Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK Overseas Territories biodiversity strategy, published on 12 January 2026, if she will set out the minimum biosecurity standards for ports and airports serving the British Antarctic Territories.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All the issues raised by the Hon Member, including the protection of biosecurity, the prohibition of non-native species, and the impact of tourism, are important for the UK Government and are reflected in the objectives of our UK Antarctic Strategy published on 1 December 2025. We discuss and monitor these issues regularly alongside the international partners who share our interests in Antarctica, and we have invested heavily in the modern scientific research capabilities that help us to keep these issues under review.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the resilience of British Antarctic Territory infrastructure and logistics, including the sole dependency on HMS Protector.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All the issues raised by the Hon Member, including the protection of biosecurity, the prohibition of non-native species, and the impact of tourism, are important for the UK Government and are reflected in the objectives of our UK Antarctic Strategy published on 1 December 2025. We discuss and monitor these issues regularly alongside the international partners who share our interests in Antarctica, and we have invested heavily in the modern scientific research capabilities that help us to keep these issues under review.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken with relevant authorities to help tackle crime in town centres across greater London.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting town centre crime.
Our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is already making a difference. For too long, people have not seen police patrolling their streets. We will have 3,000 more neighbourhood officers by March this year. The Metropolitan Police Service’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 will be 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE). We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence.
We are equipping the police to fight the organised crime gangs that are often responsible for driving shop theft across the country. Our £5m investment into OPAL (a specialist policing unit) will supercharge intelligence-led policing to identify offenders, disrupt the tactics used to target shops, and bring more criminals to justice.
We have also delivered on our manifesto pledge: every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour, who will work with communities to develop an action plan to tackle ASB. We are also strengthening the powers to tackle ASB. Our new Respect Orders will give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most relentless ASB offenders.
Through our Summer Initiative police forces and local authorities increased patrols in town centres, tackling retail crime and anti-social behaviour as part of the Government’s Plan for Change to make our streets safer. Our Winter of Action, which ran from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, built on this, with an additional focus on repeat offenders and protecting women and girls at night. The full list of locations the Metropolitan Police Service focused on as part of the Winter of Action can be found here: Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UK
Building from the Winter of Action, we are working with forces and local partners to identify and tackle the most prolific retail offenders - where a few individuals can drive a large proportion of the local crime problem.
Together with the police, we are sending a message: crime and anti-social behaviour will be punished.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of defence funding on RAF Northolt’s ability to support military operations.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
RAF Northolt is a core military establishment, delivering a breadth of important day-to-day outputs for Defence. There are no defence funding trends which might impact RAF Northolt’s ability to support military operations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to improve cybersecurity protections for critical national infrastructure.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence takes cyber security very seriously, particularly with regard to critical national infrastructure. We do not comment publicly on the detail of our protections for security reasons.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken with local authorities to improve road infrastructure in (a) Havering and (b) the M25 junction 29 Romford area.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As transport in London is devolved, it is up to Havering to work with the Mayor of London and Transport for London to make decisions on investment in local roads. The Government is committed to supporting local highway authorities to maintain their local roads effectively, and to this end Havering is eligible to receive over £13.9 million of highways maintenance funding between 2026/27 and 2029/2030. The Government has also provided the Greater London Authority with £53.5 million of funding for the Gallows Corner scheme, which is being delivered by TfL and expected to be completed by Spring 2026.
The operation and maintenance of Junction 29 of the M25 is the responsibility of National Highways, which regularly monitors the performance of the junction and surrounding strategic road network.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level of risk of closure of zoos and aquariums as a result of increased operating costs; and what steps she is taking to mitigate that risk.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution zoos and aquariums make to the visitor economy, supporting local growth and global conservation. DCMS monitors the sector's performance closely through VisitBritain/VisitEngland.
The Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2024 report demonstrates the sector's resilience, with England’s attractions reporting a 1.4% increase in visits and an 8% increase in gross revenue from 2023-2024. Major zoos remain among England's most popular paid attractions; Chester Zoo and ZSL London Zoo currently rank third and ninth respectively.
To support the sector, the Government has introduced targeted measures including permanently lower business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million annually.
DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside and our world-class attractions to a worldwide audience. Local Visitor Economy Partnerships also have an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that encourage more visitors to come and stay for longer and benefit local communities.
The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will also provide a long-term framework to increase visitor flows and deliver sustainable growth across the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of current economic conditions on visitor numbers and income for zoos and aquariums.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution zoos and aquariums make to the visitor economy, supporting local growth and global conservation. DCMS monitors the sector's performance closely through VisitBritain/VisitEngland.
The Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2024 report demonstrates the sector's resilience, with England’s attractions reporting a 1.4% increase in visits and an 8% increase in gross revenue from 2023-2024. Major zoos remain among England's most popular paid attractions; Chester Zoo and ZSL London Zoo currently rank third and ninth respectively.
To support the sector, the Government has introduced targeted measures including permanently lower business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million annually.
DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside and our world-class attractions to a worldwide audience. Local Visitor Economy Partnerships also have an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that encourage more visitors to come and stay for longer and benefit local communities.
The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will also provide a long-term framework to increase visitor flows and deliver sustainable growth across the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the recent performance of HMS Protector in addressing threats to sovereign interests in the British Antarctic Territories.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to supporting the UK’s sovereign interests and wider commitments in the Antarctic and South Atlantic. HMS PROTECTOR routinely deploys to the Antarctic Peninsula to undertake activities in support of the UK’s interests, including Antarctic Treaty inspections and station visits in support of the British Antarctic Survey.
The MOD keeps all operational activity under regular review to ensure that the UK’s interests in the South Atlantic are supported, and sovereignty of the British Antarctic Territory is maintained. For this reason, BFSAI personnel have recently conducted an Antarctic overflight, providing a sovereign presence in the British Antarctic Territory.