The 25th anniversary of the disbandment of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland provides an opportunity to recognise the work of both organisations to keep the public safe and protect life, often in the most challenging of circumstances.

Belfast will host this year’s National Police Memorial Day service, providing a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the many officers who lost their lives in the course of duty.

On 18 June the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced a £4 million one‑off in‑year funding provision to provide immediate support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland given the significant challenges they faced in confronting the disorder.

The emergency funding will help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the disorder, including the cost of the Mutual Aid support and overtime paid to police officers.

The budget for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to 2028-29 (RDEL) and 2029-30 (CDEL) was set via the Spending Review 2025 and will be reviewed along with all other departments in Spending Review 2027.

This budget supports the Prime Minister’s commitment to reach NATO qualifying defence spending of 2.6 per cent of GDP by April next year.

The Defence Investment Plan will set out MOD's plans to ensure resources are directed effectively to meet its priorities and deliver value for taxpayers. We are working hard to finalise this, and it will be published soon.

The Government is working closely with industry to ensure the resilience of jet fuel supply and the continuity of commercial aviation operations.

The UK has robust and diverse jet fuel supply chains, including domestic production and imports via multiple international routes, and both aviation fuel suppliers and airlines maintain fuel reserves to support operational resilience.

We are engaging with industry partners to monitor supply and demand, and to develop contingency options should disruption arise. Northern Ireland airports and airlines serving Northern Ireland have been involved in these conversations.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 17 November 2025 in response to Question HL11561.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 17 November 2025 in response to Question HL11561.

The Ministry of Defence will launch the Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal in Spring 2026. The Deal will combine defence and wider government investment to support companies across a number of sub-sectors that are key for defence and align with Defence’s strategic priorities. The Deal will harness NI’s defence and dual-use strengths, driving innovation and increasing competitiveness – in line with the Defence Industrial Strategy.

The Government recognises the critical role of subsea telecoms cables for international connectivity.

The Government works closely with international partners, including Taiwan, to ensure the security and resilience of subsea telecoms cables. This includes engaging bilaterally with priority partners and multilaterally through NATO, the EU and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

This engagement focuses on preventing damage to cables, incident preparedness and response and ensuring cables are laid in the right places to serve UK interests.

Accession decisions are a matter for all Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Parties by consensus. Discussions on future applicants are ongoing among members.

The Prime Minister's travel plans and meetings are decided by the UK Government.

The UK has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship, based on deep and growing ties in a wide range of areas, and underpinned by shared democratic values.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 4 April 2025 to Question HL6121, and to the subsequent statement made to the House by Baroness Anderson of Stoke‑on‑Trent on 26 January setting out the decision taken by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

We have been clear throughout that the planning decision was for the Secretary of State at MHCLG to make in an independent, quasi-judicial capacity.

While it has been clear for a number of years that we need to rebuild our own Embassy in Beijing, which is in a poor condition and not suitable for managing a diplomatic relationship with a country as consequential to UK and global interests as China, that cannot be, and has not been, factored into this planning decision by the Secretary of State at MHCLG.

Any Barnett consequentials for the Northern Ireland Executive resulting from changes to business rates revenues in England will be confirmed when business rates forecasts change at the relevant fiscal event.

At the UK-Ireland Summit on 6 March 2025, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced their commitment to deepen cooperation between the two nations, including in the area of defence. The UK and Ireland continue to discuss how we can improve our cooperation in maritime security, including critical undersea infrastructure.

The US remains the UK's most important defence and security ally. The Foreign Secretary met the US Secretary of State in Washington DC on 8 December to discuss cooperation on issues vital to our shared interests and security, and UK ministers and officials are in regular dialogue with their US counterparts on a wide range of areas.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). This data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.19 Effect of personal tax threshold freezes on the number of taxpayers in each threshold (millions) [1]

The latest yield of personal tax measures can be found in Table 3.18 in the OBR’s November 2025 EFO. As above, this data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.18 Latest yield of personal tax measures(£billions) [2]

[1] https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

[2] https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.

Following previous increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates to account for below inflation rates, the government will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and rounded to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze.

In 2012, the UK government devolved the power to set direct long-haul APD rates to the Northern Ireland Executive, and the Executive subsequently set these at zero. The UK government continues to set APD rates for short-haul international and domestic flights from Northern Ireland.

Reforms to APD took effect in April 2023, including the introduction of a new band for domestic flights, initially set at half the rate for short-haul international flights. The domestic rate applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and is currently set at £7 for economy passengers until 31 March 2026.

The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and considers the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.

The European Court of Human Rights has issued several key judgments regarding the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), including most recently in June 2025 where it judged the IPC to remain a valid legal remedy to domestic property disputes in Cyprus, although also noted procedural delays. The Government monitors closely the continued effectiveness of the IPC, including through the Committee of Ministers for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets frequently with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.

A well-staffed and resourced PSNI is vital to the success and stability of Northern Ireland. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to make decisions on the allocation of funding in line with its identified priorities and for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice to allocate funding to the PSNI.

The Government is providing the Executive with a record settlement over the Spending Review period, averaging £19.3bn per year. This is the largest in the history of devolution.

In addition to this, the Government is also providing the PSNI with £113 million over three years in Additional Security Funding to help address Northern Ireland’s specific security challenges and continue keeping people safe.

On 4 March 2025, the UK Government announced the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion programme to deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK. These 75 areas, including Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry, will now be incorporated into the Pride in Place Programme, representing the first phase of the programme.