Written questions by McMurdock.

If she will publish a full funding profile for the Lower Thames Crossing, including the split between plans for public and private funding.

The Chancellor committed a further £891m at the Autumn Budget 2025 to complete the publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing. This brings the total public investment to £3.1bn, including spend to date. The latest cost assured estimate for the project is c.£10.6bn. The Department will continue to publish information on committed public expenditure for the Lower Thames Crossing through official reporting mechanisms.

What steps he is taking to ensure that enhanced focus on skills results in long-term employment outcomes for claimants.

The government’s ‘Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper’, published in October last year at Post-16 education and skills white paper - GOV.UK, set out the plan to give people the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, support growth across the country, and drive national renewal. My Department recognises the importance of essential skills, (such as training in English, Mathematics and Digital skills) which are particularly relevant for unemployed claimants, for seeking and staying in work. The White Paper indicates the intention to review our adult essential skills offers to ensure it includes the skills most relevant to support progression into employment, education and training. In addition, we have developed foundation apprenticeships, offering a structured, supported route into skilled employment for young people who might otherwise be left behind. Also, through Local Get Britain Working plans we will support the development of a thriving labour market where everyone has the opportunity for good work, to get on in work and where we increase the current employment rate.

What the total cost to date has been of Private Finance Initiative contracts for transport infrastructure projects.

The Government's Spending on Private Finance Initiative contracts is published annually by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pfi-and-pf2-projects-2024-summary-data.

What steps his Department is taking to support cross‑government responses to hybrid activities from Russia.

The Strategic Defence Review highlights the breadth and depth of threats posed by hybrid activity. Russia remains the most pressing and immediate threat and it seeks to take advantage of the difficulty of attributing hybrid attacks through covert methods and proxies. Many hybrid threats are not military in nature and therefore a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society approach is essential. The Ministry of Defence works in close collaboration with other Government Departments and with our allies and partners to address shared threats below the threshold of armed conflict.

What the total expected value is of the media strategy, planning, and buying contract awarded to WPP Media; and what estimated cost savings will result from reducing the number of suppliers under the new agreement.

WPP Media has been awarded a place on Lot 1 of the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6364 Media and Creative Services agreement. The agreement, managed by CCS, will play an important role in ensuring that the UK public receives clear, accurate, and authoritative information from the government. By uniting media planning and buying under a single agency, the government will streamline its work to reach target audiences more effectively across diverse platforms. This consolidation is designed to drive value, improve operational efficiency, and ensure more effective media buying for every pound of public money spent. Spend and related savings will be determined by individual public sector bodies based on their specific requirements.

What the value of a) grants and b) other forms of financial assistance to charities working in the immigration sector was in each of the last three financial years.

The Government publishes data on grant funding annually in the Government grants register on gov.uk. Grant funding for the period 2023/24 is publicly available. Grants funding data for 2024/25 will be published in March 2026. Grants funding data for 2025/26 is scheduled for publication in March 2027.

What performance indicators will be used to evaluate WPP Media’s provision of media planning and buying services across Government; and how often performance will be reviewed.

The Crown Commercial Service reviews framework-level performance on a quarterly basis, including pricing commitments, financial transparency, social value delivery, and client satisfaction. Individual departments are responsible for managing day-to-day performance and specific service-level agreements for their own call-off contracts.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reclassify crimes against churches as hate crimes.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Christians and Christian places of worship. Churches occupy a valuable position in society through their access to citizens, their role within local communities and their good relationships with other faith groups and this Government is committed to protecting individuals' right to practise their religion freely at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer. The Government has extended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme for 2025/26, which gives grants towards VAT paid on repairs and renovations to the nation's listed sites of worship across the UK, which includes churches. Churches are also eligible for funded protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. This scheme offers physical security enhancements, such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing. Crimes against churches can already be recorded as hate crimes. Any religiously aggravated criminal damage is an offence under section 30 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, carrying a higher maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. An offence is considered religiously aggravated, if at or around the time of committing the offence, the offender demonstrates hostility towards a religious group, therefore, including any crimes against churches.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the stakeholders her Department consulted in developing 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 the department aim to achieve by 2030. The Animal Welfare Strategy has been developed in conjunction with key stakeholders including representatives of the companion, wild companion, wild animal and farming sectors along with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and those involved in enforcement. The department has held roundtable discussions on priorities whilst working to understand the underlying issues that lead to poor welfare. The department also received input from a wide range of other interested parties. Defra will continue to engage with stakeholders as we deliver on the strategy.

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, what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate infrastructure is built alongside new developments.

Responses to the consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework that took place between 30 July 2024 to 24 September 2024 were received from six authorities in South Essex, including Thurrock, Basildon and Castle Point. These included representations on the importance of an adequate provision of infrastructure in relation to housing targets. Castle Point also wrote to my Department in April 2025 referring to the adequacy of infrastructure in their area. The letter and my response of 30 June 2025 were published by the Council in Appendix 9 of their Regulation 19 draft Local Plan here. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 78861 on 20 October 2025 and the live consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework which can be found on gov.uk here.

What representations he has received from (a) Thurrock, (b) Basildon, (c) Essex County Council and (d) other south Essex councils requesting financial support to improve the strategic road network in (i) South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency and (ii) Essex.

Essex County Council, Colchester City Council, Chelmsford City Council, Braintree District Council, Tendring District Council, Maldon District Council and Brentwood Borough Council wrote to the Secretary of State about the benefits of the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) widening scheme, and the role it could potentially have played in any future upgrade of the A120 from Braintree to Marks Tey. However, as announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 widening scheme. The Department will continue to work with National Highways and relevant partners to explore potential small-scale interventions that could address issues on the A12 to support housing growth.

What plans his Department has to improve cyber security infrastructure.

Cyber attacks against the UK are increasing in scale and impact. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) categorises cyber incidents that have a substantial impact on the national security, the economy, or critical infrastructure as ‘nationally significant incidents’. In the 12 months to August 2023, 62 nationally significant incidents were recorded. This increased to 89 in 2024, and further rose to 204 in 2025. NCSC’s Annual Review provides further information on cyber incidents and trends. On improving the cyber security of national infrastructure, I refer to my answer for UIN 906730, debated on 4 December 2025. The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. The recently introduced Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services on which companies rely are secure.

What the backlog is for EU Settlement Scheme applications and reviews.

Processing times for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are available on EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK The latest published data on EUSS applications is contained within the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ The most recent statistics relate to the year ending 30 September 2025. A total of 8,662,309 EUSS applications had been submitted, and 8,550,572 applications had been concluded. This equates to 98.7% of all EUSS applications submitted by the end of September 2025 having been concluded.The information requested for administrative reviews made against EUSS application decisions is not currently available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Whether her Department had discussions with the University of Essex prior to its announcement to close its Southend Campus.

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.

What guidance the Building Safety Regulator has issued on when residents should be decanted from buildings containing transfer slabs, including on such decisions being proportionate to the level of risk.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) posted correspondence on gov.uk on 19 December 2025 alerting building owners about potential risks associated with transfer slabs (Potential risks from transfer slabs in buildings - GOV.UK). This provided some initial guidance to building owners on how they should respond to the risk.

What plans he has to improve competition to reduce fuel prices for motorists.

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.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) energy requirement levels in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency within the next 5 years and (b) adequacy of the energy infrastructure in that constituency to meet that level of demand.

Government outlined the pathways needed to meet the country’s future energy demand in the Clean Power 2030 action plan, building on advice from the National Energy System Operator (NESO). To support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure, the governments of Great Britain jointly commissioned the NESO to develop the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), which will be complemented at a regional level by the Regional Energy Spatial Plans (RESPs), commissioned by Ofgem. It is the responsibility of the NESO to provide long-term forecasting, focusing on balancing supply with demand, in line with the government’s clean power mission.

What steps she plans to take to help tackle the issues relating to frontier worker permits that were raised at the Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting on 18 December 2025.

Information on matters discussed at the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights is available here: Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 18 December 2025: joint statement - GOV.UK. The UK and the EU are committed to working cooperatively to ensure full and faithful implementation of the citizens’ rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of running hybrid engagement processes for local plan consultations on councils.

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.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of times migrant smuggling content has been viewed before being taken down as a result of action from the Home Office over the past 12 months.

The Home Office and the National Crime Agency work with major social media companies to rapidly remove online adverts which promote organised immigration crime and since 2024 more than 18,000 posts, pages or accounts advertising organised immigration crime services have been removed. Under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act a new offence will be introduced which criminalises the creation or publication of online content which promotes unlawful immigration services which could include videos of small boat crossings, the promotion of fake travel documents like passports and visas, or explicitly promising illegal working opportunities in the UK. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of times migrant smuggling content may have been viewed.