Written questions by McMurdock.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 102432 on Council Housing: Basildon and Thurrock, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Government support on the number of additional council houses that will be constructed in (a) Basildon and (b) Thurrock in the next five years.

My Department does not carry out assessments of the impact of government support on the potential number of additional council houses that might be delivered in each local area.

With reference to the press release, published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, how many UK police officers supported the training of Ecuadorian police in 2025.

Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.

Published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what equipment has been provided by the UK to Ecuador to assist with the prevention of drug exports.

Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.

With reference to the press release, published on 12 January 2026, entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what the cost was of providing equipment to Ecuador to assist with preventing the export of drugs since 2020.

Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office budgetary allocations and law enforcement agency budgets.The Home Office does not comment on overseas operational deployments for security reasons.

Pursuant to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's press release published on 12 January 2026 entitled UK and Ecuador join forces to tackle cocaine trade at source, what estimate has she made of the cost to UK police forces and other law enforcement organisations of providing training to Ecuador to prevent the export of drugs.

The Government is concerned by the impact that drug trafficking from South America, particularly cocaine trafficking, is having in the UK and its Overseas Territories. Tackling the supply of drugs remains a priority for this Government and will play a critical role in making our streets safer, including delivering our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.Ecuador is a key smuggling route for cocaine ending up on UK streets, making joint action essential as part of the UK’s end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners internationally, and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. Home Office International Operations and UK law enforcement are stationed in Ecuador with officers providing training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of Ecuadorian law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.In 2024, in Ecuador alone, Home Office International supported the seizure of nearly 95 out of the 300 tonnes seized by police. In May 2025, the UK and Ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding, cementing both countries’ commitment to dismantling and disrupting violent criminal networks, which threaten the safety of communities in Britain and South America alike.Funding for UK law enforcement activity and support in Ecuador is provided via the Integrated Security Fund, Home Office Drug Strategy funding and law enforcement agency budgets.

What plans she has to introduce requirements for local highway authorities to report data on (a) pothole recurrence and (b) repeated repairs at the same locations.

As announced in March 2024, local highway authorities had to publish transparency reports about their maintenance activities to unlock their full share of the Government’s £500m uplift for local highways maintenance this year. This included publishing an estimate of the number of potholes they have filled in each of the last five years. Reports are now available on local highway authorities’ websites. To gain access to all the Department’s increased highways maintenance funding in the future, local highway authorities will have to continue to demonstrate that they comply with best practice, for example by adopting more preventative maintenance. We will share more information about the reporting requirements for this in due course.

How many enforcement actions or penalties have been issued for age discrimination in recruitment in each of the past three years.

Data on compensation and costs awarded for Employment Tribunal on age discrimination is published within the official statistics: Employment_and_EAT_2023_24.ods.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reform the process for public consultations on redrawing local council electoral ward boundaries.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is responsible for delivering fair electoral and boundary arrangements for English councils. The Commission’s main focus is a rolling programme of electoral reviews, and they produce a range of guidance and resources which are available on their website, setting out the detail of how they conduct electoral reviews, including their process of consultation.As an independent body, responsible to Parliament, the process for public consultation on redrawing local council electoral ward boundaries is a matter for the Commission in line with its statutory duties. The Department has no plans to reform this.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of GCSE outcomes in (a) English and (b) Mathematics in South Basildon and East Thurrock compared with the national averages in 2024.

​​This government has committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. The department will introduce a new, statutory test of reading in year 8 to ensure a focus on reading in key stage 3, whether giving those struggling additional support or ensuring those doing well continue to succeed. Our network of 40 Maths Hubs is supporting local schools to improve their maths teaching, including Venn Essex Maths Hub led by St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School in Colchester. Following the Curriculum and Assessment review, our new national curriculum and GCSEs will have improved coherence, specificity, sequencing and will be grounded in the most important knowledge and disciplinary skills, so that every child leaves school having mastered the subjects they have been taught and is able to pursue a career in their chosen field. In addition, schools in the constituency have access to the department’s Universal Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) programme, which is helping every school across the country to improve. Universal RISE is a sector-led approach which is connecting all schools to high quality school improvement resources.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of advance ticket discounts on affordability on the c2c rail line.

c2c serves a mostly short distance turn up and go market, with around 95 per cent of all daily ticket sales made within a week of the date of travel. Affordability is therefore primarily determined by walk-up fares. c2c reduced its single fares in December 2023 to always be half the equivalent of a return fare, a change made in readiness for the roll out of contactless Pay As You Go (PAYG) ticketing. c2c is the first TOC in Britain to offer contactless PAYG ticketing on its whole network and advises that it has the lowest walk-up fares per mile of any train company in the southeast.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the British Embassy in Brussels' press release entitled Diplomat for a Day 2026 in Brussels: enter our competition' published on 9 January 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to UK taxpayers of this initiative.

The work experience competition referred to by the Hon Member is in its fourth year in Belgium, run by the UK embassy alongside their counterparts from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and not only provides an outstanding opportunity for the young women selected to take part, but an important means for the embassies involved to engage with high schools across their host country, and cement our strong relationships in that country for the future. The competition is delivered at minimal cost, shared across the four embassies, and while the Hon Member may take a different view, we believe in increasing the opportunities available to young women all over the world to play their full part in public life.

If she will make an estimate of the cost to the logistics sector of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

We have launched an open consultation on potential options for a future regulatory framework to decarbonise HGVs in the UK and support delivery of phase out dates for new non-zero emission HGVs. This consultation closes on 17 March 2026.   We will publish a cost benefit analysis alongside any proposals for future legislation, which will assess the costs and benefits of transitioning to zero emission HGVs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January to Question 102676, on Government Departments: Social Media, how much the Government has spent on targeted advertising on social media platforms since 2024.

All government advertising on social media platforms is targeted.

Pursuant to her Department's press release entitled Government modernises exam records with new app published on 8 January 2026, how her Department calculated the £30 million per year saving in administrative costs by utilising the Education Records app.

The £30 million saving is based on reducing administrative processes in further education and apprenticeships. Extensive user research with colleges identified activities that could be eliminated or streamlined, including photocopying documentation, manually matching emails with applications, and reducing data entry and correction through improved quality. Other efficiencies include removing support time for paperwork, eliminating manual searches for unique learner numbers, and reducing checks on prior attainment to simplify enrolment for mathematics and English. These changes will also reduce delays caused by missing documentation and cut follow-up activities linked to incomplete records.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of excluding decapod crustaceans from the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 on the Government's approach to animal sentience.

The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government remains committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be brought within the scope of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The strategy is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of the ineligibility of further education colleges to reclaim VAT on purchases linked to education and training on costs to those colleges.

Further Education (FE) funding is vital to ensure people are being trained in the skills they need to thrive in the modern labour market. The 2025 Spending Review provided an additional £1.2 billion per year by 2028-29 for skills and £1.7 billion of capital funding to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate. In addition, the Government is providing £375 million of capital investment to support the FE system to accommodate increasing student numbers.For their non-business activity, FE colleges are unable to reclaim VAT incurred. We operate several VAT refund schemes for schools and academies which are designed variously to ensure that VAT is not a burden on local taxation, and that academies are not disincentivised to leave LA control. FE colleges do not meet the criteria for either scheme.In relation to business activity, FE colleges enjoy an exemption from VAT which means that they do not have to charge VAT to students, but cannot recover it either.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that local authorities adopt preventative road maintenance approaches in line with the commissioned guidance.

The Government has made available an additional £500 million for highways maintenance for 2025/26, bringing the total available funding this year to £1.6 billion. To qualify for their full share of this funding uplift, local highway authorities had to publish reports setting out how they comply with best practice, including in relation to the extent to which they prioritise preventative maintenance. In November, the Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance for the period of 2026/27 to 2029/30. By providing long term funding certainty, the Department enables local highway authorities to better plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term pothole repairs and to instead invest in preventative road surface treatments so that roads can be fixed properly and fewer potholes form in the first place. Earlier in January, the Department published a new rating system for every highway authority in England. Each local highway authority received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they are spending to maintain it, and whether they do so using best practice, including by adopting more preventative maintenance. The ratings, which will be updated periodically, provide an incentive for councils to adopt more preventative maintenance, and enable the Department to provide targeted support to authorities to help them adopt best practice. To gain access to all the Department’s increased highways maintenance funding in the future, local highway authorities will have to continue to demonstrate that they comply with best practice, for example by adopting more preventative maintenance.

Pursuant to her Department's press release entitled Government modernises exam records with new app published on 8 January 2026, whether her Department has any plans to expand the Education Record app to include further and higher education-level qualifications.

The App includes qualifications data that the department receives from Awarding Bodies which form part of the Personal Learning Record. This includes general and vocational qualifications, such as QCF, A levels, GCSEs, BTEC, diplomas and Functional Skills. The department will review use of the app and look at future developments following the national pilot, which may include expanding the content of the App. Plans for future content have not been developed or tested with Education sector stakeholders.

Pursuant to her Department's press release entitled Government modernises exam records with new app published on 8 January 2026, what data her Department holds on the impact on further education enrolment in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands by those who utilised the Education Records app.

Further education (FE) providers and the Association of Colleges are supportive of the Education Record and expect this to reduce administrative burden and costs. Once MIS systems are able to read the app digitally and good uptake is reflected among Year 11 students, FE providers are expected to fully adopt the Education Record.

Pursuant to her Department's press release entitled Government modernises exam records with new app published on 8 January 2026, whether she has any plans to make signing up to the Education Records app system mandatory for all schools in the next five years.

The department currently has no plans to mandate the use of the Education Record.