Written questions by McMurdock.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of recent graduates employed in non-graduate roles.

Research suggests the majority of graduates are expected to earn a positive financial return from higher education (HE) over their lifetime.The latest HE Statistics Agency data shows that 71.4% of UK-domiciled graduates from 2022/23 in employment were in high-skilled roles 15 months after graduation. This is down slightly from 2021/22, but consistent with 2019/20.Whilst employment rates for graduates remain higher than for non-graduates, we recognise that those leaving HE face challenges and are taking a number of steps to ensure those leaving HE are ready for work.The Office for Students can take regulatory action against HE providers which don’t meet its minimum requirement that 60% of students should progress into graduate employment or further study.Planned reforms to the Strategic Priorities Grant will ensure high-cost subject funding is better targeted towards priority provision that supports skills needs and the Industrial Strategy.Government plans to expand the availability of occupation-focused higher technical qualifications which aim to provide students with the skills employers need.Government has also issued guidance setting out expectations that HE providers play a pivotal role in Local Skills Improvement Plans, strengthening collaboration with strategic authorities, employers and other skills providers to meet the needs of their local economy.

Communities and Local Government, whether he had discussions with the Leader of Basildon Council before announcing the delay to the 2026 local elections in Basildon.

As set out to Parliament on 22 January, in reaching his decisions the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made, including those relating to elections in Basildon. The Secretary of State did not meet with the Leader of Basildon Council on the topic of 2026 local elections prior to the announcement of 22 January.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation, published on 22 January 2026, whether he has received and representations from Basildon Borough Council councillors on postponing elections.

As set out to Parliament on 22 January, in reaching his decisions the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made, including those relating to elections in Basildon. The Secretary of State did not meet with the Leader of Basildon Council on the topic of 2026 local elections prior to the announcement of 22 January.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of holding some elections, but not others, in Essex on the local government reorganisation progress.

In reaching his decisions on 2026 elections, as set out to the House on 22 January 2026, the Secretary of State adopted a locally led approach and carefully considered all the representations made. The consultation on the final proposals for Essex, Southend‑on‑Sea and Thurrock closed on 11 January. We will now assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification. The postponement of some May 2026 elections does not affect the timing of these decisions, and the indicative timetable for local government reorganisation remains unchanged.

With reference to his Department's research entitled Alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation, published 30 October 2025, what assessment his Department have made of the adequacy of alcohol monitoring readings from people on Alcohol Monitoring Licence orders whose tags were later removed due to potentially incorrect fittings.

Alcohol monitoring on licence was introduced in Wales in 2021 and England in 2022 and enables probation to include an additional licence condition banning or restricting the consumption of alcohol, where a criminogenic need related to alcohol misuse is identified as an increase to risk. The alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation was published on 30 October 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-monitoring-on-licence-process-and-interim-impact-evaluation. A further impact evaluation exploring reoffending will be published in due course which will measure longer-term outcomes than the existing published evaluation. The sample size is not confirmed but we expect it to be broadly similar.The process and interim impact evaluation of Alcohol Monitoring on Licence scheme was based on a sample of the overall tagged population. The process evaluation reported some instances where tag wearers experienced pain or discomfort and had the tag changed or removed. These issues did not indicate widespread concerns about the reliability of alcohol tag readings.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delaying elections on the timing of his decision on the composition of the new councils in Essex.

In reaching his decisions on 2026 elections, as set out to the House on 22 January 2026, the Secretary of State adopted a locally led approach and carefully considered all the representations made. The consultation on the final proposals for Essex, Southend‑on‑Sea and Thurrock closed on 11 January. We will now assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification. The postponement of some May 2026 elections does not affect the timing of these decisions, and the indicative timetable for local government reorganisation remains unchanged.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend the scheme of elections updated by the Thurrock (Electoral Changes) Orders of 2024 and 2025 so that the 2025 and 2026 delayed elections taking place in 2027 will be for the whole of the council.

The Secretary of State announced on 22 January 2026 that he intends to bring forward legislation to postpone for one year the elections due in May 2026 to councils including Thurrock Council. That legislation will include any consequential amendments to other Orders that are required in order to implement the Secretary of State’s decision. I remain committed to the indicative timetable that was published in July, that sees elections to new councils in May 2027 and those councils going live in April 2028. The Secretary of State intends to follow precedent for all previous postponements of elections in relation to local government reorganisation and to extend the term of office of councillors who would otherwise have retired in May 2026. This ensures that councils continue to operate with the designated number of councillors in total and for each ward.

If he make an assessment of the potential merits of installing a bridge over the level crossing in East Tilbury.

Network Rail are engaging with London Gateway and other stakeholders on the merits of level crossing interventions in the East Tilbury area and are keeping my officials updated.

Communities and Local Government, whether he had discussions with the Leader of Thurrock Council before announcing the delay to the 2026 local elections in Thurrock.

In reaching his decisions, as set out to Parliament on 22 January, the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made, including those relating to elections in Thurrock. The Secretary of State did not have meetings with the Leader of Thurrock Council on 2026 local elections, prior to the announcement of 22 January.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation, published on 22 January 2026, whether he has received representations from residents of Basildon borough on postponing elections for Basildon Borough Council.

As set out to Parliament on 22 January, in reaching his decisions the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made, including those relating to elections in Basildon. The Secretary of State did not meet with the Leader of Basildon Council on the topic of 2026 local elections prior to the announcement of 22 January.

What plans she has to introduce interventions to help reduce graduate underemployment.

Research suggests the majority of graduates are expected to earn a positive financial return from higher education (HE) over their lifetime.The latest HE Statistics Agency data shows that 71.4% of UK-domiciled graduates from 2022/23 in employment were in high-skilled roles 15 months after graduation. This is down slightly from 2021/22, but consistent with 2019/20.Whilst employment rates for graduates remain higher than for non-graduates, we recognise that those leaving HE face challenges and are taking a number of steps to ensure those leaving HE are ready for work.The Office for Students can take regulatory action against HE providers which don’t meet its minimum requirement that 60% of students should progress into graduate employment or further study.Planned reforms to the Strategic Priorities Grant will ensure high-cost subject funding is better targeted towards priority provision that supports skills needs and the Industrial Strategy.Government plans to expand the availability of occupation-focused higher technical qualifications which aim to provide students with the skills employers need.Government has also issued guidance setting out expectations that HE providers play a pivotal role in Local Skills Improvement Plans, strengthening collaboration with strategic authorities, employers and other skills providers to meet the needs of their local economy.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of postponing the 2026 local elections on Thurrock council's ability to tackle its financial issues.

On 22 January 2026, the Secretary of State announced his intention to bring forward legislation to postpone for one year the May 2026 elections. This legislation will apply to 30 councils, including Thurrock. Separately, the Government accepts that Thurrock Council holds significant and exceptional unsupported debt, related to capital practices, that cannot be managed locally in their entirety. The government has committed to providing debt repayment support. Thurrock Council remains in intervention and continues to improve and deliver its recovery agenda.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of postponing the 2026 local elections on the progress of Thurrock council's local plan.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government followed a locally-led process and based his decisions on a careful consideration of the representations made from councils with elections scheduled in May and from other councils, interested organisations, Members of Parliament, and members of the public. The government expects local planning authorities to work towards the adoption of an up-to-date local plan as soon as possible. Local government reorganisation should not hinder this essential work.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of postponing the 2026 local elections on the progress of Basildon council's local plan.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government followed a locally-led process and based his decisions on a careful consideration of the representations made from councils with elections scheduled in May and from other councils, interested organisations, Members of Parliament, and members of the public. The government expects local planning authorities to work towards the adoption of an up-to-date local plan as soon as possible. Local government reorganisation should not hinder this essential work.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy that the continued calling of local council by-elections will not be affected by the postponement of a council's elections.

Any legislation brought forward to postpone May 2026 council elections for one year will have no effect on the usual process for by-elections. Where there is an existing vacancy that was to be filled at the May 2026 election, any legislation to postpone those elections will also provide for the filling of such a vacancy, as in previous legislation postponing elections.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of independent scrutiny of the decision to postpone local elections in reorganisation areas.

In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils. Requests for postponements came from councils and have been considered on their merits on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all other representations received. Parliament has given the Secretary of State the power to make an Order to change the year of council elections. There are Parliamentary procedures for MPs and Peers to debate and vote on an Order.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his letter to council leaders whose elections he is seeking to postpone published on 22 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the administrative impact on councils of running town and parish elections while district or county-level authority elections are postponed.

Where a decision has been made to postpone local elections in an area, parish and town council elections will still be proceeding as planned, given they are outside of local government reorganisation.Councils will deliver the elections they are required to and the costs of town and parish council elections can be passed on to those town and parish councils.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, how many councils had a request for postponing elections denied.

I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January 2026. Many councils gave the view that their elections should go ahead, and many asked us to consider postponing. Some councils did not seek postponement, and two did not provide sufficient evidence to support a postponement decision. Prior to reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State wrote to the leaders of Essex County Council, Norfolk County Council, Oxford City Council and Southampton City Council in relation to their position on 2026 local elections. These letters are published on gov.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Government unveils biggest overhaul to water in a generation, published on 19 January 2026, how her Department plans to monitor and report progress on private sector investment over the next five years.

Before 2029, the water industry will deliver a water infrastructure upgrade programme worth £104 billion. Upgrades will include 10 million new smart meters, progressing 9 new reservoirs, and delivering 3,000 storm overflow projects. This will require the highest level of private sector investment in the water sector since privatisation. The investment programme will drive economic growth, create jobs, and enable thousands of new homes. Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, monitors and reports on water company spending and financing through its annual performance report and its monitoring and financial resilience report. These documents are publicly available. The Government has set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026. The White Paper sets out once in a generation reforms that will transform the water system for good, with a renewed focus on securing a fair deal for customers, investors, and the environment, to rebuild trust and secure a water system that works for everyone.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Government unveils biggest overhaul to water in a generation, published on 19 January 2026, what powers the new Water Ombudsman will have to require compensation payments to customers following service failures.

All customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service, as set out by Government. These rights are known as the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). Where a company fails to meet any of the standards, it is already required to make a specified payment to the affected household or business customer. However, to rebuild consumer trust in the sector, it is vital customers have assurance their complaints will be resolved. We will establish an independent, impartial and accredited Ombudsman which is approved and overseen by the regulator, in line with approaches used in other sectors. This will guarantee protections for customers by ensuring they can access legally binding resolutions when a water company has failed to resolve a customer complaint. Government has committed to publish a Transition Plan this year to lead the water sector through transformative reforms such as the new Water Ombudsman.