Written questions by McMurdock.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Housing Sec pledges to 'go further than ever before' to hit 1.5 million homes, published on 16 December 2025, whether the proposed preferential treatment for developments will limit the ability of local councillors to scrutinise development applications.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act includes a regulation-making power to issue statutory guidance on a National Scheme of Delegation. My Department will consult on draft regulations for such a National Scheme of Delegation in the coming months.

How many times sentencing courts have departed from sentencing guidelines on the basis of the interests of justice in each of the last three years.

The data necessary to answer these questions is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.

Whether departures from sentencing guidelines on the grounds of the interests of justice are recorded in sentencing data.

The data necessary to answer these questions is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.

What data she collects on (a) injuries and (b) fatalities linked to road surface defects.

The percentage and number of casualties (by severity) involved in reported road collisions in Great Britain where the “Poor or defective road surface or deposits on road” road safety factor was assigned for the last 10 years can be found in table RAS0701 published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/reported-road-accidents-vehicles-and-casualties-tables-for-great-britain#factors-contributing-to-collisions-and-casualties-ras07

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that regulations keep pace with emerging evidence on animal welfare.

Science advice is fundamental to good government. The Department benefits from academic expertise in animal welfare through several routes. Alongside its own scientific officers, the Department commissions research and evidence in the field of animal welfare to support policy development. It also receives independent, authoritative, impartial and timely advice through its expert committees, notably the Animal Welfare Committee.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of departures from sentencing guidelines on the effectiveness of a) sentencing and b) public confidence in the criminal justice system.

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 23 December to PQ 100766

For which offence types departures from sentencing guidelines on the grounds of the interests of justice occur most frequently.

The data necessary to answer these questions is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s previous diplomatic responses to the Russian Federation’s hybrid activities.

I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's Locarno Centenary speech on 7 December, and to the evidence I gave to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 January, links to both of which can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-foreign-secretarys-locarno-centenary-speechhttps://committees.parliament.uk/event/26037/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on hybrid threats from Russia.

I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's Locarno Centenary speech on 7 December, and to the evidence I gave to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 January, links to both of which can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-foreign-secretarys-locarno-centenary-speechhttps://committees.parliament.uk/event/26037/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/

Whether her Department plans to review the dependence of universities on income from foreign students.

The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator of the English higher education (HE) sector, is working with the University of Essex to ensure plans are in place to protect students and maintain learning continuity following the Southend campus closure. There is further work to be done by the OfS and the University to support students less able to move to other campuses. The department is monitoring the situation and is aware of concerns about local students’ access to HE provision. HE providers are responsible for managing their own finances and we expect them to take appropriate and necessary decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. As we stated in the Post-16 education and skills white paper, we expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector. This will help institutions be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served. As HE providers are independent, the government is not involved in workforce matters in the same way that it is in other education sectors. ​While the government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff and with trade unions to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country. The government welcomes international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Indeed, UK HE providers received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students as well as research and development. However, the OfS has identified reliance on international student fee income as a risk to HE providers’ sustainability. It has been clear that some providers may need to change their business models to protect their financial health, as a response to this risk and others.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she had made of the potential impact of the proposed UK-Spain treaty on Gibraltar on British citizens visiting Gibraltar.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 27 June 2025 to Question 60853.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the threat posed by the Russian Federation’s hybrid activities against the United Kingdom.

I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's Locarno Centenary speech on 7 December, and to the evidence I gave to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 January, links to both of which can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-foreign-secretarys-locarno-centenary-speechhttps://committees.parliament.uk/event/26037/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/

What steps she is taking to promote public awareness of the foreign bribery indicators published by the Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes partners, and to encourage reporting of suspected bribery.

I regularly report on the work of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) publicly and in Parliament. This includes highlighting new guidance and casework updates published by the SFO and encouraging reporting of crime, including bribery.The SFO promotes cooperation from business, including the benefits of self-reporting, and the Director and his senior team speak directly to businesses. The SFO routinely engages with the media to promote the SFO’s work and raise awareness of new publications, including the International Foreign Bribery Taskforce’s indicators of foreign bribery.

Whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to update (a) operational guidance and (b) case selection criteria for foreign bribery cases.

The SFO’s operational guidance and processes are kept under constant review to ensure they continue to meet operational needs. The SFO’s case selection criteria are established in the Director’s Statement of Principle and ensure that the SFO meets its statutory obligations to investigate and prosecute serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption.The Law Officers have supervisory oversight of the SFO’s work and regularly assess their operational performance. The SFO’s work is also independently reviewed by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate to ensure that they are following good practice.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the reciprocal agreement with France in deterring repeat illegal entry attempts.

We are continuously monitoring and evaluating the agreement with France to ensure its effectiveness. There will be a full evaluation at the end of the pilot period.Any individual who re-enters the UK illegally may be detained and, where appropriate, we will seek to expedite removal.The system is working: two individuals who returned to the UK having already been removed were detected, detained, and their cases were expedited for return. We continue to work closely with our French counterparts to ensure that those who are returned under the agreement do not re-enter the UK illegally.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of UK financial aid is distributed via Cash and Voucher Assistance.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) conducts background checks and risk assessment of the UK's aid partners, and continually monitors all funding programmes to make sure money is spent as intended. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact reviewed the FCDO's system for managing aid in 2023, including the mandatory rules for FCDO programmes, calling it a credible and appropriate framework.

What estimate their Department has made of the number of collective action proceedings that have been delayed or discontinued as a result of the judgment in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28 as of 26 July 2023.

The Department has not made such an estimate. Decisions to delay or discontinue collective action proceedings may be based on several factors, specific to each case.The Minister of State for Justice set out, in her written statement to the House on 17 December 2025, that the Government intends to take action to mitigate the impact of the 2023 Supreme Court judgment in PACCAR and implement proportionate regulation of third-party litigation funding agreements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that financial aid to a) Yemen, b) Nigeria, c) Sudan and d) Palestine is not provided to proscribed terrorist organisations.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) conducts background checks and risk assessment of the UK's aid partners, and continually monitors all funding programmes to make sure money is spent as intended. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact reviewed the FCDO's system for managing aid in 2023, including the mandatory rules for FCDO programmes, calling it a credible and appropriate framework.

How much uncollected tax has been written off as unrecoverable by HMRC in each year since 2020.

HMRC publishes the amount of tax written off each year in its Annual Report and Accounts. This information is available on GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts

What estimate her Department has made of the average cost to the public purse of deportations in each year since 2020.

The information you have requested about the average cost of deportations of foreign national offenders (FNOs) is not available from published statistics, as we do not publish these costs.The Home Office publishes all available information on expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts, which can be found here: Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.Over 7,000 FNOs have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.The Home Office makes no apology for the fact that its priority will always be to keep our communities safe. As such, we are fully committed to making our communities safer by deporting foreign nationals who break our laws.