Written questions by McMurdock.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure revenue from a visitor levy is reinvested in local tourism infrastructure.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter to council leaders on 16 February 2026, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on whether the 2027 local elections will proceed in areas undergoing local government reorganisation.

The government remains committed to the indicative timetable set out in July, with elections to the new councils scheduled for May 2027.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI-driven technology on a) detecting and b) preventing livestreamed child sexual abuse before transmission occurs.

The Government is unequivocal in its commitment to protecting children from online sexual abuse. Livestreamed abuse is a particularly abhorrent form of exploitation, and we are determined to ensure that offenders cannot use technology to harm children with impunity.The Online Safety Act introduces world-leading protections for children. It places robust duties on tech companies to prevent and swiftly remove illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, and to take proactive steps to protect children from harm. Ofcom, as the regulator, will have strong enforcement powers to ensure compliance.We committed in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy – Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls (accessible) - GOV.UK – ‘to make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image’ and that ‘we are working constructively with companies to make this a reality’. The use of AI-driven technology to detect and disrupt livestreamed child sexual abuse is vital to the delivery of this commitment – including through the deployment of such technology at device operating system level, which can help prevent abuse before it happens. Such tools can detect and disrupt livestreamed abuse and other image-based harms, while respecting users’ privacy and maintaining end-to-end encryption. The Government continues to work closely with law enforcement, industry, and child protection experts to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of efforts to tackle online child sexual abuse.

What steps she is taking to help tackle (a) human trafficking and (b) employer abuse affecting seafarers.

The Government takes reports of labour exploitation and human trafficking very seriously, including employer abuse against seafarers, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery – wherever it occurs.The Home Office funds the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), which has specially trained officers with police-style powers to prevent, detect, and investigate serious labour exploitation across the entire economy in England and Wales.The Government is also establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Act. This will bring under one roof multiple agencies and bodies, including the GLAA, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Team and will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation across the economy. The FWA will have enhanced powers and resources to identify and address labour exploitation more effectively, including new powers to investigate under the Fraud Act 2006.In relation to tackling abuse related to seafarers, Border Force is making use of maritime powers introduced by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to detain vessels where there is suspected modern slavery.As an operational command within the Home Office, BSC-Maritime takes responsibility for safeguarding the vulnerable and, where necessary, Maritime officers can and do take direct action to remove seafarers from abusive or exploitative environments for their protection, regardless of whether the offence is detected in port or at sea.Maritime Command works closely with Government partners such as the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) to train Border Force officers to identify offences relevant to those partners, such as labour abuses under the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) or ILO Work in Fishing Convention No.188 (ILO C188).

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing a visitor levy on visitor numbers to (a) England and (b) Essex.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is considering exemptions from a visitor levy for children, long-stay visitors and people travelling for medical purposes.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Pursuant to Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 102593 on Logistics: Infrastructure, what estimate she has made of the number of additional lorry parking spaces that will be required to meet projected demand in the next five years.

The Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of additional lorry parking spaces that will be required over the next five years. However, the Department will shortly launch a new National Lorry Parking Survey. This will provide a comprehensive picture of current capacity, demand and driver welfare facilities across England. The findings will inform future policy on HGV parking and welfare and will support planning applications for new or expanded sites.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter to council leaders on 16 February 2026, whether the additional capacity funding will be provided (a) to all local authorities and (b) only to local authorities that requested election postponements.

Up to £63 million new funding will be made available to help all local councils across the 21 reorganisation areas best deliver local government re-organisation and builds on the £7.6 million provided last year.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce mechanisms for cases where unitary authority council areas disagree with the decision by a mayoral strategic authority to introduce a visitor's levy.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to ensure that local communities are included in decisions to introduce visitor levies by the mayoral strategic authority.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities that introduce a visitor levy would be permitted to repeal it later on.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the hotel and hospitality sector on the potential impact of a visitor levy on international competitiveness.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on attendance at major cultural and sporting events.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on (a) coastal areas and (b) rural communities.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing a visitor levy on the number of domestic tourists.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of implementing a visitor levy on the displacement of tourism activity to neighbouring areas without such a levy.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the administrative costs to accommodation providers of implementing and collecting a visitor levy.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the hospitality sector.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of of a visitor levy on the competitiveness of English destinations compared with European cities including Paris, Barcelona and Rome.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on average visitor spending per trip.

The precise design and scope of the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy are still being developed. Decisions on whether to introduce a levy will ultimately be for Mayors and other local leaders, based on what is right for their area. The Government’s consultation on the design and scope of the visitor levy closed on 18 February, and we will publish an official response in due course.