Written questions by McMurdock.

What assessment she has made of the annual cost to the logistics industry of the proposed pay-per-mile electric vehicle charging scheme.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The taxation of motoring is a critical source of funding for public services and investment in infrastructure. All UK-registered electric and plug-in hybrid cars will pay eVED. Other vehicle types such as vans, buses, coaches, motorcycles and HGVs will be out of scope of the tax upon its introduction. This is because the transition to electric for these vehicle types is less advanced than for cars at this stage.

What assessment she has made of the risk posed by potholes to vulnerable road users, including a) cyclists and b) motorcyclists.

There have not been specific Department for Transport assessments on the risks posed by potholes to vulnerable road users, or on the relationship between road surface conditions and road traffic accidents. However, the Government recognises that defective road surfaces, including potholes, can present significant safety risks to vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists. Local highway authorities have a statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain their road networks and must consider the needs of vulnerable groups when planning and delivering maintenance programmes. The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our local roads. That is why we have made available an additional £500 million for local highways maintenance this financial year, and have confirmed a record investment of £7.3 billion for the next four years. These funding increases will enable local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys. On Active Travel schemes where Active Travel England has been requested to inspect or assess existing layouts, available metrics can be used to score the scheme based on surface quality. It is for local authorities to determine the most appropriate road safety interventions, based on their knowledge of local conditions and the needs of their communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, which public body will oversee mandatory licensing for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations.

Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations, including on how such a scheme should be administered, in due course.

With reference to the planned closure of the University of Essex's Southend Campus, if she will review the University of Essex's business decisions over the last 10 years.

The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator of the English higher education (HE) sector, is working with the University of Essex to ensure plans are in place to protect students and maintain learning continuity following the Southend campus closure. There is further work to be done by the OfS and the University to support students less able to move to other campuses. The department is monitoring the situation and is aware of concerns about local students’ access to HE provision. HE providers are responsible for managing their own finances and we expect them to take appropriate and necessary decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. As we stated in the Post-16 education and skills white paper, we expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector. This will help institutions be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served. As HE providers are independent, the government is not involved in workforce matters in the same way that it is in other education sectors. ​While the government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff and with trade unions to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country. The government welcomes international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Indeed, UK HE providers received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students as well as research and development. However, the OfS has identified reliance on international student fee income as a risk to HE providers’ sustainability. It has been clear that some providers may need to change their business models to protect their financial health, as a response to this risk and others.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Health and Safety Executive's correspondence entitled Potential risks from transfer slabs in buildings, published on 19 December 2025, when he expects the independent research commissioned by the Building Safety Regulator to be completed and published.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is working with industry experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to better understand the extent of the risk, and how the risk can be identified and managed proportionately in existing buildings.BSR is currently working with sector partners to establish what further guidance is needed to help building owners manage this risk. We will be providing further advice to building owners on this.BSR commissioned independent research in late 2024 relating to transfer slabs. This research is ongoing, and we will publish the outcomes of this research in due course. We will provide further updates via regular BSR bulletins and BSR campaign websites.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to launch the consultation on banning the use of electric shock collars.

The Government is concerned about the possible welfare implications of the use of electric shock collars.As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, we will consult on whether to ban the use of electric shock collars later in this Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Housing Sec pledges to 'go further than ever before' to hit 1.5 million homes, published on 16 December 2025, whether his reforms will support council house construction in (a) Thurrock and (b) Basildon.

The government is taking action to support all local authorities, including those in Thurrock and Basildon, to increase their levels of council housing construction.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to end puppy farming.

The Government is committed to ending puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs. As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the expected savings to each local authority in Essex from the deferment of the Greater Essex Mayoral Elections.

No assessment has been made. Spend on council elections is a matter for local authorities and spend on mayoral elections for strategic authorities is a matter for those bodies.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce private estate management arrangements on new housing developments.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make it mandatory for local authorities to adopt certain shared facilities on new housing estates.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to introduce standardised information requirements for estate management charges.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make resident‑controlled management the default model for new freehold estates.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms for homeowners challenging estate management charges.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, what criteria he will use to determine when substitute managers may be appointed in cases of serious failure by estate management companies.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will publish the new assessment of the financial impact of estate management charges on homeowners, and when this assessment is expected to be completed.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of deferring local elections on the long-term level of turnout.

We have not made such an assessment. It is only right that we listen to councils who are expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils who may be shortly abolished. The Secretary of State has asked councils to set out their views on the postponement of their local elections and is minded to only make an Order to postpone elections for one year for those councils who raise capacity concerns. Previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process.

What assessment she has made of the energy efficiency of electric heavy goods vehicles.

The Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator programme will report on the impacts of weather, terrain, driver behaviour, and payload on efficiency and range of electric HGVs. Over 150 vehicles are now operational in UK fleets with a further 150 due to enter service by March 2026. A trial of 20 electric HGVs in public sector fleets ran between April 2022 and September 2023 and information including total miles travelled, energy consumption, and vehicle range were published and are available online at http://bett.cenex.co.uk.

What the annual cost to the public purse was of active Private Finance Initiative contracts in the most recent financial year for which data is available.

The Government’s preferred financing model for any type of infrastructure project is the one that offers the best value for money. Proposals are appraised on a case-by-case basis using the Green Book. Public sector contracting authorities directly manage Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and are responsible for monitoring and managing their respective contracts to ensure value for money. Since 2020, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), formerly Infrastructure and Projects Authority, has provided advice and training directly to contracting authorities to support them in navigating issues relating to PFI projects (operational and expiry-related). PFI payments are made by “unitary charge”, which are not broken down by underlying cost drivers. Therefore, the proportion of payments that are (a) capital repayment, (b) interest and (c) service charges is not readily available, nor is data on costs which have arisen because of inflation and indexing. Data on PFI and PF2 projects can be found at the following weblink: PFI and PF2 projects: 2024 Summary Data - GOV.UK

What plans she has to fund infrastructure to support the logistics industry.

This Government is taking signification action on infrastructure used by logistics. National support for the road haulage industry includes joint investment with industry in lorry parking and driver welfare facilities of up to £35.7 million. This is in addition to up to £30 million joint investment by National Highways and industry to improve lorry parking on the strategic road network (SRN). The Government is also investing £25 billion in the SRN over the next 5 years. At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government committed a further £891 million to complete the publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing, to enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation. The most significant road building scheme in a generation, this will relieve congestion at the Dartford Crossing, improve connectivity across the UK and to major ports, improving resilience and reliability for freight. To support decarbonisation, the Government has invested up to £120 million in the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator, alongside up to £30 million in the Depot Charging Scheme. The Plug‑in Truck Grant also helps reduce the upfront cost of zero‑emission HGVs. The recent Spending Review saw average annual funding increase for the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline over the next four years which will support rail freight growth. My department is updating planning and regulatory processes for ports, including the National Policy Statement for Ports. The Government is working with the National Wealth Fund, which has committed at least £5.8 billion of its capital to five sectors, including ports.