Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK businesses that have relocated overseas since July 2024; and what information his Department holds on the reasons for those relocations.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this information. We continue to support UK businesses and have many avenues through which businesses of all sizes can explore opportunities to grow internationally. We will continue to review how we can support businesses moving forward.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has allocated to National Highways for ongoing repairs and maintenance of motorways and strategic A roads in addition to funding provided in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) due to be published in March will set out the funding that will be provided to National Highways for the operation, maintenance and renewal of the strategic road network over the period from 2026/27 to 2030/31.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the funding allocated to Local Highway Authorities for pothole repairs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has announced a record £7.3 billion investment into highways maintenance over the next four years which will enable local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.
By confirming funding over a four-year period, local authorities will have greater certainty to plan ahead and move away from short-term fixes, enabling more proactive and preventative work to stop potholes from forming in the first place.
The Department will monitor how effectively local authorities use this record level of funding through annual transparency reports, incentive funding requirements which encourage authorities to follow best practice in highways maintenance, and the new traffic-light ratings system which was announced in January. Together, these measures will provide clearer oversight of local performance and help ensure that funding is used to deliver lasting improvements for road users.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, a) what progress has been made on streamlining the planning process to reduce delays for compliant housing developments and b) whether his Department plans to introduce further measures to increase certainty for applicants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Significant progress has been made in respect of streamlining the planning process to reduce delays for compliant housing developments.
A revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on the 12 December 2024.
The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act, which contains a number of provisions designed to improve certainty and decision-making in the planning system, received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025.
On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the number of new homes that could be delivered by reducing the average time taken to determine planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department routinely assesses the impact of regulatory changes in terms of their impact on housing supply.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the relationship between housing supply and economic growth in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Investment in housing and infrastructure in all parts of the country, including Leicester, Leicestershire and the East Midlands, drives future economic growth and higher living standards.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are being taken to ensure student safety on university campuses in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands, and (c) the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I stand with Members across this House in expressing my sorrow at the killing of Khaleed Oladipo near De Montfort University on 4 February 2026, and I pay tribute to the members of the public and emergency services who fought to save him.
Student safety is of utmost importance. As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for setting their own policies and security arrangements to ensure the safety of students and staff on campus, maintaining robust welfare and risk‑management procedures to protect their students, even though they do not operate under a statutory safeguarding duty.
In the wake of Mr Oladipo’s death, De Montford University continues to work proactively with staff and students to offer support and reassurance. Enhanced police patrols remain in place. Universities also provide a range of practical support to help keep students safe and supported while on campus.
In August 2025, the Office for Students strengthened its regulatory oversight through a new registration condition for all English universities that sets out clear requirements for preventing and responding to harassment of all kinds on campus.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of NHS patients in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands were referred to private health providers for treatment in the last twelve months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent sector providers have a role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.
Data for NHS referrals into the independent sector is broken down by NHS commissioning regions. We are therefore unable to reliably calculate the percentage of NHS referrals into the independent sector at the levels requested.
Between January 2025 and December 2025, latest available data, there were a total of 3,637,634 new patient pathways for elective care in the Midlands region. Of these, 5.70%, or 207,268, were at independent sector providers.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to a) Leicester and b) Leicestershire to reduce NHS waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funding for local services, including in Leicester and Leicestershire, is allocated to integrated care boards using NHS England’s Fair Share model and the NHS resource allocation formula.
This formula is designed to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, taking into account factors such as demography, morbidity, levels of deprivation, and the unavoidable costs of providing services in different areas. It is based on independent academic research and overseen by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, which provides advice to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive of NHS England.
Through the 2025 Spending Review, announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in June 2025, the Government has prioritised health with a record investment in the health and social care system. The Government is providing £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms by 2028/29 than in 2023/24, alongside the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real-terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.
This will support delivery of our commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including patients in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department plans to issue guidance on the potential risks of genetic defects in children born from consanguineous relationships.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published training modules about close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors. The training modules have been published for health professionals to access and there are no plans to publish them more widely. There are no plans to issue public facing guidance.