Written questions by Morton.

What level of financial support she provides to local transport authorities for commercial bus networks during the transition to franchised bus systems; whether operators must meet performance requirements to receive such funding; and whether she has made an assessment of the sustainability of any such funding.

The Government has confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This funding includes a £3 million Bus Franchising Support Fund in 2026/27 for Mayoral Strategic Authorities in the process of developing and implementing bus franchising schemes which is designed to aid transition. We have also allocated further funding of approximately £10 million per year until 2029 to a franchising support package for local authorities that are actively seeking to transition to a franchised network. In addition, we are providing multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead. This funding can be used to support bus services, including by those local authorities who are transitioning to franchised networks. The Government also makes available over £240 million per year for bus operators through the longstanding Bus Services Operators Grant (BSOG) to continue running and protect existing services. Responsibility for payment of the BSOG is devolved to any LTA transitioning to franchising, and a share of the national BSOG budget will be transferred to the authority. On operator performance, we expect operators to provide the service they have advertised. Where operators are consistently not providing this, the Traffic Commissioner can take action, including fines or suspending the operating licence.

With reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what the forecast level of public sector net debt as a proportion of GDP will be in each year of the forecast period; what the reasons are for the projected increase in debt; and what steps she is taking to reduce public debt.

This data is available at Table A.9: Fiscal aggregates in the March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The government’s fiscal plan brings down borrowing and debt, keeps the public finances on a sustainable path and supports the Bank of England to bring down inflation.

With reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, how much additional revenue would be raised from a one-penny increase in fuel duty per litre; and how much additional revenue will be raised from planned increases in fuel duty in each financial year from 2026-27.

The Government is taking action to ensure that fuel at the pump remains affordable. At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. The government has set out the expected impacts, including Exchequer impacts, from fuel duty and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document. This document can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf HMRC publishes a ready reckoner which estimates the direct impact on HMRC tax revenues of simple changes to tax rates. For fuel duty specifically, the most recent publication estimates a 1% (approximately 0.6p) increase in fuel duty would result in £240m additional revenue in 26/27. This ready reckoner can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes

What new oversight measures she plans to introduce in relation to home schooling as referenced in the Statement of 9 March 2026; whether local authorities will be granted additional statutory powers to register or inspect home-educated children; what safeguards she will put in place to ensure that families who home educate are not subject to disproportionate regulation; and what assessment she has made of the potential resource implications for local authorities.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will require local authorities to maintain registers of children who are not in school, including home-educated children, and require parents of eligible children to give information for these registers. This will support authorities to identify children who are not receiving a safe, suitable education so they can take action.The Bill also requires some parents to seek permission from the local authority before children can be withdrawn for home education, such as children who are subject to section 47 enquiries, are on a child protection plan (or were previously in the last five years), or who attend a special school. This additional check will ensure these children receive a suitable education that is in their best interests.When carrying out their duties, local authorities must act reasonably and we will provide additional training and statutory guidance to support with this. We will also conduct a New Burdens Assessment to establish the amount of additional funding required by local authorities to fulfil their duties. Evidence for this assessment will be gathered through a public consultation ahead of implementation of the measures.

With reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what estimate she has made of the forecast increase in welfare spending over the forecast period; what the projected level of welfare expenditure will be in each financial year to 2030-31; what proportion of that spending is forecast to be allocated to working-age benefits, disability benefits and pensioner benefits; and whether she is taking steps to control projected growth in welfare spending.

Forecasts for welfare spending are the responsibility of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

What amount of zero-emission bus funding awarded by her Department since 2021 has had to be returned to the Department for Transport; which local transport authorities have returned funding; what reasons were given in each case; and what assessment she has made of potential implications of those cases for assessments of the effectiveness of the design and oversight of the Government’s zero-emission bus funding programmes.

There have been four local transport authorities (LTAs) that have returned Zero Emission Buses Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding due to a decrease in project scoping or because the project can no longer be delivered as approved. The LTAs that returned funding are as follows: Blackpool - returned money on 27 November 2023.Nottingham - returned money on 28 September 2023 due to a reduction in scope on the project.Warrington - returned money on 12 October 2023 due to a reduction in scope on the project.West Midlands - returned money in two separate repayments. This was due to the articulated buses switching from hydrogen fuel to electric (on 4 October 2023) and their intended double deck hydrogen buses being replaced by electric version (on 19 March 2025). The project is now delivering more zero emission buses for the reduced cost. The Department considers these cases evidence that the ZEBRA change control and monitoring framework is functioning as intended. Requirements for returns are triggered where delivery no longer aligns with approved business cases, ensuring value for money and maintaining subsidy control compliance. In addition, ongoing evaluation of ZEBRA ensures lessons learned on deliverability are shared to improve future ZEB deployment across LTAs.All returned funding has been reinvested into alternate ZEB projects, including increasing the scope of established ZEBRA projects where appropriate.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Finance Statement made on 23 February 2026, when he plans to publish the consultation on strengthening safeguards over local government borrowing; whether statutory limits on debt-to-revenue ratios are under consideration; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of such restrictions on housing and regeneration delivery; and whether modelling of the effect on future capital investment will be published.

Local authorities are responsible for their own borrowing and investment decisions, within a statutory framework intended to ensure borrowing is prudent, affordable and sustainable.The government recognises the importance of local investment, including for housing and growth. Under the previous government, however, weaknesses in the system allowed a minority of authorities to take on excessive debt for high-risk investment that have not represented value for money. In some cases, this has led to serious failures requiring government intervention and significant cost to taxpayers.The government is therefore bringing into effect the capital risk powers added to the Local Government Act 2003 in 2023. The aim is to safeguard the system to support essential investment while giving government the tools to address instances of excessive borrowing and investment risk before failure occurs.The government will work with the sector in developing use of the powers to ensure they are effective and to avoid unintended consequences. We will consult later this year.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of e-scooter trial schemes on urban transport usage; what analysis she has undertaken of safety performance and usage trends; and what plans she has for the future regulation of shared micromobility schemes.

The first national evaluation of the e-scooter rental trials was published on the Department’s website in 2022. The evaluation captured evidence on the impact of schemes, including on usage and safety.A second national evaluation started in 2025 and is expected to report in 2027. This evaluation aims to gather updated evidence on usage, what journeys e-scooters are replacing, integration with public transport, and their safety both on the road and for other road users, compared to other modes.In July 2025, the Government introduced the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The Bill includes measures empowering local leaders to license shared cycle schemes. This legislation may also extend to shared e-scooter and other shared micromobility schemes in future.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of long-term road closures on small businesses located near major road and bridge repair works; what guidance exists for highway authorities on mitigating disruption to local businesses; whether compensation schemes are available for affected businesses; and what steps she is taking to ensure improved communication with businesses during extended infrastructure works.

The Department has not made a formal national assessment of the impact of long-term road or bridge closures on small businesses. These impacts vary significantly depending on the scale of works, local travel patterns, and the mitigation measures put in place by the local highway authority. However, we expect highway authorities to plan and coordinate works in line with their duties under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Co‑ordination Code of practice including ensuring works are properly coordinated and communicating clearly with affected residents and businesses.There is no general entitlement to compensation for loss of trade arising from properly executed road or street works. This position has been maintained by successive governments. Limited statutory compensation exists only for gas and water companies under sector specific legislation; there are no equivalent duties for electricity or telecoms. Any discretionary support is a matter for local authorities or utilities.We continue to encourage authorities and works promoters to maintain clear, proactive engagement with local businesses during extended works, supported by recent regulatory steps to improve coordination and reduce avoidable disruption.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Finance Statement made on 23 February 2026, what changes have been made to the assessment of relative need within the Settlement; whether independent validation has been undertaken to test the updated needs formula; what weightings have been applied to deprivation, rurality, population growth and service demand; and if he will publish any technical modelling and equality impact assessment.

The recent Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. For the first time since 2013-14, the government is updating the relative needs formulas that form a key part of how local authorities' funding allocations are calculated, using more up-to-date data. This includes using the recently published 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation, an official Statistic produced by MHCLG. Each relative needs formula has been constructed using consistent principles, applying statistical techniques to weight variables according to their influence on service demand. An overview of the weightings applied to the formulas within the assessment of relative need can be found within the Fair Funding Share Calculator on gov.uk here. For further detail on the weightings and technical modelling underpinning the relative needs assessment, please refer to the relevant technical annex published on gov.uk here. The methodology proposed by the government was subject to a technical peer review by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which can be found here. An assessment of the equalities impacts of our proposals was published as part of the government’s response to the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, which can be found on gov.uk here Overall, the government assessed that the changes delivered through the Settlement would have positive equalities impacts.

How she plans to expand the remit of the visa taskforce referenced in the Statement of 9 March 2026; what additional resources she will allocate to this work; how individuals identified as extremist risks will be assessed within visa processes; and how this policy will interact with existing Home Office counter-extremism and border security frameworks.

As set out in the recently published "Protecting What Matters" document, overseas speakers of extremist concern will be identified and referred to specialist teams to take swift immigration action, including cancelling or refusing their visas or ETAs, should they attempt to travel to the UK.To deliver this work, the Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, will be expanded with additional operational and analytical resource. This builds on strong enforcement action by the team over the past two years, where the highest harm extremists from across the political spectrum were targeted and stopped from coming to the UK.The Home Office already has sophisticated mechanisms in place to seek out and prevent extremist individuals from entering the UK. This work operates in conjunction with existing border security and immigration frameworks.Each case will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. If an individual is deemed to be "non-conducive to the public good", then immigration officials may take action including refusal or cancelling entry clearance or permission to stay in the UK.

What support she is providing to mayoral combined authorities to support the transition to bus franchising systems; what funding she has allocated for transition costs, depot acquisition and fleet procurement; and what her planned timetable is for the rollout of franchised bus services in mayoral combined authority areas.

The Government has confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This funding includes a £3 million Bus Franchising Support Fund in 2026/27 for Mayoral Strategic Authorities in the process of developing and implementing bus franchising schemes, which is designed to aid transition. We have also allocated further funding of approximately £10 million per year until 2029 to a franchising support package for local authorities that are actively seeking to transition to a franchised network. MSAs can also use funding allocated to them under the Local Authority Bus Grant to support their transition to franchising where they choose to do so. The Department for Transport does not have a planned timetable for the rollout of franchised bus services in MSA areas because decisions on whether and when to introduce franchised bus services are for local leaders to take.

Media and Sport, what additional powers she plans to grant the Charity Commission to tackle extremist abuse as referenced in the Statement of 9 March 2026; whether these powers will require primary legislation; what safeguards he will introduce to ensure that legitimate charitable and community activities are not inadvertently affected; and what plans he has to consult with the voluntary sector.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers will be extended to tackle extremist abuse of charities. This includes: extending its ability to suspend trustees and close down charities; introducing mandatory trustee ID verification; and digitising charity accounts to improve transparency and accountability. As a first step we will shortly consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting violence or hatred. These changes can be implemented through secondary legislation. DCMS will engage the sector on any further changes which may require primary legislation.The Government intends for the Charity Commission’s powers to be used proportionately to protect charities. In rare cases that charitable status is abused for extremist purposes the Charity Commission must be able to act swiftly and decisively to safeguard charitable funds and to protect public trust and confidence in charities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Finance Statement made on 23 February 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of writing off 90% of Dedicated Schools Grant high needs deficits accrued to the end of 2025-26 on the economy; what the estimated value of write-off is by local authority; what steps he is taking to prevent deficits re-accumulating; and whether councils impacted by the write-off will face (a) borrowing restrictions and (b) additional oversight.

The government has set out details of a reformed SEND system which meets needs earlier, before challenges escalate. All local authorities with a SEND deficit are eligible for a grant to resolve 90% of their historic deficits up to 2025‑26— projected to be worth over £5 billion nationally—protecting their ability to support children and young people with SEND in local schools while sustaining wider services and tackling deprivation. Addressing deficits accrued to 2025‑26 could reduce financing costs by an estimated £300 million by 2027‑28. Each local authority’s grant allocation will be determined by reviewing all available sources on local authority expenditure to establish the eligible SEND deficit. This will include comparing Section 251 data, draft and published Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) notes, DSG s151 assurance, Revenue Outturn data and published accounts. Grant eligibility is conditional on securing Department for Education approval of a Local SEND Reform Plan, which will also be used to assess ongoing performance and delivery to target support and challenge throughout the reform period. Local authorities will continue to operate under existing prudential financial management frameworks.

What oversight her Department has of the scheduling and coordination of major highway repair works undertaken by local authorities; what requirements exist to minimise prolonged closures and manage delays; and whether she plans to introduce new standards for assessing the economic and community impact of extended roadworks.

Under the Highways Act 1980, responsibility for planning, prioritising and delivering maintenance on local roads sits with the relevant local authority, who are best placed to understand local network needs and manage works on their assets.This is supported by the statutory Co-ordination Code of Practice and the national permit scheme, which sets clear requirements to plan works effectively, minimise disruption and avoid unnecessary occupation of the highway. These include controls on the timing and duration of works, strengthened permit validity windows, and the use of sanctions where closures overrun.The Department does not currently plan to introduce new national standards for assessing the economic or community impacts of extended roadworks. However, we regularly review statutory guidance such as the Co-ordination Code of Practice to ensure that authorities continue to apply consistent, evidence‑based methods for minimising disruption and coordinating works effectively.In January 2026, the Department also introduced a new rating system for local highway authorities, measuring how well they are maintaining their local roads and whether they do so using best practice. As part of this, the ratings consider what actions local highway authorities are taking to reduce disruption to road users from street and road works. The ratings will be updated annually, and the Department is providing dedicated support to red-rated local highway authorities to help them improve and adopt best practice.

With reference to the statement of 25 February 2026 on the Government Response to the Green Paper on the Future of the Post Office, what proportion of the Post Office network consists of full-time, full-service branches; how many branches will be (a) upgraded and (b) reclassified to meet the 50% requirement; what estimate his Department has made of the cost of achieving that requirement; and what guidance has been issued to the Post Office on the implementation of that target.

As set out in the Government’s response to the Post Office Green Paper, at least half of the Post Office’s network must be full‑time, full‑service branches. This new requirement provides flexibility for the Post Office to expand lighter-touch formats, such as parcel shops, where there is demand, while guaranteeing the core majority of the network is full time and full-service. The network must also continue to comply with the pre-existing 11,500 minimum branch requirement and Access Critieria, which mean, for example, that 99% of the total UK population must be within three miles of their nearest Post Office branch.As set out in Government’s Green Paper response, as of April 2025, 79% of branches already meet the ‘full-time, full-service' definition. Consequently, no branches require upgrade or reclassification to achieve the 50% threshold at this stage and there are accordingly no additional associated costs or further guidance required.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Finance Statement made on 23 February 2026, what estimate he has made of the aggregate level of debt held by local authorities in relation to commercial property acquisition; how many councils hold commercial property investments exceeding 100% of their annual core spending power; what exposure the Public Works Loan Board has to such investments; and whether he plans to use statutory capital powers to prevent debt-financed commercial activity.

The government does not collect data specifically on debt incurred to finance commercial property. However, authorities are required to submit data on borrowing, capital spend and asset holdings to government as part of quarterly and annual returns. Borrowing and investment data for each authority is shown by quarter on gov.uk here. This includes detail on the value of outstanding borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board.Capital expenditure, receipts and financing data is published on gov.uk here.Data on assets held by authorities is published on gov.uk here.Core Spending Power for each authority is published on gov.uk here The government is taking forward work to implement the capital powers introduced into the Local Government Act 2003 in 2023, which provide powers for government to take action where an authority is exposed to excessive risk from borrowing and investment practices. The government will consult on use of these powers later this year.The government’s objective is to safeguard the existing framework so that it continues to support essential investment—such as for housing and regeneration—while preventing practices such as taking on excessive debt for novel and risky investments. We will work closely with the sector to ensure that the powers are effective and avoid unintended consequences.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statement of 9 March 2026 entitled Social Cohesion Action Plan, what indicators he will include in the proposed Social Cohesion Measurement Framework; how frequently those indicators will be reported; whether the framework will include metrics relating to migration levels, language proficiency and community participation; and whether local authorities will be required to report against those measures as part of their statutory duties.

The social cohesion action plan published last week, set out the steps that Government is taking to improve social cohesion. This includes the development of a social cohesion measurement framework and a social cohesion risk tool. Both of these are needed to enable central and local government and relevant partners to assess cohesion in a robust and comparable way. The Framework will be available to local government, civil society and impact investors across England, to help them identify emerging tensions. The cohesion risk tool will create a clear information-sharing link between local and central government – including Prevent and other relevant partners. Work on the social cohesion measurement framework and cohesion risk tool is underway. We will publish fuller details of this work, including the purpose and content of the framework, and findings in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statement of 9 March 2026 on Protecting What Matters, what criteria he will use to determine the allocation of the £5.8 billion Pride in Place funding; which local authorities will receive the additional £800 million allocated on social cohesion; what metrics he will use to determine whether cohesion is under pressure; and what proportion of that funding will be new money.

On Friday 20 March we announced a major expansion of the landmark Pride in Place programme. This follows the government’s action plan for social cohesion, “Protecting What Matters” which confirmed a further £800 million over ten years to 40 more areas where social cohesion is under pressure. Full details of the methodology used to select places is published on gov.uk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she held with the Ethiopian Government and the African Union on conflict prevention and resolution during her February 2026 visit to Ethiopia.

Alongside our international partners, the UK continues to call for tensions or disputes in Ethiopia to be resolved peacefully and diplomatically, and for all parties to avoid actions that would inflame or escalate those tensions. We also continue to support multilateral efforts to promote peace and stability in Ethiopia, including backing implementation of the African Union-led Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.During her visit to Addis Ababa in February 2026, the Foreign Secretary discussed these issues with both Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.