James McMurdock MP: written questions 2026
3310 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Shipping: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119190More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in (a) the South Basildon and East Thur
Answer: All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, ...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordShipping: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119189More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what proportion of projects funded through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition
Answer: All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, ...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordShipping: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119188More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy regional distribution of funding from the £
Answer: Regional investment levels will be assessed as part of the project bidding process, which operates through fair and open competition and is independently assessed. Since 2021, the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) has allocated £260 mil...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPorts: EssexDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119187More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled £271 million to clean up shipping and power coastal communities, how much of the £271 million has been allocated to ports in Essex.
Answer: All UK SHORE funding, including the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure scheme, is allocated through fair and open competition. Assessments of the bids will be made once the application window closes, ...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare HomesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119186More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients discharged from hospital to nursing or residential care placements outside their home local authority area due to local shortages of provision.
Answer: The Department does not hold an estimate of the number of patients discharged from hospital to nursing or residential care placements outside their home local authority area due to local shortages of provision. Local authorities have statutory responsibil...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare Homes: ClosuresDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119185More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many a) nursing and b) residential care home beds have been lost in England due to provider closures in the past five years.
Answer: Over the past five years, 399 nursing homes registered with the Care Quality Commission have deactivated their locations in England. The following table shows the number of beds impacted (please note, this data does not include any data for new beds): Yea...
Answered 18 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare Workers: EssexDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119184More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of social care workforce shortages on delayed discharges from hospitals in Essex.
Answer: The Department have made no assessment of the potential impact of social care workforce shortages on delayed discharges from hospitals in Essex.It is important that people are discharged promptly from hospital with the right support, both for their outcom...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBetter Care FundDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119183More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Better Care Fund on reducing hospital discharge delays caused by shortages in social care provision.
Answer: The Better Care Fund (BCF) provides around £9 billion in 2025/26 to support integrated planning between local authorities and integrated care boards, with reducing discharge delays identified as a key priority for local BCF plans.From 2026/27, the BCF is ...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBetter Care Fund: EssexDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119182More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of funding from the Better Care Fund has been allocated to local systems in Essex.
Answer: The following table shows the 2026/27 Better Care Fund (BCF) allocations for Essex broken down by local authority:Local authorityBCF allocationProportion of overall BCFSouthend-on-Sea£31,301,8270.3%Thurrock£24,849,3170.3%Essex£219,500,8412.4%
Answered 12 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDemocracy and Human Rights: International CooperationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119181More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to encourage respect for a) democratic processes and b) human rights.
Answer: The issues raised in the Hon Member's question are among the most important priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and our work in these areas cannot adequately be summarised in the answer to one parliamentary question. Ho...
Answered 11 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: British Nationals AbroadDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119180More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will hold discussions with Governments in a) Australia and b) Canada on the potential for negotiating updated reciprocal social security agreements in relation to the uprating of the UK State Pens
Answer: There are no plans to hold discussions with any country on Reciprocal Agreements that include uprating of the State Pension.
Answered 17 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPre-school Education: StaffDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119179More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of staffing capacity in early years settings.
Answer: The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. The department has seen strong growth in the workforce so far, with early years provision delivered by an estimated 353,70...
Answered 20 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordNurseries: Waiting ListsDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119178More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to address waiting lists and delayed start dates for nursery placements.
Answer: The department continually monitors the sufficiency of childcare in Essex. The number of places on Ofsted’s Early Years Register in Essex rose by 4% (or 1,500) from 37,400 as at 31 December 2024 to 38,900 as at 31 December 2025.The department has regular ...
Answered 20 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordNurseries: EssexDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119177More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of nursery places in Essex.
Answer: The department continually monitors the sufficiency of childcare in Essex.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their ...
Answered 20 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordNHS: ProcurementDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118675More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Insolvency Service's press release entitled The fake £9.8 million NHS contract: directors banned after investors tricked out of more than £2 million, published on 5 March 2026
Answer: Information about National Health Service procurement contracts is publicly available. Contract Award Notices are published under the Procurement Act 2023 and, for clinical services, under the Provider Selection Regime. Investors can therefore confirm whe...
Answered 18 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tipping: FinesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118674More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of penalties for fly-tipping in deterring individuals from fly-tipping.
Answer: The fly-tipping statistics for England show that local authorities’ enforcement activity has increased in 2024/25 by 8% over 2023/24.
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tipping: Fines and SentencingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118673More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review the (a) maximum fines and (b) custodial penalties for fly-tipping offences.
Answer: The Government is taking action to clamp down on rogue waste operators by moving the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will introduce tougher background checks for opera...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tippingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118672More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to help prevent household waste fly-tipping.
Answer: The Government is taking action to prevent household waste being fly-tipped by supporting local authorities to make good use of their enforcement powers. Local authorities have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tippingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118671More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of repeat fly-tipping hotspots.
Answer: Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement action, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which the department have published annually since 2012, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. ...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tipping: EssexDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118670More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of fly-tipping incidents in South Basildon and East Thurrock led to formal enforcement action over the past five years.
Answer: Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement action, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which the department has published annually since 2012, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. T...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSchools: EssexDepartment for EducationTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118669More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 5th March 2026 to Question 115670, what proportion of the £28.3 million for reading and writing initiatives has been allocated to schools in Essex.
Answer: The department’s £28.3 million funding will deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools, delivered through the English Hubs programme, to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading flu...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Health Services: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118668More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to community healthcare services in rural areas.
Answer: Integrated care boards are responsible for the planning and commissioning of community health services. In doing so, integrated care boards (ICBs) must take into account the needs of their local population, which includes meeting the healthcare needs of t...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Health Services: Waiting ListsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118667More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for patients referred to community healthcare services in England.
Answer: NHS England does not publish a single national average waiting time for patients referred to community healthcare services.Community healthcare services cover a wide range of different service types, with varying referral routes and urgency profiles, and ...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordElections: Pilot SchemesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118666More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, how many early in-person
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to de...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordElections: Pilot SchemesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Weekend voting and shopping centre polling stations to be trialled, published on 2 March 2026, what timescale he is working to
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84647 on 31 October 2025. In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. Authorities were required to de...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament record
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