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 potential impact of unreliable child maintenance payments on child poverty.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that children in separated families are poorer and more likely to live in poverty than those in non-separated families. Child maintenance payment through both statutory and non-statutory arrangements keep approximately 120,000 children out of poverty each year. DWP estimates that streamlining the CMS into a single maintenance collection and transfer service in line with our current proposals for change could result in around 20,000 fewer children in poverty.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will work hard to make sure parents pay in full and on time. Where parents fail to take responsibility for paying for their children, the CMS will not hesitate to use the range enforcement powers available. The CMS is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families. Our current proposals should result in securing money for children more quickly in many of these cases.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to help tackle high vacancy rates in (a) shopping centres and (b) other retail units.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to fostering the conditions to reduce vacancy, including in our high streets and shopping centres. We have introduced legislation to ban upwards-only rent reviews in commercial leases to make tenancies more affordable, and will introduce lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026. As set out in the recent Pride in Place strategy, we have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions, empowering councils to bring vacant units back into use, and other measures to support revitalisation of vacant space including a new Community Right to Buy for valued assets, such as shops and pubs, and streamlined compulsory purchase orders. This is alongside up to £5 billion investment in 244 of the most deprived neighbourhoods which can be used to tackle high street vacancy.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on taking steps to help support high streets in the context of trends in the levels of online shopping.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is fully committed to working with councils and other partners to revitalise our changing high streets. Through the Pride in Place programme, we are investing up to £5 billion funding to revive deprived neighbourhoods and high streets. The department engages regularly with councils on a variety of issues, including our plans for neighbourhood and high street regeneration.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review regulations affecting (a) rent and (b) service charges in (i) high streets and (ii) shopping centres.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government recognises the importance of a fair commercial leasehold market for the health of the high street. We are legislating to ban the use of upwards-only rent reviews, which make high street businesses uncompetitive if the market declines. We have also tasked the Law Commission, in addition to their ongoing review of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1954), with considering the law governing the maintenance, repair and upgrading of leased commercial buildings, including service charges.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to integrate (a) modern road safety technology, (b) smart signage and (c) AI-based monitoring systems into transport planning for new housing developments in Essex.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course.
More broadly, we are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to continue to actively explore innovations in the housing and planning sector, such as the recent PropTech Innovation Challenge that is funding innovative and scalable PropTech solutions to help deliver homes.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that road safety improvements do not adversely impact (a) the reduction of emissions, (b) the use of sustainable transport and (c) other environmental objectives.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. However, it is vital that we do not inadvertently impact the environment when implementing measures to improve safety. To ensure this, and in line with the Environment Act 2021, Ministers will comply with their legal duty to have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement when making policy decisions.
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, what steps he is taking to support charities that provide make a wish experiences for children undergoing cancer treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England is taking steps to improve the experience of children in hospital and their families, including young cancer patients. To improve standards for the provision of play in hospitals, the Taskforce on Children’s Play in Healthcare has developed national guidance on play provision for commissioners and new national play standards for service providers.
NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on the treatment experience of children with cancer.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, which will include further details on how we will improve play provision for children and young people with cancer.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on treatment experience of children with cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England is taking steps to improve the experience of children in hospital and their families, including young cancer patients. To improve standards for the provision of play in hospitals, the Taskforce on Children’s Play in Healthcare has developed national guidance on play provision for commissioners and new national play standards for service providers.
NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on the treatment experience of children with cancer.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, which will include further details on how we will improve play provision for children and young people with cancer.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with mortgage lenders on their role in supporting home ownership in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is in regular contact with mortgage lenders with a view to understanding their position and current lending conditions.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I hosted major high street banks on 10 September and called on lenders to make first-time buyers their top priority. The press notice can be found on gov.uk here.
The pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the government does not intervene.
The UK benefits from a competitive mortgage market with various first-time buyer products available.
The government has worked with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, who have clarified and increased the flexibility of their mortgage regulations. This is helping more customers – especially first-time buyers – to borrow what they need to buy the homes they want, while retaining protections so that lending remains affordable and responsible.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the average age in which people in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency are able to purchase their first home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme and the Lifetime ISA.
The government has also introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers.
Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper.
First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.