Written questions by McMurdock.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to publish an annual progress report on the implementation of the Animal Welfare Strategy.

The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December and sets out our priorities for animal welfare, focusing on the changes and improvements we aim to achieve by 2030 The Government will monitor progress against the strategy to ensure the outcomes we are seeking to achieve are met; however, we currently do not have any plans to publish an annual progress report. We will continue to work in partnership with key stakeholders, charities, experts, enforcement bodies, and industry from across the different sectors to deliver on the commitments in the strategy and improve the lives of millions of animals. Information and insights from stakeholders will be critical to assess whether policies are delivering on their intended outcomes.

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 proposals include maximum density guidance for new homes around train stations.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation sets out the details of the proposed approach to land around stations, including those that are defined as well-connected and those that are within and outside of settlements. It can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what the scope and timetable are for the Law Commission’s project on the management of housing estates, and how homeowners will be consulted.

The government expect the Law Commission to report on this project in 2028. Further information about the project, including its terms of reference, can be found on the Law Commission's website here.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether additional resources will be provided to police forces to enforce tougher penalties for livestock worrying.

The Department will continue to engage with the police to ensure that they are fully prepared to enforce the new powers introduced by the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025. The measures will come into effect on 18 March 2026. We will also work closely with the police to monitor how enforcement operates in practice after the measures have come into force.

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 housebuilding targets for Thurrock will be impacted.

The government has no plans to amend the Standard Method for assessing housing needs introduced in December 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what role local councils will play in the Animal Welfare Strategy.

Local councils have long played a vital role in animal welfare, across a wide range of functions. This includes their established responsibilities for animal activity licensing, Zoo Licencing, the management of stray dogs, and supporting compliance with health and welfare standards in farming. The Animal Welfare Strategy acknowledges and reaffirms this vital role, committing to continued close working with local councils, in developing, implementing and enforcing animal welfare policies.

If he will set out the selection criteria for the local authorities added to the Rent Repayment Order data sharing scheme.

The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to develop and implement the Rent Repayment Order pilot. The opportunity to participate was offered to all local authorities through Operation Jigsaw, an organisation currently funded by MHCLG, which brings together 309 local housing authorities in England to support the sharing of expertise, best practices, and vital intelligence both regionally and nationally to raise housing standards in the private rented sector.

What assessment she has made of the annual cost to the logistics industry of the proposed pay-per-mile electric vehicle charging scheme.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The taxation of motoring is a critical source of funding for public services and investment in infrastructure. All UK-registered electric and plug-in hybrid cars will pay eVED. Other vehicle types such as vans, buses, coaches, motorcycles and HGVs will be out of scope of the tax upon its introduction. This is because the transition to electric for these vehicle types is less advanced than for cars at this stage.

Whether he has made an estimate of the savings for individual motorists from the Fuel Finder scheme.

Fuel price trends are monitored nationally and published in the Department’s weekly statistics on GOV.UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) oversee market transparency and compliance and publish quarterly and yearly reports on GOV.UK. Fuel Finder will increase fuel price transparency for drivers to make more informed choices of where to buy petrol and diesel and will incentivise competition between fuel retailers to lower their prices to attract customers. Once launched, our analysis suggests that households who own a car could save an average of around £40 a year.

Whether he plans to assess regional disparities in petrol prices.

Fuel price trends are monitored nationally and published in the Department’s weekly statistics on GOV.UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) oversee market transparency and compliance and publish quarterly and yearly reports on GOV.UK. Fuel Finder will increase fuel price transparency for drivers to make more informed choices of where to buy petrol and diesel and will incentivise competition between fuel retailers to lower their prices to attract customers. Once launched, our analysis suggests that households who own a car could save an average of around £40 a year.

Food and Rural Affairs, which public body will oversee mandatory licensing for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations.

Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations, including on how such a scheme should be administered, in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Health and Safety Executive's correspondence entitled Potential risks from transfer slabs in buildings, published on 19 December 2025, when he expects the independent research commissioned by the Building Safety Regulator to be completed and published.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is working with industry experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to better understand the extent of the risk, and how the risk can be identified and managed proportionately in existing buildings.BSR is currently working with sector partners to establish what further guidance is needed to help building owners manage this risk. We will be providing further advice to building owners on this.BSR commissioned independent research in late 2024 relating to transfer slabs. This research is ongoing, and we will publish the outcomes of this research in due course. We will provide further updates via regular BSR bulletins and BSR campaign websites.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers transitioning away from pig farrowing crates.

Ending the use of farrowing crates is a key priority for this government, as set out in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy. The Department is therefore committed to working closely with the industry to explore how to transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems: either flexible farrowing where the sow is confined for the crucial few days around farrowing, or free farrowing where there is no confinement during farrowing or lactation and consult on the transition.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to launch the consultation on banning the use of electric shock collars.

The Government is concerned about the possible welfare implications of the use of electric shock collars.As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, we will consult on whether to ban the use of electric shock collars later in this Parliament.

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 his reforms will support council house construction in (a) Thurrock and (b) Basildon.

The government is taking action to support all local authorities, including those in Thurrock and Basildon, to increase their levels of council housing construction.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to end puppy farming.

The Government is committed to ending puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs. As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform.

With reference to the planned closure of the University of Essex's Southend Campus, whether her Department has made an assessment of the reasons for the University of Essex's decision.

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, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce private estate management arrangements on new housing developments.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make it mandatory for local authorities to adopt certain shared facilities on new housing estates.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to introduce standardised information requirements for estate management charges.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).