Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what monitoring, outcome delivery and value-for-money assessments have taken place for Homes England grants awarded to McCarthy Stone since 2021; what financial risk assessments have been conducted regarding resale values and service charges for older residents and their families who have purchased properties developed via this grant; and what discussions she has had with Homes England on publishing a review outlining funding decisions and performance so far.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Regular reporting and evaluation requirements were placed upon recipients of grant from the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26, including those delivering Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO), to help monitor delivery and assess its expected outputs and outcomes.
While my Department and Homes England set the policy and funding framework within which OPSO was delivered under the 2021-26 Programme, individual registered providers are responsible for the management of their schemes, the terms of their leases and their engagement with residents. We would expect them to ensure that purchasers are provided with clear and transparent information about the product they are buying, including the costs and obligations associated with it.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), my Department is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People's Housing Taskforce report, including its recommendation that the government should implement the Law Commission’s 2017 recommendation to undertake a comprehensive report into resale values to support better consumer understanding and sector development.
The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building. By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Overcharging through service charges is completely unacceptable. Should leaseholders wish to content the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal. The government remains committed to switching on measures contained in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to drive up the transparency of service charges as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 15 July 2026 (HCWS270).
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of potential funding cuts to West Midlands Fire Services on their resources to protect the community and firefighters, and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of greater central government funding for West Midlands Fire Services.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In 2026/27, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £147.27 million, an increase of 7.11% compared with 2025/26.
Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority. The Ministry will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
The Government recognises that the current fire funding formula was designed over a decade ago. In line with responses to the principles of reform consultation in December 2024, the Government updated the fire and rescue relative needs formula using the most up-to-date data available. We are working with the fire sector on a comprehensive review of the formula ahead of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure the Leasehold Reform Bill protects elderly residents from (a) uncapped retirement property fees, (b) losing tribunal rights, (c) unchecked legacy ground rents and escalating service charges and (d) uncapped event fees.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 15 July 2026 (HCWS270).
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the potential economic, environmental and social merits of requiring greater transparency over the provenance of steel used in publicly funded infrastructure projects.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In July 2026, the Cabinet Office introduced new requirements for central government departments to confirm in their procurements if steel produced in the UK is to be used by the prime contractor or within the supply chain. This will help to identify gaps in UK production capability and domestic demand for steel to better understand our supply chains, supporting the delivery of the Steel Strategy.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve (a) diagnosis times for hypophosphatasia, and (b) treatment and condition management for patients with this condition in Bromsgrove and the Villages.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is supporting earlier diagnosis of hypophosphatasia through its rare disease programme, including work by the Adult Rare Bone Disease Rare Disease Collaborative Network and Metabolic UK to improve recognition of persistently low alkaline phosphatase results and prompt appropriate investigation, specialist referral and genomic testing where indicated.
Asfotase alfa is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for paediatric onset hypophosphatasia and is commissioned through specialist paediatric and adult providers, including two in the West Midlands, with national network arrangements and homecare support helping patients access appropriate treatment. While NHS England does not currently hold information identifying individual patients with hypophosphatasia in Bromsgrove and the Villages, access to specialist assessment and treatment is organised through national provider and network arrangements rather than being dependent on proximity to a designated centre.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current derogation handover of specialised medications from tertiary centres to primary care in the West Midlands; and what steps her Department is taking to improve medication access for pulmonary fibrosis via these shared care arrangements.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialised medicines are generally not appropriate for use in primary care as they require specialist oversight and may be subject to confidential pricing frameworks.
Discussions are currently underway with specialist respiratory centres in the West Midlands regarding the prescribing of high-cost idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis medicines through shared care arrangements with non-specialist secondary care providers.
These arrangements would allow responsibilities for prescribing and monitoring to be appropriately allocated, while maintaining oversight from specialist multidisciplinary teams where required. The intention is to support more accessible prescribing closer to patients, while ensuring these specialist medicines continue to be prescribed safely.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that public procurement can demonstrate the proportion of steel used in major infrastructure projects that is manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government publishes steel procurement data annually on gov.uk. Under Procurement Policy Note 022, in-scope organisations report the value, volume, product type and country of origin of steel procured in the previous financial year, enabling an analysis of the proportion of UK made steel in public procurement projects. Alongside this the Government also publishes a pipeline of projected steel requirements detailing what steel is needed in future for government infrastructure projects, enabling UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for contracts.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what provision will be made in SFI27 for farmers whose existing agreements expire in March 2027; whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of transitional arrangement; and what alternative application process is being considered for 2027.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the Farming Roadmap 2050, we plan to make an SFI27 offer available. Following the closure of SFI26 Window 2, we are working with farming representative organisations and the wider sector to consider how the scheme can be refined.
Decisions on the detailed design of SFI27, including arrangements for farmers with expiring agreements, are being considered as part of this work. We will provide further information in due course.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential role of the Post Office network in supporting access to banking services for small businesses and contributing to the sustainability of local high streets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of banking services to communities and high streets, including those in rural and urban areas, and is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects. The Review will consider access to in-person banking services for both personal and business customers.
As part of this, the Review will consider existing forms of in-person banking provision. The Post Office provides banking services across the UK to both personal and business customers through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.
The evidence collected by the Review will inform future decisions on whether further action is needed. Alongside the Review, the Government intends to use the Financial Services and Markets Bill to introduce a power to allow action to be taken in future to protect access to banking services, should the evidence support intervention.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department will consider different geographic access criteria for in-person banking services in rural and urban communities following the Access to Banking Services Review.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of banking services to communities and high streets, including those in rural and urban areas, and is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects. The Review will consider access to in-person banking services for both personal and business customers.
As part of this, the Review will consider existing forms of in-person banking provision. The Post Office provides banking services across the UK to both personal and business customers through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.
The evidence collected by the Review will inform future decisions on whether further action is needed. Alongside the Review, the Government intends to use the Financial Services and Markets Bill to introduce a power to allow action to be taken in future to protect access to banking services, should the evidence support intervention.