Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he has taken to support the motor vehicle industry.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government has taken significant steps to support the Automotive Sector. Through DRIVE35, we are investing up to £4bn to support the transformation of the sector to zero emission vehicle manufacturing. We are also improving the sector’s competitiveness through lower energy costs under the forthcoming British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. In addition, we have provided up to £2bn through the Electric Car Grant to reduce the upfront costs of buying electric vehicles, which has already helped over 160,000 consumers.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to speed up the a) development and b) deployment of new mine hunting capabilities for the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 March 2026 to Question 120373 to the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi):
The Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme continues to deliver an advanced suite of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and SWEEP (the first Sovereign minesweeping capability since 2006) into service within the Royal Navy, enabling frontline mine warfare specialists to enhance operational effectiveness. These cutting-edge autonomous mine-hunting systems are deployed by the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group for evaluation, training, and operational deployment.
The comprehensive scope of the MHC programme encompasses multiple USVs, UUVs, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for identification and neutralisation, and a state-of-the-art, sovereign mine-sweeping capability. Additionally, the programme has delivered HMS STIRLING CASTLE, a dedicated support vessel designed to enhance the deployment and sustainment of autonomous systems.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to adapt laser directed-energy weapons for use on autonomous vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Recent conflicts in the Middle East have highlighted the growing threat posed by low-cost, massed drone attacks. Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) have the potential to provide a highly effective and cost-effective response to these threats, which is why the Ministry of Defence is investing £490 million over the next four years to bring these capabilities into service. DEW technologies have the potential to operate across a range of operational environments and roles. The Department continues to assess the most effective ways to deploy and integrate directed energy weapons across different environments and platforms to address threats and meet evolving military requirements.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to assist local authorities in providing temporary accommodation.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out action to tackle the worst forms of temporary accommodation and supporting councils to develop better alternatives. These actions include increasing the supply of good quality, affordable temporary accommodation by delivering up to 5,000 homes by 2030 through the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund 2026-2030; a national target to end the unlawful use of B&B accommodation for families; and continuing to work with local authorities with the highest use of B&B accommodation over the next three years, through an expanded Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme backed by £30 million funding.
This government is investing more than £4 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services, alongside the wider resources made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This includes £969 million over three years which has been rolled into the core Revenue Support Grant for temporary accommodation (previously part of the Homelessness Prevention Grant). Further information can be found here.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the local government funding formula for the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For the London Borough of Havering, the multi-year Settlement makes available up to £329.7 million in Core Spending Power by 2028-29, an above average increase of 33.5% compared to 2024-25, equivalent to £82.8 million.
The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade.
As a result of the fair funding review reforms, nine in ten councils will receive funding that broadly matches their assessed relative need by the end of the multi-year Settlement, up from around a third before our reforms.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he has taken to work with local authorities to support the nightlife sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government recognises the important contribution that pubs and the wider night-time economy make to local economies, high streets and communities. The Government has recently worked with businesses, local authorities, the police and representative bodies on a programme of licensing reform, including the introduction of the first National Licensing Policy Framework, which encourages licensing authorities to better support growth when making licensing decisions.
The Government continues to engage with businesses, representative bodies and local authorities to support thriving high streets and communities, including through the development of the forthcoming High Streets Strategy. This sits alongside the Pride in Place programme, which is helping communities protect and strengthen valued local assets such as pubs.
The Government has also launched a £10 million Hospitality Grant Scheme to support projects that strengthen local economies, support high streets and help revive the evening and night-time economy, with more than £3 million awarded to Pub is The Hub to help rural pubs diversify and continue serving as important community assets.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he has taken to work with local authorities to support pubs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government recognises the important contribution that pubs and the wider night-time economy make to local economies, high streets and communities. The Government has recently worked with businesses, local authorities, the police and representative bodies on a programme of licensing reform, including the introduction of the first National Licensing Policy Framework, which encourages licensing authorities to better support growth when making licensing decisions.
The Government continues to engage with businesses, representative bodies and local authorities to support thriving high streets and communities, including through the development of the forthcoming High Streets Strategy. This sits alongside the Pride in Place programme, which is helping communities protect and strengthen valued local assets such as pubs.
The Government has also launched a £10 million Hospitality Grant Scheme to support projects that strengthen local economies, support high streets and help revive the evening and night-time economy, with more than £3 million awarded to Pub is The Hub to help rural pubs diversify and continue serving as important community assets.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If she will take steps to reduce the delivery times of transport infrastructure projects.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Yes. Within the Department for Transport, we have a well-established programme that is applying lessons from recent reviews, including the James Stewart Review, Lovegrove, and Competitions and Market Authority, to strengthen sponsorship, governance, capability, cost control, and early planning across major transport projects. The evidence is clear that projects are delivered faster and with greater confidence when they are set up properly at the start: clear scope, realistic cost and schedule estimates, effective commercial strategies and accountable decision-making are critical to avoiding delay later in delivery.
More broadly, the Government is taking steps to reduce the time it takes to deliver transport infrastructure projects, while maintaining proper scrutiny, value for money and safety. The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy sets out a more stable, long-term approach to infrastructure planning and delivery, giving public bodies, investors, and supply chains greater certainty about the pipeline of work ahead.
The Department for Transport is supporting the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to bring together infrastructure strategy, assurance, and delivery expertise at the centre of government. This will support departments to unblock barriers, strengthen project set-up and improve the way major projects are planned, governed, and delivered.