Written questions by McMurdock.

What proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Ministry of Justice does not offer remote or hybrid working contracts at the point of recruitment, with all employees having one of the Department’s offices or properties as a contractual base location.Hybrid working is an informal, non-contractual arrangement that does not involve changes to pay, terms and conditions, or one’s contractual workplace.Remote working may be agreed through a flexible working request, or as a reasonable adjustment. In some exceptional circumstances, employees have transferred into the Ministry of Justice on protected terms that include homeworking. Records of this, as well as flexible working and workplace adjustments records, are held locally and are not centrally accessible. This information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

What proportion of staff in the Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid, and (c) remote-working contracts.

Contracts issued to staff do not record the information requested. Hybrid working is an informal, non-contractual agreement.The AGO is committed to flexible working and the business benefits that it offers, including supporting the Civil Service priority of ensuring continued, effective and productive delivery of the work carried out by civil servants across the full range of services.The AGO operates a ‘hybrid’ approach, led by business needs, and as a result many employees work both from home and in the workplace on an informal basis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Peter Mandelson played a role in discussions with the United States on the sovereignty and future governance of the Chagos Islands.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

What recent assessment he has made of the value for money of the £50 million funding given to the International Labour Organisation since 2020.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) plays an important role in setting international labour standards and holding those that fail to uphold international labour rights accountable. The UK was a founding member of the ILO; the Government is committed to maintaining its membership.The UK’s assessed annual contribution is based on the standard United Nations system of assessed contributions applied to all 187 ILO member states, broadly linked to relative levels of GDP. In 2025–26 the total UK contribution totalled £14.76 million, the majority of which is classed within the UK’s Official Development Assistance. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that the UK financial contribution to the ILO is used effectively, demonstrates value for money and aligns with the UK’s national objectives. Through our permanent membership of the ILO Governing Body, we undertake robust scrutiny of the ILO’s budgetary proposals and administration to increase the impact, effectiveness and delivery of the Organisation.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, whether the Government plans to place the commitments in the Telecoms Consumer Charter on a statutory footing.

Ofcom’s January 2025 transparency rules prohibit the use of inflation‑linked in‑contract price rises. Providers must set out any increases clearly in pounds and pence before customers sign up, and specify when those rises will occur. These rules apply to all new contracts which include a price increase, including those offered by providers that have signed the Telecoms Consumer Charter. Ofcom will be conducting an interim review of the 2025 reforms by Spring 2026 and a full review in 2027.The Telecoms Consumer Charter strengthens these measures by ensuring that the price customers sign up to is the price they will pay, and that this must be the case in all but genuinely exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances.The Government has no plans to place the commitments in the Charter on a statutory footing. The Charter is a voluntary set of commitments made by providers, building on Ofcom’s requirements to ensure consumers receive clear and easily understandable information. By securing these agreements voluntarily and without regulation, the Government has been able to act quickly to ensure consumers will not face unexpected price rises like those seen in October 2025.While it is not our current intention to regulate, we do expect this voluntary approach to deliver for consumers. If it does not, government will reflect on what further action may be appropriate.

With reference to his press release entitled Every child caught with a knife to get tailored support, published on 11 February 2026, if he will set out how the £320 million Youth Justice Services funding package will be allocated across England and Wales; and what proportion of that funding is new money.

Over the next three financial years, the Ministry of Justice will allocate £281 million for youth justice grants and a further £46 million of funding for the extension of the Turnaround grant programme.This is a continuation of funding levels from previous years but the Department has provided multi-year funding to youth justice services. This will give youth justice services the stability to retain staff, plan effectively with partners, and commission services more efficiently - ultimately strengthening their ability to tackle knife possession and other offences committed by children.Funding will be allocated to Youth Justice Services across England and Wales using same distribution method that has been applied for the past 13 years. We recognise that the current method for allocating youth justice funding needs updating and later this year we will undertake a consultation about long-term funding and oversight arrangements for youth justice services.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, how many foreign criminals have been deported under the seize and return policy to date.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, what estimate she has made of the number of households eligible for social tariffs who are not currently accessing them.

Ofcom’s most recent Pricing Trends Report showed that in June 2024 9.6% of eligible households were using social tariffs. This included an estimated 506,000 households out of around 5.3 million in receipt of Universal Credit.Through the Telecoms Consumer Charter, providers have also committed to strengthening the visibility and accessibility of social tariffs by ensuring they are clearly signposted in eligible customer communications. This commitment is designed to make it simpler for eligible households to locate the support available and to understand the options open to them.We will continue to track progress of this through Ofcom’s regular reporting.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, what measures are taken as part of the 'seize and return' policy to help ensure that smugglers do not attempt to return to the UK.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of cannabis and ketamine smuggling imports which are not intercepted.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

HM Treasury is an office‑based organisation. Staff are employed on office‑based contracts and may work remotely under the Department’s hybrid working policy, which expects at least 60% office attendance. Hybrid working is an informal arrangement and not contractual. The Department does not generally offer home‑based contracts; full‑time homeworking is only agreed on a temporary basis, for example as a workplace adjustment.

Communities and Local Government, how Essex County Council's debts will be distributed once local government reorganisation has concluded.

The assets, liabilities and ongoing commitments of the councils being replaced would transfer to the new authorities, in line with previous reorganisations.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

In the Department for Transport the majority of employees are assigned to an office or a specific workplace location within their contract. Hybrid working is not a contractual form of working and as it is agreed within individual teams based on business needs, is not centrally recorded.The only employees who could be classed as having ‘remote-working contracts’ would be those who are contractual homeworkers. Only 0.67% of employees within the core department have a recorded homeworking contract as of January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on factors social landlords should consider when assessing the suitability of a property for a tenant’s pet, including property size, shared access arrangements and communal areas.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Home Office offers only office‑based and home‑working contracts.Contract TypeProportionOffice-based workers96.57%Contractual Home Workers3.43%

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, what discussions she has had with telecoms industry stakeholders on the rollout.of gigabit broadband up to 2032.

The government is committed to delivering gigabit broadband to 99% of UK premises by 2032.The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology held jointly with the Chancellor a roundtable with telecoms industry stakeholders on 11 February where investment in the sector was discussed.DSIT also regularly engages with a wide range of telecoms stakeholders to support investment in the sector and the delivery of gigabit‑capable broadband.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, when she expects the Mobile Market Review to report its findings.

On 10 February, the Government launched the Mobile Market Review (MMR) call for evidence. This is a key milestone in our joint mission with industry to deliver high-quality mobile connectivity for the benefit of people, business and the public sector across the UK. The call for evidence will remain open for 10 weeks and close on 21 April. We will provide an update on next steps later in 2026

Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the level of private sector investment in telecoms networks in each year since 2020.

The Department has noted Ofcom’s analysis of telecoms investment in its Connected Nations UK Report 2025. Ofcom estimated that telecoms operators collectively invested £7.8 billion in 2020, £8.6 billion in 2021, £8.7 billion in 2022, £10.2 billion in 2023 and £9.2 billion in 2024. Ofcom has adjusted all figures for inflation and presented them in 2024 prices.

What proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

Due to the operational nature of the department, a significant proportion of DWP roles — particularly customer-facing and telephony positions—are required to be carried out from the office to ensure customers receive consistent and timely support. Hybrid working is available only to colleagues whose job roles are able to support it and is offered on a noncontractual basis. Eligible staff are expected to spend at least 60% of their working time in the office, supporting effective teamwork, leadership visibility and high quality service delivery. In line with Cabinet Office guidance, contractual homeworking is usually restricted to disabled employees for whom it is a reasonable adjustment, which the Equality Act 2010 obliges us to implement. As of 31 January 2026, 1.8% of paid staff are designated as Contracted Homeworkers.

Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the level of competition in the mobile telecoms market.

The Government is committed to a competitive mobile market where consumers and businesses have access to high-quality, secure and affordable connectivity. Strong competition in the sector has helped deliver wide consumer choice and some of the lowest mobile prices internationally, even as data use has grown year on year. The Government launched a Mobile Market Review call for evidence on 10 February which will remain open for 10 weeks. This call for evidence assesses how the market is changing and seeks to understand what more can be done to support investment, innovation, and competition across the mobile sector. More broadly, it is the responsibility of Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority to promote competition and protect consumers in telecoms markets. Where they identify anti‑competitive behaviour, they have powers to investigate and implement measures to promote competition.