Written questions by Rosindell.

What steps she is taking to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of UKBA officers.

Regarding the recruitment of Border Force officers, the latest published staffing and finance figures can be found in the Home Office Annual Reports: Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.However, Border Force workforce planning reflects our evolving requirements and comprises of multiple resourcing options with decisions being assessed against several factors including the potential impacts they may have. As well as having an existing group of highly trained officers, Border Force has run several fair and open competition recruitment campaigns over the last few months – including alternative working options – which were open to anyone interested in working for Border Force.On the issue of retention, we recognise that being a Border Force officer is a demanding role. That is why we have introduced additional mental health support to ensure our officers are supported if needed. Additionally, as a key recommendation of the Alexander Downer Review published in 2022, Border Force recognised the need to build on and improve their learning offer for staff at all levels of the organisation.A comprehensive programme of modernisation and development is currently underway within Border Force L&D in support of delivering these recommendations and wider strategic priorities. Our primary aim is the development of the capabilities required across operational and non-operational areas, and ensuring leaders and managers have the skills required to manage staff and develop their talent.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the greyhound racing industry.

The Government recognises the importance of Greyhound Racing to our economy - providing employment to 5400 people across Britain - and its contribution to British cultural life.The greyhound racing industry is supported by the British Greyhound Racing Fund in the form of voluntary contributions from bookmakers on betting turnover on licensed greyhound racing. The Government remains committed to ensuring that those voluntary contributions reflect the benefits the betting industry derives from Greyhound Racing as a betting product. The levy has an important role in supporting the growth and sustainability of the sport.The Government welcomes the progress of the industry’s regulatory body, the Greyhound Board for Great Britain, in driving improvement in rehoming and overall welfare standards through its Greyhound Commitment and its long term national welfare strategy, “A Good Life for Every Greyhound”. The Government is committed to continuing to work with the greyhound and betting industries to deliver a more sustainable future for the Sport.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the prevention of illegal rhino poaching.

The UK has strict border controls in place to detect and prevent illegal imports. In 2022, Border Force seized two separate imports of rhino horn originating from China and South Africa. The UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit also plays a critical role in preventing wildlife crime, including through intelligence work, threat analysis, and by directly assisting law enforcement. Through our Biodiverse Landscape Fund we are working directly with partner Governments in the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, including rhino poaching. We are also investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to tackle IWT globally, including through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to prevent the illegal importation of rhino horns.

The UK has strict border controls in place to detect and prevent illegal imports. In 2022, Border Force seized two separate imports of rhino horn originating from China and South Africa. The UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit also plays a critical role in preventing wildlife crime, including through intelligence work, threat analysis, and by directly assisting law enforcement. Through our Biodiverse Landscape Fund we are working directly with partner Governments in the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, including rhino poaching. We are also investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to tackle IWT globally, including through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the practice of badger baiting and associated illegal activities.

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provide protection against certain methods of killing, injuring, or taking of badgers, or interference with their setts. Badger persecution is one of seven UK Wildlife Crime Priorities, and a UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group is in place. This is police-led and comprises a range of members (including Defra) meeting regularly to tackle horrific offences such as badger baiting, which is rightly illegal in this country.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) implications for his policies and (b) impact on bilateral trade relations of the International Monetary Fund's loan deal with the Republic of El Salvador.

The UK Government is aware of the agreement reached between the International Monetary Fund and the Government of El Salvador for a new arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, which aims to support economic reforms in the country. The UK will continue to use the UK-Central America Association Agreement to strengthen our trade relationship with El Salvador, which was worth £66m in the 12 months to June 2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role his Department's diplomatic missions will have in the delivery of the Government's Soft Power Council.

The Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport launched the Soft Power Council on 15 January. The Council brings together some of the most influential figures across soft power and foreign policy to steer and advise Government. The UK diplomatic network will be central to delivering our refreshed strategic approach to soft power, whether by encouraging people in other countries to visit, study and trade with the UK; or by harnessing our world class sectors to build alliances and enhance our global influence, in the service of our growth and security objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23274 on Haiti: Diplomatic Service, what steps his Department is taking to support British nationals in Haiti remotely; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of this support.

The British Embassy in Santo Domingo provides consular assistance to British nationals in Haiti and issues emergency travel documents. Requests for consular assistance are considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant circumstances. We encourage all British nationals in Haiti to follow our travel advice and sign up to email alerts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23274 on Haiti: Diplomatic Service, what contingency arrangements his Department has in place to provide emergency assistance to British nationals in Haiti, in the context of the absence of consular officials in Haiti.

The British Embassy in Santo Domingo provides consular assistance to British nationals in Haiti and issues emergency travel documents. Requests for consular assistance are considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant circumstances. We encourage all British nationals in Haiti to follow our travel advice and sign up to email alerts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with representatives from the (a) Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and (b) Organization of American States on alleged reports of election fraud in Venezuela.

We remain deeply concerned about allegations of serious irregularities in the declared election result in Venezuela, and regularly discuss this issue with international partners, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and Organization of American States (OAS) members. We have made a number of public statements on the credibility of the election results, including at the Special Session of the OAS Permanent Council in August. On 10 January the Foreign Secretary stated that Maduro's claim to power was fraudulent and announced new sanctions designations against members of the Maduro regime.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his (a) Guyanese, (b) Colombian and (c) Brazilian counterparts on trends in the number of refugees travelling to those countries from Venezuela.

The UK remains concerned at the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the high numbers of Venezuelans who continue to leave the country. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses the situation in Venezuela with international partners including recently with Brazil, Colombia and Guyana. The UK is a longstanding partner of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which provides life-saving assistance to displaced persons, including refugees from Venezuela.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK announces new sanctions targeting Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, published on 10 January 2025, whether the travel restrictions will be applicable in the British Overseas Territories.

On 10 January, the UK sanctioned 15 new individuals associated with Maduro's contested regime responsible for undermining democracy and committing serious human rights violations. It is Government policy for all UK sanctions, including travel bans, to also apply in the Overseas Territories.

With reference to her Oral Statement of 14 January 2025 on UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, Official Report, columns 172-173, whether she raised the matter of Taiwan with her Chinese counterpart during her recent visit to the People's Republic of China.

The UK Government continues to raise Taiwan with international partners, including China. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait with the Chinese Vice-President in Autumn last year.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of rented electric (a) bikes and (b) scooters illegally parked on pavements.

The Government recognises the widespread concern that this issue causes pedestrians and especially the danger which obstructively parked cycles can cause those with disabilities. Part of our work to regulate on-street micromobility, and as announced in the English Devolution White Paper, includes our ambition to put local government in a stronger position to manage the parking of these vehicles to tackle obstructive parking and hold operators to account where issues persist. For the e-scooter trials, the Department for Transport has published guidance for how trials should run which makes clear that there will need to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas and local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to others. Local authorities are responsible for parking in their trial areas and any complaints about parking should be directed to the relevant council. Operators additionally employ geofencing, parking incentives and penalties to prevent obstructive parking.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) increase the number of practical driving tests available in (i) Greater London and (ii) Essex and (b) help prevent unauthorised vendors selling practical test slots online.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work to attract and recruit more driving examiners in the London and South East area, including Greater London and Essex. As well as new Driving Examiners (DEs) who have now begun testing, DVSA is running training courses for successful candidates from recent campaigns, who, if successful, will join driving test centres (DTCs) in the region. DVSA concluded another recruitment campaign at the end of 2024 and is in the process of making offers to successful candidates. Anotherrecruitment campaign is currently expected to begin in March 2025. To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system. A call for evidence was launched on 18 December 2024, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes.On 6 January 2025, DVSA also introduced tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require housing associations to carry out Section 11 repairs within a specific timeframe.

Social housing tenants deserve to live in decent homes, to be treated with fairness and respect, and to have their problems quickly resolved.Under the Regulator of Social Housing ‘s Safety and Quality Standard, housing associations must provide an effective, efficient, and timely repairs service for their homes, including setting timescales for completion, and clearly communicate this to tenants.The government have committed to bringing forward the regulations necessary to introduce Awaab’s Law in the Social Rented Sector. This will set new time limits for social landlords to fix dangerous hazards, including damp and mould.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British nationals have requested consular assistance in Haiti since July 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has not been approached for consular assistance in relation to British nationals in Haiti since July 2024. The FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti due to the volatile security situation there. There are currently no British consular officials in Haiti and our ability to provide consular assistance is severely limited. Consular assistance cannot currently be delivered in person in Haiti, however British nationals may access consular assistance via the British Embassy Santo Domingo. British nationals in Haiti are encouraged to read our travel advice and sign up for alerts.

What support his Department is providing to increase patient capacity in the Queen’s Hospital, Romford Accident and Emergency Department.

Operational matters, including decisions on local hospital capacity, are primarily matters for local National Health Service trusts working with NHS commissioners.The NHS has supported increased patient demand for accident and emergency services by strengthening same day emergency care, supporting vaccination efforts for COVID-19, flu, and the respiratory syncytial virus, and increasing the provision of community services.In addition, due to the action taken by the Government, this winter NHS hospitals are free of strikes and focused on caring for patients.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the conservation of red squirrels.

This Government is committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species and delivering our legally binding biodiversity targets on species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration, which will benefit many of our priority native species including red squirrels. The leading causes of red squirrel decline in England include the squirrel pox virus, habitat availability and competition from non-native grey squirrels. We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels on our woodlands and red squirrel populations and shall have an update in due course.

What support his Department is providing to increase patient capacity on mental health wards in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the surrounding area.

NHS England’s 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance reinforces this focus on improving patient flow as a key priority, with local health systems directed to reduce the average length of stay in adult acute mental health wards to deliver more timely access to local beds. And in areas where there is a clear need for more beds, this has been addressed in part through investment in new units.It is also important that when people are discharged, this happens in a way that considers their needs on discharge and any risks to their safety. To help support safe and timely discharge decisions, the Department published statutory guidance on discharge from mental health inpatient settings in January 2024. It sets out how health and care systems should work together to support safe discharge from all mental health and learning disability and autism inpatient settings for children, young people and adults. More information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settingsAs part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we will make sure more mental health care is delivered in the community, close to people’s homes, through new models of care and support, so that fewer people need to go into hospital.