Written questions by McMurdock.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Better Care Fund on reducing hospital discharge delays caused by shortages in social care provision.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) provides around £9 billion in 2025/26 to support integrated planning between local authorities and integrated care boards, with reducing discharge delays identified as a key priority for local BCF plans.From 2026/27, the BCF is being reformed to support services that help people regain independence, such as intermediate care, rehabilitation and reablement services, prevent avoidable admissions, and support timely discharge from hospital. Over £9 billion will be committed to the BCF in 2026/27, and local systems will be expected to improve intermediate care by increasing capacity, ensuring services can meet demand, and strengthening both homebased and bed-based provision to reduce delays linked to social care provision.Whilst the Department has made no specific assessment of the potential impact of the BCF on reducing hospital discharge delays caused by shortages in social care, the Government recognises the importance of supporting more timely discharge.Previous research funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) has shown that the BCF helps reducing discharge delays though it did not specify whether these were caused by social care provision. More information is available at the following link:https://kar.kent.ac.uk/77827/1/bcf.pdfFrom August 2025, NHS England has started to publish data on the cost of discharge. This is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays/acute-discharge-situation-report/The publication includes the estimated cost of discharge delays due to capacity for people who have been in hospital seven days or longer. However, it is not possible to say whether the delays were caused by capacity constraints in social care, the National Health Service or elsewhere.This analysis does not include wider costs, such as opportunity cost of care foregone by not being able to admit other patients, or the cost to the patient themselves of being in an inappropriate setting. The estimates do not consider the alternative cost of providing health and care support to patients outside of the acute hospital setting if these patients were not delayed in hospital.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what proportion of projects funded through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure Fund are expected to involve small and medium-sized enterprises.

All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, 15 July for CMDC Round 7 and 16 September for ZEVI Round 2. To date, UK SHORE funding has supported eleven different organisations in Essex, eight of which were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is out of a total of 500 businesses across the UK, including 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first two Clean Maritime Decarbonisation Competition (CMDC) rounds alone supported over 750 new and existing jobs. Ports in Essex have received £129,152 of UK SHORE funding to date.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in (a) the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency and (b) Essex expected to be created and supported as a result of the £271 million investment in clean maritime technologies and infrastructure.

All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, 15 July for CMDC Round 7 and 16 September for ZEVI Round 2. To date, UK SHORE funding has supported eleven different organisations in Essex, eight of which were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is out of a total of 500 businesses across the UK, including 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first two Clean Maritime Decarbonisation Competition (CMDC) rounds alone supported over 750 new and existing jobs. Ports in Essex have received £129,152 of UK SHORE funding to date.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, how much of the £271 million has been allocated to ports in Essex.

All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, 15 July for CMDC Round 7 and 16 September for ZEVI Round 2. To date, UK SHORE funding has supported eleven different organisations in Essex, eight of which were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is out of a total of 500 businesses across the UK, including 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first two Clean Maritime Decarbonisation Competition (CMDC) rounds alone supported over 750 new and existing jobs. Ports in Essex have received £129,152 of UK SHORE funding to date.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of repeat fly-tipping hotspots.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement action, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which the department have published annually since 2012, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. Defra does not hold data that allows for trends in more localised fly-tipping hotspots to be monitored.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review the (a) maximum fines and (b) custodial penalties for fly-tipping offences.

The Government is taking action to clamp down on rogue waste operators by moving the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will introduce tougher background checks for operators and tougher penalties for those who break the law.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to help prevent household waste fly-tipping.

The Government is taking action to prevent household waste being fly-tipped by supporting local authorities to make good use of their enforcement powers. Local authorities have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment. Instead of prosecuting, local authorities can choose to issue a fixed penalty notice (on-the-spot fine) of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers and £600 to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier.Following a review of local authorities’ powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have recently published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. This will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. An action that could lead to the local authority selling or crushing the vehicle.We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties such as local councils, the Environment Agency, National Farmers Union and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of fly-tipping incidents in South Basildon and East Thurrock led to formal enforcement action over the past five years.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement action, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which the department has published annually since 2012, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. The data covers trends in the number of fly-tipping incidents, with a breakdown by land type, waste type and size as well as enforcement and prosecution actions undertaken for fly-tipping incidents. However, it does not include a breakdown of enforcement action taken by a constituency or district.

Pursuant to Answer of 5th March 2026 to Question 115670, what proportion of the £28.3 million for reading and writing initiatives has been allocated to schools in Essex.

The department’s £28.3 million funding will deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools, delivered through the English Hubs programme, to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school.Since the launch of a new continuous professional development (CPD) programme ‘Unlocking Reading’ in January 2026, 59% of secondary schools in England have signed up to the in-person training. We do not currently have a breakdown of how many of these are in Essex, but would encourage all secondary schools to express their interest via the website:https://fft.org.uk/literacy/unlocking-reading/The local English Hubs for schools in Essex are New Vision and Myland English Hubs. 29 schools in Essex are currently English Hub partner schools, receiving intensive support from literacy specialists with the teaching of early reading.Over 300 schools in Essex have received some form of support from the English Hubs programme since its launch, and 100 schools in Essex are signed up to access CPD provided by the Hubs this academic year.

What the average waiting time is for patients referred to community healthcare services in England.

NHS England does not publish a single national average waiting time for patients referred to community healthcare services.Community healthcare services cover a wide range of different service types, with varying referral routes and urgency profiles, and waiting times can differ significantly depending on the service provided and the local area.NHS England publishes monthly data on community health service waiting lists, which show the number of patients waiting for care within defined time bands rather than an overall average. These data include the number of patients waiting zero to one weeks, one to two weeks, two to four weeks, four to 12 weeks, 12 to 18 weeks, 18 to 52 weeks, 52 to 104 weeks, and over 104 weeks, and are available at a national, regional, integrated care system, and provider level.The data indicates that over one million people are waiting for community health services in England, with waiting times varying widely by service type, age group, and geography. NHS England continues to improve the coverage and quality of community health services data to support transparency and service improvement.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to community healthcare services in rural areas.

Integrated care boards are responsible for the planning and commissioning of community health services. In doing so, integrated care boards (ICBs) must take into account the needs of their local population, which includes meeting the healthcare needs of their rural populations as part of the shift from hospitals to community.We know people are waiting too long for community health services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Framework.By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.In 2025, we published for the first time an overview of the core community health services, Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services for ICBs.A consistent definition of core community health services will enable systems to measure demand, capacity, and workforce, and reduce unwarranted variation.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, how many days ahead of polling day will early in-person voting be permitted.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, how many early in-person polling locations will be utilised in each local authority.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what timescale he is working towards for a national rollout after the flexible voting trials.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what safeguards will be in place to ensure the secrecy of the ballot if a polling station is in a shopping centre.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what safeguards will be in place to ensure the security of the ballot boxes at shopping centres.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of penalties for fly-tipping in deterring individuals from fly-tipping.

The fly-tipping statistics for England show that local authorities’ enforcement activity has increased in 2024/25 by 8% over 2023/24.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what discussions he has had with local authorities on their capacity to conduct early in-person voting.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what research his Department conducted on the potential impact of weekend voting prior to the policy announcement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what turnout increase threshold his Department will use to assess the effectiveness of the flexible voting pilots.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to demonstrate a clear understanding of the pilot objectives, feasibility to deliver within the timeframe, appropriate resourcing and supplier management, proportionate contingency planning, and effective communication arrangements. The Government is funding the costs of the flexible voting pilots. Final costs are not yet available. As with all elections, responsibility for the manner, conduct and security of polls lies with the Returning Officer. Voting hubs, either on or in advance of the regular day of poll, will be subject to the same security and secrecy provisions as regular polling stations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings.