Written questions by McMurdock.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that dogs being cared for by (a) charity and (b) rescue centres are (i) spayed, (ii) neutered and (iii) microchipped.

Defra engages regularly with a range of stakeholders across the animal welfare and charity sectors, including on issues relating to rescue and rehoming practices. Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, it is a requirement for all dogs to be microchipped by the time they are eight weeks old.

Communities and Local Government, when local elections will take place in Essex.

Yes. Local elections in Essex will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether local elections will take place in Essex in 2026.

Yes. Local elections in Essex will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

What steps she is taking to ensure that schools in close proximity to (a) high-traffic areas and (b) hospitals are able to access funding for (i) perimeter fencing and (ii) other essential security infrastructure.

The department supports local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided school bodies, which are responsible for keeping their estates safe and well-maintained, by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes, and offering guidance and support.The government increased capital funding to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year and has committed to sustain that investment in real-terms, rising to around £2.3 billion by 2029/30. This is over £400 million more than 2024/25.For 2025/26, Essex County Council was allocated £9,336,522 to invest across its maintained schools, including those in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency. Large academy trusts and large voluntary-aided school bodies with schools in the area will also have been allocated capital funding, but allocations typically cut across constituency and local authority boundaries. These responsible bodies decide how to invest funding based on local knowledge, and this may include installing fencing or other security measures, where appropriate to the circumstances.Smaller and single academy trusts, smaller voluntary-aided bodies and sixth-form colleges will instead have been invited to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). Allocations and CIF outcomes for 2025/26 are published on GOV.UK.Departmental guidance is clear that schools and colleges should have a policy and plan in place to manage and respond to security related incidents and understand how to undertake a health and safety survey and risk assessment.

What steps she is taking to (a) support and (b) protect inclusive education strategies for high needs pupils.

The recent funding settlement means a significant investment in the support available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pupils within mainstream schools, as well as protecting support currently in place. It will enable us to transform the SEND system to make mainstream more inclusive, improve outcomes and stop parents having to fight for support.To support this, we have created an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for inclusion, led by Tom Rees, to provide advice and expertise to the department on how to improve the mainstream education experiences for children and young people with special educational needs.In developing advice, the EAG have drawn from a wide range of inputs from across the sector, including a survey which has now closed, to gather insights from teachers and school leaders on best practices for inclusion in mainstream education.Additionally, the department has established a neurodivergence task and finish group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg from Birmingham University, to make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings.

Whether she plans to support the expansion of academic Sixth Form provision in Basildon.

Proposed changes to mainstream sixth form provision need to improve choice and attainment for all pupils and be able to demonstrate a clear need for additional post-16 places. Academies wishing to expand their sixth forms can do so by applying to the department to make a significant change. Maintained schools must follow the statutory process for making prescribed alterations. The department is not currently aware of any plans to expand academic sixth form provision in Basildon and has received no applications.

What steps she is taking to ensure that levels of funding do not adversely impact inclusive education practices in mainstream schools.

In the 2025/26 financial year, 17.8% (£8.6 billion) of the schools national funding formula (NFF) has been allocated for additional needs, including factors that correlate with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This supports schools with the costs of inclusion. The most deprived schools, on average, attracted the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools NFF, reflecting the greater challenges that they will face in fully meeting the needs of their pupils.Local authorities can also make funding transfers from the mainstream schools’ block of their dedicated schools grant to their high needs budget. Essex County Council made a 1% block transfer in the 2025/26 financial year, after an approved disapplication request. As part of that, the Council provided a detailed plan for the proposed use of the transfer of funds, which set out proposals to target early intervention and prevention, aiming to support schools’ SEND provision and inclusive practice.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of pressures on the High Needs Block on the wider school budget in Essex.

In the 2025/26 financial year, 17.8% (£8.6 billion) of the schools national funding formula (NFF) has been allocated for additional needs, including factors that correlate with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This supports schools with the costs of inclusion. The most deprived schools, on average, attracted the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools NFF, reflecting the greater challenges that they will face in fully meeting the needs of their pupils.Local authorities can also make funding transfers from the mainstream schools’ block of their dedicated schools grant to their high needs budget. Essex County Council made a 1% block transfer in the 2025/26 financial year, after an approved disapplication request. As part of that, the Council provided a detailed plan for the proposed use of the transfer of funds, which set out proposals to target early intervention and prevention, aiming to support schools’ SEND provision and inclusive practice.

What steps her Department is taking to identify immigrants who arrive illegally on small boats.

We collect biographic and biometric data from all those arriving illegally in the UK. Checks are then run against a range of data sources to identify relevant information.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide long-term protections for badger populations.

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 prohibits the deliberate killing, injuring or capturing of a wild badger and any interfering with badger setts; and The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits certain methods of control. Additionally, badger persecution is one of the seven UK wildlife crime priorities, and a UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group is in place. This is police led and comprises a range of members including Defra who meet regularly to tackle offences such as badger baiting which is rightly illegal in this country. The government’s view is that anyone found guilty of these offences should be subject to the full force of the law. We have also started work on a comprehensive new bovine TB eradication strategy to drive down TB rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament. As part of this, we have launched the first badger population survey in over a decade to estimate badger abundance and population recovery and are developing a national wildlife surveillance programme to unlock a data-driven approach to deploying TB vaccines and other eradication measures. We are also establishing a Badger Vaccinator Field Force to rapidly scale up vaccination efforts, helping to reduce TB rates and protect badgers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle trophy hunting imports.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in levels of reports of waste crime in the East of England in the last two years.

The Environment Agency (EA) recently published new heatmaps showing the densest areas of waste crime reports in England. Through our Plan for Change, this Government will crack down on the waste cowboys, seize and crush fly-tippers’ vans, and clean up Britain. Reports of waste crime to the EA for their East Anglia area over the last 2 years are shown in the table below. QuarterNumber of suspected waste crime reports for East Anglia EA area2023/Q11822023/Q22052023/Q32512023/Q42162024/Q12472024/Q21872024/Q32132024/Q4177Total1678

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the Environment Agency in (a) investigating and (b) prosecuting incidents of large-scale waste crime.

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for disrupting and stopping illegal activity through tough enforcement action and prosecution. Defra works closely with the EA to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment. The EA’s total budget for 2025-26 financial year has increased to £2,274 million. This includes £10 million for waste crime enforcement, and for this financial year an additional £5.6 million to tackle waste crime.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the ability of (a) county and (b) unitary councils to set balanced budgets for the next financial year.

We have delivered a Settlement for 2025-26 that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.Councils are responsible for managing their budgets locally and setting a balanced budget. Any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the Ministry in the first instance where we will treat all discussions in confidence, with respect and determination to find a solution together.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to publish financial modelling for Essex devolution proposals, in the context of projected levels of funding gaps.

Combined County Authorities (CCA) do not replace the councils in the area – and services such as social care, libraries and education that are provided by the local authorities would continue to be provided by them. The finances of constituent members such as Essex County Council will remain separate from the proposed Greater Essex Combined County Authority.The CCA would instead benefit from devolution of both powers and funding in the areas of transport, housing and adult skills, as well as attracting a Mayoral Capacity Fund to assist with setting up and a thirty-year Investment Fund for both revenue and capital spending.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support leaseholders who cannot (a) sell their properties and (b) re-mortgage due to ground rent charges.

The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with Essex County Council on the financial sustainability of local services under the proposed devolution deal.

Combined County Authorities (CCA) do not replace the councils in the area – and services such as social care, libraries and education that are provided by the local authorities would continue to be provided by them. The finances of constituent members such as Essex County Council will remain separate from the proposed Greater Essex Combined County Authority.The CCA would instead benefit from devolution of both powers and funding in the areas of transport, housing and adult skills, as well as attracting a Mayoral Capacity Fund to assist with setting up and a thirty-year Investment Fund for both revenue and capital spending.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help educate (a) the public and (b) landowners on their legal obligations in relation to badger protection.

The UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group, of which Defra is a member, recently re-launched its Operation Badger initiative. Operation Badger aims to increase awareness of the many types of criminal activity such as illegal trapping, poisoning, and sett disturbance that threaten badgers and to educate and encourage reporting of suspected crimes against badgers. Advice on badger protection, legislation and planning is also available on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have been brought for offences related to waste crime in the last five years.

In the five years up to March 2025 the EA has brought 341 prosecutions against companies and individuals for waste crime offences.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect leaseholders from ground rent charges.

The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.