Written questions by Rosindell.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Strategic Defence Review on the aircraft carrier capabilities of the Royal Navy.

Ballistic missile and aircraft carrier capabilities are important to Defence. The importance of maritime power more broadly has been highlighted by the recent Royal Navy response to protect international shipping - vital to our way of life and economic security - from Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea. It is only right that we do not pre-determine what may happen in the review. The Strategic Defence Review will set out recommendations on the roles, capabilities, and reforms which UK Defence must have to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of Trading Standards officers to tackle tobacco duty avoidance.

Trading Standards have a range of powers to effectively tackle the illicit supply of tobacco. In 2023 those powers were extended to enable Trading Standards to tackle non-compliance with the UK’s Tobacco Track and Trace system, which regulates tobacco at all stages of the supply chain, from manufacture through to retail. These powers enable Trading Standards to make referrals to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on potential breaches of the law, and for HMRC to impose penalties. HMRC are responsible for tackling tax avoidance and evasion. Trading Standards and HMRC work closely together on tackling tobacco duty evasion. In 2021 they launched a joint initiative, called Operation CeCe to specifically target the illicit tobacco market. Through sharing of intelligence, combined with local knowledge and expertise, Operation CeCe contributes significantly to the detection and seizure of illicit tobacco products at retail level. Since introduction, more than 4,900 seizures have been made, and over £28 million of revenue loss has been prevented.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on student numbers per university, in the context of recent trends in the availability of student housing.

Student accommodation is a busy part of the housing market, and this government recognises the concerns that some students may have about the availability of accommodation. As universities and landlords are private, autonomous bodies, the government has no role in student admissions or the provision of student accommodation, nor a remit to intervene in how it is allocated. Nevertheless, the department is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to promote the importance of a strategic approach to meeting student housing needs to providers and local authorities. The department expects universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are affordable, fair, clear and promote the interests of students.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Argentinian counterpart on the Falkland Islands.

The UK is resolutely committed to defending and supporting the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination and our sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. The Foreign Secretary met Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino on 24 September and he conveyed the clarity of the UK's unequivocal position on these matters during the meeting.

Whether she is taking steps to make tertiary education in the UK more accessible for British Overseas Territory citizens.

Since 2007, persons who have settled status in the UK, and who have come to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories, have been eligible for home fee status if they meet the requirement of three years’ ordinary residence in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and/or specified British Overseas Territories.Since 2022/23 those starting designated full-time and part-time undergraduate courses are also now eligible for tuition fee loans in England if they meet the residency requirements. These requirements are that they have been ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and/or specified British Overseas Territories throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, with at least part of that period having been spent in the British Overseas Territories.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation.

The Government is clear that homelessness is too high and too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We want to take a long-term approach and, working with Mayors and councils across the country, we will develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. The Deputy Prime Minister will chair an Inter-Ministerial Group to drive this forward.We are also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions with immediate effect, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the population of the bluebird species in England in the last 10 years.

Bluebirds are native to North America and not the UK. As such we have made no assessment of the implications of our policies on populations of this group of species.

If she will make it her policy to (a) reduce and (b) freeze tobacco excise duty.

The Government is unable to speculate on tax measures outside of fiscal events. As with all taxes, the Government keeps tobacco duty rates under review during its Budget process. The government accounts for the behavioural impact of tax changes when making tobacco duty policy decisions.

What steps she is taking to modernise public transport in Essex.

The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the government will introduce a Buses Bill later this parliamentary session to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, including in Essex. This will allow local areas to determine how best to design their bus services so that they have control over routes and schedules.The government has also committed to increasing accountability by providing safeguards over local networks across the country and empowering local transport authorities through reforms to bus funding. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions. The Secretary of State has also set out plans for the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation by delivering publicly owned passenger rail within the first term in government. The government will do this as contracts with existing operators expire or if the relevant contractual conditions for early termination are met. The Passenger Railway Services Bill, also announced on 17 July, will allow the government to deliver on this commitment to bring rail services back into public ownership. The government will also establish a new arm's length body, Great British Railways, which will deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility.

How many Albion-class amphibious assault ships are (a) operationally available and (b) undergoing upgrades.

I can confirm that since 2010, one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship has been held in extended readiness so that she can be regenerated if required. HMS Albion has taken HMS Bulwark’s position in extended readiness so that HMS Bulwark can undergo regeneration. Once regenerated she can be ready to deliver defence outputs if required. The Ministry of Defence annually releases readiness data for the Royal Navy surface fleet, however for reasons of operational security, we do not disclose timetables or forecasts as this information would be helpful to our adversaries.

Food and Rural Affairs, for how many hours raw sewage was discharged into the River Ravensbourne in the London Borough of Havering in the first nine months of 2024.

There are no Combined Sewer Overflows or Sewage Treatment Works on the River Ravensbourne, meaning that no raw sewage has been discharged into the river from these types of assets. However, the Environment Agency (EA) is aware of the issue of potential misconnections resulting in pollution discharges from private residences within the Ravensbourne area. Its area team will be investigating this matter further. Thames Water provide data on storm overflow discharges data on storm overflow discharges in near real time on their website for their assets. The EA will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. The Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill will require independent event duration monitoring of all sewage outlets, to support greater scrutiny of water company activity.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to extend funding for the (a) Night Shelter Transformation Fund and (b) Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme.

As announced by the Chancellor on 29 July, spending plans for 2025-26 will be set alongside the Budget on 30th October. Following departmental review and processes, funding allocations for rough sleeping services will be announced via gov.uk.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to mandate that fact-of-death is reported to the Office for National Statistics in England within eight days.

There is a legal responsibility to register a death within a five-day time period, from when a medical examiner submits the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) to the registrar. The Office for National Statistics compiles their mortality data from the data taken at registration, which is informed in part by the MCCD. The five-day requirement complements the guidance to medical practitioners that certifying the death should be completed in a timely and efficient manner. However, there are valid cases where, for example, the identification of the cause of death, including where this is ascertained through a coronial investigation, and therefore the registration must take longer, which would be incompatible with a more prescriptive legal timeline.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect Christians from persecution in Ghana.

The UK champions freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad; no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We work to uphold the right to FoRB through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. Religious beliefs and practices permeate all aspects of Ghanaian life and Ghana's Constitution provides a framework which guarantees the liberty for all citizens to be free to believe and manifest any religious faith. FCDO is not aware of any cases of Christian persecution in Ghana.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle biodiversity loss in the London Borough of Havering.

This Government is committed to tackling biodiversity loss. We have set targets on species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration through the Environment Act. These targets will drive actions to support biodiversity in Havering and every other local authority area across England. Government has launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to ensure it fully supports our mission to recover nature. We will publish a summary of findings in early 2025, to be followed by publication of a revised EIP in Spring 2025. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are being prepared across the whole of England to support delivery of the biodiversity targets. The Greater London Authority is preparing a strategy which covers the Havering constituency, with support from the local planning authorities in the area, including Havering Borough Council.

What estimate she has made of the annual tax revenue loss from (a) illicit and (b) non-duty paid tobacco.

The new joint HMRC and Border Force strategy to tackle illicit tobacco was published earlier this year, ‘Stubbing out the problem’. The strategy:targets the demand for illicit trade (the consumers that criminals seek to exploit) as well as the supply (the criminals themselves)is supported by over £100 million new funding over the next 5 years to boost HMRC and Border Force enforcement capabilityestablishes a new, cross-government Illicit Tobacco Taskforce – combining the operational, investigative and intelligence expertise of various agencies, and enhancing our ability to disrupt organised crime.HMRC estimates the size of the illicit market using tax gap data, which is reported annually. The duty gap for tobacco duty is 14.5% of the theoretical tobacco duty liability, or £1.7 billion in absolute terms, in tax year 2022 to 2023. The tax gap for tobacco includes losses from the importation or production of illicit tobacco products and tax evaded on the smuggling of non-duty paid tobacco and genuine tobacco products sourced overseas.The link to the tobacco tax gap is here Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023.Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What steps she is taking to help tackle tobacco duty avoidance.

The new joint HMRC and Border Force strategy to tackle illicit tobacco was published earlier this year, ‘Stubbing out the problem’. The strategy:targets the demand for illicit trade (the consumers that criminals seek to exploit) as well as the supply (the criminals themselves)is supported by over £100 million new funding over the next 5 years to boost HMRC and Border Force enforcement capabilityestablishes a new, cross-government Illicit Tobacco Taskforce – combining the operational, investigative and intelligence expertise of various agencies, and enhancing our ability to disrupt organised crime.HMRC estimates the size of the illicit market using tax gap data, which is reported annually. The duty gap for tobacco duty is 14.5% of the theoretical tobacco duty liability, or £1.7 billion in absolute terms, in tax year 2022 to 2023. The tax gap for tobacco includes losses from the importation or production of illicit tobacco products and tax evaded on the smuggling of non-duty paid tobacco and genuine tobacco products sourced overseas.The link to the tobacco tax gap is here Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023.Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What steps his Department is taking to (a) encourage screening for and (b) increase the rate of early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm men as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects.The Department has invested £16 million in the TRANSFORM trial which seeks to find ways to diagnose prostate cancer as early as possible. This trial will compare the most promising tests to look for prostate cancer in men that do not have symptoms and aim to address disparities in early detection rates across different groups.We are also working with NHS England to support the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard for cancer to be diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days from an urgent suspected cancer referral. This includes introducing best practice timed pathways for prostate cancer to streamline diagnostic pathways and speed up diagnoses.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's polices on rates of tobacco duty of the Office for Budget Responsibility's report entitled Dynamic scoring of policy measures in OBR forecasts, published on 9 November 2023, in the context of the Laffer curve.

The Government is unable to speculate on tax measures outside of fiscal events. As with all taxes, the Government keeps tobacco duty rates under review during its Budget process. The government accounts for the behavioural impact of tax changes when making tobacco duty policy decisions.

How long the 20 longest delays between (a) occurrence date and (b) registration date were for covid-19 related deaths in England that (i) occurred in 2020 and (ii) were subject to an inquest.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 14th October is attached.