Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help support persecuted Christians in Uganda.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We have no evidence of state persecution of Christians based on religious belief in Uganda. However, Uganda faces a terrorist threat, including from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), or Islamic State DRC, which does target Christians, and has carried out attacks against civilians in Uganda in recent years, notably an attack on a school in Mpondwe on 16 June 2023, killing more than 40 people. I condemned this abhorrent attack in the strongest possible terms at the time. The British High Commission remains in close contact with Ugandan security services, who continue to conduct operations against the ADF.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions has he had with businesses on tax-free shopping for international visitors.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the UK’s economic and finance ministry, HM Treasury has regular discussions with representatives from a wide range of industries including travel and retail as well as business representative organisations covering many sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the smuggling of (a) drugs and (b) communication devices into prisons.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are committed to tackling the smuggling of all illicit items into prisons, including drugs and communication devices such as mobile phones.

We completed the £100 million Security Investment Programme in March 2022, which included funding to bolster physical security measures. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we had recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the supply of drugs and mobile phones into prisons. We also deployed Enhanced Gate Security to 42 high-risk prisons under this investment, implementing routine searching of staff and visitors. This included 659 dedicated staff, 154 drug sniffing dogs and over 200 pieces of equipment.

We have 165 drug trace detection machines across the prison estate to prevent the smuggling of drugs, such as psychoactive substances, through the mail. The rollout of an additional 20 next-generation devices was completed in March 2024, meaning every public section prison now has this next-generation equipment.

X-ray baggage scanners have been installed at 49 sites (45 prisons and 4 learning centres) building on the rollout of our X-ray body scanners, gate security and drug trace detection machines.

New airspace restrictions took effect on 25 January 2024 to create 400 metre flight restriction zones around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. These will ensure swift action is taken against criminal drone activity, including the smuggling of illicit items.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of heart disease in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department supports research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including those relating to heart disease. Over the past five financial years, the NIHR has spent over £64 million on heart-disease related research projects. In addition, the NIHR infrastructure provides clinical expertise, specialist facilities, workforce, and support services to support research across a range of clinical areas, including heart disease.

The Be Part of Research campaign makes it easier for people to find out about, and take part in, health and care research. Currently, there are seven high quality studies related to heart and circulation, which are being supported by the NIHR and are within five miles of Romford.

The NHS Long Term Plan sets out that by 2028 the proportion of patients accessing cardiac rehabilitation will be amongst the best in Europe, with up to 85% of those eligible accessing care. This will prevent up to 23,000 premature deaths and 50,000 acute admissions over 10 years. The NHS Health Check programme is a core component of England's cardiovascular diseases prevention pathway. Over 15 million people are eligible for an NHS Health Check every five years, and it delivers 1.3 million checks a year, preventing an estimated 500 heart attacks and strokes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of sickle cell disease in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We’re working hard to support research, and provide the best possible care to those living with sickle cell disease (SCD) across the country. The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five financial years, the NIHR has invested more than £8 million in funding and support for SCD research.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the largest provider of apheresis services, a blood transfusion used to treat SCD. NHSBT will be delivering projects over the next 12 months that will increase both nursing capacity and the physical space in which apheresis occurs. We are also working to increase Ro subtype blood donation numbers, the blood type used to treat SCD, identify opportunities to improve clinical pathways, and deliver world-leading treatments, such as the new blood matching genetic test announced by NHS England earlier this year, which will reduce the risk of side effects and offer more personalised care.

NHS England’s Chief Executive Officer has committed to improving the treatment and outcomes of patients with SCD, and has commissioned a Sickle Cell Pathway Quality Improvement work package. A quality improvement review of existing processes has led to a range of improvements including awareness, education, and training of both patients and professionals.

The National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme (HiQiP) has recently introduced a number of initiatives as part of the wider aim of tackling inequalities for people living with SCD. This includes: piloting of urgent and emergency department bypass units in London and Manchester, which will ensure people with SCD with an uncomplicated vaso-occlusive crisis are assessed and given pain relief in a timely manner; the provision of a credit card sized Sickle Cell Alert Card to all people with SCD, to alert medical and clinical staff that the carrier is a registered SCD patient and that they should be managed as a medical emergency; a London wide commissioning for the design and upload of a patient care record onto an interoperable digital platform which, when fully operational, will give clinicians and medical personnel in different regions access to a patient’s personalised care and analgesia record, removing ambiguity on effective treatment; and several products to support the above, including a communications campaign to raise awareness of existing NHS England arrangements to support people with SCD to save money on the costs of regular prescriptions, as well as the Can you tell it's Sickle Cell campaign and an e-learning module, both from NHS England. Further information on the Can you tell it's Sickle Cell campaign and the e-learning module is available respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/06/nhs-launches-lifesaving-sickle-cell-campaign/

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/health-inequalities/

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken with relevant authorities to improve the condition of roads in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is providing an unprecedented £8.3 billion of additional funding over this year and the next decade to local highways authorities in England to enable them to transform the condition of their local roads. £150 million of this has already been allocated in 2023/24 with a further £150 million to follow in 2024/25. All of this has been made possible by reallocating funds that would have otherwise been spent on the HS2 programme.

The Romford constituency is in the London Borough of Havering, which will receive a minimum of £10.4 million of additional funding over the 11-year period. £333,000 of that has been allocated in 2023/24 with a further £333,000 to follow in 2024/25. All funding allocations can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle the sale of illegal drugs on (a) social media and (b) other websites.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drugs ruin lives and devastate communities. The Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online.

Our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms, including social media sites, to remove content relating to the sale of illegal drugs online. Under this ground-breaking piece of legislation, tech companies must proactively tackle this type of content and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Online Safety Act delivers the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.

We also recognise that social media, gaming sites and other online platforms are critical enablers in the targeting, grooming and facilitation of county lines exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are developing a better understanding of how these platforms are being used and how to disrupt harmful activity.

Considering other websites, the National Crime Agency, along with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally, is mapping and targeting key offenders operating online. Dedicated teams use a range of tools and techniques generally unavailable to most investigators and we make sure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe.

Law enforcement agencies work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling controlled drugs. To support this, proposals are also being taken forward in the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new power enabling law enforcement to suspend IP addresses and/or domain names being used for criminal purposes. This new power will allow agencies to obtain a court order to formally request action by organisations both domestically and outside of the UK.

Furthermore, the Government has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to undertake a review into internet-facilitated drug markets. The ACMD ran a call for evidence which closed in January and expects to publish its findings later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of illegal immigrants who gain entry to the United Kingdom via air travel; and what steps he has taken to tackle illegal immigration to the United Kingdom via air travel.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release, available on gov.uk. Data on irregular arrivals by method of entry is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2023.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the number of illegal drug related deaths in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

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

A response to the Hon gentleman Parliamentary Question of 21st March is attached.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on improving water quality in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Havering.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are committed to continue to improving water quality and are delivering the record investment, the stronger regulation and the tougher enforcement to improve our water for our own health, for nature and the economy. For example, on 20 February we announced plans to more than quadruple Environment Agency (EA) water company inspections, strengthening oversight, reducing the reliance on self-monitoring.

The EA is working with Thames Water under the Water industry National Environment Programme’ (WINEP) scheme on improved monitoring for the two wastewater treatment works in Havering that discharge to the River Ingrebourne, and in Brentwood on a scheme to reduce phosphorous.

Thames Water were required to install ‘Event Duration Monitoring’ (EDM) at all storm overflows on their sewerage network before the end of 2023; the two sites requiring EDM in Havering have had these since 2019.

Further schemes are ongoing with Groundwork East to deliver a combined Yellowfish and Junior River Wardens project working with schools along the River Ingrebourne, with potential to expand this scheme to cover the River Rom.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken with relevant authorities to reduce shop lifting in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the significant impact theft has on businesses, communities, and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.

We have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response to acquisitive crime, including car theft and shoplifting. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has made a commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have commenced a thematic inspection on the effectiveness of police investigations which will include an assessment of how police forces are implementing the reasonable lines of enquiry commitment.

The Government is working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime nationally. A network of vehicle crime leads has been established in every police force in England and Wales, ensuring forces share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and are better able to tackle regional issues. The Metropolitan Police Service are represented on the Working Group and have an established vehicle crime lead.

We are legislating through the Criminal Justice Bill to create two new offences where a person possesses, makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply electronic devices where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they will be used in vehicle theft. The legislation will make it easier for police to prosecute criminals making and supplying these devices, as well as vehicle thieves.

In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan - October 2023.pdf (nbcc.police.uk). Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.

We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to support traditional English sartorial culture and the related industry.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision, the government announced £2 million funding to support five London Fashion Weeks over the next two years. This will go specifically towards supporting emerging designer talent and increasing access to the sector, delivered through the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme.

DCMS also supports the UK Research and Investment (UKRI) £15 million Circular Fashion programme, launched in 2022 to bring the sector, academia and government together to understand and drive the fashion and textiles industry towards sustainable and responsible practices. This programme will be critical in developing this area of research and meeting the goal of transforming the fashion and textiles sector to adopt economically viable and scalable circular models by 2032.

The textiles, fashion and craft industries play an important role in the UK’s social and cultural heritage, and are a major driver of economic growth. The UK is famous for its unrivalled creativity and innovation and it has a track record for producing some of the world’s most influential designers. Recognising this contribution, we are committed to supporting future growth in the sector. DCMS continues to engage with the British Fashion Council, the Crafts Council and the wider industries to understand the challenges the sectors are facing and how the government can best provide support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help promote the integration of immigrants.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

All refugees and those granted protection in the UK should be able to fully integrate into British life and become self-sufficient, providing for themselves and their families, and contributing to the economy.

Refugees, as well as individuals arriving through refugee resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK, have access to the labour market and to mainstream benefits and services to enable their integration. We are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of refugees.

We recognise that the ability to speak English is key to helping refugees integrate into life in England, as well as to breaking down barriers to work and career progression. The Home Office works closely with other Government departments to ensure mainstream English language provision meets the needs of refugees.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to help reduce instances of car theft in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the significant impact theft has on businesses, communities, and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.

We have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response to acquisitive crime, including car theft and shoplifting. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has made a commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have commenced a thematic inspection on the effectiveness of police investigations which will include an assessment of how police forces are implementing the reasonable lines of enquiry commitment.

The Government is working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime nationally. A network of vehicle crime leads has been established in every police force in England and Wales, ensuring forces share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and are better able to tackle regional issues. The Metropolitan Police Service are represented on the Working Group and have an established vehicle crime lead.

We are legislating through the Criminal Justice Bill to create two new offences where a person possesses, makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply electronic devices where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they will be used in vehicle theft. The legislation will make it easier for police to prosecute criminals making and supplying these devices, as well as vehicle thieves.

In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan - October 2023.pdf (nbcc.police.uk). Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.

We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has taken steps with relevant authorities to provide out of hours academic tutoring provision in state schools in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department is investing over £1 billion in tutoring via its flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This has seen nearly five million tutoring courses commence since the programme started in November 2020, including over two million in each of the last two academic years. In the current academic year, 346,000 courses have started up to 5 October 2023.

The principal objective of the NTP is to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. In the 2023/24 academic year, schools are required to consider offering tutoring to all of their pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium. The department is continuing to recommend that schools use pupil premium funding to cover their contribution to the cost of tutoring. Pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of £80 million from 2023/24. This represents a 10% increase in per pupil rates from 2021/22 to 2024/25.

The department is committed to the objective that tutoring should be embedded across schools in England following the final year of the NTP. The department will expect tutoring to continue to be a staple offer from schools, with schools using their core budgets, including pupil premium, to provide targeted support for those children who will benefit.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with relevant authorities to improve the condition of waterways in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to improving the condition of waterways in England as set out in our Plan for Water published in April 2023. The Plan for Water marks a step-change in how we manage our waters. It is delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement to tackle pollution and clean up our water.

With respect to the Romford constituency, the Environment Agency is working collaboratively with partners within the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership to improve the water quality and biodiversity of waterbodies.

This includes carrying out river maintenance work such as vegetation management, operational checks on flood defence assets, treatment of invasive non-native species, bridge inspections, and inspection and maintenance of public safety measures. The Environment Agency also worked closely with the local council to form the rivers policy in their Local Plan, which now influences developments adjacent to Havering's rivers and river corridors.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to address dog thefts in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We fully understand the devastating impact the theft of a pet can have, which is why in 2016 we made it compulsory to microchip all pet dogs in England and have extended this legislation to include cats from 10 June 2024.

On 29 March, we published the Government’s response to a consultation on cat and dog microchipping that sets out how we will address a number of recommendations made in the Pet Theft Taskforce report. This includes developing a new single point of search portal to make it easier to search compliant databases for a microchip record and strengthening the process for changing keepership.

We are also already supporting Anna Firth’s Pet Abduction Bill through parliament. This Private Member’s Bill is looking to introduce new offences for dog and cat abduction. Alongside this, police forces are working together to better coordinate and share best practice and advice on the steps owners can take to protect their pets.

This package of measures will help protect dogs and cats across England, including in the Romford constituency.

Town and Country Planning

Found: Conservative, North East Hampshire ) Brendan O’Hara MP (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute ) Andrew

Found: Blackman Jane Hunt Steve Double Chris Green Sir Oliver Heald Danny Kruger Royston Smith Andrew

Found: Blackman Jane Hunt Steve Double Chris Green Sir Oliver Heald Danny Kruger Royston Smith Andrew