Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 110890 on HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme, what schemes have been withdrawn by (a) location and (b) operator.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A total of 16 projects have been withdrawn by operators from the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme.
The regional distribution of withdrawn schemes is as follows:
East Midlands: 7
East of England: 5
North West of England: 1
South East of England: 1
West Midlands: 2
The location and names of these operators are commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the (a) sickness absence rate, (b) total number of days lost to sickness absence and (c) number of days lost to sickness absence per head was for Member's staff in each of the last three years.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
This data is correct as of 12 March 2026, and it should be noted that this only includes sickness absence that has been reported to IPSA and excludes any pregnancy-related sickness.
The sickness absence rate, based on an assumption of 228 working days per employee per year, for each of the past three calendar years, is as follows – 13.79% (2023), 11.86% (2024), and 8.28% (2025). Year-to-date in 2026, the figure is 5.7%.
The total number of actual working days lost to sickness absence since 1 January 2023 is 32,152.
The average number of actual working days lost to sickness per head of MPs’ staff in each of the past three calendar years is as follows – 8.18 (2023), 8.56 (2024), and 5.68 (2025). Year-to-date in 2026, the figure is 5.60 days.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the (a) median and (b) mean full-time equivalent salary was for each staff job title in 2024-25 for hon. Members' staff (i) outside and (ii) inside London.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
IPSA has provided the median and mean full-time equivalent salary for each MPs’ staff job family and job title in 2024-25 for both staff members employed outside and inside London in the table below. The data excludes cases where only one staff member holds a specific title, to avoid the risk of disclosing information about identifiable individuals.
Mean and Median Salaries per job family | ||||
Job Family | Location | No in role | Mean FTE Salary | Median FTE Salary |
Admin 1 | Non-London | 130 | 27495.39 | 26579.15 |
Admin 1 | London | 55 | 30108.80 | 30000.00 |
Admin 2 | Non-London | 82 | 33220.17 | 32837.34 |
Admin 2 | London | 16 | 36655.24 | 36190.00 |
Admin 3 | Non-London | 409 | 45593.61 | 45113.41 |
Admin 3 | London | 131 | 49387.34 | 50000.00 |
Exec 1 | Non-London | 1054 | 29094.57 | 29000.00 |
Exec 1 | London | 250 | 30688.19 | 30000.00 |
Exec 2 | Non-London | 604 | 37370.29 | 37000.00 |
Exec 2 | London | 147 | 40782.43 | 40000.00 |
Research 2 | Non-London | 105 | 32051.67 | 32000.00 |
Research 2 | London | 377 | 33150.47 | 33000.00 |
Research 3 | London | 380 | 47800.77 | 46000.00 |
Research 3 | Non-London | 161 | 45821.65 | 46200.00 |
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 09 March 2026 to Question 117392 on Staff, what the a) full-time equivalent median salary and b) full-time equivalent mean salary is for Members' staff.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
The full-time equivalent median salary for Members’ staff as of 12 March 2026 is £35,000. The full-time equivalent mean salary for Members’ staff as of 12 March 2026 is £36,595.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Bryony House care home in Birmingham Northfield constituency will next be inspected by the CQC.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bryony House Care Home was last inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May 2025 and was rated as Inadequate and placed into special measures.
The CQC has advised that it continues to monitor the service closely and will carry out a further assessment, based on assessment priorities and the level of risk across the region. As this assessment will be unannounced, the CQC is unable to provide a timeframe for completion.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, with reference to page 68 of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24, whether IPSA recognises the PCS trade union for collective bargaining purposes.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
IPSA does not recognise the PCS union for the purposes of collective bargaining. IPSA has established a long standing, trusted and collaborative arrangement with its PCS representatives over the years with whom it engages on significant matters that relate specifically to the small number of IPSA employees who are members of a trade union, as appropriate.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, with reference to page 68 of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24, whether any IPSA activity necessitated formal employee consultation during (a) 2024-25 or(b) 2025-26 to date.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
There is no IPSA activity during 2024-25 or 2025-26 to date that necessitated formal empoyee consultation. However, IPSA collaborates effectively with the PCS trade union representative on matters such as the pay of IPSA's people or significant changes to terms and conditions. Ahead of structural changes made in autumn 2025, IPSA collaberated with its trade union representative who was able to raise concerns at that point. Pay data and recommendations are raised with a formal sub-committee of IPSA's board and ultimate decisions on the pay of IPSA's people are taken at Board level.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to make it easier for musicians to tour in the EU.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting creative and cultural touring is a manifesto commitment for this Government and delivering on it requires coordinated action across Whitehall, given the range of policy areas involved, including mobility, customs and logistics. Enabling artists and their crews to tour more easily supports shared economic growth, job creation and artistic innovation across Europe.
We recognise the practical challenges that current arrangements present for musicians and their crews, particularly smaller and emerging artists. Building on the Common Understanding Commitment reached at the inaugural UK-EU Summit, we are exploring with the EU Commission and EU Member States how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent.
DCMS Ministers are working closely with Cabinet colleagues to ensure a coherent, cross-Government approach. We are also engaging regularly with the sector to understand the operational impacts and identify workable solutions. Engagement with the EU and Member States will continue in pursuit of practical and proportionate progress, whilst respecting regulatory frameworks on both sides.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 91715, how many claimants were awarded a payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in each financial year since 1993-94.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 86092, how many claimants were awarded a payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in each financial year since 2021-22.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The NHS Business Services Authority is the administrator of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS). The following table shows the total number of awarded claims in each financial year since 2021/22:
Year | Total number of VDPS claims awarded |
2021/22 | 1 |
2022/23 | 72 |
2023/24 | 99 |
2024/25 | 55 |
2025/26 | 34 |
Total | 261 |
Note: Data for 2025/26 figure is accurate as of 6 February 2026. The previous question, answered on 28 October 2025, covered the period up until 30 September 2025. Some claims may be paid in a different financial year to which they were awarded.