Andrew Rosindell

Public confidence in the criminal justice is underpinned by access to swift justice. It is critical that cases progress through the system as quickly as possible, both before and after a charge is made. Improving timeliness and reducing the backlogs of outstanding cases are a priority for me and for this Government.

I will of course be holding discussions about these issues with the Crown Prosecution Service, with a view to making systemic improvements as quickly as possible.

The government is committed to working closely with Critical National Infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness.

Extreme weather events pose a serious risk to UK resilience, reflected in their inclusion in the National Risk Register. They are included in the Third National Adaptation Programme, which sets out government action to respond to impacts arising from climate change. These products consider risks over a 2-5 year timeframe and enable relevant bodies to undertake proportionate planning.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th November is attached.

The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is in the personal gift of The Sovereign. The UK Government is not considering the restoration of The Order of St Patrick.

Nominations for existing honours are open to all citizens within the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 14th October is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 14th October is attached.

At the G20 on 18 November, the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Modi to announce that the UK will relaunch trade talks in the new year with India – one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Work is underway across government to prepare for negotiations. Our trade programme, including negotiations with India, is driven by stakeholder engagement, including with the Scotch Whisky Association.

The UK has a competitive advantage in AI, with some of the world’s most innovative AI companies based here.

The government commissioned an Action Plan in July, led by Matt Clifford to identify how AI can drive economic growth and explore untapped AI opportunities. HMG will form a new “AI Opportunities Unit” to seize the benefits of AI. The Action Plan, to be published shortly, will consider key enablers such as the UK’s compute and broader infrastructure requirements by 2030, how this infrastructure is made available for start-ups and scale-ups and how to develop and attract top AI talent.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ai-expert-to-lead-action-plan-to-ensure-uk-reaps-the-benefits-of-artificial-intelligence

• New technologies, including AI, have the potential to boost wages, drive up productivity and empower workers.

• The government’s approach to new technologies is to protect good jobs, enable good future jobs and ensure rights and protections keep pace with technological change; safeguarding against discrimination; and putting the worker voice at the heart of Britain’s digital transition.

• AI is expected to augment roles, rather than replace them. A report by the International Labour Organisation corroborates this, indicating that some roles are more exposed to AI, but that AI is not able to fully replace human employees.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not met with his Liechtenstein counterpart.

The Department for Business and Trade is working in close partnership with Australia across a range of areas, most notably on the implementation and utilisation of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This engagement has not included meetings by the Secretary of State with any of the Agent-Generals in Australia.

Since summer 2023, Great British Nuclear (GBN) has been administering a small modular reactor technology selection process for UK deployment, and as announced at Autumn Budget in October, four vendors have been invited to negotiate.

Once negotiations have concluded, the companies will be invited to submit final tenders, which GBN will then evaluate. Final decisions will be taken in the spring.

GBN is working to a timeline that enables a robust process underpinned by fairness and transparency and ensures any selected technology provides best value for money.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) leads the relationship with the Overseas Territories, and any work this Department has conducted in this area has been done via FCDO.

The Government will consult later this year on the implementation of our manifesto position not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has independently paused issuing any invitations to apply for new licences (including out-of-rounds invitations) pending the finalisation of the process related to delivery of the manifesto commitment and the plans for new environmental guidance for oil and gas firms.

Our manifesto was clear on our intention to not grant new coal licences, and we are exploring avenues to achieve this. We want to end coal licensing to support our net zero ambitions and our priority to lead on international climate action, based on our domestic achievements.

Great British Energy’s Founding Statement is clear that the Local Power Plan will be one of Great British Energy’s core functions. Through the Local Power Plan, Great British Energy will support local and combined authorities – as well as community energy groups – to roll out small and medium-scale renewable energy projects. The Secretary of State will have the ability to set Great British Energy’s strategic priorities to ensure it remains focused on the Government’s aim to accelerate the delivery of homegrown clean energy. The Secretary of State will set out Great British Energy’s strategic priorities in due course.

Project Gigabit funding is not allocated at a constituency or regional level. Instead, it is targeted at premises across the UK that need it most, specifically those outside of suppliers' commercial plans.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 94% of premises in the Romford constituency can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. This is above the UK average of 85%.

We anticipate that the majority of the remaining premises in urban areas such as Romford will receive a gigabit-capable connection through the commercial market, without the need for Project Gigabit subsidy. However, funding will continue to be allocated where it is needed.

Although I am aware that official reports of mobile coverage often vary substantially from people’s experience on the ground, I am sure you will be delighted to know Ofcom reports that basic (non-standalone) 5G is available outside 100% of premises across your constituency from at least one mobile operator and 86% of premises from all four mobile operators. Ofcom does not measure indoor 5G coverage.

Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Romford, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition, and we are working with industry to ensure that all mobile operators meet our standalone 5G ambition.

We will consider any further steps that might be necessary to improve coverage in light of any changes to Ofcom's coverage reporting.

This is exclusively a planning matter for Havering Council, but I welcome any opportunity to discuss the potential for data centres to accelerate innovation, improve consumers’ experience and drive growth - including with local authorities.

The Government last commissioned a survey on public awareness of, and attitudes towards, the use of animals in scientific research in 2018. This survey was the third in a series started in 2014. No decision has been taken on the future of the survey.

In our commitment to accelerate the development, validation, and enhancement of technologies and methodologies aimed at reducing reliance on animal testing in scientific research, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is currently investing £50m for investment over the five-year period up to April 2025 in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). In addition, there has been £5m additional funding for NC3Rs for this financial year.

UKRI will also be conducting a thorough strategic review in 2024, followed by a science review, to determine the optimal level of future investment.

Having a free and fair press in an age of misinformation and disinformation, is more important than ever. It is vital that the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources.

To ensure journalists operating within the UK can do so free from physical, legal and online threats, abuse and violence, I am reconvening the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, together with the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, in December. The Committee facilitates collaboration between government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and civil society in support of this aim. I will continue to work with members on this important issue, including by delivering the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.

We are considering the best available evidence in respect of machine ratio reforms, and the Minister for Gambling has met with a wide range of stakeholders including industry trade bodies. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

Official statistics from a range of sources provide the Government with insights into the economic contribution of the betting and gaming industry as a whole. The latest headline statistics show that the gambling sector contributed £4.9bn to Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022, accounting for 0.2% of UK GVA. In the financial year 2023/24, the gambling sector employed around 94,000 people in Britain (provisional), accounting for 0.2% of UK jobs and paid approximately £3.4bn in betting and gaming duty.

The Gambling Commission’s industry statistics show that between April 2022 and March 2023, gross gambling yield for adult gaming centres was £533m. This represented c. 11% of gross gambling yield generated by non-remote casinos, arcades, betting and bingo.

His Majesty’s Government is committed to promoting local heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.

Historic England (HE), the government’s expert advisor on heritage, works closely with heritage organisations in Essex, such as the Thomas Plume Library and Maldon Town Council. HE has provided funding of £67,962 towards the grade I listed library in Maldon’s town centre for the removal and replacement of the ceiling, as well as repairs to the external masonry and windows. This work was completed in 2021.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded significant grant funding to support heritage organisations in Essex, such as The Pioneering Sailing Trust in Brightlingsea, which was awarded £2.3 million this April (2024) to restore historic vessels and create an apprenticeship scheme.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.

I will work with my colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to get local government back on its feet after fourteen years of savage and drastic underfunding. We will do the basics right, providing councils with more stability through multi-year funding settlements and ending unnecessarily expensive competitive bidding for tiny pots of money.