Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his (a) Danish and (b) Greenlandic counterparts on the establishment of a NATO naval presence on the east coast of Greenland.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
NATO’s maritime posture is determined collectively by Allies rather than through bilateral negotiations. The UK has a close defence relationship with Denmark, including through NATO and the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps with the Royal Household to establish an inventory of (a) publicly and (b) privately owned items in royal residences.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Royal Collection Trust is responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection and there is already a publicly available inventory of object records held by the Royal Collection Trust on the rct.uk website.
Separately, the Royal Household maintains fixed asset registers, which are audited annually by the National Audit Office, for items funded by the Sovereign Grant.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with mobile phone companies to introduce a (a) single and (b) central emergency telephone number paid for by mobile phone (i) operators and (ii) manufacturers to allow reporting by victims of unlocked mobile phone theft to report those thefts immediately; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on (A) (1) financial and (2) personal data theft and (ii) the number of police hours dedicated to mobile phone crimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.
This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves. This has included exploring what technical interventions would be most effective, including discussion around improving reporting mechanisms when a mobile phone is stolen. Positive developments include commitments to improving visibility of unique identification numbers/IMEIs to help identify stolen devices and raising awareness of existing mechanisms for reporting the theft of mobile devices, which include calling 101, going to a local police station or reporting the crime anonymously via Crimestoppers.
All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising this type of theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and the data and personal information on their devices.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to amend the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 to (a) strengthen the powers and (b) expand the (i) jurisdictional reach and (ii) scope of the Cyber (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 to help reduce ransomware attacks.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government is committed to calling out malicious cyber activities that threaten the UK's national interests and economic prosperity. Sanctions are an important part of our diplomatic toolkit, helping us to disrupt ransomware operations.
Our cyber sanctions regime allows us to impose cost and risk on those that carry out malicious cyber activity, and to deter others who consider similar acts. The regime is suitably broad, and allows us to freeze the assets of those around the world who have undermined the integrity, prosperity, or security of the UK and its partners. Under these powers, we have designated seventy-nine people, including sixteen members of prolific Russian cybercrime gang Evil Corp, and one of the senior leaders of LockBit which, at the time, was one of the most harmful ransomware operations affecting the UK.
We will continue to explore future use and implementation of our cyber sanctions regime against ransomware actors as part of a broader range of approaches to combat cybercrime globally.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have discussions with the Royal Household on (a) publishing data and (b) promoting access to published data on Royal Household finances to ensure (i) accessibility and (ii) transparency for the public.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The rules governing the Sovereign Grant were set by Parliament in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. No member of the Royal family receives a private income from the Sovereign Grant or any other public funds.
The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year. Those accounts are also published on the official website of the Royal Family, along with other information regarding the finances of the Royal Household, and are available here: https://www.royal.uk/royal-finances.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the number of RASSO trained judges and advocates in the West Mercia region.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence, in his Independent Review of Criminal Courts. This Review will make recommendations to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the courts to address the record Crown Court caseload, which this Government inherited, across all case types - including rape and other sexual offences. Work on Part 2 of the report, which is looking at how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is underway. We expect it to be finalised this year.
Statutory responsibility for judicial training in the courts is held by the Lady Chief Justice. This responsibility is fulfilled by the Judicial College. All judges authorised to hear serious sexual offence (SSO) cases must complete the relevant induction training course before starting to sit and regular continuation training every three years. Presiding judges undertake an annual assessment of the business need for authorised SSO ticketed judges within their respective circuits and new approvals are decided by the senior judiciary.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Advocate Panel is a time limited list of quality assured advocates to undertake criminal prosecution advocacy for CPS. Positive changes made by the CPS to the application process in May 2024 have seen rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) advocate Panel membership increase by 51%. This includes a 38% increase in advocates prosecuting on the Midlands Circuit. These advocates have received CPS accredited RASSO training within the last 3 years and can demonstrate the experience and ability to undertake RASSO cases.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will work with (a) local authorities and (b) bus network operators to ensure new bus stop installations minimise weather exposure on bus users.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the value that high-quality public transport infrastructure provides to passengers, including bus stops. Local authorities are responsible for the bus stops in their area, however the Department has published Local Transport Note (LTN) 1/24 Bus User Priority which provides guidance on good practice in the design of bus stops, including providing weatherproof shelters in passenger waiting areas. The Government’s Bus Services (No.2) Bill also provides powers for the Secretary of State to produce statutory guidance on the inclusivity of the design of bus and coach stations and stops, and to require authorities commissioning work to provide new or upgrade existing facilities to pay due regard to this guidance.
At the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government confirmed over £1 billion to support and improve bus services, including £712 million allocated to local authorities in England outside London in 2025/26 to support and improve bus services. This includes capital funding which can be used to improve infrastructure such as bus stations and stops. Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council have been allocated £4.5 million and £3.5 million of this funding respectively.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide additional training for teachers on supporting pupils with dyslexia.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for The Wrekin to the answer of 1 August 2025 to Question 61402.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any solar infrastructure built with the support of GB Energy will use solar panels built in regions where supply chains have evidence of (a) modern slavery and (b) other exploitation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy will lead the way in ethical supply chains, and there is no place for forced labour or unethical practices in the UK's energy transition. The Procurement Act 2023 enables public bodies to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers known to use forced labour. As a state-owned company, Great British Energy is expected to be a first-in-class example of adherence to the UK’s legislation and guidance on modern slavery, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
All contracts issued under the schools and hospitals solar initiative have complied with UK procurement rules, including extensive requirements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Great British Energy will uphold these standards in its contracting arrangements and is actively engaging with international partners to raise the bar globally on solar supply chain accountability.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to ban the import of (a) solar panels and (b) solar panel components from Xinjiang.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to tackling forced labour in solar supply chains, including in Xinjiang. We are strengthening due diligence requirements through the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 and by reviewing Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act
The Solar Roadmap outlines actions to build ethical, resilient supply chains, including support for the Solar Stewardship Initiative, which is conducting independent audits of manufacturers. Furthermore, Great British Energy (GBE) is committed to acting on any evidence of forced labour in its supply chains, as required by the GBE Act.