Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure trans people have equal access to healthcare.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle discrimination against trans people in the healthcare system.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the number of Notice of Impending Prosecution farms operating in the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not issue Notice of Intended Prosecutions and is not responsible for enforcing against any illegal activity related to this process. These are matters for the police.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many DVLA-registered number plate suppliers are based in (a) West Bromwich and (b) Sandwell.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The tables below show the number of registered number plate suppliers based in West Bromwich and Sandwell by postcode area. As postcode boundaries do not always align with administrative borders, two postcodes appear in both tables. Postcode areas may also extend beyond West Bromwich and Sandwell.
West Bromwich
Postcode | Number of Suppliers |
B70 | 24 |
B71 | 3 |
Sandwell
Postcode | Number of Suppliers |
B43 | 3 |
B64 | 21 |
B65 | 13 |
B66 | 32 |
B67 | 2 |
B68 | 6 |
B69 | 18 |
B70 | 24 |
B71 | 3 |
DY4 | 20 |
WS5 | 4 |
WS10 | 35 |
WV14 | 28 |
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that signage for EV charging stations can be erected in the same way as for a fuel pump.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Clear and consistent electric vehicle (EV) signage is essential to support the EV transition, ensuring drivers can confidently and safely undertake journeys. We’re modernising EV road signage so drivers can more easily find chargers.
Changes announced in July 2025 allow signing from major A-roads for charging hubs with at least 12 ultra-rapid chargepoints and the same level of facilities as existing A-road services.
We will continue to work with industry to improve EV signage. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on what further changes would be valuable for signage on motorways, major A-roads and on local roads.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the availability of signage for EV charging points on A-roads and on the strategic road network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Clear and consistent electric vehicle (EV) signage is essential to support the EV transition, ensuring drivers can confidently and safely undertake journeys. We’re modernising EV road signage so drivers can more easily find chargers.
Changes announced in July 2025 allow signing from major A-roads for charging hubs with at least 12 ultra-rapid chargepoints and the same level of facilities as existing A-road services.
We will continue to work with industry to improve EV signage. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on what further changes would be valuable for signage on motorways, major A-roads and on local roads.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of ultra-rapid charging hubs along A-roads and motorways are eligible for roadside signage.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Clear and consistent electric vehicle (EV) signage is essential to support the EV transition, ensuring drivers can confidently and safely undertake journeys. We’re modernising EV road signage so drivers can more easily find chargers.
Changes announced in July 2025 allow signing from major A-roads for charging hubs with at least 12 ultra-rapid chargepoints and the same level of facilities as existing A-road services.
We will continue to work with industry to improve EV signage. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on what further changes would be valuable for signage on motorways, major A-roads and on local roads.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to half the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to halve the gap between the richest and the poorest regions and to ensure that everyone, no matter where they are born, lives well for longer. We recognise that recently released Office for National Statistics Data on Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) data is concerning and there is more we need to do.
We are tackling the root causes of the HLE gap, focusing on key prevention policies such as reducing obesity and smoking, improving NHS access and outcomes, and through coordinated cross‑Government action on wider determinants like air quality and fuel poverty.
A core mission of the 10-Year Health Plan is to reduce the persistent inequalities that shape people’s health. The plan’s three shifts all serve one purpose, to improve outcomes for the communities who face the greatest disadvantage.
We are working across Government to ensure health is embedded in the policies that shape people’s daily lives, from the homes they live in to the air they breathe. Recent cross-Government action includes the Warm Homes Plan, the Keep Britain Working Review, and the Homelessness Strategy.
We are also taking a range of cross-Government action to tackle health inequality. This includes the introduction of Awaab’s Law, ensuring landlords will have to fix significant damp and mould hazards, and legislating for a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, after factoring in the national decline in healthy life expectancy referenced in the answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 115639, for what reason Sandwell has seen a further decline in HLE for men and women since 2020.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the Office for National Statistics, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased mortality during 2020, 2021, and 2022, and explains the national decline observed in healthy life expectancy (HLE) since 2020. Some negative impact remains in the latest reporting period, from 2022 to 2024. Further information is available at the following link:
HLE at birth for Sandwell stood at 51.3 years for females and 52.7 years for males for the latest period 2022 to 2024. This compares to 61.3 and 60.9 years for females and males respectively, for England.
HLE is a broad summary measure of population health, combining mortality rates and self-reported health, at various ages. This can make it difficult to interpret the reasons behind the changes observed, especially as HLE is known to be influenced by a wide range of social, economic, environmental, and behavioural factors.
The Government recognises that health inequalities can widen if access and quality of healthcare are worse where need is greatest. Therefore, over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health through services like debt advice, employment support, and obesity management programmes.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 3 March 2026 to question 115639, what factors are behind the national decline in healthy life expectancy since 2020.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the Office for National Statistics, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased mortality during 2020, 2021, and 2022, and explains the national decline observed in healthy life expectancy (HLE) since 2020. Some negative impact remains in the latest reporting period, from 2022 to 2024. Further information is available at the following link:
HLE at birth for Sandwell stood at 51.3 years for females and 52.7 years for males for the latest period 2022 to 2024. This compares to 61.3 and 60.9 years for females and males respectively, for England.
HLE is a broad summary measure of population health, combining mortality rates and self-reported health, at various ages. This can make it difficult to interpret the reasons behind the changes observed, especially as HLE is known to be influenced by a wide range of social, economic, environmental, and behavioural factors.
The Government recognises that health inequalities can widen if access and quality of healthcare are worse where need is greatest. Therefore, over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health through services like debt advice, employment support, and obesity management programmes.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.