Written questions by McMurdock.

Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the level of competition in the mobile telecoms market.

The Government is committed to a competitive mobile market where consumers and businesses have access to high-quality, secure and affordable connectivity. Strong competition in the sector has helped deliver wide consumer choice and some of the lowest mobile prices internationally, even as data use has grown year on year. The Government launched a Mobile Market Review call for evidence on 10 February which will remain open for 10 weeks. This call for evidence assesses how the market is changing and seeks to understand what more can be done to support investment, innovation, and competition across the mobile sector. More broadly, it is the responsibility of Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority to promote competition and protect consumers in telecoms markets. Where they identify anti‑competitive behaviour, they have powers to investigate and implement measures to promote competition.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on factors social landlords should consider when assessing the suitability of a property for a tenant’s pet, including property size, shared access arrangements and communal areas.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Home Office offers only office‑based and home‑working contracts.Contract TypeProportionOffice-based workers96.57%Contractual Home Workers3.43%

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, what discussions she has had with telecoms industry stakeholders on the rollout.of gigabit broadband up to 2032.

The government is committed to delivering gigabit broadband to 99% of UK premises by 2032.The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology held jointly with the Chancellor a roundtable with telecoms industry stakeholders on 11 February where investment in the sector was discussed.DSIT also regularly engages with a wide range of telecoms stakeholders to support investment in the sector and the delivery of gigabit‑capable broadband.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled End to surprise phone and broadband bill hikes to help with cost of living, published on 11 February 2026, when she expects the Mobile Market Review to report its findings.

On 10 February, the Government launched the Mobile Market Review (MMR) call for evidence. This is a key milestone in our joint mission with industry to deliver high-quality mobile connectivity for the benefit of people, business and the public sector across the UK. The call for evidence will remain open for 10 weeks and close on 21 April. We will provide an update on next steps later in 2026

Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the level of private sector investment in telecoms networks in each year since 2020.

The Department has noted Ofcom’s analysis of telecoms investment in its Connected Nations UK Report 2025. Ofcom estimated that telecoms operators collectively invested £7.8 billion in 2020, £8.6 billion in 2021, £8.7 billion in 2022, £10.2 billion in 2023 and £9.2 billion in 2024. Ofcom has adjusted all figures for inflation and presented them in 2024 prices.

What proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

Due to the operational nature of the department, a significant proportion of DWP roles — particularly customer-facing and telephony positions—are required to be carried out from the office to ensure customers receive consistent and timely support. Hybrid working is available only to colleagues whose job roles are able to support it and is offered on a noncontractual basis. Eligible staff are expected to spend at least 60% of their working time in the office, supporting effective teamwork, leadership visibility and high quality service delivery. In line with Cabinet Office guidance, contractual homeworking is usually restricted to disabled employees for whom it is a reasonable adjustment, which the Equality Act 2010 obliges us to implement. As of 31 January 2026, 1.8% of paid staff are designated as Contracted Homeworkers.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government’s letter to Social housing landlords, dated 12 February 2026, how long the proposed standard timeframe would be within which social housing landlords should respond to tenant requests to keep pets.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government’s letter to Social housing landlords, dated 12 February 2026, what mechanisms will be available to social housing tenants to challenge a landlord’s refusal of a request to keep a pet.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government’s letter to Social housing landlords, dated 12 February 2026, what steps he is taking to encourage social housing landlords to publish clear and accessible pet policies in tenancy agreements and on their websites.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government’s letter to Social housing landlords, dated 12 February 2026, what proportion of social housing landlords who currently refuse to allow tenants to keep pets does his Department anticipate will reverse this policy as a result of the letter and the changes to legislation.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to have pets.

My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The department had 3925 payroll active staff on 31st January 26, of these 145 had home working contracts, the remaining 3780 will have office-based contracts. Staff with office-based contracts can work some of the time from home, consistent with the Departments Office Attendance policy and business need. The department remains committed to flexible working and the business benefits that it offers, including supporting the Civil Service priority of ensuring continued, effective and productive delivery of the work carried out by civil servants across our full range of services.

How many and what proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Cabinet Office remains committed to flexible working and the business benefits that it offers. We expect that most of our staff will be able to work both from home and in the workplace as part of an informal, non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. This is agreed and arranged with staff members individually. The department does have a small number of homeworking contracts where this is appropriate- as at 31 Dec 2025 we had 126.1 FTE homeworkers out of 5211.0 FTE total, giving a proportion of 2.4%.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

As of 31 January 2026, a total of 825 out of 6,346 Defra payroll employees are recorded as “Home Based”, equating to 13%. Contractual homeworking is generally granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as where it is required for the role or as a reasonable adjustment, and each case is considered individually.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity have 99% of their staff with office based contracts, with the remaining 1% with remote-working contracts (home-workers). We operate a ‘hybrid’ approach, led by business needs, and as a result many employees will work both from home and in the workplace on an informal basis.

What information his Department holds on the number of people who have become ill as a result of water pollution in each year since 2020.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes surveillance of illnesses that could be a result of water pollution including infectious diseases, chemical and toxicological hazards. Attribution to a specific cause is not available for individual cases unless they are epidemiologically linked to an outbreak, due to multiple possible sources or factors that could contribute to an illness.There was one outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum with 143 laboratory confirmed cases in 2024. This was due to the contamination of mains drinking water, the cause is still under investigation. There were no other gastrointestinal infection outbreaks reported to or investigated by UKHSA through the period 2020-24 that are likely due to water pollution. Data on gastrointestinal outbreaks and likely causes are reported annually with the 2025 report due to be published in Summer 2026. Data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gastrointestinal-infections-in-englandSince 2020, UKHSA has received no reports of ill health related to chemicals from users of recreational or other waters.

What proportion of staff in his Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

As of January 2026, 97% staff are on office‑based contracts, no staff are on hybrid contracts, and 3% staff are on remote‑working contracts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the projected spending for the Chevening Scholarships programme is for each year from 2026 to 2030.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 23 February to question 112516. The top 10 countries in terms of scholar numbers were Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, India, China, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Malaysia.

What proportion of GP premises are rated as not fit for purpose or requiring significant investment.

The Government recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects, such as new facilities, significant upgrades, or other targeted capital investments.In May 2025, the Government announced the schemes which integrated care boards (ICBs) nominated as eligible to benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund to deliver upgrades to more than a thousand general practice (GP) surgeries across England this financial year. These schemes will create additional clinical space within existing building footprints to enable practices to see more patients, boost productivity, and improve patient care.Building on this, the Government has committed £426 million of Utilisation and Modernisation funding over the next four years to continue upgrading the GP estate. This funding will also support refurbishing the existing estate to deliver Neighbourhood Health Centres over this Parliament as part of the 10-Year Health Plan commitment.Operational capital funding allocations have been confirmed for the 2026/27 to 2029/30 period, enabling multi-year planning for ICBs and in turn supporting the delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan’s radical vision for care.The Government has also allocated £750 million per year for estates safety from 2026/27 to 2029/30, with planning certainty for a further five years, totalling £6.75 billion.ICBs are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, GP services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including GPs, in each local area.As part of inspection activity at GP surgeries, the Care Quality Commission will look at the quality of premises under Regulation 15, covering premises and equipment, although there is no overall rating for this aspect. The intention of this regulation is to make sure that the premises where care and treatment are delivered are clean, suitable for the intended purpose, maintained and, where required, appropriately located, and that the equipment that is used to deliver care and treatment is clean, suitable for the intended purpose, maintained, stored securely, and used properly.