Written questions by McMurdock.

With reference to Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed UK-China bilateral services partnership on trends in the level of UK service exports.

The UK‑China Bilateral Services Partnership (BSP) is designed to deliver high‑value benefits for UK businesses in the world’s second-largest services import market.UK services exports to China rose 81% in current prices between 2016 and 2024. However, in 2024 the UK had nearly a three times greater share of the global services import market (at 8.0%) than of China’s market (at 2.6%) [ONS and UNCTAD data].The BSP therefore aims to help UK firms access China’s large and expanding services market. It is a mechanism to push for improved market access as well as deliver practical support to help drive UK services exports to China, supporting growth.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what outcome measures her Department will use to assess the impact of projects funded under the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature Grants Programme.

All recipients of OCEAN Grants are required to agree outcomes and to monitor and report on progress including of proposed environmental benefits, throughout the grant lifecycle. During the application phase, proposed outcomes and the indicators used to measure progress are agreed and assessed by an external Expert Committee. An independent evaluation of the programme is planned and will provide further evidence on progress towards agreed outcomes and overall impact.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the delivery of proposed environmental benefits from the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature Grants Programme.

All recipients of OCEAN Grants are required to agree outcomes and to monitor and report on progress including of proposed environmental benefits, throughout the grant lifecycle. During the application phase, proposed outcomes and the indicators used to measure progress are agreed and assessed by an external Expert Committee. An independent evaluation of the programme is planned and will provide further evidence on progress towards agreed outcomes and overall impact.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what proportion of projects funded under the second round of the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature Grants Programme are led by (a) women and (b) women’s organisations.

All applications to the OCEAN Grants Programme are assessed against publicly available Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) assessment criteria. This assessment is conducted by an external Expert Committee and a GEDSI specialist to ensure applications demonstrate how they will mainstream GEDSI through the project lifecycle. Progress is routinely monitored. In Round Two, 100% of projects were identified as mainstreaming GEDSI and designed to explicitly benefit women and girls. Approximately 30% of projects are led by a woman Project Leader, and one project is led by a women’s-rights, women-led organisation in Bangladesh.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, how much funding has been allocated to each project awarded grants under the second round of the OCEAN Grants Programme.

The following projects have been funded under Round Two of the OCEAN Grants Programme. Funding comes from Defra’s Official Development Assistance budget and is projected to be spent between January 2026 and March 2029. The Round Two projects with signed grant agreements have been awarded the following amounts: Empowering traditional micro-retailers as refill stations to reduce plastic pollution, Indonesia: £93,155Eco Kolek, The Philippines: £249,973Solar-Powered Coastal Recycling Hubs: Transforming Plastic Waste into Construction Materials, The Philippines: £93,632Climate-smart initiatives for sustainable Coastal youth and women livelihoods, Tanzania: £95,000Iluminar el Mar, Ecuador: Reducing bycatch in Ecuador's Artisanal Gillnet Fishery: £150,000Empowering Coastal Communities Towards Inclusive Management of Ghana’s First MPA, Ghana: £250,000Mangrove restoration empowering women fisherfolks cooperatives in Sundarbans, Bangladesh: £243,073Blue Hispaniola: Protecting Coastal Ecosystems of the Northern Haitian-Dominican Corridor, Haiti and Dominican Republic: £2,999,192Scaling Community-based Resource Management through GEDSI-Empowering Information, Learning and Action, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea: £2,989,340 A final list of projects will be available on the OCEAN website in due course.

What assessment she has made of the environmental impact of a) soil excavation and b) disposal generated by the Lower Thames Crossing.

On 25 March 2025, the Transport Secretary gave approval for the application from National Highways for a Development Consent Order for the Lower Thames Crossing. The Transport Secretary’s consideration of the application for the development including the environmental impacts are set out in her decision letter of 25 March 2025 which is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Foreign Secretary sets out new cooperation on illegal migration from Horn of Africa on visit to Ethiopia, published on 2 February 2026, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Joint Development Agreement on the number of illegal migrants coming to the UK.

The Joint Development Agreement announced by the Foreign Secretary marks a major milestone in an investment project by a UK company. It will support the growth of Ethiopia's economy by building new electric transmission lines to support Ethiopia's growth, electrification and further jobs. Supporting economic growth and job creation in Ethiopia helps address the underlying economic drivers that contribute to migration flows. The Department keeps the impact of all its investments and programmes under continuous review.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, if she will list the criteria that assess whether projects under the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature Grants Programme benefit women and girls.

All applications to the OCEAN Grants Programme are assessed against publicly available Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) assessment criteria. This assessment is conducted by an external Expert Committee and a GEDSI specialist to ensure applications demonstrate how they will mainstream GEDSI through the project lifecycle. Progress is routinely monitored. In Round Two, 100% of projects were identified as mainstreaming GEDSI and designed to explicitly benefit women and girls. Approximately 30% of projects are led by a woman Project Leader, and one project is led by a women’s-rights, women-led organisation in Bangladesh.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what Department's budget the £14 million OCEAN Grants Programme funding will be drawn from.

The following projects have been funded under Round Two of the OCEAN Grants Programme. Funding comes from Defra’s Official Development Assistance budget and is projected to be spent between January 2026 and March 2029. The Round Two projects with signed grant agreements have been awarded the following amounts: Empowering traditional micro-retailers as refill stations to reduce plastic pollution, Indonesia: £93,155Eco Kolek, The Philippines: £249,973Solar-Powered Coastal Recycling Hubs: Transforming Plastic Waste into Construction Materials, The Philippines: £93,632Climate-smart initiatives for sustainable Coastal youth and women livelihoods, Tanzania: £95,000Iluminar el Mar, Ecuador: Reducing bycatch in Ecuador's Artisanal Gillnet Fishery: £150,000Empowering Coastal Communities Towards Inclusive Management of Ghana’s First MPA, Ghana: £250,000Mangrove restoration empowering women fisherfolks cooperatives in Sundarbans, Bangladesh: £243,073Blue Hispaniola: Protecting Coastal Ecosystems of the Northern Haitian-Dominican Corridor, Haiti and Dominican Republic: £2,999,192Scaling Community-based Resource Management through GEDSI-Empowering Information, Learning and Action, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea: £2,989,340 A final list of projects will be available on the OCEAN website in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, if she will set out how her Department evaluates whether Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature Grants Programme-funded projects are inclusive of (a) marginalised and (b) indigenous communities.

The OCEAN Grants Programme has been designed to ensure that Gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) is at its heart. OCEAN's approach goes beyond gender equality alone to include disability and wider social inclusion, explicitly covering marginalised groups and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). All applications are assessed for social inclusivity by an external Expert Committee and GEDSI specialist and must ensure equitable access, active participation, and appropriate roles in decision-making, with safeguards to prevent intentional or unintentional harm. Projects are monitored and evaluated during delivery to track progress and embed learning. In Round Two, 54% of successful projects explicitly target IPLCs and/or other ethnic or religious minority groups and 100% of successful projects are expected to work with marginalised communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what proportion of the £14 million OCEAN funding will be spent in each recipient country.

OCEAN Round 2 projects remain subject to final due diligence. The finalised list of projects, along with the countries in which OCEAN works, will be made available on the OCEAN website in due course.

With reference to Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, when the joint feasibility study on a UK-China trade in services agreement is expected to conclude.

The joint feasibility study for a UK-China Trade in Services Agreement is an exploratory stage; it’s not a commitment to negotiate an agreement. The study is intended to identify areas of shared interest and assess the potential benefits and challenges involved in a potential bilateral Trade in Services Agreement. Should both parties find sufficient common ground, the process may then proceed to formal negotiations, based on mutual agreement. The timing of the conclusion of the feasibility study and any potential future negotiations would be determined through further technical discussions between the UK and China.

What proportion of soil excavated as part of the Lower Thames Crossing construction will be a) re-used on site, b) recycled or c) disposed of off-site.

The Lower Thames Crossing project aims to reuse between 90% and 95% of the soil it excavates on site. This material will be used to create new public parks, embankments and earth bunds, helping to screen the route from the local community. The remaining material will be disposed of off-site. Details of how this material will be treated have not yet been determined; however, this information will be set out in the project’s Delivery Partners’ Site Waste and Materials Handling Plans, which, once completed and approved by the Secretary of State, will be published on the Lower Thames Crossing website.

With reference to Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, if he will make it his policy to ensure that any services agreement with China includes clear and legally binding protections for UK firms operating in China.

The UK and China have agreed to launch a Bilateral Services Partnership, developed in response to UK business' asks for clearer rules, better market access, and practical support to benefit from China's increasing demand for high-quality UK services. The UK and China have also agreed to conduct a joint feasibility study to examine the potential to negotiate a bilateral Trade in Services Agreement. Such a legally binding agreement, if secured, would mirror the services chapters of the UK’s modern, high‑standard FTAs and be consistent with the UK and China’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will have discretion following the implementation of electoral boundary changes to determine whether elections are held by thirds, halves, or all-out elections without further primary or secondary legislation.

The legislation governing councils’ power to choose its own scheme of elections is set out in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The legislation permits non-metropolitan district councils to choose to move to electing by thirds or halves where they have previously held elections by thirds or halves.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what proportion of OCEAN grant funding is provided as direct financial support to community organisations.

Through Round One and Two, approximately 20% (£4,905,878) of OCEAN Grants Programme funding is expected to be provided in direct financial support to local NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and other in-country non-profit organisations working closely with communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, whether funding awarded for LED lighting on fishing nets will provide research applicable to fishing in UK waters.

The funding awarded for the ‘Illuminar el Mar’ project in Ecuador through the UK’s OCEAN Grants Programme will support research applicable to fishing in UK waters. In partnership with University College London, the project will use low-cost LED bycatch-reduction technology that operates through visual deterrence. The research is designed to support global replication and will be made open access.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government action to avert summer prison disaster, published on 29 January 2026, what steps he has taken to help ensure that changes to sentencing do not adversely impact (a) public safety and (b) offender rehabilitation.

The greatest risk to public safely is the risk of not being able to lock up dangerous offenders. Without the Sentencing Act, which received Royal Assent on 22 January, the country would have completely run out of prison places as early as June this year. This Government’s decisive action has safeguarded the police, courts, and wider criminal justice system, and avoided a potentially catastrophic breakdown of law and order.Public protection is our main priority, and many offenders will still go to prison, some for a very long time. Where offenders are on licence, in the community, we are imposing more intensive supervision, including ramped up tagging. We are also introducing new restriction zones for the most serious offenders, locking them down to a specific area.We are prioritising rehabilitation of offenders: evidence shows that short prison sentences exacerbate issues with employment, housing, and maintaining family ties, without allowing sufficient time for offenders to access effective rehabilitative services. Whereas suspended sentence orders give offenders a chance to stay in work, keep stable housing, and access support, all of which help reduce repeat offending and support rehabilitation.To support rehabilitation and managing offenders in the community, this Government is rebuilding the probation service, increasing investment by up to £700 million by 2028/29, a 45% increase.We are creating a tougher, smarter system that protects the public and supports rehabilitation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the British Embassy in Bangkok’s press release entitled UK PACT and Bangkok advancing sustainable transport, published on 30 January 2026, what assessment she has made of the value for money of the UK PACT funding for sustainable transport initiatives in Bangkok.

The UK PACT Thailand programme is funded from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's (DESNZ) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.Further details of all FCDO and DESNZ funded programmes can be found at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK. Proposed activities are assessed in advance for the impact they will have in meeting the UK's programme and partnership objectives in the country in question, and for their cost-effectiveness in achieving that impact. ODA programmes are evaluated on an ongoing basis for their performance against their agreed objectives, and for their delivery on time and on budget.

With reference to the Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, how she plans to monitor and evaluate cooperation with China on transnational organised crime and illegal immigration.

The Home Office will monitor and evaluate the impact of any cooperation with China by assessing operational outcomes against the UK’s Transnational Crime and Illegal Migration threat picture, drawing on performance indicators and intelligence from UK operational partners to determine the reduction in associated harms.