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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to increase funding for support for parents in disadvantaged areas.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government has committed to provide funding for all local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs, backed by over £500 million, to help families in every part of the country. The rollout will deliver up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs nationwide by 2028, reaching an estimated additional 500,000 children. Hubs will be open to all families but located in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed.
The government understands the distinct challenges faced by parents and, ahead of the publication of our Child Poverty Strategy, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty. This includes establishing a new Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) through the Spending Review period to replace the Household Support Fund. This longer-term funding approach will enable local authorities to provide preventative support to families and communities.
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 assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of (a) the killing of 15 Christians in the village of Marera, Mozambique on 1 August 2025 and (b) other recent attacks on Christians in Mozambique; and what discussions she has had with the Government of Mozambique on promoting religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is aware of a series of attacks by Islamic State Mozambique on civilians and security forces in the Chiure area in July and August of this year. The UK regularly engages with authorities and religious leaders as well as peacebuilding and humanitarian agencies both in the capital, Maputo, and Northern Mozambique (Cabo Delgado and Nampula), to address the problems of violence and instability. We also support programmes that support peacebuilding and resilience to violent extremism in the region. Ongoing challenges for religious communities remain, as Christian and Muslim places of worship continue to be affected. We are working multilaterally and bilaterally to defend Freedom of Religion or Belief around the world.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to improve numeracy rates in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To drive standards in mathematics, the department funds the Maths Hubs programme, supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. Local Maths Hubs provide school-to-school support focused on mathematics subject knowledge and pedagogy training for teachers in primary and secondary schools.
The Romford constituency is served by the London North East Maths Hub. As of August 2024, Maths Hubs have worked with 85.5% of open primary schools (14,321) and 88.3% of open secondary schools (3,015) across the country since 2015/16.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many reviews of regulators' decisions have been requested under Regulation 48 of The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023; and how many of these reviews have resulted in the decision being (a) upheld and (b) varied.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As of 17 October 2025, the Building Safety Regulator has reviewed ten decisions. Out of these, four decisions have been overturned and six have been upheld. 20 reviews are currently in progress, and two further reviews have been requested.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 71829 on Hospitals: Construction, how many dedicated teams there are for special types of building control applications; what type of building control applications each team deals with; and how many staff are in each team.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As of 16th October 2025, a total of 69 members of staff were working on building control within the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), including heads of unit. Excluding heads of unit, the total number of staff is 64 (principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers) who all work directly on applications.
The BSR has seven teams currently working on new builds, external remediation, internal remediation and refurbishment. These teams are made up of approximately ten full-time equivalent members of staff per team, including principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers.
Building control approval application data is published monthly, with the most recent publication on 16th October 2025. Building Safety Regulator building control approval application data October 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 70345 on Buildings: Safety, what his Department's timetable is for publishing the building control approval application data (Apr – Jun 2025).
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As of 16th October 2025, a total of 69 members of staff were working on building control within the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), including heads of unit. Excluding heads of unit, the total number of staff is 64 (principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers) who all work directly on applications.
The BSR has seven teams currently working on new builds, external remediation, internal remediation and refurbishment. These teams are made up of approximately ten full-time equivalent members of staff per team, including principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers.
Building control approval application data is published monthly, with the most recent publication on 16th October 2025. Building Safety Regulator building control approval application data October 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 Safety Regulator staff work on building control applications.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As of 16th October 2025, a total of 69 members of staff were working on building control within the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), including heads of unit. Excluding heads of unit, the total number of staff is 64 (principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers) who all work directly on applications.
The BSR has seven teams currently working on new builds, external remediation, internal remediation and refurbishment. These teams are made up of approximately ten full-time equivalent members of staff per team, including principal regulatory leads, regulatory leads, case officer managers and case officers.
Building control approval application data is published monthly, with the most recent publication on 16th October 2025. Building Safety Regulator building control approval application data October 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - 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 Christian communities in (a) urban and (b) rural areas in England.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government’s commitment to valuing the contribution which Christians make to society is evident through our engagement with a wide range of churches at national, regional and local levels. MHCLG funds several cohesion initiatives which directly support religiously diverse communities across England, including the Near Neighbours programme which is a delivery arm of the Church of England’s Church Urban Fund. Urban and rural Christian communities may also be the beneficiaries of other programmes across government, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which provides VAT relief for repairs to our historic places of worship, including churches, which are central to both our local and national life.