Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the continued use of a hotel that has been closed to the public since 2022 to accommodate asylum seekers on the economy of Tamworth town centre.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that asylum hotels are not a sustainable solution and represent poor value for money. We are committed to ending their use and closing all such sites by the end of this Parliament.
Decisions on the use and closure of individual sites are informed by factors including operational feasibility, cost, community cohesion, and engagement with local authorities and statutory partners. As closures progress, sites will be prioritised on this basis and in line with the Government’s objective of reducing the number of people requiring asylum accommodation.
For safety, security and wellbeing reasons, we do not comment publicly on individual hotels that may or may not be used for asylum accommodation, nor do we publish a closure schedule. Once a hotel is confirmed for closure, the local authority Chief Executive, MP and statutory partners will be notified.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to end the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers in Staffordshire; and what timetable has been set for the closure of remaining asylum hotels in the county.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that asylum hotels are not a sustainable solution and represent poor value for money. We are committed to ending their use and closing all such sites by the end of this Parliament.
Decisions on the use and closure of individual sites are informed by factors including operational feasibility, cost, community cohesion, and engagement with local authorities and statutory partners. As closures progress, sites will be prioritised on this basis and in line with the Government’s objective of reducing the number of people requiring asylum accommodation.
For safety, security and wellbeing reasons, we do not comment publicly on individual hotels that may or may not be used for asylum accommodation, nor do we publish a closure schedule. Once a hotel is confirmed for closure, the local authority Chief Executive, MP and statutory partners will be notified.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide a list of organisations that she has met with advocating for community sports partners, such as Parkrun, to remove gender self-identification from participants; whether an assessment has been made by her Department into ties between these organisations' and the Alliance Defending Freedom International and other Christian conservative right-wing advocacy groups; and what actions her Department is taking to protect trans inclusive practices in our community sports organisations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government continues to work closely with our arms-length body, Sport England and community sport partners across the sector including Parkrun, to keep developments in this area under review and to support safe, lawful and inclusive participation in grassroots sport for everyone.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support UK bus manufacturing and strengthen the domestic supply chain, in the context of increasing competition from China in the zero-emission bus market; and what assessment she has made of the impact of this trend on UK jobs, investment, and long-term industrial capacity in the bus manufacturing sector.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the important role of a vibrant UK bus manufacturing sector.
That is why the Government is committed to supporting the full transition to zero-emission buses (ZEBs). In March, we announced up to £73.2m in additional funding to support the delivery of approximately 484 ZEBs across 10 projects in England, on top of £38 million announced last April.
In addition, our modern Industrial Strategy launched DRIVE35, the biggest government investment in the automotive industry of the post‑war era. With £4bn in capital and R&D funding to 2035, DRIVE35 will accelerate UK innovation in strategic vehicle technologies, support their commercial scale‑up, and unlock investment across all aspects of automotive manufacturing and electrification, including buses.
Furthermore, in March 2025, the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel was launched, bringing together industry experts and local leaders to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. The final meeting was held in March 2026. At the meeting, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) agreed a set of Commitments which included a 10% minimum application of social value in all future bus procurement exercises and to explore collective procurement options across MCAs.
It also agreed that the 10-year zero emission bus order pipeline, that was published in March 2026, will be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure an accurate forward look on ZEB manufacturing.
The Government is aware of concerns raised by UK manufacturers regarding increasing competition in the zero-emission bus market and the potential implications for jobs, investment and industrial capability. Where industry is concerned that increased competition is as a result of unfair foreign trade practices – i.e., dumping, subsidisation or an unforeseen surge of imports – they can apply to the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) for a trade remedy investigation.
We will continue to engage and work with the industry to ensure a competitive UK bus manufacturing sector.