Written questions by McMurdock.

What assessment he has made of trends in the cost of imprisonment in England and Wales.

The cost of running prisons has generally increased over the past decade, with particularly sharp changes during the Covid-19 period. Analysis of the published Prison Unit Costs series shows that average running costs per place have risen by around 5% per year over the period from 2014/15 to 2023/24. The trend is not linear, with the most pronounced volatility observed between 2020/21 and 2022/23, reflecting the exceptional operational impacts of the Covid19 pandemic.In assessing these trends, it is important to note that cost per place reflects both total running expenditure and the level of certified prison capacity in any given year. As a result, changes in the availability of prison places and population pressures can affect unit costs over time.The published statistics (Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK) do not provide a detailed breakdown of running cost components. However, accompanying official commentary has consistently noted that movements in prison unit costs over time reflect a combination of factors, including investment in frontline staffing and prison maintenance to support safety and the effective operation of the prison estate, alongside wider operational and capacity pressures.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of prison overcrowding on a) prison safety and b) rehabilitation outcomes.

The safety and decency of our prisons is paramount. We continually monitor prison conditions and take places on and offline depending on safety, stability, staffing levels and maintenance needs.We recognise that overcrowding can make it harder for prisons to deliver safe, stable and rehabilitative regimes and we will not take decisions that create unacceptable risks to prison safety.That is why we are increasing capacity at record rates, and our Sentencing Act will place the prison population on a more sustainable footing, paving the way for further reform of our prison systems so we can create better conditions and outcomes for our prisoners.We are also improving access to rehabilitative services and purposeful activity and are increasing staff capability to support improved rehabilitation outcomes. We are strengthening safety and security by investing around £15 million in protective equipment.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, what information her Department holds on the number of people on student visas from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Cameroon, (c) Myanmar and (d) Sudan who have attempted to obtain asylum and (i) succeeded and (ii) failed.

The visa brake will be kept under regular review and is not intended to be permanent; it will only be lifted when the Government considers it appropriate to do so. Since 2021, there have been over 5,300 asylum claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, who originally arrived on student visas. It is estimated that the brake will prevent 4,300 study visas from being issued to the affected cohorts over an 18-month period. We do not rule out wider action to address visa linked asylum claims. The UK keeps its visa system under continuous review, with any future changes informed by evidence and a range of relevant factors.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, what cap will be applied to the number of asylum seekers who can use the Government’s pledged safe and legal routes.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.It is essential that any safe and legal routes are sustainable, well managed, and aligned with the United Kingdom’s capacity to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees. Work is underway to operationalise these new routes and further details will be provided in due course.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, whether she plans to expand visa bans to more countries.

The visa brake will be kept under regular review and is not intended to be permanent; it will only be lifted when the Government considers it appropriate to do so. Since 2021, there have been over 5,300 asylum claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, who originally arrived on student visas. It is estimated that the brake will prevent 4,300 study visas from being issued to the affected cohorts over an 18-month period. We do not rule out wider action to address visa linked asylum claims. The UK keeps its visa system under continuous review, with any future changes informed by evidence and a range of relevant factors.

Pursuant to Answer of 5 March 2026 to Question 115670, how many National Patient Safety Alerts have been issued in response to incidents originating in accident and emergency departments in the past three years.

In the period from 2023 to 2025, three full calendar years, the National Patient Safety Team issued seven National Patient Safety Alerts.Whilst none of those originated from a single incident occurring in an emergency department, one alert in January 2023 was issued in response to a general concern that increasing pressure on the urgent and emergency care system was impacting the delivery of oxygen therapy to patients in clinical areas. To optimise the safe delivery of oxygen via portable oxygen cylinders, an alert was issued by the National Patient Safety Team, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/01/use-of-oxygen-cylinders-where-patients-do-not-have-access-to-medical-gas-pipeline-systems/The alert asked providers to review NHS England guidance and conduct a risk assessment for all patient escalation/transient areas without piped oxygen and for trust medical gas committees to review and act on findings. Further information on the guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Official-sensitive-Oxygen-Cylinder-Comms-24-Jan-2023-UPDATE.pdfCompliance with all National Patient Safety Alerts is overseen by the Care Quality Commission.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Clearer rules to support councils in fight against litter louts, published on 3 March 2026, what additional funding and resources her Department has provided to local authorities to support enforcement of littering offences.

To support local councils to make good use of their fixed penalty powers for littering the Government has laid new Statutory Guidance, “Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them” in Parliament. Local councils will need to have regard to this guidance when using their powers. This guidance is available at: Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them - GOV.UK The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be issuing a small grant payment to local authorities in England to support them to familiarise themselves with the Litter Enforcement Guidance.The Government has also laid the ‘Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse statutory guidance in Parliament which outlines the standards expected of local authorities and other duty bodies (e.g. National Highways) with regards to their duty to keep their land clear of litter and refuse. This guidance can be found on: Code of practice on litter and refuse - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, what estimate she has made of the number of student visas that will not be issued as a result of the visa brake.

The visa brake will be kept under regular review and is not intended to be permanent; it will only be lifted when the Government considers it appropriate to do so. Since 2021, there have been over 5,300 asylum claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, who originally arrived on student visas. It is estimated that the brake will prevent 4,300 study visas from being issued to the affected cohorts over an 18-month period. We do not rule out wider action to address visa linked asylum claims. The UK keeps its visa system under continuous review, with any future changes informed by evidence and a range of relevant factors.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, how long the visa brake on nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan is expected to remain in place.

The visa brake will be kept under regular review and is not intended to be permanent; it will only be lifted when the Government considers it appropriate to do so. Since 2021, there have been over 5,300 asylum claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, who originally arrived on student visas. It is estimated that the brake will prevent 4,300 study visas from being issued to the affected cohorts over an 18-month period. We do not rule out wider action to address visa linked asylum claims. The UK keeps its visa system under continuous review, with any future changes informed by evidence and a range of relevant factors.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of accident and emergency waiting times on the incidence of reported patient harm.

The Government is committed to transparency in reporting patient harm in the National Health Service. The Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service provides a national database of patient safety incidents, whereby frontline workers in NHS providers are able to record and analyse their own patient safety events to identify trends. NHS England reviews hundreds of incidents each week via LFPSE, looking for risks that can be acted on, including by issuing National Patient Safety Alerts and collaborating with partners to address issues identified.We recognise that urgent and emergency care performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years and are committed to restoring waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution by the end of this Parliament, as outlined in the Medium-Term Planning Framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/NHS England has also published guidance on the Model Emergency Department, setting out core principles and pathways for high‑performing emergency departments, including a national model for extended emergency medicine ambulatory care to support faster decision‑making, improved patient flow and reduced overcrowding. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/the-model-emergency-department-high-performing-urgent-and-emergency-care-pathways/We are also taking action to tackle corridor care by introducing new reporting arrangements and are committing to publishing data on its prevalence for the first time, improving transparency and driving operational improvement. Where corridor care cannot be avoided, updated guidance has been published to support trusts to deliver it safely, while maintaining patient dignity and privacy, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-patient-care-in-corridors/

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of an ageing prison population on demand for healthcare services within prisons.

As a signatory to the National Partnership Agreement for Health and Social Care for people in contact with the criminal justice system, the Department of Health and Social Care is committed to working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to ensure safe, legal, decent and effective care that improves health outcomes and reduces health inequalities is provided for all prisoners, including those who are elderly.NHS England is responsible for providing a full range of healthcare services to meet the needs of the prison population. Every prison will have a health needs assessment undertaken on a regular basis which is then used to locally determine the health needs and requirements of that prison’s population. This includes supporting elderly prisoners on their palliative care, end of life care and other health needs such as dementia care. Local authorities also have a duty to support elderly prisoners with their social care needs.The Dying Well in Custody Charter and supporting self-assessment framework describes a set of national standards for local adoption and provides a tool for a local multi-disciplinary approach to providing agreed standards of palliative and end of life care to people in prison. The Charter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dying-well-in-custody-charter/

What proportion of funding from the Better Care Fund has been allocated to local systems in Essex.

The following table shows the 2026/27 Better Care Fund (BCF) allocations for Essex broken down by local authority:Local authorityBCF allocationProportion of overall BCFSouthend-on-Sea£31,301,8270.3%Thurrock£24,849,3170.3%Essex£219,500,8412.4%

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to encourage respect for a) democratic processes and b) human rights.

The issues raised in the Hon Member's question are among the most important priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and our work in these areas cannot adequately be summarised in the answer to one parliamentary question. However, he can find regular updates about them by following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Clearer rules to support councils in fight against litter louts, published on 3 March 2026, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the use of private enforcement companies in relation to littering offences.

The ‘Litter enforcement powers – when and how to use them’ states that in no circumstances should enforcement be considered a means to raise revenue. In addition, it is crucial that councils are transparent about why a fixed penalty has been issued and they must be satisfied that the fixed penalty notice in question is appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances. Any perception that enforcement activity is being used intentionally to generate income is likely to undermine the legitimacy of the enforcement regime in the eyes of the local community, which may diminish the deterrent effect.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Clearer rules to support councils in fight against litter louts, published on 3 March 2026, what estimate she has made of the number of fixed penalty notices expected to be issued annually under the revised litter enforcement guidance.

The Government has not made an assessment on the number of fixed penalty notices expected to be issued annually under the revised litter enforcement guidance.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Clearer rules to support councils in fight against litter louts, published on 3 March 2026, how many penalties have been issued for littering from vehicles in each of the last five years.

The Government does not hold this data.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what estimate he has made of the level of private investment expected to be leveraged by the £271 million clean maritime funding package.

All projects in UK SHORE competitions winners are required to provide match-funding from industry, which guarantees sector support and investment. We anticipate the two new competitions will progress innovation even further and attract additional private investment, having a positive impact on future greenhouse gas emissions and interim emissions reductions targets as set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy. The level of emissions savings and investment will be assessed as part of the project bidding process.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what estimate he has made of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions expected from projects funded through the £271 million clean shipping investment.

All projects in UK SHORE competitions winners are required to provide match-funding from industry, which guarantees sector support and investment. We anticipate the two new competitions will progress innovation even further and attract additional private investment, having a positive impact on future greenhouse gas emissions and interim emissions reductions targets as set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy. The level of emissions savings and investment will be assessed as part of the project bidding process.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Clearer rules to support councils in fight against litter louts, published on 3 March 2026, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of increasing the maximum on-the-spot fine for littering to £500 in deterring littering offences.

Local councils already have legal powers to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500 for littering offences.

If he will hold discussions with Governments in a) Australia and b) Canada on the potential for negotiating updated reciprocal social security agreements in relation to the uprating of the UK State Pension.

There are no plans to hold discussions with any country on Reciprocal Agreements that include uprating of the State Pension.