Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether a government representative will visit Northern Ireland for the Orange Order parades on 12 July 2025.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

For security reasons we do not share details of Northern Ireland Office Ministers’ itineraries in advance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department has issued on the use of bilingual street signs in England.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has not issued guidance on the use of bilingual traffic signs as these are not permitted on roads in England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of sexual offences on public transport in (a) England and (b) Romford.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is committed to ensuring everyone, including women and girls, is safe on the transport network. The Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.

As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes proposals in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour.

The Department supports BTP’s zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual offences. This includes using a range of policing techniques to pursue offenders on the rail network to ensure it remains a safe environment and encourage reporting of incidents via BTP’s 61016 text number or 999 in an emergency. Romford is currently part of Operation Cerium which sees proactive patrols from BTP officers across the underground and rail network in London to reduce the number of sexual offences and identify offenders swiftly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) promote and (b) support co-operation between the state and private education systems in England.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Around 70% of private schools affiliated with the Independent Schools Council hold charitable status. As charities, they are required to demonstrate public benefit and one way in which they do that is through partnerships with state schools. This activity should continue.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of grammar school places in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

There are no grammar schools in the Parliamentary constituency of Romford and the law prohibits new ones from opening. The department no plans to change this.

The national funding formula, and wider education policies, support all state-funded schools equally, including grammar schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to support grammar schools in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

There are no grammar schools in the Parliamentary constituency of Romford and the law prohibits new ones from opening. The department no plans to change this.

The national funding formula, and wider education policies, support all state-funded schools equally, including grammar schools.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of arson in (a) England and (b) Romford.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their vital work and to keep the public safe from fires, including those caused by arson. However, decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

As part of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s strategic role across fire and rescue services (FRSs), it supports partnership working to promote the consistent recording and investigation of deliberate fires by the Police and FRSs.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many building control applications were rejected by the Building Safety Regulator in each month between October 2023 and April 2025 under regulation 15 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department and the Building Safety Regulator recognise the value to the sector in providing performance data. From this quarter, BSR will be publishing quarterly data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, recorded outcomes and decision times for determination.

The table below shows:

• Number of building control approval applications rejected by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications received by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications withdrawn at the applicants request between October 2024 and April 2025

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many applications were rejected by the Building Safety Regulator in each month between October 2023 and April 2025 under regulation 44 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department and the Building Safety Regulator recognise the value to the sector in providing performance data. From this quarter, BSR will be publishing quarterly data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, recorded outcomes and decision times for determination.

The table below shows:

• Number of building control approval applications rejected by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications received by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications withdrawn at the applicants request between October 2024 and April 2025

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many building control applications received by the Building Safety Regulator were withdrawn at the applicant’s request in each month between October 2023 and April 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department and the Building Safety Regulator recognise the value to the sector in providing performance data. From this quarter, BSR will be publishing quarterly data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, recorded outcomes and decision times for determination.

The table below shows:

• Number of building control approval applications rejected by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications received by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications withdrawn at the applicants request between October 2024 and April 2025

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many building control applications were rejected by the Building Safety Regulator in each month between October 2023 and April 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department and the Building Safety Regulator recognise the value to the sector in providing performance data. From this quarter, BSR will be publishing quarterly data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, recorded outcomes and decision times for determination.

The table below shows:

• Number of building control approval applications rejected by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications received by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications withdrawn at the applicants request between October 2024 and April 2025

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many building control applications were received by the Building Safety Regulator in each month between October 2023 and April 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department and the Building Safety Regulator recognise the value to the sector in providing performance data. From this quarter, BSR will be publishing quarterly data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, recorded outcomes and decision times for determination.

The table below shows:

• Number of building control approval applications rejected by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications received by the Building Safety Regulator between October 2023 and April 2025
• Number of building control approval applications withdrawn at the applicants request between October 2024 and April 2025

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect private landlords from repeat non-paying tenants.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce new protections for tenants and landlords when rent is not paid. When tenants temporarily fall into rent arrears, we will support both parties by preventing tenancies which are otherwise viable from ending. We will increase the notice period for an arrears eviction to four weeks and increase the threshold for mandatory eviction to three months’ rent arrears.

Landlords will still have access to robust grounds for possession for rent arrears, including the mandatory ground for three months arrears, and discretionary grounds which could be used for cases involving repeat non or late payment of rent that does not meet the mandatory threshold.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 22583 on Government Departments: Procurement, what further discussions he has had with the Institution of Civil Engineers on releasing a new edition of the Construction Playbook.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Cabinet Office officials regularly engage with the ICE and other industry leading organisations, many of which are signatories to our ‘Compact with Industry’. The Construction Playbook is regularly refreshed in collaboration with industry and the public sector, ensuring it remains relevant and effective. The Government remains committed to publishing an update to the Construction Playbook. The revised version of the Construction Playbook is expected to be published in Q2 2025.

Christian persecution in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Non-stun slaughter ban

World Cider Day 2025

Prayer for Pentecost

Interception of small boats by France

Mauritius Treaty

Direct flights to North Cyprus

National Fish and Chip Day 2025

Imprisonment of Lucy Connolly

UK-EU Summit (No. 2)

Dementia Action Week 2025