Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paid out for heat pumps in the West Midlands over the past year.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In the financial year 2024/25 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paid out £14.44 million for heat pumps installed in the West Midlands.

Further details on the number of applications by status, region and technology type, broken down by financial year, are provided in table A1.1A here.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will estimate the number of households with a non-working smart meter in the West Midlands.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department collects data on smart meters not operating in smart mode at a national level. The latest statistics on smart meters in operation across GB are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/smart-meters-in-great-britain-quarterly-update-september-2025.

Energy suppliers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are operating in smart mode. The Department is continuing to work closely with industry and Ofgem to reduce the proportion of smart meters not operating in smart mode, which has been steadily decreasing. Smart meters not operating in smart mode continue to record energy usage accurately but do not send automatic readings to energy suppliers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve public transport connections in the West Midlands.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The West Midlands Combined Authority will receive almost £2.4bn in Transport for City Region (TCR) funding up to 31/32.

Enabling Mayors in recipient areas to deliver schemes that align with local priorities, the TCR programme provides unprecedented, multi-year, consolidated funding settlements to enhance the local transport networks of some of England’s largest city regions, including investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure, to help to drive growth and productivity. It is for the Combined Authority to determine how this funding is allocated across the city region in line with local priorities.

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 increase the number of neonatal nurses in University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of houses in Sutton Coldfield constituency which will incur council tax surcharges from 2028.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 94638 on 26 November 2025.

The Government has not estimated the number of homes in Sutton Coldfield that will be liable for the new HVCTS.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Birmingham City Council on (a) pollution and (b) decreasing biodiversity in Sutton Park.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Sutton Park is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve.

Natural England (NE) has an ongoing constructive dialogue with Birmingham City Council (BCC), which manages the park, about its management of the park’s important biodiversity. This follows a decline in the condition of the park’s woodland and heathland habitats detected as part of NE’s SSSI monitoring programme.

NE and the Forestry Commission (FC) are advising BCC on improving the management of those habitats. NE is also exploring with BCC opportunities for managing the increased recreational pressure on the park, while also supporting growth of housing in the vicinity of the park.

NE is also engaged with Severn Trent Water on how sewage infrastructure failures can be avoided and any impacts addressed on the wetland and open water areas in Sutton Park. This work forms part of the water company’s five-year Asset Management Programmes agreed with Ofwat.

Actions to improve the site are set out in the West Midlands Combined Authority Local Nature Recovery Strategy. NE will be working with the responsible authority, FC and the Environment Agency to support delivery of those actions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the closure of the online filing service to support small businesses with simple tax affairs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I understand the impact the closure of this service for filing company accounts and tax returns may have on small, unrepresented businesses.

The service is closing because Companies House is modernising its accounts filing requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, passed by the previous government. The current service does not meet these new standards.

The Act forms part of wider reforms designed to strengthen corporate transparency and give Companies House greater powers to tackle economic crime and support economic growth.

The closure of the service, which is outdated and incompatible with modern requirements, will also allow HMRC to introduce measures to prevent abuse of the tax system and help close the small business tax gap, which was estimated to be £14.7 billion in the 2023/24 tax year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with small business owners on the closure of the online filing service to support small, unrepresented businesses with simple tax affairs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I understand the impact the closure of this service for filing company accounts and tax returns may have on small, unrepresented businesses.

The service is closing because Companies House is modernising its accounts filing requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, passed by the previous government. The current service does not meet these new standards.

The Act forms part of wider reforms designed to strengthen corporate transparency and give Companies House greater powers to tackle economic crime and support economic growth.

Government officials meet regularly with business groups and representatives to discuss issues affecting small businesses. HMRC has engaged directly with users of the service and with representative bodies. They continue to work with Companies House and software providers to support a smooth transition.

HMRC announced the closure of the service in February 2025, giving more than a year for those affected to make other arrangements. At the same time HMRC wrote to those impacted with support on how to transition. HMRC and Companies House will continue to ensure appropriate support is in place for small businesses during the transition.

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 Birmingham City Council on the devolution of the management of Sutton Park to the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

MHCLG is working closely with Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council on the Pride in Place Programme. Through this process, it has been made clear that Sutton Park is a vital and valued local asset. We will continue to work closely with both the Town Council and Birmingham City Council to support the delivery of the programme over the coming years.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to support hoteliers in the West Midlands.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector as a valuable contributor to the UK economy. The Government recognises the significant pressures facing the hospitality industry, including hotels, and is providing support through various measures to help ease these pressures.

The Government has introduced permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a ratable value under £500,000, worth nearly £900 million annually, benefitting over 750,000 properties. The new relief rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap so all qualifying properties will benefit.

DCMS works closely with VisitEngland/VisitBritain, Local Visitor Economy Partnerships and industry to support accommodation providers, including hotels in the West Midlands. The West Midlands is a key participant in a Destination Development Partnership pilot led by VisitEngland. This programme tests a new model for destination management by encouraging collaboration between national and local tourism bodies. The focus is on making the region more accessible and highlighting its range of shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to allocate additional police resources to tackle antisocial behaviour in the Birmingham City Council area.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

Under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities. £200 million has been made available in 2025-26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.

Based on their £12,210,903 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, West Midlands Police are projected to grow by 309 FTE neighbourhood officers in 2025-26 (289 FTE neighbourhood police officers and 20 FTE neighbourhood PCSOs).

Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities. As part of this initiative, West Midlands Police have identified 54 locations, including a number in Birmingham, in which visible patrols and targeted enforcement will be delivered to tackle anti-social behaviour, retail crime and other local crimes. The full list of locations can be found here:

Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support growth within the creative industries in the West Midlands.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Creative Industries Sector Plan is a new 10-year plan to tackle barriers to growth and maximise opportunities across the creative industries sector, with the aim of making the UK the number one destination for creativity and innovation by 2035.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan includes a universal offer to drive growth in the creative industries in any place in the UK, outlining new measures to break down barriers such as access to finance, supply of skills, and new support to kickstart innovation.

The £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is a new approach to supporting Creative Industries - devolving funding and empowering local leaders to grow the sector in 6 high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including the West Midlands. This will provide £25m to West Midlands Combined Authority to distribute, according to local barriers and opportunities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 97744 on Council Tax: Sutton Coldfield, if she will publish the evidential basis for the claim that the surcharge will raise £400m in revenue in 2028/29.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The policy costing note for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge is available on page 51 of the Budget 2025 policy costings document:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to help reduce levels of reoffending in the West Midlands.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

HMPPS Area Executive Directors (AEDs) are responsible for leading a joined-up approach to prisons and probation in their region, alongside working with criminal justice partners such as the police and local authorities to address the causes of offending and to make sure that those released from prison do not reoffend.

For those who persistently break the law, we are building 14,000 new prison places to make sure they are removed from the streets. Whilst in prison they will be expected to take part in education or learn new skills to make them more useful contributors to society after release.

Anyone released from prison is subject to strict licence conditions, including exclusion zones where appropriate. If found to have breached these conditions they can be returned to prison.

The Probation Service puts in place services aimed at reducing re-offending by supporting the needs of people on probation in the West Midlands. These include providing support in obtaining and maintaining suitable accommodation, help with drug and alcohol dependency issues, assistance with personal wellbeing needs and a holistic service addressing all needs for women.

In the Midlands, we have introduced an area Reducing Reoffending lead who will lead on projects working with Prison and Probations across the Midlands to help in reducing reoffending.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support hedgehog conservation initiatives in the West Midlands.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are being prepared by responsible authorities to agree on priorities that help nature recover and support species of local and national importance. Responsible authorities are required to consider national environmental objectives when preparing their LNRS, including the target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. The West Midlands LNRS was published recently and maps specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement to support species such as hedgehogs.

Nationally, Natural England is supporting the National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy and the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme. Information gathered from these projects will provide insights into the factors contributing to hedgehog population decline, leading to the implementation of practical conservation measures to address this challenge.