Written questions by McMurdock.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether developer contributions to the Nature Restoration Fund will be ring‑fenced for use within the geographic area covered by the relevant Environmental Delivery Plan.

Revenue paid into an Environmental Delivery Plan is subject to a statutory ringfence for use to implement that Environmental Delivery Plan and deliver appropriate conservation measures as outlined within that Environmental Delivery Plan. As set out in Section 77 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act, Natural England must spend funds on conservation measures that relate to the environmental feature in relation to which the levy is charged.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Nature Restoration Fund on the cost and viability of new housing developments.

The Nature Restoration Fund will accelerate the building of homes, while unlocking the positive impact development can have in driving the recovery of protected sites and species. Environmental Delivery Plans will offer a streamlined route to discharging environmental obligations that will benefit developers. An impact assessment of the Nature Restoration Fund covers these benefits in more detail and has been undertaken and is publicly available here. In setting the Nature Restoration Fund levy, Natural England are required to consider matters relating to economic viability, as specified in levy regulations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the first tranche of Environmental Delivery Plans on nutrient pollution in rivers, lakes and estuaries.

The first tranche of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) will cover nutrient pollution, delivering on this government's commitment to unblock homes affected by nutrient neutrality. While still under development, conservation measures within these EDPs will be designed to improve conditions at protected freshwater habitats and estuaries affected by excess nutrients. Under the requirements of the Overall Improvement Test, the nutrient pollution reductions or removals secured within each EDP must be greater than the additional pollution arising from development in scope of each EDP.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support will be provided to local authorities to engage with the development and implementation of Environmental Delivery Plans.

Defra and Natural England will provide comprehensive guidance on the Nature Restoration Fund for Local Planning Authorities. Natural England will also continue to work closely with Local Authorities throughout the development and implementation of Environmental Delivery Plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of large‑scale habitat restoration funded through the Nature Restoration Fund on the economy.

Large-scale habitat restoration has the potential to deliver significant economic benefits alongside environmental gains. Evidence from similar programmes suggests the following could be realised: Job creation: Habitat restoration projects generate skilled employment in land management, and ecological services. Natural capital uplift: Improved ecosystems enhance flood resilience, water quality, and carbon sequestration, reducing long-term public costs. Local and National growth: Investment will attract jobs, supporting local businesses and supply chains. Further detail can be found within the published Impact Assessment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of small and medium-seized developers assisting with the delivery of Environmental Delivery Plans.

Private and third sector providers, including small businesses and landowners, will play an essential role in delivering conservation measures under Environmental Delivery Plans through fair and open tendering processes.

Food and Rural Affairs, how communities will be consulted on the design and delivery of conservation measures funded through the Nature Restoration Fund.

We are committed to working with stakeholders both throughout the development of Environmental Delivery Plans, including working closely with local planners, reviewing relevant local plans and strategies, and engaging local communities. All Environmental Delivery Plans will be subject to a minimum 28 working-day public consultation, giving stakeholders and the local community an opportunity to comment. This ensures Environmental Delivery Plans are informed by local context and priorities whilst maintaining consistency with national standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will publish annual progress reports on environmental improvements delivered through the Nature Restoration Fund.

Natural England is required to publish organisational annual reports, which will provide a high-level view of Nature Restoration Fund progress, including the amount of money received and spent under each Environmental Delivery Plan. These will be accompanied by Environmental Delivery Plan-specific reports published at the mid-point and end-point of an Environmental Delivery Plan. These will show the delivery of conservation measures and whether they are on track to achieve the desired positive environmental outcomes

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps Natural England will take through the Nature Restoration Fund to help tackle nutrient pollution impacting housing delivery.

This Government made a commitment that it would implement solutions to unblock the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections. The first Environmental Delivery Plans will cover developers’ obligations related to nutrient pollution mitigation, supporting both housing delivery and nature recovery. This will allow housing to be delivered quicker in the areas covered by these Environmental Delivery Plans, since the impact of nutrient pollution by development will be addressed strategically by Natural England, rather than requiring site-by-site mitigation strategies.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the spending limit will be for the Greater Essex mayoral election in 2028.

The spending limit for a candidate in a combined authority mayoral election, such as the Greater Essex mayoral election in 2028, is not a fixed sum but depends on the number of constituent councils and registered electors at the time of the election.The formula for a candidate's spending limit during the regulated period is set out in legislation. Currently, this is:£3,040 multiplied by the total number of constituent councils, plus8p for every elector registered to vote in the combined authority area.The Combined Authority Returning Officer will be able to provide the number of constituent councils and registered electors to calculate the spending limit. Relevant guidance is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Whether her Department collects data on the proportion of reported potholes attributable to (a) standing water and (b) poor drainage.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as 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 monitor the frequency of potholes caused by suspected drain related instances, it does encourage authorities to maintain their drainage assets through guidance. For example, the Pothole Guide (2019), commissioned by the Department for Transport and produced by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), set out that avoiding water penetration into the road surface is of paramount importance in preventing pothole formation, and that “keeping highway drainage systems working as effectively as possible is therefore a key area of maintenance activity.” Further guidance on asset management for local highways authorities can be found in the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highways Infrastructure. This states that “drainage assets should be maintained in good working order to reduce the threat and scale of flooding. Particular attention should be paid to locations known to be prone to problems, so that drainage systems operate close to their designed efficiency.”

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's existing upstream migration prevention work in North Africa.

The UK works closely with the Greek Government on a large number of issues, as set out in the Foreign Secretary's remarks in Athens on 18 December, including our close trading relationship, our cooperation on migration issues, and our partnerships within NATO and the United Nations Security Council. Further details of our work in all areas will be set out in the usual way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her speech at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 December 2025, what steps she will take to safeguard the North Africa Migration and Development Programme from possible corruption.

The UK works closely with the Greek Government on a large number of issues, as set out in the Foreign Secretary's remarks in Athens on 18 December, including our close trading relationship, our cooperation on migration issues, and our partnerships within NATO and the United Nations Security Council. Further details of our work in all areas will be set out in the usual way in due course.

What assessment she has made of the overall condition of the local road network in England.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network, which is why the Government has announced a record of £7.3 billion investment for local highway maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This investment to improve the condition of our roads will make journeys faster and smoother but also protects drivers from paying hundreds of pounds in costly repairs following pothole-related breakdowns. This builds on nearly £1.6 billion in capital funding that has been provided for local highways maintenance in England for the financial year 2025/26, a £500 million increase compared to the previous financial year. Funding allocations for individual local authorities can be found on gov.uk. DfT collects and collates information on the condition of roads from local authorities in England annually. This information is published as official statistics. The latest release of these statistics was in December 2024, which covered data for the financial year ending March 2024. These statistics showed that in the financial year ending March 2024:Local ‘A’ roads: 4% should have been considered for maintenance, and 27% may require maintenance soon.‘B’ and ‘C’ roads: 7% should have been considered for maintenance, and 31% may require maintenance soon.Unclassified roads: 17% should have been considered for maintenance.The statistics can be found online, at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-conditions-in-england-to-march-2024

What assessment she has made of whether temporary pothole repairs represent value for money where defects repeatedly appear.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highway network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards for maintenance, as 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. The Department does not gather information from local highway authorities about the causes or recurrence of individual potholes. There are occasions where potholes need to be repaired quickly for safety reasons, but the Department encourages local authorities to focus on long-term preventative maintenance, which is more cost-effective than the reactive patching of potholes. This is a core aspect of the Code of Practice for Well-managed highways infrastructure, which states that “when determining the balance between preventative and reactive maintenance, authorities should adopt the principle that prevention is better than cure”. This is available online, at: https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukrlg-home/code-of-practice/. The Government is also encouraging local highways authorities to take a long-term preventative approach by making some of their funding conditional on meeting certain best practiced criteria. To qualify for their full share of this financial year's £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, local authorities had to publish transparency reports and set out how they comply with best practice, for example in relation to the extent to which they prioritise preventative maintenance. In this context, the Department for Transport wrote to all local highway authorities in England in December to inform them whether they would be receiving their full funding uplift, and emphasised the importance of following the guidance set out in the Code of Practice with regard to preventative maintenance. The findings from the transparency reports will enable the department to identify where extra support may be needed to ensure compliance with best practice. The department will set out more detail on the further support and training it will make available to local authorities in due course. Finally, regarding analysis of the effectiveness of preventative maintenance approaches, in November 2024 the Department for Transport published an Economic Appraisal of Investing in Local Highway maintenance. The analysis found that proactive maintenance can be more cost effective. In contrast, reactive maintenance was shown to be less cost-effective and associated with higher long-term expenditure. This report can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-appraisal-for-investing-in-local-highways-maintenance

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her speech at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 December 2025, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the North Africa Migration and Development Programme on levels of illegal migration to the UK in the next five years.

The UK works closely with the Greek Government on a large number of issues, as set out in the Foreign Secretary's remarks in Athens on 18 December, including our close trading relationship, our cooperation on migration issues, and our partnerships within NATO and the United Nations Security Council. Further details of our work in all areas will be set out in the usual way in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the use of digital and AI‑driven communications provides clear, accurate and authoritative information to the public.

The Government uses a range of channels to reach and engage the public. Any use of these platforms is assessed against the high standards for digital safety set out in the Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE framework. To ensure all government communications are clear, accurate and authoritative, GCS has established general guidance at https://www.communications.gov.uk/guidance/. This includes the Generative AI Policy (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-generative-ai-policy/) and the Framework for Ethical Innovation in Government Communications (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-framework-for-ethical-innovation/) .

Food and Rural Affairs, in what circumstances Natural England may propose that an Environmental Delivery Plan be made mandatory.

The majority of Environmental Delivery Plans are expected to be voluntary. In exceptional circumstances it is possible for Environmental Delivery Plans to be mandatory if it is recommended by Natural England and the Secretary of State agrees that this is necessary. Further detail on the circumstances in which Natural England may propose mandatory Environmental Delivery Plans will be set out in guidance.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to monitor and evaluate whether conservation measures delivered through the Nature Restoration Fund materially outweigh the environmental impacts of development.

Throughout an Environmental Delivery Plan’s (EDP) duration, monitoring will play a critical role in providing the scientific evidence and confidence that conservation measures are achieving the desired effect. Natural England are required to publish reports covering an EDP’s start date to its mid-point, and its mid-point to end date. Natural England may also choose to publish a report at any other time. These reporting requirements will provide transparency around the environmental improvements that each EDP has delivered and whether it is having the required impact. Where monitoring shows these measures are insufficient, Natural England will ensure backup measures are deployed.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the weight of electric vehicles on the condition of the local road network.

The Government recognises that heavier vehicles can accelerate road surface wear. While we have not undertaken a specific assessment of this effect, we are actively considering the implications of introducing zero-emission heavy goods vehicles, including the potential for additional road wear. The increasing weight of all road vehicles, both electric vehicles (EVs) and their petrol and diesel counterparts, is one of many factors affecting the condition of our roads. While EVs tend to be heavier than their equivalent petrol or diesel counterpart, on average all passenger cars have been increasing in weight for many years. This trend has been driven by consumer choice and improving safety features for passengers. It is the much heavier commercial vehicles, rather than passenger vehicles, that cause the most wear and tear to road surfaces and other highway structures. More broadly, there are many reasons why loadings on local roads may change, such as commercial development increasing traffic and the number of heavier vehicles on a road. Because of this, guidance for local authorities already highlights the need for maintenance plans to account for changes in circumstances. The main guidance for local highway authorities on asset management is the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highways Infrastructure, published by the UK Roads Leadership Group and funded by the Department for Transport. The guidance sets out a national framework for how local highway authorities should manage their networks using a risk-based, evidence-led approach, taking account of current and expected highways usage.