Written questions by McMurdock.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Competition and Market Authority’s report entitled The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is conducting a market investigation into veterinary services for household pets, published 7 September 2023.

Competition issues and pricing practices in the veterinary services market are currently being examined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. The CMA is expected to publish its final report by March. The Government will consider the CMA’s final findings and respond to the report within 90 days of its publication.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the tax treatment of the State Pension and Pension Credit on the relative incomes of pensioners.

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension will remain the foundation of retirement income. In line with the Government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for the duration of this parliament, over 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, worth up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26, when those on the full new State Pension received a £360 boost. The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will also increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for single pensioners and from £346.60 to £363.25 for couples, protecting the poorest pensioners. Pension Credit is not subject to income tax. Pension income, whether State or occupational, is a form of income like earnings and, as such, is taxable, subject to any personal tax allowances. The vast majority of pensioners paid tax under the previous Government, with 8.3 million taxpayers over State Pension age in 2024/2025.

How many undergraduate courses eligible for student loans have median graduate earnings below the repayment threshold five years after graduation.

Under the current Plan 5 student loan system, the repayment threshold is £25,000. Nationally, graduates across all subject areas have median earnings above this, five years after graduation, with the exception of Performing Arts graduates whose median earnings are £24,500.More detail on courses at specific providers can be found in the department‘s published LEO provider level dashboard, which contains earnings outcomes at five years after graduation for each ‘provider x subject’ combination. This is available here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/leo-provider-dashboard/It should be noted that many of these combinations have outcomes suppressed due to low sample sizes, meaning it is not possible to produce a robust count of the total number of such courses.

Pursuant to Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108145 on Graduates: Employment, how many higher education providers are currently at risk of regulatory intervention.

As the independent regulator of higher education, the Office for Students makes independent decisions about regulatory interventions.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Act now: 864,000 sole traders and landlords face new tax rules in two months, published on 5 February 2026, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of awareness of the the new Making Tax Digital for income tax rules among sole traders and landlords.

The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully. This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD‑compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs. MTD will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier. HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Act now: 864,000 sole traders and landlords face new tax rules in two months, published on 5 February 2026, what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to ensure that sole traders and landlords impacted by the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules are aware of their obligations.

The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully. This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD‑compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs. MTD will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier. HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the student loan interest rate on costs to the public purse.

Applying interest to the loans ensures that those who benefit financially from higher education (HE) contribute towards the cost of that HE. To ensure the real value of the loans over the repayment term, interest is linked to inflation. Interest increases the face value of the student loan book, but the impact on the fair value depends on complex assumptions about lifetime repayments.In cashflow terms, neither outlay nor repayments are affected by a higher interest rate in the short term. Only when borrowers approach the end of their repayments would there be an increase in repayments through additional interest leading to extended repayment periods up to the maximum of 30 years for Plan 2 and 40 years for Plan 5 loans.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Clean energy funding to be tied to stronger workers’ rights, published on 4 February 2026, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of requiring offshore wind developers to sign up to the Fair Work Charter on workers’ rights.

The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to provide access to trade unions and to strive for best practice Health and Safety. The associated Impact Assessment , published on GOV.UK, highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus scheme are expected to be positive. The Government estimates that the offshore wind sector will support up to 100,000 jobs by 2030.

What information her Department holds on the number of Plan 2 student loan borrowers who have seen their outstanding balance increase despite making regular repayments in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency in each of the last five years.

There are 330 people with contact postcodes held by the Student Loan Company (SLC) indicating they live in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have repaid their plan 2 Student Loan.There are 6,530 people in the constituency who currently have outstanding plan 2 student loans; of which 5,700 borrowers have loans that have become liable to repay as they are beyond the statutory repayment due date.In the 2024/25 financial year, 2,100 plan 2 borrowers with loans that had become liable to repay made regular repayments but saw their outstanding balance increase as the total interest added exceeded the total amount repaid over the year. Outstanding debt, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the loan term, with no detriment to the borrower.For this analysis, a borrower is deemed to have made regular repayments if they have made at least four repayments in the 2024/25 financial year. This may include borrowers who stopped their regular repayments or ceased being liable to repay part-way through the year.This will include borrowers who were resident in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, including at parental addresses, when they applied for the loan and have not informed the SLC of a subsequent change of address.(Borrower numbers rounded to the nearest 10).

What information her Department holds on the number of people in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have fully repaid their Plan 2 student loan.

There are 330 people with contact postcodes held by the Student Loan Company (SLC) indicating they live in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have repaid their plan 2 Student Loan.There are 6,530 people in the constituency who currently have outstanding plan 2 student loans; of which 5,700 borrowers have loans that have become liable to repay as they are beyond the statutory repayment due date.In the 2024/25 financial year, 2,100 plan 2 borrowers with loans that had become liable to repay made regular repayments but saw their outstanding balance increase as the total interest added exceeded the total amount repaid over the year. Outstanding debt, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the loan term, with no detriment to the borrower.For this analysis, a borrower is deemed to have made regular repayments if they have made at least four repayments in the 2024/25 financial year. This may include borrowers who stopped their regular repayments or ceased being liable to repay part-way through the year.This will include borrowers who were resident in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, including at parental addresses, when they applied for the loan and have not informed the SLC of a subsequent change of address.(Borrower numbers rounded to the nearest 10).

What information her Department holds on the number of people who have outstanding Plan 2 student loans in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

There are 330 people with contact postcodes held by the Student Loan Company (SLC) indicating they live in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have repaid their plan 2 Student Loan.There are 6,530 people in the constituency who currently have outstanding plan 2 student loans; of which 5,700 borrowers have loans that have become liable to repay as they are beyond the statutory repayment due date.In the 2024/25 financial year, 2,100 plan 2 borrowers with loans that had become liable to repay made regular repayments but saw their outstanding balance increase as the total interest added exceeded the total amount repaid over the year. Outstanding debt, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the loan term, with no detriment to the borrower.For this analysis, a borrower is deemed to have made regular repayments if they have made at least four repayments in the 2024/25 financial year. This may include borrowers who stopped their regular repayments or ceased being liable to repay part-way through the year.This will include borrowers who were resident in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, including at parental addresses, when they applied for the loan and have not informed the SLC of a subsequent change of address.(Borrower numbers rounded to the nearest 10).

What assessment she has made of the role of media literacy in helping children identify misleading or harmful online content.

Media literacy is currently covered in the citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing curricula.Following publication of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November 2025, vital applied knowledge and skills in media and digital literacy relevant to identify misleading or harmful online content will be embedded into the revised curriculum from 2028.The department will engage with sector experts in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.

Communities and Local Government, if he will list the ten local authorities which incurred the highest asylum-related social care costs in the 2024-25 financial year.

MHCLG collects data about local authorities’ spend on all services through the General Fund revenue outturn collection, including spend on social care for asylum seekers in the General Fund Revenue Account Outturn RO3 - Social Care and Public Health Services. The collection for each financial year is published online here: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing - GOV.UK. The guidance notes which describe what should be captured in each line can be found here: General fund revenue account outturn: specific guidance notes - GOV.UK.The reported spend is available for both the national and local authority level.

What steps she is taking to ensure schools tackle gender-specific online harm.

The updated relationships, sex and health education guidance ensures that, from September 2026, schools will address gender‑based online harms including from pornography, deepfakes, sextortion and misogynistic content. It places new emphasis on challenging misogyny and supporting pupils to recognise and report harmful behaviours and to understand the impact of harmful online influencers.In December 2025, the government published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships. We will invest £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.‘Keeping children safe in education’, the statutory safeguarding guidance which schools must have regard to, has been strengthened significantly in recent years to reflect evolving online risks. Online safety is embedded throughout, making clear the importance of ensuring a whole school approach to keeping children safe both online and offline.

How many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were supported by local authorities in each financial year since 2019-20.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) supported by local authorities. Local authorities have a duty to provide services to all children in need in their area. Under section 20(1) of the Children Act 1989, when a local authority has accommodated an unaccompanied child for 24 hours, they become 'looked after'. An unaccompanied child is entitled to the same support as any other looked after child, regardless of their immigration status. The Department for Education publishes annual data on the number of UASC looked after by local authorities in England here -Children looked after in England including adoptions - reporting year 2025

What the average cost per unaccompanied asylum-seeking child to local authorities was in the 2024-25 financial year.

Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

What assessment she has made of the sustainability of current funding arrangements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to promote media literacy among child users.

Supporting parents and children is central to our media literacy approach. On 10 February, DSIT launched a pilot media literacy communications campaign to give parents tools to help children build resilience and critical thinking skills online. A new Online Safety hub, developed with DfE, will provide everyone in the UK with clear guidance on media literacy and online safety.Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has a media literacy strategy that prioritises support for children and families, especially those with additional needs.In formal education, the Department for Education has committed to strengthening media literacy in the updated national curriculum.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with Ofcom on improving media literacy among parents and children.

The Online Safety Act updated Ofcom’s statutory duty to promote media literacy, including by raising awareness and understanding of misinformation and harmful content, especially where it affects vulnerable groups. The Secretary of State maintains regular, constructive engagement with Ofcom on delivery of its obligations.Both Ofcom and DSIT are taking steps to improve media literacy among parents and carers and are working closely to ensure our approaches are complementary.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of children under the age of 13 having personal social media profiles including public profile pictures on their safety.

To help companies comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom published guidance on the risks of illegal content and content to children as part of the Illegal Content Codes and Protection of Children Codes. The guidance notes the risks associated with children’s public profiles, such as abusive and hateful content, and the impact on different age groups. Service must refer to this guidance when implementing measures to protect children online.We are launching a consultation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on these provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives.