Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to enhance the seabed warfare capabilities of the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy (RN) continues to enhance its seabed warfare capabilities through a combination of investment in new technologies, platforms, and international partnerships.
This includes the development of advanced autonomous and remotely operated systems under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme, which consists of deployable, uncrewed systems capable of surveying, monitoring and protecting the seabed. The RN has also established dedicated capabilities within its operational structure to focus on the protection of subsea assets, including undersea cables and pipelines, working closely with other Government Departments and allies.
The Defence Investment Plan outlined several investments into seabed warfare capabilities, including an additional £330 million critical underwater infrastructure protection capabilities, including upgrades and enhancements for RFA Proteus, and a £90 million investment in the autonomous minehunting programme to procure offshore support vessels (OSVs) in conjunction with Norway.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to procure long-range strike drones.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) sets out the Government’s commitment to invest more than £5 billion in autonomous systems over the next four years, including drones and other uncrewed capabilities, with at least £210 million on low-cost, long-range one-way munitions and attack drones. The DIP also provides for investment in long-range missiles, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence to increase the lethality and effectiveness of the Armed Forces.
These investments will help deliver the Strategic Defence Review’s vision for a more integrated, technologically advanced and warfighting-ready force.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, What steps he has taken to procure counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) for HM Armed Forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department continually considers and develops improvements to Integrated Air and Missile Defence systems, with investments prioritised appropriately against the assessed threat picture as part of the future Integrated Force. As set out in the Defence Investment Plan, the Government has committed over £750 million to provide short range drone protection for homeland and deployed forces. This includes Project PRESAGIUM, which builds on the recent success of Rapid Sentry, and an increasing suite of low-cost ground-based effectors.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his department’s policy to upgrade the fleet of RAF Envoy IV jets.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) to Question 9871 on 24 June 2026:
The work to enable Envoy IV aircraft operations in non-benign airspace has been paused, and there is currently no definitive date for when this activity will recommence. The Department's programme priorities are kept under regular review to ensure alignment with operational requirements and available resources.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to answer Questions UIN 6334 and UIN 6335, tabled by the Hon. Member for Romford on 3 June 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I can confirm the Questions UIN 6334 and UIN 6335 were answered on 1 July 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to support victims of fraud.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
This Government is committed to supporting all victims of crime, including victims of fraud.
The Report Fraud Victim Service offers consistent specialist support for victims across England and Wales and covers all 43 police forces. The service aims to help victims to feel safe and more confident following contact, whilst assisting them to cope and recover from the crime and significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation.
The Home Office will be publishing a Fraud Victim Charter by the end of 2027, which will explore how law enforcement, industry and the third sector can work collaboratively to improve consistency in the support offered to victims.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his Department’s policy to build more prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places across England and Wales and have already delivered around 3,200 places since July 2024. We remain on track to meet this commitment by 2031. In stark contrast, the previous government built only 500 additional net places over 14 years.
Our expansion programme includes the construction of four new prisons, including HMP Millsike which opened in spring 2025, alongside the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate. We have committed a further investment of £4.7bn over the current spending review period (2026/27 to 2029/30) to support the delivery of these places, including breaking ground at the new HMP Welland Oaks site in Leicestershire in November 2025. We are building two further new prisons next to the existing HMP Garth in Lancashire and HMP Grendon in Buckinghamshire, and we are committed to undertaking critical maintenance work across the prison estate.
We continue to explore options so the prison estate can move from crisis management to a more resilient and rehabilitative system. This will ensure the estate can meet future demand and improve conditions. Alongside our build programme, we have brought forward the Sentencing Act to place prison capacity on a sustainable footing and avoids the pressure seen in recent years.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to support local authorities in supporting market traders.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
The government recognises that markets can make a significant contribution to the vibrancy and diversity of our high streets and town centres. It is for local authorities, not central government, to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas.
We are supporting local authorities in England through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on.
Later this year, we will also bring forward a High Streets Strategy, backed by £301 million of support, to help turn the tide on the high streets most in need.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to expand the capacity of English prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places across England and Wales and have already delivered around 3,200 places since July 2024. We remain on track to meet this commitment by 2031. In stark contrast, the previous government built only 500 additional net places over 14 years.
Our expansion programme includes the construction of four new prisons, including HMP Millsike which opened in spring 2025, alongside the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate. We have committed a further investment of £4.7bn over the current spending review period (2026/27 to 2029/30) to support the delivery of these places, including breaking ground at the new HMP Welland Oaks site in Leicestershire in November 2025. We are building two further new prisons next to the existing HMP Garth in Lancashire and HMP Grendon in Buckinghamshire, and we are committed to undertaking critical maintenance work across the prison estate.
We continue to explore options so the prison estate can move from crisis management to a more resilient and rehabilitative system. This will ensure the estate can meet future demand and improve conditions. Alongside our build programme, we have brought forward the Sentencing Act to place prison capacity on a sustainable footing and avoids the pressure seen in recent years.