Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to the construction of the Frankley Hill specialist school in New Frankley, Birmingham.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Frankley Hill School in Birmingham is currently at an early stage of development. At this stage, a specific project budget has not yet been confirmed. A feasibility study is underway, including site surveys and initial design work, which will inform the overall project budget.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on patients with (a) Addison's Disease and (b) adrenal insufficiency of the permanent discontinuation of hydrocortisone sodium phosphate 100mg/1ml solution by Advanz Pharma.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department are aware of the discontinuation of hydrocortisone sodium phosphate 100 milligram/one millilitre solution for injection and we continue to work with industry to find a longer-term solution.
Hydrocortisone sodium succinate 100 milligram powder remains available for patients. We have issued comprehensive management guidance to healthcare professionals on how to manage patients while supply is disrupted. The guidance highlighted the differences between the two hydrocortisone injections. It also included resources for patients and healthcare professionals on how to administer the alternative hydrocortisone injection.
We also understand that The Addison’s Self Help Group have also published information on this discontinuation to keep patients informed along with resources for patients on how to administer the alternative hydrocortisone.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of her Department's acquisition of Class 365 units in 2019.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cost of the purchase of the Class 365s in 2019 was £123.6M which was set out in the 2020 accounts of Train Fleet (2019) (“TF19”) available through Companies House (see principal activities and note 7 fixed assets).
This purchase price has been substantially recovered which can be seen through the subsequent published accounts of TF19 with only £9M remaining in the March 2025 accounts.
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 15 April 2026 to Question 125758, and with reference to the Answer of 19 October 2019 to Question 2677, what information the British Transport Police hold on the number of (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for railway trespass offences.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) record this data, however due to data recording methods and the extended time period the request applies to, they have not been able to extract the information within the timeframe. I have asked the Rail Minister to write to the Honourable Member with the data requested by the end of the month of April 2026.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department has assessed the potential merits of constructing (a) the Bordesley Chord West (b) the Bordesley Chord East at the same time.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail awarded a contract for detailed design for the Western phase of Midlands Rail Hub (including both Bordesley Chords) in December 2025. Progressing to delivery is subject to securing necessary consents and a final investment decision, which will consider the value for money and affordability of constructing both chords at the same time.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she is making to G7 partner nations on the prevention of transnational repression.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December 2025 in response to Question 97660.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the levels of public awareness of the 29 January 2022 revisions to the Highway Code.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding.
The Department has assessed public understanding of the 2022 Highway Code changes through survey research which tracks levels of awareness and self‑reported understanding and compliance over time.
· The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to over 50% in August 2022 and up to 70% in September 2023, with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by that time.
· Understanding of pedestrian priority at junctions increased from 52% to 72%, and cyclists riding 2 abreast rising from 30% to 46%.
· Following the second phase of the campaign in summer 2023, 81% of drivers claimed to leave a gap of 1.5metres when passing a cyclist all or most of the time. 79% of drivers claimed to pass horse riders and horse drawn vehicles with at least 2metres distance and at under 10mph all or most of the time.
·Of the respondents that recognised the campaign advert, nine in ten said they had taken action as a result.
· More recent figures show a sustained increase in those saying it is unacceptable to not leave enough space for cyclists and horse riders, from 60% in March 2024 to 68% in April 2025.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety.
Although failure to comply with the advisory rules of the Highway Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, contraventions of these rules may be used as evidence in court to establish liability for a road traffic offence. Advisory rules include those which begin ‘should/should not’ and ‘do/do not’.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the maximum penalty for railway trespass was set at £1,000; and what the maximum penalty was previously.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The maximum penalty of £1,000 for railway trespass was set with effect from 1 October 1992, following amendments to the standard scale of fines made under the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Prior to October 1992, the maximum penalty at level 3 on the standard scale was £400.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of railway trespass in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Prosecution and Conviction data are held by the Ministry of Justice from court records collected by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The Department for Transport does not hold this data separately for railway trespass and it is not always recorded as its own offence category in national data sets.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the sum of penalties for railway trespass has been in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on the number of financial penalties imposed by the courts is held by the Ministry of Justice, from sentencing data recorded by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The Department for Transport does not record the sum of penalties for railway trespass.