Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to change the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Population Survey to a mixed-method design.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27th October is attached.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her (a) Indian and (b) Chinese counterparts on comments by the representatives of Mauritius on the lease of land in the Chagos Archipelago upon the ratification of the 2025 treaty on the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The treaty contains robust provisions to protect the base, including a 24 nautical mile buffer zone around Diego Garcia and a ban on foreign security forces anywhere in the archipelago. Any suggestions that Mauritius has been negotiating a lease on Peros Banhos are false. This was confirmed by the Mauritian Attorney General in a public statement on 20 October 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the US has had decisions with her Department on US strategic objectives in tackling drug smuggling in (a) Venezuela and (b) the wider Caribbean.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have extensive discussions with the US on a wide range of shared security objectives, including on counter narcotics but specific operational activities undertaken by the US military in the Caribbean and the Pacific are a matter for the US.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to allow businesses to (a) engage with and (b) support the process of drafting a free trade agreement with Canada.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement underpinning around £28 billion worth of bilateral trade last year.
There are currently no plans to resume FTA negotiations. However, growing bilateral trade remains a shared priority and we have established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Vietnam on the arrest of Montagnard Pastor Y Nuen Ayun on 8 October 2025; and whether she is taking diplomatic steps to ensure his release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We raise human rights concerns with the Vietnamese Government, including freedom of religion and belief bilaterally and multilaterally. The Foreign Secretary emphasised the importance of protecting religious freedom with Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung on 30 October, following my own discussions with the Vice Foreign Minister on 13 October. Our new UK-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership includes cooperation on human rights, particularly it notes that the 'UK and Vietnam will cooperate to foster inclusive societies that embrace and provide equal opportunities and respect for the human rights of all people, without discrimination of any kind.' Through the UN Human Rights Council we regularly raise specific cases of concern.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) diplomatic and (b) development cooperation with Pacific Island nations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has resident diplomatic missions in six Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and we are also non-resident accredited to six additional PICs. The UK is committed to working with PICs to support their priorities, as set out in the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The UK is supporting PICs in areas such as regional security, economic resilience and growth and tackling the climate and nature crisis. Examples include: improving and enhancing regional maritime security; strengthening preparedness, response and resilience to humanitarian crises; and investment into PICs through multilateral and other funds to achieve better infrastructure and development outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to restart negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and Canada.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no plans to resume FTA negotiations, but growing our bilateral trade remains a shared priority, which is why the two Prime Ministers established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, including by addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements, including digital.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with allies in Latin America to support (a) regional stability and (b) democratic outcomes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has worked closely with many Latin American partners over recent years to promote shared interests and values, including strong commitments to democracy and the rule of law. We will continue to work closely with allies across the region and promote stability and defend robust democratic outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what recent discussions she has had with international partners on the (a) (i) targeting and (ii) arrests of religious minorities and (b) forced closures of places of worship in Algeria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. On 21 October, I met Foreign Minister Attaf and emphasised the importance of promoting FoRB and interfaith dialogue, and offered the UK's support in that effort. Our Embassy in Algiers also remains in regular contact with religious groups on how best to support FoRB. We continue to monitor the situation closely and advocate for freedom of expression for religious minority communities in Algeria.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide funding to encourage the consumption of healthy food in schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and it is important that schools follow the latest nutritional guidance. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
The department spends over £1.5 billion annually delivering free meals to around 3.4 million pupils. We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament. We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover additional meal costs of the new entitlement. This is new money as opposed to funding within existing school budgets.