Every parliamentary written question tabled by James McMurdock this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 461–480 of 3,668 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, with reference to his decision letter to council leaders in Essex on local government reorganisation, dated 25 March 2026, what plans he has to publish any representations from council leaders in Essex further to that decision letter.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to his decision letter to Essex council leaders on local government reorganisation, dated 25 March 2026, if he will publish representations received from local authorities in Essex on the final decision on local government in Essex.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to his decision letter to Essex council leaders on local government reorganisation, dated 25 March 2026, how many consultation responses he reviewed from members of the public before deciding on the local government model for Essex.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to his decision letter to Essex council leaders on local government reorganisation, dated 25 March 2026, on what date the decision outlined in his letter was formally taken.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, what systems of artificial intelligence will be used to identify disproportionate consultation and reporting requirements.
We are using state-of-the-art large language models to identify all duties to consult within the statute book, as well as contextual information such as responsible department and the circumstances under which consultation is required.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, how many of the 131 consultation requirements referenced in the press release were from government-sponsored bills or secondary legislation.
All 131 consultation requirements were from existing primary legislation, not bills currently before Parliament or Secondary legislation. The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery.
With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, published on 7 April 2026, what analysis her Department has undertaken of the effect of the cap on long-term student loan repayment burdens for graduates.
The government is capping the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loans at 6%, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%, for the 2026/27 academic year. This short term measure will protect students and graduates from the potential of inflationary pressures due to the situation in the Middle East.Student loan interest rates are ordinarily set for each academic year by reference to the RPI value for the year to the preceding March. On that basis, interest rates for the 2026/27 academic year would normally be determined using the RPI figure for March 2026, which is due to be published on 22 April 2026.The impact of the interest rate cap on long term repayments for graduates, and on forecast cost impacts for the public purse, will depend on the March RPI value. Costs will be set out at Budget in the usual way.
With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, published on 7 April 2026, what assessment she has made of the impact of the cap on incentives for graduates to pursue higher education.
The government has taken decisive action to cap the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 (postgraduate) student loans at 6%, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%, for the 2026/27 academic year. This short term protective measure removes the risk of a temporary increase in inflation causing loan balances to compound at an unsustainable rate.The interest rate cap follows changes we have already made to the student finance system to improve it and make it fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers. This includes increasing the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans to £28,470 in April 2025, its first increase since 2021, and increasing it again on 6 April this year, to £29,385. The department is also reintroducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year, providing students from low income households with up to £1,000 extra support that will not need to be repaid.
With reference to his Department’s press release entitled NHS patients and British businesses to benefit from historic changes to medicines access following pharmaceutical partnership with USA, published on 2 April 2026, what measures are in place to monitor whether the accelerated access to new treatments is translating into measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
The Department will continue to work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England to monitor and assess access to medicines in the United Kingdom and to monitor patient outcomes through the NHS Outcomes Framework Indicators.There are no plans to routinely monitor the direct impact of accelerated access to new medicines on patient outcomes.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, what criteria will be used by AI systems to determine whether consultation requirements should be removed.
AI tools are being used to identify statutory requirements to consult. Decisions remain the purview of Ministers.
What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that students are not disadvantaged by errors made in the initial approval of student finance.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, whether Ministers will publish a list of consultation and reporting requirements that are removed or amended under the reforms.
No decision has currently been taken on which requirements have been removed or amended under the reforms.Any removal of statutory consultation duties will require legislation, and so parliament will be able to scrutinise these changes in the ordinary way.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, how many of the 131 consultation requirements referenced in the article were identified as being unnecessary.
We have developed an AI tool to help identify uncover consultation requirements hidden within legislation. It is up to ministerial and Parliamentary discretion to decide their value to specific legislation and the policies underlying that legislation. This initiative will ensure that government policies can be implemented as efficiently as possible, streamlining the process while retaining necessary checks and balances where appropriate. We are introducing a higher bar inclusion of consultation requirements in legislation, and prioritising finding more effective and efficient ways to engage stakeholders. The end goal is ending the introduction of further unnecessary reporting and consultation requirements.
How many students are currently affected by the withdrawal of student finance linked to weekend or flexible learning courses.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, whether the new accountability framework for Permanent Secretaries, designed to focus on delivering the Prime Minister’s priorities, will result in a reduction in responsibilities for other cabinet ministers.
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, what human oversight will be applied to decisions informed by artificial intelligence in reviewing consultation requirements.
AI tools are being used to identify statutory requirements to consult. Decisions remain the purview of ministers.
With reference to his Department’s press release entitled NHS patients and British businesses to benefit from historic changes to medicines access following pharmaceutical partnership with USA, published on 2 April 2026, what plans his Department has to report to Parliament on the outcomes of the partnership and its effects on NHS spending and patient access.
The Government has already enabled parliamentary scrutiny on this subject and will continue to follow standard processes to update Parliament on developments as appropriate.Members of Parliament continue to have the opportunity to table parliamentary questions on this subject.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, whether any primary legislation will be required to implement the changes announced on 26 March 2026.
The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery. The policy analysis is in the early stages and all options are being considered.
Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, how many statutory consultation requirements Ministers expect to remove or amend as a result of the reforms.
The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery. This process is still ongoing.
How many students have had their maintenance loans or grants withdrawn due to being reclassified as distance learners in the last 12 months.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.