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 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.

The Government has set out an ambitious programme of House of Lords reform. As an immediate first step, the Government has introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which will remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The Government believes that it is right to take the time to consider how best to implement the other manifesto commitments over the course of this Parliament.

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.

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.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing and discussions on this subject are already underway.

It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use.

We recognise that any work to phase out animal testing must be science led, in lock step with partners, and so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.

We take seriously the importance of this work and recognise that any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led and in lock step with partners. We are currently engaging with partners as to how we will take this commitment forward.

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.

No.

The Government is committed to supporting elite sport and enabling our athletes to excel on the world stage. The Secretary of State and I were both fortunate enough to attend the Paris Olympics to cheer on our athletes. The Government welcomes the free, accessible, fan zones that Team GB set up around the UK for fans to watch live coverage with friends and family, and the many local events that communities across the country enjoyed. We were also delighted to join the celebrations for our Olympians at the National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming in Manchester on 17 August.

Primary and secondary pupil numbers are forecast to rise from 2025/26. The department will work with local authorities and trusts to manage future demand.

The department has previously approved two primary free school projects to serve planned housing development in the Rainham and Romford planning areas. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has asked the department to review mainstream free schools planned by the last government, and that have not yet opened, to ensure that they continue to meet a need for places in the local area and offer value for taxpayers’ money. As part of this, we are working with the London Borough of Havering to review the need for the planned provision in Romford.

Making sure the education estate is fit for purpose is a key part of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

The government has just announced £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year to improve the condition of the school estate, part of a broader capital package totalling £6.7 billion in 2025/26. The department will aim to set out the details of school condition allocations to local authorities and other responsible bodies, as well as outcomes of the condition improvement fund for 2025/26, in spring 2025.

In addition, the government has committed to £1.4 billion in 2025/26 to continue the school rebuilding programme, which includes projects at Parklands Primary School and The Coopers’ Company and Coburn School in Havering. Furthermore, the department will continue to engage with trusts and local authorities in relation to free school projects with approved applications within Havering.

The department will additionally provide support for school infrastructure through providing capital funding to create mainstream and high-needs school places. The basic need grant supports local authorities to provide mainstream school places based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. Havering has been allocated £19.6 million in 2025/26 for places needed by September 2026. Other funding for place creation in the next three financial years will be confirmed in due course.

Funding for future years post-2025/26 will be confirmed following the second phase of the spending review, concluding in late spring 2025.

High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, but more must be done to ensure we have the workforce needed to provide the best possible education for every child in all parts of the country. This is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.

The first crucial step towards achieving this is to ensure teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession, and to reset the relationship with the teaching profession. As part of this, it is important that teachers receive the pay they deserve, which is why this government has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September 2024. Additionally, from 1 September 2024, schools are no longer required to use performance related pay as the basis for appraisals and decisions related to pay progression. This government is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year to support schools with overall costs.

Alongside teacher pay, the department is continuing to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in shortage subjects. To help with retention, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers can also receive a Targeted Retention Incentive of up to £6,000 after-tax if working in disadvantaged schools. 13 schools in Havering are eligible for Targeted Retention Incentives.

The department has made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including its ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service and the ‘education staff wellbeing charter’. Additionally, effective use of technology can automate tasks and help manage workload for teachers. For example, high quality AI tools have the potential to reduce the amount of time that teachers spend marking, whilst supporting effective feedback and tailored teaching which drive pupil progress.

In August 2024, we announced a £1 million fund to support innovators to develop proof of concept AI tools to support teachers with marking and providing feedback. Oak National Academy has also recently launched a sector-leading AI lesson planning assistant which enables teachers who choose to use it to create personalised and tailored lesson plans and resources in minutes. 40% of Oak users save around four hours per week.

The department is committed to supporting schools to implement flexible working practices including taking planning, preparation and assessment time remotely, to improve recruitment and retention of teachers. The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts. The named flexible working ambassador for schools in Havering is Charles Dickens Primary School.

The department has established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. They play a significant role in delivering Initial Teacher Training, the Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and Appropriate Body services. London District East Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Havering.

The government defines tertiary education as all post-secondary education, encompassing both further education (FE) and higher education (HE). It includes education provided by colleges, universities and other specialist institutions, aimed at supporting progress to FE, training or work. Tertiary education typically starts from age 16.

The government publishes research on the net present value of FE, which consistently shows good value for the taxpayer, here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/609e78c6d3bf7f2883267c3b/Measuring_the_Net_Present_Value_of_Further_Education_in_England_2018_to_2019.pdf.

FE funding is designed to incentivise provision that has high economic value. For example, additional funding for 16 to 19-year-olds is available to encourage and support the delivery of selected courses in subjects that lead to higher wage returns. It is also available to support subjects that cost more to deliver. As part of the department’s FE accountability system, we issue guidance that requires colleges to publish an annual accountability statement detailing outcome targets for areas of the curriculum they are planning to change for the coming year.

The department knows that investment in apprenticeships provides good value for money for the taxpayer. Apprenticeships at level 2, level 3 and levels 4/5 deliver a net present value of £16, £16 and £25 respectively for each pound of government funding.

The department has also established Skills England, which will play a crucial role in identifying skills needs now and in the future and helping to ensure that training funded from the growth and skills levy delivers value for money.

In order for HE students to be eligible for publicly funded loans, HE providers are expected to meet the registration conditions set by the Office for Students. These include clear expectations for the quality of HE, including minimum thresholds for student outcomes.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Romford to the answer of 15 October 2024 to Question HL1654.