James McMurdock MP: written questions
830 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Badgers: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57076More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide long-term protections for badger populations.
Answer: The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 prohibits the deliberate killing, injuring or capturing of a wild badger and any interfering with badger setts; and The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits certain methods of control. Additionally, badger persecu...
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Products: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle trophy hunting imports.
Answer: The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of con...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordElections: DevolutionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) local accountability in areas where local elections have been cancelled as part of planned devolution arrangements.
Answer: Accountability for decisions in all local authorities whose elections were postponed remains with the elected members, whose terms of office were extended by one year.The government ran public consultations in the areas on the Devolution Priority Programm...
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDevolution: EssexMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to publish financial modelling for Essex devolution proposals, in the context of projected levels of funding gaps.
Answer: Combined County Authorities (CCA) do not replace the councils in the area – and services such as social care, libraries and education that are provided by the local authorities would continue to be provided by them. The finances of constituent members suc...
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDevolution: EssexMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57072More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with Essex County Council on the financial sustainability of local services under the proposed devolution deal.
Answer: Combined County Authorities (CCA) do not replace the councils in the area – and services such as social care, libraries and education that are provided by the local authorities would continue to be provided by them. The finances of constituent members suc...
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57071More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the ability of (a) county and (b) unitary councils to set balanced budgets for the next financial year.
Answer: We have delivered a Settlement for 2025-26 that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement makes available over £69 billion fo...
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordWaste: ProsecutionsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57070More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have been brought for offences related to waste crime in the last five years.
Answer: In the five years up to March 2025 the EA has brought 341 prosecutions against companies and individuals for waste crime offences.
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordWaste: CrimeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in levels of reports of waste crime in the East of England in the last two years.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) recently published new heatmaps showing the densest areas of waste crime reports in England. Through our Plan for Change, this Government will crack down on the waste cowboys, seize and crush fly-tippers’ vans, and clean up Bri...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordWaste: CrimeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57068More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the Environment Agency in (a) investigating and (b) prosecuting incidents of large-scale waste crime.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for disrupting and stopping illegal activity through tough enforcement action and prosecution. Defra works closely with the EA to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the p...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordLeasehold: Ground RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support leaseholders who cannot (a) sell their properties and (b) re-mortgage due to ground rent charges.
Answer: The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordLeasehold: Ground RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57064More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect leaseholders from ground rent charges.
Answer: The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Answered 11 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice: TrainingHome OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56514More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions has she had with retail industry representatives on the (a) design and (b) implementation of the training funded through the National Police Chiefs' Council.
Answer: We are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised reta...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Business Crime Centre: Small BusinessesHome OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56513More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to help ensure that small businesses receive funding through initiatives funded by the National Business Crime Centre.
Answer: We are investing £2 million over three financial years (25/26 – 27/28) in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. We are current...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAnti-social Behaviour and Crimes of ViolenceHome OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56512More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to assess the effectiveness of the Hotspot Action Fund in reducing (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) serious violence.
Answer: The Hot Spot Action Fund for 25/26 is being evaluated for effectiveness using the same approach as for hot spot policing programmes funded by the Home Office since 21/22.Details of the evaluation method along with previous results can be found within publ...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Business Crime Centre: StatisticsHome OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56511More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish annual performance metrics for the National Business Crime Centre to assess the effectiveness of additional funding.
Answer: We are investing £2 million over three financial years (25/26 – 27/28) in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. We are current...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56510More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to improve the Child Maintenance Service's procedural safeguards within paternity disputes.
Answer: Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56509More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has undertaken a recent review of the Child Maintenance Service's approach to paternity disputes.
Answer: Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56508More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of child maintenance deductions before paternity was disproven on the finances of men who were subsequently shown to have been wrongly identified as
Answer: Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56507More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make paternity DNA testing mandatory in all disputed child maintenance cases before deductions begin.
Answer: Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56506More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to review the child maintenance service policy to ensure there are no wage deductions before paternity is (a) legally and (b) biologically confirmed.
Answer: Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Capture and Storage: FinanceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55933More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, (a) how the levy will be structured and (b) who will be responsible for paying it.
Answer: There is a mixture of funding routes to support carbon capture and storage projects in the UK, including levies placed on energy suppliers and gas shippers. There are two levies relevant to the CCUS programme. Firstly, the Electricity Supplier Obligation,...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Capture and Storage: FinanceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55932More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard against over-subsidisation of specific (a) projects and (b)
Answer: The CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process, which is the selection of the initial carbon dioxide transport & storage networks and projects, and the CCUS business models, under which individual awards for projects are made, have been developed to align with t...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Capture and Storage: FinanceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55931More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question to 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, how the the funding models will be evaluated to ensure value for money.
Answer: Detailed and robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plans have been developed for the various CCUS funding models. The M&E plans map out the evaluation activities, methodology, data sources and resource needed for the various types of evaluations,...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAutism: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that children and young people with autism have access to (a) tailored support and (b) empowering learning environments.
Answer: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to achieve and thrive in their education and as they move into adult life.In Nove...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordRetail Trade: Urban AreasTreasuryTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55843More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of tax disincentives that prevent pension property owners from letting units at reduced rates on (a) high street regeneration and (b) town centre vacancy rates.
Answer: Pension schemes can rent out commercial property at below market value. The only restriction on this is that there is an unauthorised payment charge where the tenant is connected with the pension scheme. This rule prevents value being transferred out of t...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament record
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