Written questions by Rosindell.

When she plans to answer Questions 102720, 102721, 102722 and 102723.

The response to Written Parliamentary Questions 102720, 102721, 102722 and 102723 was published on 28 January 2026.

What steps she has taken to support businesses with the movement of small parcels between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The Government is committed to ensuring the smooth flow of goods within the UK internal market. On 1 May, the Government introduced important new arrangements for freight and parcels movements to ensure that goods can continue to move smoothly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and ahead of these new arrangements, HMRC had an extensive readiness programme to support businesses. These new arrangements ensure that parcels sent to or from consumers will not be subject to customs declarations or duty.Guidance for businesses sending parcels from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-send-parcels-from-a-business-in-great-britain-to-a-private-individual-or-a-business-in-northern-ireland Parcels that move from Northern Ireland to Great Britain continue to be able to benefit from unfettered access.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to support the (a) mental and (b) physical health of the homeless population in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.

Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out action to improve health access for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, in alignment with the 10-Year Health Plan for England. As part of this, we will establish Neighbourhood Health Centres in areas with the lowest healthy life expectancy, acting as ‘one-stop shops’ for patient care and hubs for multi-disciplinary teams delivering holistic, trauma-informed services.We will test a new model of community care for people for people living with severe mental illness through 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres in six pilot sites and 16 associate sites, to improve access to mental health support, including for people experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping.We will invest £185 million from 2026-29 and continue to fund the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol treatment programme.Councils can also use their Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant 2025/26 funding flexibly to meet the needs of people in their areas, including by delivering specialist mental and physical health services. Havering Council received £379,926 funding through this grant this year.To support the health of families in temporary accommodation, we will introduce a new duty on homelessness teams in local councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation, helping ensure that they are appropriately supported.

What steps she has taken to ensure the physical safety of public transport workers in (a) London and (b) Romford constituency.

My Department is committed to ensuring that public transport workers are safe at work. As transport in London is devolved, it is for the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to work with the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to ensure the physical safety of their workers is maintained. BTP continue to take robust action to ensure the physical safety of rail workers in London, including Romford. Their approach is intelligence led, focusing resources on areas and individuals identified through crime data and repeat offending patterns. They work closely with TfL and other rail operators to improve incident reporting, to ensure that all forms of abuse, whether physical, verbal or threatening, are recorded. This partnership strengthens intelligence and enables more effective operational planning.

Whether she plans to regulate dynamic pricing structures within the private hire vehicle sector.

Pricing structures are a commercial matter for private hire vehicle operators. All private hire vehicle journeys must be booked in advance and so passengers are able to compare services on price and other factors before making a booking.

If she will make it her department’s policy to introduce a mandatory excess reimbursement for innocent parties in motor vehicle accidents.

Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover, they offer, including no claims discounts, based on their assessment of the relevant risks. The government does not generally intervene in these decisions by insurance companies and has no plans to add to existing legislation at this time. However, the government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value, meaning the price paid by consumers should be reasonable compared to the overall benefits received. FCA rules also require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly, provide appropriate guidance throughout the claims process, avoid unreasonable rejection, and settle claims promptly once terms are agreed. The government launched a cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce in October 2024 to address the rising costs of motor insurance, identifying short and long-term actions aimed at stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The Taskforce’s final report, setting out actions being taken by government, regulators and industry to help reduce premium costs, was published in December 2025.

If she will prohibit insurers from a) increasing premiums and b) removing no-claims discounts for hit-and-run victims in motor vehicle accidents.

Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover, they offer, including no claims discounts, based on their assessment of the relevant risks. The government does not generally intervene in these decisions by insurance companies and has no plans to add to existing legislation at this time. However, the government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value, meaning the price paid by consumers should be reasonable compared to the overall benefits received. FCA rules also require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly, provide appropriate guidance throughout the claims process, avoid unreasonable rejection, and settle claims promptly once terms are agreed. The government launched a cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce in October 2024 to address the rising costs of motor insurance, identifying short and long-term actions aimed at stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The Taskforce’s final report, setting out actions being taken by government, regulators and industry to help reduce premium costs, was published in December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if he will have discussions with the Mayor of London on introducing a statutory right to the Older Person's Freedom Pass for eligible residents in areas served by Transport for London.

Transport in London is a devolved matter for London, and it is for the Mayor of London to make decisions on eligibility of concessionary fares on the TfL network.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support local authorities in providing permanent housing for victims of domestic abuse.

Statutory guidance strongly encourages local authorities to give priority for social housing to victims and their families who have escaped abuse and are being accommodated in a refuge or temporary accommodation.Local authorities are also encouraged to give additional priority to people who are homeless and require urgent rehousing as a result of domestic abuse.The government has also taken action to remove barriers for victims of domestic abuse to access social housing. Regulations, which came into force on 10 July 2025, mean that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.We also intend to work with partners to update statutory guidance on social housing allocations to ensure that allocations reflect local need and effectively support vulnerable households, such as those with victims of domestic abuse.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to support local authorities to make use of disused buildings in a) England and b) Romford constituency.

The government is committed to supporting local authorities to bring disused buildings back into use. Through the introduction of High Street Rental Auction powers in this parliament, we gave local authorities the power to auction the lease of long-term vacant commercial properties, putting tools in local hands to take action on empty properties. The government is also supporting wider regeneration efforts, providing up to £5 billion nationally to help the most deprived communities to thrive through the Pride in Place Programme. This includes up to £20 million to Harold Hill East, which the neighbourhood may choose to use for local regeneration efforts. In addition, we are consulting on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which includes policies on the reuse of buildings and is currently open for responses until 10 March.

For what reason her department collects data on (a) race and (b) ethnicity and c) religion from benefit claimants.

The purpose of collecting race and ethnicity data is because it they are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.All public bodies have a requirement under the Public Sector Equality Duty to pay due regard to the impacts of policies to those who share protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act.To do so requires that meaningful data be collected in a harmonised form, as set out by the Cabinet Office. Claimant declarations of their protected characteristics are optional, and not mandatory.Data collected on protected characteristics is solely used for analytical and statistical purposes in aggregate form and has no part in decisions relating to benefit claims.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to support local authorities in repurposing derelict sites.

Derelict buildings can blight communities and the government is committed to giving communities the tools to revitalise them. The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on go.uk here. The government’s Pride in Place programme will provide up to £5bn to help the most deprived communities thrive. The programme will put local neighbourhoods back in control, with 244 across the country given up to £20m of flexible funding over 10-years to unlock the potential of the place they call home. Restoring derelict buildings is one of the options available to those neighbourhoods, amongst other local priorities. The government has also introduced High Street Rental Auction powers, giving councils the power to auction the lease of long-term vacant properties.

What steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing guidance and quality standards on the treatment and care of diabetes in England. The NICE guideline NG18, for type 1 and 2 diabetes, provides clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of children and young people. Children with suspected type 1 diabetes should receive a blood test that checks blood glucose, or sugar, levels. NG18 recommends that children and young people with suspected type 1 diabetes are referred immediately, on the same day, to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes team with the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and provide immediate care.NHS England has published the RightCare toolkit which supports good quality diabetes care for children and young adults and includes guidance on timely and accurate diagnosis.

Communities and Local Government, if he will encourage local authorities to introduce enhanced discretion in the dispensing of civil enforcement penalties.

It is for local authorities to decide how they dispense civil enforcement penalties.Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities must ensure that their parking policies are proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.Statutory guidance for local housing authorities on civil penalties for various housing offences can be found here. Revised draft statutory guidance for offences committed from 1 May 2026 following commencement of relevant provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, can be found here.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing Royal Naval presence in the North Sea.

The Royal Navy maintains a persistent and agile presence in UK waters, including the North Sea, and we keep force posture under continual review in light of the threat and operational demand. We will continue to work with allies and partners to deter hostile activity, protect critical national infrastructure, and respond rapidly where required.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to ensure that new infrastructure projects protect the green belt in a) Essex and b) Romford constituency.

The government is committed to preserving Green Belts which have served England's towns and cities well over many decades, not least in terms of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that inappropriate development in the Green Belt, including infrastructure, should not be approved unless justified by very special circumstances. The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, rules- based policies for plan-making and decision-making. The consultation includes revisions to Green Belt policy. The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

What steps he is taking to help reduce instances of type 2 diabetes.

The Government is committed to tackling preventable ill health, such as type 2 diabetes, head-on and at the earliest opportunity. Excess weight and obesity are key risk factors for type 2 diabetes and we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.We have delivered on our commitment to restrict junk food advertising on television and online and are delivering a ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16 year olds. We are limiting volume price promotions such as “buy one get one free” on less healthy food and drink and have put in place a nationally standardised Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing service to ensure weight loss medicines are delivered safely and effectively. We will also double the number of patients able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management programme.In addition, we continue to support the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP), which has offered support to over 2.4 million people who are at risk of type 2 diabetes since its establishment in 2016. The NHS DPP is highly effective and has been found to reduce attendee’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 37% compared to those who did not attend.We continue to deliver the NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme, which aims to detect those at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease aged between 40 and 74 years old.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his Department’s policy to review the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007.

Local Authority parking is governed by legislation including the Traffic Management Act 2004 and related regulations. The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 has been revoked primarily through The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022. The 2022 regulations were made under powers in the Traffic Management Act 2004. The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities to make sure traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities. It gives councils tools to manage parking policies; coordinate street works and enforce some moving traffic offences.

How many claimants of universal credit received additional consideration due to (a) racial, b) ethnic and (c) religious data in each of last three years.

The department does not hold the information requested.

If he will make it his Department’s policy to introduce mandatory NHS testing for paediatric type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing guidance and quality standards on the treatment and care of diabetes in England. The NICE guideline NG18, for type 1 and 2 diabetes, provides clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of children and young people. Children with suspected type 1 diabetes should receive a blood test that checks blood glucose, or sugar, levels. NG18 recommends that children and young people with suspected type 1 diabetes are referred immediately, on the same day, to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes team with the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and provide immediate care.NHS England has published the RightCare toolkit which supports good quality diabetes care for children and young adults and includes guidance on timely and accurate diagnosis.