I am delighted to commend my hon. Friend and the local teams and providers who have worked incredibly hard in Southend to achieve the figures described, with a fall of nearly 90% since November 2017. They continue to work towards seeing an end to rough sleeping in their area, supported by organisations such as HARP and Off the Streets which have redoubled efforts during the pandemic.

I am proud that my Department is leading a cross-Government drive to eliminate rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament. We are spending £750 million over the next year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including the largest ever investment in long-term move-on accommodation, with 6,000 homes pledged in this Parliament. Recent data shows that rough sleeping has fallen by 43% under this Administration, with a 37% fall in the last year alone.

I can confirm that I am keen to find a route to short circuit the process of agreeing more trade deals like these with Commonwealth friends around the world.

We now have trade deals with 68 countries around the world, plus the EU, covering trade worth £744 billion last year. Last week, I signed a trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. It is one of the new generation of trade deals we are signing, which Britain has struck as an independent trading nation.

I share my hon. Friend's regret that Southend carnival is not going ahead. The Government will of course give as much notice as we can, and we have already set out a clear plan that will allow events such as that to return quickly and safely. We are working closely with our stakeholders to give them as much notice as we can and to guide them through each step.

My hon. Friend from nearly the city of Southend is absolutely right to mention the importance of keeping the right level of trains running. I mentioned that we funded £10.1 billion—an unprecedented amount—to keep these trains running during the covid crisis to make sure that essential workers can get to work. Of course people should not be travelling to work unless they cannot do that work from home. He will be interested to know that there have been discussions with Build UK and the Construction Leadership Council, particularly on that c2c line and concern about those trains coming into Canning Town. We will keep a close eye on this, and I have asked Sir Peter Hendy, the chair of Network Rail, to also work to ensure that we are alerted as soon as there are any signs of congestion and make sure that these lines can operate safely.

The 2020 spending review provided a total of £10.1 billion of confirmed funding for the Department for Transport to support passenger rail services in England during the covid outbreak.

My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for supporting his most vulnerable claimants and his local advocacy groups. As I have set out, we will look at the most appropriate way to communicate with claimants, including by phone or through advocates, where they do not have access to the internet.

Work coaches are empowered to support claimants through the best and most appropriate channels, whether online, by phone or in person, with jobcentres remaining open to those who need extra support and are unable to interact with us on the phone or digitally. My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for supporting his most vulnerable claimants and his local advocacy groups. As I have set out, we will look at the most appropriate way to communicate with claimants, including by phone or through advocates, where they do not have access to the internet.

The Government are using the opportunity offered by leaving the EU to develop defence and security procurement regulations tailored to better meet the UK's needs. We have embarked on a comprehensive review of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 with a view to improving the pace and agility of acquisition.

We listened to concerns following the roll-out of the initial support scheme and we have made changes to reflect that. The zoos animal fund is now open to zoos that have up to 12 weeks of reserves left, allowing for applications in advance.

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and he is absolutely right that we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to clergy and parish workers who have worked extraordinarily hard throughout the pandemic. In Southend West, at Saint Saviour's Westcliff, the congregation host a food bank and collect prescriptions and deliver food to those unable to leave their homes. The Church of England encourages all congregations to continue supporting vulnerable and lonely people over Christmas.

The Archbishop of York has noted that the Church has been 'astonishingly present' with over 35,000 active community projects. The GRA:CE Project report by Theos and the Church Urban Fund documents this extensive involvement. The National Churches Trust's “The House of Good” report estimates parishes contribute around £12.4 billion of social good to the English economy.

My hon. Friend is a great advocate for the care sector—for those who receive care and for the workforce—in Southend West. Yesterday we launched a trial of visitor testing, and we plan to offer this to care homes across the country during December. On his question about flu vaccinations, this year we are carrying out the biggest ever flu vaccination programme. So far, the majority of care home residents have been vaccinated, but there is further to go for care staff, and I urge any careworker who has yet to have their flu jab to ensure that they get it over the next few weeks.

Sadly, covid is cruel to care home residents, and outbreaks are hard to prevent and control, especially when covid rates are high in the surrounding community. As we set out in our winter plan for adult social care, we have a regime of regular testing for staff and residents, we are supplying personal protective equipment to care homes, we have been offering training in infection prevention and control, backed up by Care Quality Commission inspections, and we are providing £1.1 billion to social care specifically to go towards the cost of infection prevention and control.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I think I can stand with him with a degree of conviction and praise Essex police for the outstanding work that they have been doing. I was with the chief constable just over a week ago. My hon. Friend asks about the powers that the police have. The regulations and the guidance are very clear in terms of police powers on fines and going after individuals who are breaching the covid regulations with egregious activities such as mass gatherings. We have seen the £10,000 fines being used very effectively, and in Essex as well.

Our police forces face unprecedented challenges right now in terms of maintaining public order, but they have been working exceptionally throughout this crisis and have done so with a great deal of determination. The answer does not specify any concrete steps or funding being provided.

All schools are issued with sets of testing kit, and they have the ability to order more via the NHS portal. I would be very happy to look at the two points highlighted by my hon. Friend.

We have published specific guidance to support the full opening of special schools. Recognising the additional challenges that they face, we have announced a package of support worth £1 billion, which includes a £650 million catch-up premium with additional weighting for specialist settings. We are also increasing the high needs funding by an additional £1.5 billion over this year and next. All schools are issued with sets of testing kit, and they have the ability to order more via the NHS portal. I would be very happy to look at the two points highlighted by my hon. Friend.

The flu vaccination programme this year will be the biggest in history. Proposals will be put forward to expand the number of NHS qualified clinicians who can administer vaccinations, whether for the flu programme or a potential covid-19 vaccine programme.

There is a rolling programme to test for covid-19 in care homes. When a new outbreak occurs, the local health protection team should be contacted for initial testing of symptomatic residents. The national testing team can then prioritise further whole-home testing upon referral by the local health protection team or director of public health.

First, I think that companies need to tackle such abusive behaviour and take responsibility for that on their services. That could include taking steps to limit the use or abuse of anonymity. The Government are also taking forward measures to put digital imprints on online political material. That will be a way to help voters to see who is saying what and hold them to account.