Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the decision of the Government of Zimbabwe to secure a service level agreement with the IMF.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

A Staff-Monitored Programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an important step for Zimbabwe to take in order to make progress towards a Staff-Level Agreement and clearing its foreign debt arrears. The UK is an active participant in the Structured Dialogue on Arrears Clearance, a multilateral platform for Zimbabwe to discuss arrears with its creditors and other development partners. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials participated in a roundtable side event on Zimbabwe's arrears at both the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in April and the African Development Bank Annual Meetings in May. The FCDO is also regularly in contact with the IMF to discuss Zimbabwe's economic reforms, both at headquarters and in-country.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department supports the return of Zimbabwe to full membership of the Commonwealth.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government has always been clear that we want to see Zimbabwe return to the Commonwealth when the time is right. We recognise there has been progress, but further steps are needed on democracy, governance and human rights. Decisions on Commonwealth membership are for all member states. The UK has expressed support for a further Commonwealth assessment mission.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support (a) free and (b) fair presidential elections in the Ivory Coast in October 2025.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to promoting good governance and democracy in Côte d'Ivoire, including transparent and inclusive elections.

On 25-28 May, the Minister for Africa visited Côte d'Ivoire, and discussed with the President and his government the importance of open civic space, democratic debate, and strong electoral institutions.

Our Embassy in Abidjan is engaging with relevant state institutions and all political parties, emphasising the importance of peaceful and fair elections, whilst coordinating their efforts with international partners.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recent decision by the Zimbabwean government to pay compensation to farmers whose land was confiscated.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We welcome Zimbabwe's recent payments to farmers whose land was confiscated. We understand that 379 farmers covered by the 2020 Global Compensation Deed, which includes some British nationals, have been compensated. There have also been initial payments to farmers covered by Bilateral Investment Protection & Promotion Agreements, such as Germany, Dutch and Swiss nationals. This is in line with commitments made by the Government of Zimbabwe in the Structured Dialogue on Arrears Clearance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help support a wide selection of candidates being available to eligible voters in the Ivory Coast for elections in October 2025.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Matters of electoral practices are a matter for the Government of Côte d'Ivoire. Candidates for the presidential election are selected by political parties and must comply with provisions set out in Côte d'Ivoire's constitution and related laws.

The UK, along with likeminded partners, is monitoring the electoral developments in Côte d'Ivoire closely, through regular engagement with government officials, civil society actors and opposition figures. Beyond this, the UK has, through diplomatic engagements, consistently emphasised the importance of elections being free and fair as well as the need for voters to be presented with meaningful choice.

These issues were raised by the Minister for Africa, during his recent visit to Côte d'Ivoire on 25-28 May, where he discussed with the President and his government the importance of open civic space, democratic debate, and strong electoral institutions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of crown court cases in the West Midlands.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. For this financial year (2025/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded. However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of efficiency that will propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims.

In the West Midlands:

• Over the past three years, the West Midlands Crown Court centres have experienced a significant increase in receipts, rising by 40%, a figure that surpasses the national average of 30%. This growth reflects the increasing demand on the judicial system in the region.
• In response to this rising caseload, the Crown Court centres in the West Midlands (Birmingham Crown Court and Wolverhampton Crown Court) have proactively increased their operational capacity, sitting a total of 5655 days in 2024/25 (an increase of 3.8% from 5450 days in 2023/24).
• Wolverhampton Crown Court has expanded its capacity from seven to eight courtrooms, with the addition of an extra courtroom at Telford Annex. Furthermore, in 2023 Wolverhampton welcomed an increase in circuit judges, and Birmingham saw an extra circuit judge last year, thus strengthening the judiciary to manage the rising volume of cases. Efforts are also underway to bolster judicial resources further, with plans for additional judicial recruitment in an upcoming campaign.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support self-employed people in the West Midlands.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Last year, the Business Secretary announced a new Business Growth Service, which will make it easier for entrepreneurs and businesses across the West Midlands to get support and advice to grow, export and thrive.

The West Midlands Growth Hub is where entrepreneurs and SMEs across the West Midlands can obtain specialist advice, including on scaling up and accessing new markets.

Businesses can also access other Government programmes such as the Business Support Service, Help to Grow: Management, the UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisors, the Export Support Service and financial help via the British Business Bank.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help reduce waiting times for cancer screening and testing in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government understands that more needs to be done to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. To achieve this, we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week during our first year in Government, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

We will support the National Health Service to transform diagnostic services by spending £1.65 billion on additional capacity, including new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners, to support the delivery of over 30,000 more procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests as they come online.

In bowel cancer screening services across Birmingham and Solihull, the integrated care board (ICB) has successfully implemented the age-extension so all people aged 50 years old or over are now eligible for a screening test and the service is meeting targets.

Delays in breast cancer screening in this region have caught up from the backlogs seen during the pandemic and are now in line with national requirements. The symptomatic service for breast screening is also meeting the faster diagnosis standard.

NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB is also running a cancer bus tour, stopping off at locations across Birmingham and Solihull, including two stops in the Sutton Coldfield constituency at Princess Alice Retail Park, across 18 dates throughout April, June and September 2025. Local citizens can talk to health professionals about the importance of cancer screening, learn how to check themselves for different cancers and find support to help them live the healthiest possible life.

Mauritius Treaty

Found: _NC13 Kim Johnson Sir Andrew Mitchell Yasmin Qureshi Zarah Sultana Ian Byrne Liz Saville Roberts

Found: _NC13 Kim Johnson Sir Andrew Mitchell Yasmin Qureshi Zarah Sultana Ian Byrne Liz Saville Roberts

Found: Andrew Rosindell Leigh Ingham Cat Smith Jim Allister Irene Campbell Alice Macdonald Sir Andrew Mitchell

Found: Andrew Rosindell Leigh Ingham Cat Smith Jim Allister Irene Campbell Alice Macdonald Sir Andrew Mitchell