Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to introduce soil management requirements for solar farm developments.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to introduce soil management requirements for solar farm developments. However, Biodiversity Net Gain and other mechanisms will influence how the soil/land is managed over the lifespan of the panels after construction.
When considering development proposals that affect agricultural land and soils, the Government also encourages developers and local planning authorities to refer to relevant Government policies and guidance that aim to protect all soils by managing them in a sustainable way.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of launching a review of animal testing in the UK.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science.
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal, and will likely take many years of scientific and technical advancement and validation to reach this point. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is leading on the delivery of this commitment.
Our current approach is to support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), and to ensure that the UK has a robust regulatory system for licensing animal studies and enforcing legal standards.
In line with the Government’s Manifesto commitment, DSIT is currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science and on a cross-Government level as to how we will take this commitment forward, including the publishing of a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. The Government expects to publish this strategy later this year.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prison places have been created since July 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As outlined in the 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aims to do so by 2031. Since July 2024, c.700 additional prison places have been created through new, modern houseblocks, essential refurbishments and the re-role of HMP Cookham Wood. HMP Millsike is due to open in the coming weeks and will provide an additional c.1,500 places.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the criteria for eligibility are for proposed energy bill compensation for people living near new pylons; and whether (a) type of infrastructure and (b) other factors will impact qualification for that scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The bill discount scheme will apply to eligible domestic households. We are currently proposing the scheme applies to new onshore, above ground transmission cables and associated infrastructure such as substations and certain significantly upgraded existing projects in Great Britain. Our aim is that major new transmission projects needed for 2030 will be eligible. Both infrastructure and resident household eligibility criteria will be set out in regulations.
The bill discount scheme is not a compensation scheme. It aims to ensure those closest to eligible new transmission infrastructure can directly benefit from supporting the nationally critical mission of achieving clean power by 2030.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that the prioritisation of overhead pylons in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill does not adversely impact (a) local communities and (b) the natural environment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s position on overhead lines is set out in the National Policy Statement for electricity networks, NPS EN-5. In England and Wales, the Planning Act 2008 requires developers to demonstrate that they have consulted adequately with local communities, ensuring their feedback is considered and incorporated into the project proposal, before submitting their application for consent. Developers will also assess the environmental impacts of their projects through the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA), which will include the natural environment. These assessments are then considered as part of the consenting process by the Secretary of State.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer access (a) relevant research and (b) clinical trials.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.
Research is a vital part of improving diagnosis and treatment for cancer. The NIHR has invested £4.4 million to directly funded pancreatic cancer research between 2018/19 and 2023/24. These investments are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment and outcomes. An example of a recent award is the research, Translational proteomics to understand and overcome drug resistance to targeted anticancer drugs in KRAS and PIK3CA driven cancers.
Additionally, NIHR infrastructure funding supports the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical and applied research that is funded by the NIHR’s research programmes, other public funders of research, charities and the life sciences industry. In doing so, our investment plays a crucial role in underpinning the research funded by our partners.
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including pancreatic cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
The Department works closely with the National Health Service, industry, academia, research regulators and charities to make clinical research in the United Kingdom more efficient, more competitive, and more accessible, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer can access relevant research and clinical trials through the NIHR online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research, including research into pancreatic cancer, by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the amount of countryside available to roam.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride and which boost public health and wellbeing, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. We will be reviewing the maps of this open access land ahead of the statutory deadline of 1st January 2031, to ensure that the public have clear information which can help them to access this land.
We are continuing to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, for example through our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests, and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy.
In addition, the Government has made the decision to repeal the cut-off date for the registration of historic rights of way, preventing the loss of hundreds of miles of unregistered paths. This will ensure that these paths remain available to the public for future generations. This change will be formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to support people to access Government Gateway accounts without physical documentation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Where a customer does not have a driving license or passport, dependent on what records exist for that customer, they can use the following evidence items to prove their identity using Government Gateway:
• Self-Assessment – (If record available) This is a knowledge-based question based on previous tax records.
• Credit Reference – These are knowledge-based questions based on 3rd party credit reference records.
• Tax Credits – (If record available) This is a knowledge-based question based on previous tax records.
If a user is unable to provide sufficient evidence to prove their identity online, they can contact the relevant department (e.g. HMRC or DWP) directly by telephone, post, or face to face (DWP Only).
There are no plans to improve or add additional options to Government Gateway to enable people to prove their identity – instead additional methods to prove identity will be provided by Gov.UK One Login (including face-to-face verification) which will gradually replace Government Gateway starting Winter 2025.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to improve support available for people to (a) access and (b) use Government Gateway accounts.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government Gateway is easy to access and use. It is available 24 hours a day, all year round. For the period April 2024 to March 2025, it had over 56 million active accounts and was used 434.9 million times to access Government Digital Services.
HMRC provides a user-tested online service for setting up accounts on Government Gateway. Users have three attempts to prove their identity, with dynamic guidance provided after each attempt.
Dedicated customer technical support is available via online form, email, and telephone.
GOV.UK One Login (including face-to-face verification) will gradually replace Government Gateway starting Winter 2025. Plans are in place to ensure effective support during the transition.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints her Department has received on the difficulty of (a) accessing and (b) using the Government Gateway.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has 56 million active users of Government Gateway, who successfully used Government Gateway 435m times for the period 1 April 2024 – 14 March 2025. In the same period HMRC received 472 complaints in respect of accessing and/or using the service.