Written questions by McMurdock.

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, 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.

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.

With reference to the Insolvency Service's press release entitled The fake £9.8 million NHS contract: directors banned after investors tricked out of more than £2 million, published on 5 March 2026, whether private investors are currently able to verify the validity of previous NHS procurement contracts.

Information about National Health Service procurement contracts is publicly available. Contract Award Notices are published under the Procurement Act 2023 and, for clinical services, under the Provider Selection Regime. Investors can therefore confirm whether a legitimate contract exists by checking the Find a Tender Service and Contracts Finder.NHS organisations cannot confirm commercial claims made to private investors. However, information on suppliers, director identities and disqualifications, insolvency events, and persons of significant control is available on Companies House. If discrepancies arise, they can be reported to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority.With respect to the NHS Supply Chain, if suppliers are removed from a framework, NHS Supply Chain’s standard practice is to update its Contract Information Pages to remove them from the list of suppliers’ section and the product listing information.

Whether she plans to introduce minimum national standards for highway drainage maintenance.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. Although the Government does not currently assess the adequacy of drainage maintenance practice in each authority, it does encourage authorities to maintain their drainage assets through guidance.

With reference to the Written Statement of 26 February 2026 by the Minister for Industry on British Steel, what contingency provision has been made within existing Departmental budgets to help ensure domestic steel production can be maintained should financial support requirements exceed current forecasts.

HMG is working closely with EY, who are providing onsite management support, to review British Steel’s forecasts and ensure that any funding requests are robust. HMG and EY work closely with British Steel management on scenario planning to ensure that the company can respond effectively to unexpected financial pressures. Contingency provisions have been built into forecasts throughout the intervention to address potential risks, including lower sales receipts, fluctuations in production levels, and urgent capital investment needs. At present, the intervention is funded from existing budgets which are considered sufficient to manage any such pressures.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of drainage maintenance practices by local highway authorities.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. Although the Government does not currently assess the adequacy of drainage maintenance practice in each authority, it does encourage authorities to maintain their drainage assets through guidance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how many migrants have been supported by the project entitled Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration for Migrants Stranded on the Territory of Belarus.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what has been the total cost of the project entitled Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration for Migrants Stranded on the Territory of Belarus.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what is the purpose of the project entitled Board game [Belarus] Shtetl.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how much has been spent on the project entitled Board game [Belarus] Shtetl.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, whether she has any plans to continue providing foreign aid to Belarus beyond current commitments.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how much has been spent to date on the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what policy objective is there for creating the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, whether any of the people supported by the project entitled Social care and dementia support to Jewish communities in Belarus are British citizens.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much foreign aid has been spent in Belarus since 2020.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Pursuant to Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 110309, how the proportion of calls redirected in the East of England compares with the national average.

NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of incidents raised and responded to by the ambulance service as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQI) publication. The publication can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/For the calendar year 2025, the number of incidents referred to other services nationally was 1,360,449, or 15% of all 9,312,404 incidents.For the East of England Ambulance Service, the service referred 136,470 incidents to other services, or 14% of all incidents.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of alternative pathway on reducing ambulance handover delays at hospital emergency departments in the East of England.

Reducing unacceptably long ambulance handover delays is a priority for the Government, and the National Health Service has recently introduced a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients. We are further tackling this issue through greater use of alternative pathways of care, so patients receive the right care at the right time and in the right place. The Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan 2025/26 commits to scaling a new “Home First” approach which will enable ambulance services to prioritise the most critical cases while providing alternative pathways for those with less urgent needs.To achieve this, we will enhance paramedic-led care in the community to ensure more patients receive effective treatment at the scene or in their own homes, reducing avoidable hospital conveyance. This will be delivered through ambulance crews operating a call before convey principle and enabling “see and treat”, supported by additional clinicians in emergency operating centres and single points of access. The East of England Ambulance Service in January 2026 reported that it responded to over half of incidents, or 52.6%, with either a see and treat response, at 34.3%, or hear and treat, at 18.3%.The NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26 commits to improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times. NHS England will work with systems to reduce avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances by ensuring all Category 3 and 4 calls are clinically navigated, validated, and where appropriate, triaged in ambulance control centres, or in single points of access in line with existing guidance.

Pursuant to Answer of 2nd March 2026 to Question 110309, what proportion of redirected patients were referred to a) mental health crisis services, b) urgent community response teams or c) primary care.

Data published monthly by NHS England on incidents raised and responded to by the ambulance sevice does not report the information required to answer this question.Incident numbers and categorisation are published for England as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators publication. The publication can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/The publication details the number of paredirected, or resolved without conveyance by an ambulance, but does not detail the service incidents are redirected to.