Written questions by McMurdock.

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.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support councils in delivering hybrid consultation models combining digital tools with in‑person engagement.

Through my Department’s PropTech Innovation Fund, the government is funding local planning authorities to use digital citizen engagement tools, including interactive maps and 3D models, alongside leveraging AI to summarise consultation responses. Our case studies on Local Digital (see here) and gov.uk (see here) demonstrate how these can increase the quantity and quality of community engagement in respect of local plans and new developments, including reaching younger residents. My Department plans to launch a sixth round of the PropTech Innovation Fund in early 2026. The Fund is evaluated as a part of the Digital Planning Programme. Local planning authorities take a hybrid approach to public consultation, combining digital tools with traditional methods like in-person engagement, to ensure consultations are accessible and inclusively incorporate the views of those unable to participate in digital consultations. We have published guidance on gov.uk (see here) and a Digital Citizen Engagement toolkit (see here) to support authorities to adopt and use digital tools. Our Planning Capacity and Capability programme continues to develop its means of supporting authorities to ensure they have the skills they need both now and in the future. The new plan-making system that we are shortly commencing is designed not only to ensure that local plans are faster to prepare and simpler for end users to access and understand but to improve community engagement. We will publish further guidance and provide further support to help local planning authorities engage with communities effectively under the new system.

With reference to his Department's news story entitled The evolving response to ethnic disproportionality in youth justice, published on 19 December 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure that data on ethnic disproportionality in youth justice is collected consistently across local authorities; and what assessment he has made of current data quality.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is funding a ‘pathfinder’ pilot project in the West Midlands to better understand why interventions are achieving better outcomes for White children than for Black and Mixed heritage children. It was established in 2024 and its total cost is estimated at £750,000 over four years. The YJB has not yet provided the Ministry of Justice with evidence about the project’s early impact – the project is due to run until spring 2027 and be evaluated subsequently.The factors contributing to custodial remand outcomes are complex and multi-layered. Outcomes for children of different ethnic backgrounds show disparities. The YJB’s 2021 report ‘Ethnic Disproportionality Remand and Sentencing in the Youth Justice System’ outlines these in more detail. The report found that even after controlling for demographic and offence-related factors, children of Mixed ethnicity and Black children remained more likely to receive a custodial remand than White children. The Ministry of Justice recognises that remand outcomes reflect a combination of factors across the system, including assessments provided to the court and judicial discretion.All local authorities are required by the YJB’s Data Recording Requirements to submit data that includes consistent and accurate recording of ethnicity data, with quality regularly monitored. The YJB Data Recording Requirements require all YOTs to submit mandatory case level and summary level data to the YJB. This includes the requirements that:All YOTs need to accurately record the ethnicity of all children they are supervising and supporting. Ethnicity is self-identified by the child.YOTs must use the Government harmonised classifications for ethnicity so as to ensure consistency and comparability.

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, how many of the potential 1.8 million homes are expected to be constructed in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes a new Standard Method for assessing housing needs that is aligned to our Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new safe and decent homes in England by the end of this Parliament The standard method is used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should then make an assessment of the number of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development, such as National Landscapes and areas at risk of flooding, and any other relevant matters. The approach taken is then be tested by the Planning Inspector during the examination of the Local Plan. We expect local authorities to assess and plan how to meet their local housing needs over the plan period by maximising brownfield land, working with neighbouring authorities, and, where necessary, reviewing Green Belt.The

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).

How much has been paid in unitary charges under Private Finance Initiative contracts in each of the last ten financial years.

The Government’s preferred financing model for any type of infrastructure project is the one that offers the best value for money. Proposals are appraised on a case-by-case basis using the Green Book. Public sector contracting authorities directly manage Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and are responsible for monitoring and managing their respective contracts to ensure value for money. Since 2020, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), formerly Infrastructure and Projects Authority, has provided advice and training directly to contracting authorities to support them in navigating issues relating to PFI projects (operational and expiry-related). PFI payments are made by “unitary charge”, which are not broken down by underlying cost drivers. Therefore, the proportion of payments that are (a) capital repayment, (b) interest and (c) service charges is not readily available, nor is data on costs which have arisen because of inflation and indexing. Data on PFI and PF2 projects can be found at the following weblink: PFI and PF2 projects: 2024 Summary Data - GOV.UK

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).

Whether her Department has reviewed opportunities to (a) renegotiate, (b) buy out and (c) reduce the long‑term cost of Private Finance Initiative contracts.

The Government’s preferred financing model for any type of infrastructure project is the one that offers the best value for money. Proposals are appraised on a case-by-case basis using the Green Book. Public sector contracting authorities directly manage Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and are responsible for monitoring and managing their respective contracts to ensure value for money. Since 2020, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), formerly Infrastructure and Projects Authority, has provided advice and training directly to contracting authorities to support them in navigating issues relating to PFI projects (operational and expiry-related). PFI payments are made by “unitary charge”, which are not broken down by underlying cost drivers. Therefore, the proportion of payments that are (a) capital repayment, (b) interest and (c) service charges is not readily available, nor is data on costs which have arisen because of inflation and indexing. Data on PFI and PF2 projects can be found at the following weblink: PFI and PF2 projects: 2024 Summary Data - GOV.UK

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).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make resident‑controlled management the default model for new freehold estates.

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

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that businesses operating in high‑risk sectors are aware of the foreign bribery indicators published by the Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes partners.

The government takes foreign bribery risks seriously and is committed to helping businesses identify and prevent them. This is why in December 2025, this government published the new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy. The strategy seeks to bring more corrupt actors to justice, prevents them benefitting from their illicit wealth, tackles vulnerabilities to corruption at home and builds resilience overseas. It also commits to helping UK businesses to combat bribery through the Serious Fraud Office’s crime prevention capability and a new online anti bribery resource collection for small and medium-sized enterprises.The Serious Fraud Office, working with its Five Eyes partners, has published indicators to help businesses recognise potential bribery risks. These indicators are available on the Serious Fraud Office website.The Department for Business and Trade supports this work by signposting guidance to high-risk sectors and encouraging businesses to embed these indicators into their compliance and due diligence processes.The government will continue to work with enforcement agencies and international partners to raise awareness and strengthen the UK’s approach to preventing foreign bribery, in line with the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommendations.

Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms for homeowners challenging estate management charges.

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

Communities and Local Government, what criteria he will use to determine when substitute managers may be appointed in cases of serious failure by estate management companies.

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

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will publish the new assessment of the financial impact of estate management charges on homeowners, and when this assessment is expected to be completed.

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

What the projected cost is of Private Finance Initiative and PF2 contracts over their remaining lifetimes.

The Government’s preferred financing model for any type of infrastructure project is the one that offers the best value for money. Proposals are appraised on a case-by-case basis using the Green Book. Public sector contracting authorities directly manage Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and are responsible for monitoring and managing their respective contracts to ensure value for money. Since 2020, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), formerly Infrastructure and Projects Authority, has provided advice and training directly to contracting authorities to support them in navigating issues relating to PFI projects (operational and expiry-related). PFI payments are made by “unitary charge”, which are not broken down by underlying cost drivers. Therefore, the proportion of payments that are (a) capital repayment, (b) interest and (c) service charges is not readily available, nor is data on costs which have arisen because of inflation and indexing. Data on PFI and PF2 projects can be found at the following weblink: PFI and PF2 projects: 2024 Summary Data - GOV.UK

What assessment she has made of the energy efficiency of electric heavy goods vehicles.

The Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator programme will report on the impacts of weather, terrain, driver behaviour, and payload on efficiency and range of electric HGVs. Over 150 vehicles are now operational in UK fleets with a further 150 due to enter service by March 2026. A trial of 20 electric HGVs in public sector fleets ran between April 2022 and September 2023 and information including total miles travelled, energy consumption, and vehicle range were published and are available online at http://bett.cenex.co.uk.