Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress the Office for National Statistics has made on the development of the Household Costs Indices.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st of December is attached.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of replacing animal testing in the UK with Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs); and if this will be reflected in the upcoming strategy to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield to the answer of 01.12.2025 to Question 92600.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merit of redirecting existing funding and resources to support the transition to Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to support the phasing out of animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” is supported by new funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology including £30 million to set up a translational hub and £30 million for the UK centre for the validation of alternative methods.
£11.4m has also been committed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK’s core budgets and £4.5m from the Wellcome Trust to support strategy implementation to build a world-class UK research system by enhancing investment.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to monitor and report on its progress towards phasing out animal testing; and whether industry stakeholders will be involved in assessing the effectiveness of the strategy once implemented.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We will establish governance structures to oversee strategy delivery, including a cross-governmental Ministerial group on alternative methods, chaired by the Science Minister, key performance indicators (KPIs) and a publicly available dashboard of progress against the strategy’s key deliverables. From 2026 we will also report biennially on updated research and development priorities, alternative methods accepted by regulatory agency and priorities for future development and validation.
We will work closely with experts from across many fields including regulators, academics, industry and civil society organisations, to ensure that this strategy remains up to date, focused on the key issues and delivers on track.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to prevent the importation of factory farmed octopus food products.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have no current plans to prevent the import of farmed octopus products to the UK.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to item 2.1 of the minutes of the 25 April 2025 meeting of the Advisory Panel on Consumer Prices (Stakeholder), what recent progress the Office for National Statistics has made on evaluating the potential impact of the use of groceries scanner data on the headline rates of (a) CPI, (b) CPIH and (c) RPI.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st December is attached.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the determination of the future of Birmingham's PFI roads contract.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has taken careful note of the High Court ruling relating to the previous Government’s decision not to support the PFI arrangements for Birmingham City Council’s highway maintenance services.
The Department has subsequently conducted a consultation with the Council about the PFI contract and we have been carefully reviewing the Council’s detailed representations, with the Council’s support on clarification questions.
We are continuing to engage with the Council on the PFI with a view to confirming the decision on whether or not to support the continuation of the PFI contract as soon as possible.
I am committed to working together with Birmingham City Council to find a way forward which is in the best interests of the people of Birmingham and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church makes funding available for the installation of CCTV cameras at pastoral buildings that are not churches.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Best practice would be to engage with the diocese in question, the insurance company and with local police, to discuss any specific equipment that might be needed and what local money may be available.
In some cases the insurance company working with the local parish and police can install equipment and devices if needed.
There is some advice on the Church of England website about responding to antisocial behaviour: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/deeper-god-mission-theology (link is under ‘Reconciliation’)
It is also worth looking at the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme, operated by the Home Office, to see whether this particular circumstance might be eligible. A crime reference number would be required
Depending on the cost of the equipment needed the parish may also wish to consider applying to the local authority, which has local discretionary small grant schemes. Under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 monies are available for local authorities to give financial assistance to parish churches for repairs and improvements.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of an annual standard class rail season ticket was between Rochdale and Manchester stations in (a) 2010 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The standard class annual rail season ticket between Rochdale and Manchester was (a) £900.00 in 2010 and (b) £1,396.00 in 2024.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the reopening of the Camp Hill line in Birmingham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials are in regular contact with West Midlands Rail Executive and the West Midlands Combined Authority, who are reopening the Camp Hill line with three new stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road.
Construction is close to completion; the stations are expected to be open for public use early next year.