Written questions by McMurdock.

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.

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.

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the average cost of deportations of foreign national offenders (FNOs) is not available from published statistics, as we do not publish these costs.The Home Office publishes all available information on expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts, which can be found here: Home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.

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 and paragraph N2 of his Department's document entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, published on 16 December 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of nature-friendly features per dwelling.

The anticipated cost of incorporating nature friendly features per dwelling is small. Swift bricks, for example, cost around £25-£40 each.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of protections for whistle blowers reporting concerns on foreign bribery.

Individuals can report foreign bribery through a range of channels, such as the Serious Fraud Office or National Crime Agency, and workers will be protected from retaliation as a whistleblower under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) if certain conditions are met.The government recognises that the whistleblowing framework in the ERA may not be operating as effectively as it should and recently committed to explore opportunities for reform in the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy 2025.The government will continue to review its approach to whistleblowing and foreign bribery in line with the recommendations of the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a targeted online audience‑led approach to Government communications on data protection.

Data protection impact assessments are conducted by all departments running campaigns to build necessary privacy safeguards to ensure transparency, fairness and security.

How many taxpayers received repayment interest from HMRC in each year since 2020.

The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether he considered early local elections in areas undergoing reorganisation.

As set out in my letter to council leaders, previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process. For example, between 2019-2022, the previous government postponed elections in Buckinghamshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, and Weymouth and Portland. We have not however looked to examples of local government reorganisation from the 1970s or Northern Ireland in relation to the potential postponement of local elections as we are committed to the process and indicative timetable that was published in July. This sees elections to new councils in May 2027 and those councils going live in April 2028. This is a complex process, and we will take decisions based on the evidence provided.

If he will take steps to help tackle online job advertisements where the company has no intent to hire.

Job boards and employment businesses are already prohibited from advertising jobs that do not exist or lack proper authorisation to advertise, with state enforcement by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.Additional safeguards come from consumer protection and ASA codes, which address misleading or unfair adverts.Individuals misled by fake job postings may also have civil remedies, depending on the circumstances.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether he considered the precedent of local government reorganisation in the 1970s on cancelling elections.

As set out in my letter to council leaders, previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process. For example, between 2019-2022, the previous government postponed elections in Buckinghamshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, and Weymouth and Portland. We have not however looked to examples of local government reorganisation from the 1970s or Northern Ireland in relation to the potential postponement of local elections as we are committed to the process and indicative timetable that was published in July. This sees elections to new councils in May 2027 and those councils going live in April 2028. This is a complex process, and we will take decisions based on the evidence provided.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of One Login’s compliance with a) Secure by Design and b) the Cyber Assessment Framework.

GOV.UK One Login is engaging appropriately with the Secure by Design (SbD) assessment process, and SbD principles are already embedded into the service. GOV.UK One Login was assessed using GovAssure in 2024, the cyber security scheme for assessing government critical systems using the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) as part of the Government Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2030. GovAssure has multiple phases, which includes an assurance review by an independent assessor. The GOV.UK One Login programme works closely with NCSC to align with the requirements of the CAF.

Whether he plans to extend the Rent Repayment Order data sharing scheme to additional local authorities.

The Department is currently running a Rent Repayment Order pilot with 41 local authorities. The purpose of the pilot is to assess the effectiveness of the scheme and its impact on enforcement activity. We will evaluate the pilot and subject to positive findings, we plan to implement nationally.

How much repayment interest was paid by HMRC in each year since 2020.

The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether he plans to consider Greater Essex’s 5-council model.

The consultation on four final proposals submitted by councils in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, including a proposal for a five-unitary council model, closed on 11 January 2026. The Government will now assess these four proposals against the criteria set out in the invitation and will decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposal is to be implemented, with or without modification. In taking these decisions, we will have regard to all the representations received, including those from the consultation, and all other relevant information available.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to Universities on voluntary severance schemes.

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.

Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, col 1130, whether his Department plan to ask Parliament to vote on cancelling any May 2026 local elections before a Statutory Instrument is made.

The Secretary of State has adopted a locally led approach. He has asked councils to set out their views on the postponement of their local elections and is minded to only make an Order to postpone elections for those councils who raise capacity concerns. Parliament has given the Secretary of State the power to make an Order to change the year of council elections. The Secretary of State will decide whether to make such an Order having regard to any views councils provide, together with any other representations received. There are Parliamentary procedures for MPs and Peers to debate and vote on an Order. This is in line with previous local election postponements.

With reference to the planned closure of the University of Essex's Southend Campus, what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient levels of higher education provision in south Essex.

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.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Rent Repayment Orders on housing conditions in the private rented sector.

No such estimate can currently be made. My Department is in the process of implementing a new mandatory collection of private rented sector enforcement data from local housing authorities, which will include the number of Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) applied for by the council, the value of Universal Credit/Housing Benefit recovered following a rent repayment order, and the number of tenants supported in making an application. My Department has made no specific assessment of the potential impact of Rent Repayment Orders on housing conditions in the private rented sector.

What plans she has to support the provision of (a) apprenticeships, (b) higher education courses and (c) other educational courses to assist recruitment to the logistics industry.

The government offers a range of education and training which can be used to support the logistics sector. This includes apprenticeships, such as the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle driver C + E standards, Skills Bootcamps, sector-based work academy programmes and a range of funded qualifications including 26 in logistics and 30 in warehousing and distribution.The Adult Skills Fund also funds a range of courses to support entry into or progression in the logistics industry. In addition to the costs of training provision, learners can be funded to complete the medical and attain the licence required to become an heavy goods vehicle driver. In areas where the fund has been devolved, to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority, they are responsible for the provision of adult education in their areas.Higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for determining the provision they deliver.