Written questions by Rosindell.

What steps she is taking to support the London Fire Brigade with fire prevention activities and operational training.

The Home Office’s Fire Kills campaign promotes fire safety messages at the national level and supports fire prevention activities undertaken by individual fire and rescue services (FRSs). Campaign plans and promotional materials are developed in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and designed to support local delivery. Regular engagement with FRSs, including with the London Fire Brigade, ensures this support is fit for purpose and aligns with local priorities.We are working closely with both the London Fire Brigade and the NFCC to consider the recommendation from the second phase of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry on how the London Fire Brigade, and FRSs nationally, can implement lessons learned from previous incidents, inquests and investigations. It is something we take extremely seriously and the Government will carefully consider all recommendations from the public inquiry to ensure that such a tragedy can never occur again.

If he will take steps he will take to tackle reductions in hull numbers within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 2003.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is an organisation of highly valued, specialist personnel. The Royal Navy, which includes the RFA, continues to ensure it has sufficient assets available to deliver its operational outputs. The Fleet Solid Support Programme will deliver three new solid support ships, entering service with the RFA in the early 2030s.

What percentage of the Armed Forces’ budget was spent on diversity initiatives in 2023.

The cost of the main diversity initiatives undertaken by the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and UK Strategic Command during financial year 202-24 represented an average of 0.007% of their budgets.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report by Policy Exchange entitled One Family: Harnessing the Strategic Potential of the Commonwealth, published on 17 October 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Commonwealth security and defence co-operation forum to (a) conduct joint military and naval exercises and (b) pool resources for cybersecurity.

The UK works bilaterally and multilaterally with many Commonwealth members on defence and security issues, including through other forums - and attaches great importance to this. The Commonwealth as a collective has also been vocal on security issues facing its members, including providing strong support for Guyana regarding Venezuela's actions in respect to the Essequibo region. On cyber security the UK continues to fund the Global Cyber Programme, which works with countries across the Commonwealth to increase their cyber capacity and resilience to threats.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the local government funding formula.

After years of delays to much needed fair funding reform, the Government will update and improve the approach to funding allocations within the Local Government Finance Settlement by redistributing funding to ensure that it reflects an up-to-date assessment of need and local resources.This will start with a deprivation-based approach in 2025-26 with additional funding targeted to the places that need it most. Broader redistribution of funding will follow through a multi-year settlement from 2026-27.We will be publishing a policy statement in late November, where we will set out our intentions for reform of the local government finance system.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to work with relevant authorities to improve social housing fire defences in Romford constituency.

This government has committed to accelerating remediation of unsafe housing in response to the Grenfell Tower fire.Registered Providers of social housing are responsible for making sure their buildings are made safe in a proportionate and timely way. We expect all Registered Providers to identify and assess their housing stock and to remediate their buildings quickly. We are working with the regulators to make sure that this happens.Work to fix unsafe cladding has been too slow.  Ministers recently met regulators and other industry partners to press for action to make buildings safe. We are contacting all metro mayors in England to ask for their support in implementing local remediation acceleration plans. We will announce further steps to accelerate remediation shortly.

How much the average meal costs on a Royal Navy warship; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of fully funding food provision on Royal Navy warships.

Good nutrition is fundamental to military capability and the happiness of our personnel. It is essential for achieving optimum physical and mental performance, and for good health. The Royal Navy (RN) is committed to providing catering based on sound nutritional principles that support the health and performance of its people. The RN covers the cost of accommodation, bills and food when personnel are at sea and subsidises it when they are not. The Daily Messing Rate (DMR), which is used to calculate the level of food supplies aboard a ship, is currently set at £5.67 to cover all three meals. The DMR is set quarterly, and this figure covers the current quarter only (October - December 2024).

What steps his Department has taken with the Royal Navy to support the mental health of officers in the Royal Navy.

The Ministry of Defence and the Royal Navy (RN) have implemented several specific measures to promote the psychological wellbeing of officers, recognising the unique challenges they face, especially in high-stress operational environments.For those personnel requiring medical intervention, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) provide a responsive, flexible, accessible, and comprehensive treatment service. The DMS is reshaping mental health provision to reduce waiting lists, improve timelines for patient recovery and refocus on earlier intervention. This will provide a single point of access for specialist mental health networks allowing quicker access to initial assessment and earlier allocation to the right treatment pathway.Additionally, the RN provides mental health and stress management training, and continues to explore new initiatives to further enhance mental health support for all of our personnel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) US President-elect Trump and (b) his representatives on the (i) Good Friday Agreement and (ii) Northern Ireland Protocol in the last six months.

President-elect Donald Trump will not take office until the inauguration on January 20th. We look forward to working with the Trump Administration in the months and years ahead in the spirit of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. We continue to work with the current Biden Administration to ensure Northern Ireland can continue to prosper. The 10th April marks 27 years since the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement was signed - an achievement of which the UK, Ireland and the US are justifiably proud.

What steps she is taking to reduce the backlog in the administration of warrants for possession.

To ensure increased and ongoing efficiency of County Court bailiff resources, HMCTS has introduced dedicated regional teams alongside an automated payment line to reduce the need for enforcement visits. This enables bailiffs to focus on priority work, including evictions. HMCTS continues to carry out recruitment and retention activities to ensure sufficient bailiff resources are available.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were fined for not microchipping their (a) cats and (b) dogs in each year since 2016.

The Ministry of Justice currently collects and publishes data relating to the offence of not microchipping your dog in England and Wales. The relevant offence code is 11126 and the latest data is available here: As the compulsory microchipping of cats was only introduced in England in June 2024, these figures will relate to dogs only at this stage.

What the average waiting time for an NHS dental practice is in Romford constituency.

Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice and there is no single waiting list, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly and may operate local waiting list arrangements. The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Romford constituency, this is NHS Northeast London ICB.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to support Havering Council to enhance (a) the River Rom's environmental health, (b) maintenance of river-based infrastructure and (c) development of projects aimed at increasing the River Rom as a community resource.

The Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill is the first important step in enabling wide, transformative change across the water sector, reducing pollution and cleaning up our waterways. The Government has also launched an Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system, anticipated to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. The Environment Agency (EA) is working collaboratively with partners within the Roding, Beam, and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership to deliver environmental improvement projects that enhance the water quality and biodiversity of the River Rom. The EA has been working with Thames Water’s Surface Water Outfall Programme and the local authority to identify and sort out misconnected properties that are discharging untreated effluent into the River Rom. AMP7, the seventh Asset Management Period planned by the UK water industry, runs from 2020 – 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for practical driving tests in (a) Greater London and (b) Essex.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at all driving test centres, include the recruitment of new driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from DEs. DVSA also continues to deploy DEs from areas with lower waiting times into those where waiting times are longer. For recent recruitment campaigns, DVSA has used additional measures when advertising in and around the Greater London area, such as radio advertising, local managers attending and running recruitment events, and improved social media coverage. From recent recruitment DVSA has had 11 new DEs successful on their training course. This includes 10 for London and one for Essex. DVSA is planning training courses to the end of the business year and currently has nine individuals, who will serve the London and Essex areas, confirmed on courses to the end of February. Further applicants are in checks awaiting course dates.

What steps her Department is taking to help repair potholes in Romford constituency.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. Havering Council is the local highway authority for the Romford constituency, and they are therefore responsible for the condition and maintenance of their local network. This Government has a commitment to enable local highway authorities in England to fix up to a million more potholes a year. At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the current financial year. The Government will confirm funding allocations to English local highway authorities in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure a sustainable approach to fishing in the Overseas Territories.

Working together with the Overseas Territories , the UK Government is supporting the development of sustainable marine management practices within the OTs through the Blue Belt Programme. Since 2016, this support has included development of appropriate monitoring and enforcement frameworks to manage fishing activities; scientific monitoring and advice to provide precautionary catch limits; development of risk management tools to ensure fisheries are managed sustainably with minimal impact on associated or dependent ecosystems; training and capacity building within OTs to effectively manage fisheries; remote monitoring and surveillance to tackle potential illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities; and ensuring OTs meet requirements of relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. I recently discussed these issues on my visit to OTs in the Caribbean and will discuss them again with Leaders at the upcoming Joint Ministerial Council.

What the joint sex and age-at-death distribution was for Covid-19 deaths in 2020 in England that were subject to inquest and have since been registered with ONS for which the interval from date of death to date of registration as a Covid-19 death was (a) one year or less, (b) one to two years and (c) more than two years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th November is attached.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities.

Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our forthcoming employment White Paper explores ways to improve employment outcomes and experiences for these groups. Current support to employers includes the Disability Confident scheme which provides advice, support, and free resources to help employers attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. The scheme encourages employers to think differently about disability and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace. As of the 31 October 2024 there are over 19,000 employer members of the scheme and they report over 12 million employees working in their organisations. At a local level, as part of their duties, Disability Employment Advisers promote, collaborate and advocate for our customers and department services, such as the Disability Confident scheme, with external partners, service providers and employers. Nationally, DWP Strategic Relationship Team work with Disability Confident employers to demonstrate actively how they are bringing their Disability Confident commitments to life as part of their recruitment arrangements. Current support to employers also includes a digital information service for employers which offers tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring cyclists to (a) display number plates and (b) hold valid insurance.

The Government has no intention of requiring all cyclists to display number plates or to have insurance. A national registration scheme for all cycles would be complex and expensive to design and administer. As for insurance, the Government believes that this should remain a matter of personal choice. Some cyclists already have third party insurance via their membership of cycling organisations. Cyclists who are not insured are liable for the consequences of their actions should these result in injury or damages to others.

Whether the MHRA is considering the approval of vorasidenib for the treatment of low grade gliomas.

It is critical that medicines used in the United Kingdom are safe and effective and as such, medicines cannot be marketed in the UK without a marketing authorisation. These are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which assesses all medicines with regard to their quality, safety, and efficacy. Vorasidenib, sold under the brand name Voranigo, has not been licensed by the MHRA as a treatment for low-grade gliomas. It is the responsibility of the company to apply to the MHRA for the relevant marketing authorisation. Should an application for it be received, the MHRA will consider this accordingly.In England, newly licensed medicines are also appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to determine whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. If the manufacturer of vorasidenib seeks a licence from the MHRA for the treatment of low-grade gliomas, then the NICE will consider it through the Technology Appraisal programme.