record, providing key insight across these nations.Fracture Liaison Services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland report into the database. The Royal College of Physicians publishes an annual report on Fracture Liaison Services in England and Wales.

Representing the Church Commissioners, how many listed churches have been demolished in each of the last five years.

The Church Commissioners can only answer questions about the buildings in the care of the Church of England. Of the 16,000 church buildings in its care, over 12,000 are listed.Demolition of a church is a last resort and happens very rarely, and only after all other options have been considered. Over the last five years, only one listed church building has been demolished, and consent has been granted for the demolition of one further case, which is yet to be implemented. In both cases, the churches had significant structural flaws arising from their construction or defects in their building materials, making repair impossible or too costly. In both cases, alternative provision has been and continues to be made for the worshipping community.

What steps his Department are taking to support people who have requested help and information on detransitioning.

We are working with NHS England to implement the recommendations from the Cass Review to ensure everyone gets the high-quality care they need. This includes setting up a clinical pathway and provision for people considering detransition. Following engagement with those with lived experience, on 30 October 2025, NHS England published a call for evidence on a clinical pathway for adults who have previously undergone a gender transition and who wish to detransition to bring together professional opinion. The call for evidence closed on 28 December 2025. NHS England is considering all relevant feedback that was submitted. It will collate views, evidence, and insights into a summary evidence report. NHS England will use this evidence, together with other intelligence and further engagement, to begin to define a clinical pathway which will be tested through further stakeholder engagement and public consultation later this year. While we work to establish this clinical pathway, patients who need the support of the NHS are encouraged to speak directly with healthcare professionals, including GPs and mental health services.

Whether independent assessment processes exist to monitor the changing costs for local authorities' expenditure on taxi provision to schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children and use a mix of in-house services, passes for free travel on public transport and contracts with private transport operators. Such contracts are a matter for the council and the operator. We encourage councils to have robust arrangements in place. We would expect single-occupancy taxis to be used only when no other solution is appropriate. We are supporting councils through a new home-to-school travel data collection to support benchmarking and publishing guidance to support joined-up decision-making.We have committed to reform the special educational needs and disabilities system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings. This will mean fewer children will need to travel long distances to access education, reducing the burden on local authorities. These reforms are set out in the Schools White Paper, published on 23 February.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on how best practice across the UK can be utilised to help with green blue algae problems in Lough Neagh.

Baroness Hayman visited Lough Neagh with Defra officials and Minister Muir in March 2025, to see first-hand some of the shared challenges. Subsequently at the November 2025 meeting of the Interministerial Group for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministers from across the UK, including the Northern Ireland Executive, discussed water quality issues and how to share best practice. Ministers agreed to establish an officials’ group to enhance the sharing of research data and behavioural change evidence to support policy making and delivery across the UK.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has set incremental targets for its overall housebuilding target in this Parliament.

The government has not set incremental targets in respect of its Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament. Progress will be measured through the number of net additional dwellings and we will update Parliament in the usual manner.

If he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on how people using the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers scheme in England can find employment in Northern Ireland.

Skills and employment support policies are fully transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive, and the nature and scope of support for young people is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive to determine. Senior officials from the DWP and Northern Ireland Executive are already working together to share learning and best practices whilst ensuring effective integration of reserved and devolved provision. In England, the eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers are testing approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are or at risk of not being in employment, education or training. This includes strengthening local coordination through local leadership and outreach with partners including third sector organisations, employers and colleges to better connect young people with education, employment and training opportunities. To evaluate the effectiveness of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, the Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned an evaluation, which is expected to build evidence on the effectiveness of the initiative. This will focus on improving employment outcomes, reducing economic inactivity, enhancing health and well-being, increasing participation in education and training, and strengthening systems integration. We expect to publish interim findings during the next two years and will develop the value for money assessment once longer term impacts have developed. We will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive on the important issue of youth unemployment across the UK.

What the change was in the level of Student Loan debt between (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

The total nominal outstanding balance of income contingent student loan balances for England-domiciled borrowers and how this has changed over time can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/student-loans-in-england-financial-year-2024-25#income-contingent-icr-student-loan-balance.

How many applications were approved under the Music Export Growth Scheme from Northern Ireland in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

Four.

What comparative assessment he has made of levels of long term sickness absence in the Civil Service between (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

Civil Service sickness absence data was published on 16 December 2025 and includes trends in long term absences in the Civil Service between 2020 and 2025. (Source: Civil Service sickness absence data published on 16 December 2025)

What his planned timetable is for Release on Temporary Licence pilot scheme to be completed.

As set out in the Government’s IPP Action Plan (2025/26), we are progressing work to expand opportunities for IPP sentence progression, including piloting Release on Temporary Licence in Progression Regime Prisons. This work is ongoing, and further details on implementation will be set out in due course.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent announcement by the International Energy Agency that the UK's domestic energy costs are significantly higher than those of comparable nations.

High UK energy costs have been driven by our dependence on global fossil fuel markets. The Government’s clean energy mission is the best way to break this dependence and protect billpayers permanently. The Government also acted at Budget to take an average £150 of costs off domestic bills in Great Britain from April, and it continues to work with the NI Executive on measures to bring down energy costs for households in Northern Ireland.

What estimate his Department has been made of the change in the amounts claimed in Universal Credit between (a) September 2024 and (b) September 2029.

Benefits’ expenditure and caseloads, in outturn and forecast, are published here: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK

Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the BBC on ensuring its (a) TV and (b) radio programming is made across the UK.

The Secretary of State meets regularly with the Chair to discuss a wide range of issues. Under the current Charter, Ofcom is required to set the BBC quotas for programme making in the regions and nations. Looking ahead, the Government is currently undertaking a review of the BBC’s Royal Charter. The Green Paper sets out our ambition for the BBC to tell a unifying national story that represents all communities across the UK, and to drive growth in the nations and regions. We are looking at a range of options to deliver this, which include further quotas or obligations relating to programme making, and the BBC moving more commissioning staff out of London.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years.

To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office prefers to refer to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication. Information about the effectiveness of Operation Gull is not available in our published data Our published national data on enforcement activity is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025 - GOV.UK

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she last met her Irish counterpart face to face to discuss people arriving illegally and crossing the border into Northern Ireland.

The current Foreign Secretary has not yet had a face-to-face meeting with her Irish counterpart but looks forward to doing so when schedules allow, and continuing the constructive discussions they have already had by telephone, on the range of subjects set out in previous answers. UK and Irish Ministers and officials regularly meet to discuss issues of importance, including on ensuring the integrity and security of the Common Travel Area.