Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to councils on encouraging the use of kinship care arrangements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s statutory guidance on the purpose, principles for practice and expected outcomes of children’s social care that should be achieved so children and young people can grow up to achieve and thrive is in the Children’s Social Care National Framework.
The second outcome of the national framework sets out the expectation that children’s social care “needs to consider how to unlock family networks and identify kinship carers to be a source of support, whenever children and young people need help, protection, or care”.
The support available to help embed the national framework in practice is available in the accompanying advice. Further, the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities sets out a framework for the provision of support to kinship families, and how family networks can be engaged to support the needs of children throughout the children’s social care system, including those unable to live with their parents.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84448 on Timesharing: Regulation, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) extend the 14 day exit right in the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Enabling consumers to exit timeshares is a balance between protecting consumers wanting to leave and the interests of the business and those customers who remain and share admin costs. The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 provide significant protections, including stipulating the information consumers must be aware of prior to purchase and a 14 day right to exit. This exit timeframe is in line with other areas of consumer law, such as The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Purchasers of timeshares are also protected by general consumer law, requiring contract terms be fair and not mis-sold.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the equitableness of the Child Maintenance Service's (a) fee structure and (b) case prioritisation (i) where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims and (ii) all other cases.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.
Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately.
The calculation can also take into account other aspects such as where care of the child is shared between the parents and any other children that the paying parent provides care.
The CMS recognises the complexity of cases where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims and is committed to ensuring that all children receive fair and timely support.
Where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims, the CMS recalculates the total maintenance liability based on the number of qualifying children across all cases, fees are based on a percentage of the total ongoing maintenance (OGM) amount, not on the number of arrangements.
The calculation can also take into account any other children outside of the statutory scheme for whom the paying parent provides support. This ensures the Child Maintenance Service fulfils its responsibility to consider the welfare of all children connected to a case.
A consultation on proposed CMS reforms was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. The consultation was extended by the Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. The Government published a response on 23 June 2025. This included plans to reform the CMS fee structure for the Collect and Pay Service, reducing fees to 2% for receiving parents, deducted from maintenance received, and 2% for compliant paying parents in addition to their calculated maintenance amount, while maintaining the 20% rate for non-compliant paying parents, in addition to their calculated maintenance amount.
The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.
Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to extensive public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of paying parents who have (a) avoided and (b) reduced child maintenance payments through (i) advance benefit payments and (ii) other similar means.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) recognises the importance of ensuring that child maintenance payments are made fairly and consistently, and that children receive the financial support to which they are entitled.
In the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced that from 30 April 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would reduce the Universal Credit (UC) overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of the standard allowance, introducing the Fair Repayment Rate (FRR). Without changes, this would reduce the number of child maintenance (CM) deductions. To prevent this, DWP implemented a temporary regulatory and policy change for one year from 30 April 2025 meaning CM deductions moved to first place in UC’s deductions priority order and deductions can exceed the 15% cap ensuring CM payments continue. Evidence gathered during the year will inform whether to make the change permanent or adopt an alternative approach.
In relation to other similar means: The CMS monitors claims to ensure they are accurate and works closely with HMRC to verify income data and identify discrepancies. Where a receiving parent believes their assessment does not reflect the paying parent’s true financial position, CMS offers a variation process to challenge the assessment.
The CMS continues to refine its systems to detect and prevent avoidance, including through legislative reforms and improved data sharing.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanisms are in place to allow the collection of child maintenance arrears after a qualifying child ceases to be a qualifying child; and what guidance his Department has issued to receiving parents on this matter.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
If Paying Parents fail to meet their financial obligation to their children, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of strong enforcement powers including deduction from earnings orders and bank accounts, removing a parents passport or driving license and committal to prison. These powers can be used to collect debt of any age, including after a child ceases to be a qualifying child.
When ongoing maintenance ends due to there no longer being a qualifying child, the CMS will contact both parties to explain what this means. Receiving Parents are informed of any arrears outstanding and provided with guidance on whether they want the arrears collecting, and how the CMS can recover the arrears owed.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84448 on Timesharing: Regulation, whether his Department is considering taking steps to (a) require licensing and bonding of management companies, (b) ensure audited accounts are accessible to fractional owners and (c) prohibit the use of perpetual contracts or in-perpetuity clauses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no current plans to consider licencing and bonding of timeshare management businesses.
All companies are required to file audited accounts subject to certain exemptions, in particular for micro-sized companies, which may prepare and file simplified accounts, and small companies, which may abridge accounts. Both may also be able to claim audit exemption. Accounts are then made available to the public.
Exiting timeshares balances consumer protection, business interests and remaining customers' shared costs. Whilst there are no plans to alter this, purchasers of timeshares are also protected by general consumer law, requiring contract terms be fair and not mis-sold.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the proportion of mortgages issued under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to first-time buyers in the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics are available online covering the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme which was open from 2021-2025, including a breakdown of the number of mortgages issued under that scheme by region of the UK and the proportion of purchases under that scheme made by first-time buyers.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/official-statistics-on-the-mortgage-guarantee-scheme
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish a breakdown of the number of mortgages issued under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme by region of the UK.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics are available online covering the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme which was open from 2021-2025, including a breakdown of the number of mortgages issued under that scheme by region of the UK and the proportion of purchases under that scheme made by first-time buyers.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/official-statistics-on-the-mortgage-guarantee-scheme
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - 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, how many and what proportion of mental health inpatients discharged between 2024 and 2025 were readmitted within (a) 30 and (b) 90 days of discharge, broken down by age group.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the information requested for inpatients discharged between January 2024 and December 2024 in England:
Age band | Discharges eligible for readmission | Readmissions within 30 days of discharge | Readmissions within 90 days of discharge | Proportion of discharges readmitted within 30 days | Proportion of discharges readmitted within 90 days |
0-17 | 4,134 | 1,468 | 1,925 | 35.5% | 46.6% |
18-24 | 10,912 | 1,868 | 3,068 | 17.1% | 28.1% |
25-34 | 18,806 | 2,414 | 4,156 | 12.8% | 22.1% |
35-44 | 16,742 | 1,785 | 3,270 | 10.7% | 19.5% |
45-54 | 12,615 | 1,177 | 2,210 | 9.3% | 17.5% |
55-64 | 10,286 | 910 | 1,704 | 8.8% | 16.6% |
65+ | 13,273 | 761 | 1,417 | 5.7% | 10.7% |
Missing/Invalid records | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Total | 86,770 | 10,383 | 17,750 | 12.0% | 20.5% |
Source: Mental Health Services Dataset, NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking in (a) the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency and (b) Essex to encourage the establishment of banking hubs in towns which lack in-person banking services.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and over 180 are already open.
The location of banking hubs is determined independently by LINK following an access to cash review. An access to cash review can be requested via their website which also has information about the criteria they use. This includes population size, whether other banks remain nearby, the number of SMEs on the high street and public transport links, as well as the level of vulnerability in the community. It also takes account of whether a community is urban or rural.
Whilst the government doesn’t keep data on the demographics of banking hub users specifically, we utilise data from the Financial Conduct Authority on wider in-person banking. According to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Survey, in 2024, day-to-day account holders most likely to have undertaken banking activities face to face in a branch in the previous 12 months were the digitally excluded (46%), heavy users of cash (40%), and adults aged 75+ (34%).