Written questions by Rosindell.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason income tax on St Helena is levied at higher rates than on other British Overseas Territories.

The St Helena Government is responsible for its public finances and therefore sets its own income tax rates.

If he will provide funding to improve the accident and emergency department at Queen’s Hospital in Romford.

National Health Service commissioners are responsible for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services. Therefore, in this case, the commissioning body responsible would be the North East London Health and Care Partnership Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Department.The North East London Health and Care Partnership ICB has been provisionally allocated £24 million for constitutional standards recovery in 2025/26, as part of our £1.65 billion capital investment to support NHS performance across secondary and emergency care. This will fund new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds, to create more treatment space in emergency departments, reduce waiting times, and help shift more care into the community. The £1.65 billion capital investment also includes £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on accident and emergency services.In addition, the ICB has been provisionally allocated £107.5 million in operational capital funding, including primary care business-as-usual capital, for 2025/26, to be prioritised according to local needs, such as investing in hospital infrastructure.Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 will be set through Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which will conclude and be published in late spring 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase employment opportunities in St Helena.

The St Helena Government is responsible for its employment portfolio. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works in partnership with the St Helena Government to increase employment opportunities, including through programmes which invest in infrastructure and help build technical expertise.

Whether he has held discussions with his US counterpart on the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory since the commencement of US strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Secretary of State for Defence speaks regularly with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a wide range of security issues. We welcome US support of the UK proceeding with the proposed treaty with Mauritius, as well as the President's recognition of the strength of the deal.

If she will take steps to increase Inheritance Tax thresholds.

The previous Government fixed the nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band at their current levels until the end of 2027-28. This Government set out its plans for inheritance tax thresholds at Autumn Budget 2024 by fixing the nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band at their current levels for a further two years in 2028-29 and 2029-30. This is included in Finance Act 2025.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce UK businesses' reliance on foreign-produced satellites.

The Ministry of Defence is working closely with other Departments to support the UK space sector. On 22 April, I met with colleagues from across Government to discuss our approach to this vital part of the UK economy, and to develop plans in the Government’s Spending Review and Strategic Defence Review. The Government’s Industrial Strategy will strengthen the UK's advanced manufacturing sectors and promote sovereign industrial capabilities. It will set out plans to boost innovation and secure long-term sector growth. Additionally, the Ministry of Defence will continue to invest in sovereign space capabilities.

Whether he is taking steps with representatives of food delivery companies to help tackle the use of rented profiles by people who have not been properly vetted to make deliveries to private addresses.

In December, I wrote to Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, to ask what steps they have in place to ensure that all drivers and riders are legally entitled to work in the UK, including substitutes, and what sanctions they have in place should this not be the case. In March, the government announced its intention to amend the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, to extend the scope of employers required to carry out Right to Work checks to those who engage limb (b) workers or individual sub-contractors, including those carrying out food deliveries in the gig economy and their substitutes. The Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill represents a significant corner stone of the Government’s Plan for Change. One of the objectives being to rebuild confidence in the immigration system.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore in reducing non-tariff barriers for UK businesses exporting (a) digital services and (b) physical goods.

The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) stands out as one of the most comprehensive digital trade agreements globally and locks-in market liberalisations in key areas for businesses such as cross-border data flows. The seven Memoranda of Understanding signed alongside the DEA facilitate engagement on several key areas, including Fintech and Lawtech services. Trade digitalisation pilots conducted under the agreement framework demonstrated significant business benefits to trade in goods, including 40% reduction in trade processing time, 89% reduction in paperwork, and 67% improvement in staff productivity. We keep the effectiveness of the agreement under review as part of its ongoing implementation.

Whether he has had discussions with his Australian counterpart on the prevention of Chinese naval (a) incursions and (b) shelling off the coast of Australia.

The Secretary of State speaks regularly with his Australian counterpart and last spoke on 11 February. These discussions typically cover a range of issues of mutual interest, including the importance of upholding security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. We remain committed to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to freedom of navigation and overflight and to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on the future of the airbase on Ascension Island.

The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagements with the US Secretary of Defense on a range of topics. The future of the airbase on the Ascension Islands has not been discussed during these engagements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues on how the UK can help to protect the Christian minority in Sudan.

Our Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), David Smith, met with the UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB in Geneva in March, where he reinforced the UK position that there is no space for religious intolerance in pluralistic, modern societies. He also made a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March, highlighting our concerns regarding the coercion of non-Muslims in Sudan to change their beliefs through denial of work, food aid, and education. We continue to champion the right to FoRB for all by promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding. We will continue to recognise the issue of Christian persecution globally, alongside the persecution of other individuals on the basis of their religion or belief.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the interim Syrian Foreign Minister on the potential merits of establishing independent oversight mechanisms to monitor the protection of religious minorities.

We welcome the Syrian Government's reassurances to the Syrian population and international community that they will protect all civilians in Syria, and their establishment of a fact-finding committee to investigate and prosecute individuals who committed crimes during the violence in early March. I discussed these points in my meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on 17 March. We will continue to monitor the treatment of all civilians in Syria, and this issue will continue to be an important aspect of our engagement with the Syrian Government and with regional and international partners.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the interim Syrian Government’s capacity to implement security measures to protect (a) Alawite, (b) Christian and (c) Druze communities in controlled areas.

We welcome the Syrian Government's reassurances to the Syrian population and international community that they will protect all civilians in Syria, and their establishment of a fact-finding committee to investigate and prosecute individuals who committed crimes during the violence in early March. I discussed these points in my meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on 17 March. We will continue to monitor the treatment of all civilians in Syria, and this issue will continue to be an important aspect of our engagement with the Syrian Government and with regional and international partners.

Whether he has received representations from his US counterpart on the proposed transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

The Secretary of State for Defence speaks regularly with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a wide range of security issues, including the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base on Diego Garcia. We welcome US support of the UK proceeding with the proposed treaty with Mauritius, as well as the President's recognition of the strength of the deal.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of data collection for abortions performed in the UK.

In accordance with the Abortion Act 1967, registered medical practitioners must notify the Chief Medical Officer of abortions within 14 days. The HSA4 abortion notification form is provided to collect the required information. The HSA4 form is a statutory instrument, the content of which cannot be changed without legislation.

What steps he is taking to help improve the (a) research on, (b) diagnosis of and (c) treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer being the largest area of spend at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. Examples of NIHR investments in blood cancer research include:the £2.6 million PROPEL trial, testing whether a package of enhanced personalised prehabilitation can help people with acute myeloid leukaemia cope better with treatment;a £2.2 million trial exploring methods to reduce secondary infections as a result of acute myeloid leukaemia, with the aim of reducing the side effects of treatment and improving quality of life for patients during and after; anda £3 million trial of the drug ibrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and a £2.2 million study to evaluate the digital health platform AscelusTM, for the management of blood disorders including cancers, funded by the NIHR in partnership with the Offices for Life Sciences.The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including acute myeloid leukaemia.Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types. To achieve this, the National Health Service is improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. In addition, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week during our first year in Government, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment. Additionally, the recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve research, diagnosis, and treatment for cancer, including acute myeloid leukaemia.

What steps he is taking to help improve the (a) research in, (b) diagnosis of and (c) the treatment of anaemia.

The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, charities, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including anaemia, through its research programmes. From 2019/20 to 2023/24, the NIHR funded £10.7 million of research into anaemia. The NIHR also provides research support by funding facilities, expertise, training, and recruitment support, which includes approximately 176 studies from 2019/20 to 2023/24 on anaemia research supported across NIHR infrastructure. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a clinical knowledge summary on anaemia which provides guidance on testing and treatment of all types of anaemia. It was last updated in September 2023. The clinical knowledge summary states that, in all people, serum ferritin levels of less than 30 micrograms per litre confirms a diagnosis of iron deficiency. NICE guidelines are not mandatory and, whilst clinicians and health and care commissioners are expected to take them into account, it is important for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan to be in place that address the specific needs of the individual. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has authorised a number of intravenous iron products for use by patients with anaemia in the United Kingdom, including iron dextran, iron sucrose, ferric carboxymaltose, and ferric derisomaltose.

What steps he is taking to help prevent abortion drugs sent in the mail from being used to commit crimes.

Before an early medical abortion can be undertaken at home, a consultation is held with the woman requesting the termination. Women are given the choice to have either an in-person consultation or a virtual consultation. If the medical practitioner has any concerns during a virtual consultation, the woman will be asked to attend a clinic for an in-person consultation.The prescription of mifepristone and misoprostol for abortions is controlled by the Abortion Act 1967 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. During the consultation, women are informed that it is illegal to give their prescribed abortion medication to anyone else.

What steps she is taking to support the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in (a) London and (b) Romford constituency.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of April 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 76,507 publicly available charging devices, up 28% on this time last year. London, which includes Romford constituency, was allocated over £41m capital and resource funding through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to increase the number of local public chargepoints across the area. The £381m LEVI Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 on-street chargepoints across the country. As of 1 January 2025, there were 22,200 public electric vehicle charging devices in London, 1,341 of which had a power rating of 50kW or above. 48 of these devices were in the constituency of Romford, of which 33 had a power rating of 50kW or above.

What steps he is taking to ensure that (a) gestational ages of pregnancies are accurately recorded in cases without ultrasound scans and (b) abortion pills are not sent in the mail to women beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks.

Pregnancy duration can be assessed from the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP). Advice from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is clear, that most women can determine the duration of their pregnancy with reasonable accuracy by their LMP alone.Before an early medical abortion can be undertaken at home, women are given the choice to have either an in-person consultation or a virtual consultation. However, if there is any uncertainty about the gestation of the pregnancy, the medical practitioner would ask the woman to attend an in-person appointment to enable them to form an opinion that the pregnancy will not have exceeded 10 weeks at the time the first abortion pill is taken.