Written questions by Rosindell.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regional disaster response to the fires in the SBAs of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in July 2025; and whether he has implemented new regional disaster preparedness plans in response.

The Sovereign Base Areas Administration (SBAA) manages disaster preparedness through the Areas Resilience Forum. Modelled on UK best practice, this takes a multi-agency approach, including both the SBAA and British Forces Cyprus, to prepare and respond to civil emergencies. The Area Resilience Forum conducts regular exercises to enhance preparedness of relevant agencies.In tackling civil emergencies, the Administration enjoys full, reciprocal cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus (RoC). For example, during the July 2025 wildfires – which took place within the RoC – significant aerial firefighting support was provided to the RoC by RAF CH-47.

Whether the National Police Service's remit will include dealing with illegal tobacco and organized crime.

The National Police Service will lead the operational response to serious and organised crime.We would expect that to include operational activity against illegal tobacco currently carried out by the National Crime Agency and the Regional Organised Crime Units.

If he will publish a list of engagements for the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement Protocol Specialised Committee in 2025 and 2026.

The UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement established six Specialised Committees to supervise the implementation of distinct elements of the agreement. Each committee is co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and the European Commission. The list of meetings, agendas and joint statements of the Specialised Committees can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/withdrawal-agreement-joint-committee#meetings-of-the-withdrawal-agreement-joint-committee.

What recent steps he has taken to improve the (a) cost and (b) time efficiency of armed forces procurement processes.

The Defence Industrial Strategy and Strategic Defence Review set out plans to overhaul procurement. Our new segmented approach to procurement, supported by accelerated commercial pathways, is designed to enable programmes to get to contract faster and be more cost efficient. We are making progress towards the target date of 1 April 2026 for establishment of the segmented approach in line with the Strategic Defence Review.

What recent steps he has taken to support SMEs based in the UK to bid for defence contracts.

This Government has already committed to spending £2.5 billion more with defence SMEs. Central to driving this pledge is the recent establishment of the new Office for Small Business Growth which will help simplify and speed up cumbersome processes, provide advice to SMEs and encourage private sector investment. We have also recently announced a £20 million fund to offer accelerated contracts to small, innovative British startups, as well as establishing a protected budget of £400 million for UK Defence Innovation. We're breaking down barriers and opening new avenues for innovation, ensuring that our SMEs can play a vital role in strengthening our defence capabilities.

What steps she has taken with local authorities to improve road infrastructure in (a) Havering and (b) the M25 junction 29 Romford area.

As transport in London is devolved, it is up to Havering to work with the Mayor of London and Transport for London to make decisions on investment in local roads. The Government is committed to supporting local highway authorities to maintain their local roads effectively, and to this end Havering is eligible to receive over £13.9 million of highways maintenance funding between 2026/27 and 2029/2030. The Government has also provided the Greater London Authority with £53.5 million of funding for the Gallows Corner scheme, which is being delivered by TfL and expected to be completed by Spring 2026. The operation and maintenance of Junction 29 of the M25 is the responsibility of National Highways, which regularly monitors the performance of the junction and surrounding strategic road network.

What recent steps she has taken with relevant authorities to help tackle crime in town centres across greater London.

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting town centre crime.Our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is already making a difference. For too long, people have not seen police patrolling their streets. We will have 3,000 more neighbourhood officers by March this year. The Metropolitan Police Service’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 will be 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE). We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence.We are equipping the police to fight the organised crime gangs that are often responsible for driving shop theft across the country. Our £5m investment into OPAL (a specialist policing unit) will supercharge intelligence-led policing to identify offenders, disrupt the tactics used to target shops, and bring more criminals to justice.We have also delivered on our manifesto pledge: every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour, who will work with communities to develop an action plan to tackle ASB. We are also strengthening the powers to tackle ASB. Our new Respect Orders will give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most relentless ASB offenders.Through our Summer Initiative police forces and local authorities increased patrols in town centres, tackling retail crime and anti-social behaviour as part of the Government’s Plan for Change to make our streets safer. Our Winter of Action, which ran from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, built on this, with an additional focus on repeat offenders and protecting women and girls at night. The full list of locations the Metropolitan Police Service focused on as part of the Winter of Action can be found here: Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UKBuilding from the Winter of Action, we are working with forces and local partners to identify and tackle the most prolific retail offenders - where a few individuals can drive a large proportion of the local crime problem.Together with the police, we are sending a message: crime and anti-social behaviour will be punished.

What steps he has taken to improve cybersecurity protections for critical national infrastructure.

The Ministry of Defence takes cyber security very seriously, particularly with regard to critical national infrastructure. We do not comment publicly on the detail of our protections for security reasons.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of defence funding on RAF Northolt’s ability to support military operations.

RAF Northolt is a core military establishment, delivering a breadth of important day-to-day outputs for Defence. There are no defence funding trends which might impact RAF Northolt’s ability to support military operations.

Whether her Department has received legal advice on the compliance of new facial recognition technology deployed by police forces with human rights obligations.

The Home Office published its consultation on proposals for a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies on 4 December 2025. This considers how the police could use new facial recognition technology in a way that continues to be compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.The Department was an interested party in an important court case on this issue, R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2020] EWCA Civ 1058. In preparing the consultation, the Department took into account the court’s judgement and received advice on all aspects of the current legal framework for the use of such technology.

How many illegally possessed firearms have been seized in (a) Romford constituency and (b) greater London in each year since 1997.

The Home Office does not routinely collect data on the number of firearms seized by police forces as part of their operations to tackle illegally held weapons.

Communities and Local Government, how many new Islamic places of worship have been granted planning permission by local authorities in (a) England and (b) greater London in each year since 1997.

My Department does not hold the requested information. Although quarterly planning application statistics are collected and published on gov.uk here, separate figures on places of worship that have been granted planning permission are not collected.

Communities and Local Government, how many new Christian places of worship have been granted planning permission by local authorities in (a) England and (b) greater London in every year since 1997.

My Department does not hold the requested information. Although quarterly planning application statistics are collected and published on gov.uk here, separate figures on places of worship that have been granted planning permission are not collected.

Communities and Local Government, how many new Jewish places of worship have been granted planning permission by local authorities in (a) England and (b) greater London in every year since 1997.

My Department does not hold the requested information. Although quarterly planning application statistics are collected and published on gov.uk here, separate figures on places of worship that have been granted planning permission are not collected.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to support Havering Council in tackling its budget deficit.

By 2028-29, this government will have made available a 24.3% increase in Core Spending Power, worth £16.6 billion since coming into power in 2024-25. For Havering, the Settlement makes available up to £329.7 million, which is an increase of 33.5% compared to 2024-25.Our local government finance reforms get money to where it is needed, but we recognise the challenging context for councils as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous system. The government has announced a further £77m of Exceptional Financial Support to enable the Council to set a balanced budget in 2026-27 and continues to work closely with the Council.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that local authorities under financial constraints prioritise essential services.

We are investing in local government. The government will provide over £5.6 billion of new grant funding towards local government services over the next three years. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26. The government has also announced £4 billion investment over three years for new programmes to deliver improvements in SEND. The government is introducing a fairer and evidence-based funding system. Our reforms ensure that this funding is allocated fairly, and that the places and services that need it most are supported. We are supporting all authorities to maintain services and manage their updated funding positions with transitional arrangements. The government recognises that some councils remain in a challenging financial position as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous system. Any council that has concerns about its financial sustainability should approach the department in the first instance where we will treat all discussions in confidence The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) automatic licence suspension and (b) revocation thresholds for retailers found repeatedly selling (i) illegal and (ii) non-compliant vaping devices.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, provides powers to enable the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, and also to specify the grounds on which a licence may be granted, suspended, revoked, or varied.We recently launched a call for evidence to gather views on a range of topics related to tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, including the implementation of the proposed licensing scheme for the retail sale of these products. The call for evidence ran for eight weeks and closed in December 2025.The call for evidence asked detailed questions on the administration and implementation of the licensing scheme, including factors that should be considered by licensing authorities when making licensing decisions. The evidence gathered will be used to inform the development of the licensing scheme, and we will launch a subsequent consultation on our policy proposals before bringing forward secondary legislation.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of the use of (a) licence transfers and (b) changes of company ownership to avoid enforcement action in the tobacco and vaping retail sector.

There is currently no requirement for a business in the United Kingdom to obtain a licence to sell tobacco, vapes, or nicotine products. This is in contrast to some other retail activities that pose a risk of harm to the public, such as the sale of alcohol, which do require a licence.The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme, in their respective nations, for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement and support legitimate businesses, while acting as a deterrent to retailers who breach the law. In doing so, it will support public health.Our recent call for evidence sought evidence on the implementation of the licensing scheme to inform proposals for a future consultation. We will consult on the specifics of the scheme before bringing forward secondary legislation.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of vaping devices that contain (a) multiple cartridges, (b) pods and (c) refill containers that can be used simultaneously or sequentially within a single device on the health of the people using that device.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the governance structure of the distinct technical and Ministerial working groups, in relation to the British Antarctic Territories, named in the UK Overseas Territories biodiversity strategy published on 12 January 2026.

The UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy sets out the UK strategy to conserve, protect, and restore biodiversity in the UK Overseas Territories. This joint strategy has been developed by Defra in partnership with Overseas Territories Governments and Administrations. The UK Government will work with the Territories in close partnership to implement this strategy, including through distinct technical and Ministerial working groups. The governance structure of the working groups is under development.