Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Remain neutral in Israel-Palestine conflict and withdraw support for Israel
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 6 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsWe want the UK to be neutral in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and withdraw offers of support for Israel.
Seek a ceasefire and to end Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 13 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to seek a ceasefire and also seek to address the root cause of the current conflict by promoting dialogue and advocating for the end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Urge the Israel Government to allow fuel, electricity and food into Gaza
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 10 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsThe UK Government should urge the Israeli Government to stop the blockade of Food, Fuel and Electricity to the already impoverished city of Gaza
Tougher sentences for hit and run drivers who cause death
Gov Responded - 28 Aug 2020 Debated on - 15 Nov 2021 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsThe maximum penalty for failure to stop after an incident is points and a 6-month custodial sentence. Causing death by careless/dangerous driving is between 5-14 yrs. The sentence for failing to stop after a fatal collision must be increased.
Ryan's Law: Widen definition of 'death by dangerous driving'
Gov Responded - 24 Mar 2021 Debated on - 15 Nov 2021 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsThe offence of causing 'death by dangerous driving' should be widened to include: failure to stop, call 999 and render aid on scene until further help arrives.
Urge the Indian Government to ensure safety of protestors & press freedom
Gov Responded - 15 Feb 2021 Debated on - 8 Mar 2021 View Tahir Ali's petition debate contributionsThe Government must make a public statement on the #kissanprotests & press freedoms.
India is the worlds largest democracy & democratic engagement and freedom of the press are fundamental rights and a positive step towards creating a India that works for all.
These initiatives were driven by Tahir Ali, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Tahir Ali has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Tahir Ali has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Tahir Ali has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Tahir Ali has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
The UK has a longstanding tradition of ensuring individuals’ rights and liberties are protected. The right to freedom of expression is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is given further effect domestically by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Employees who are dismissed and consider that their dismissal was unfair can complain to an employment tribunal, generally subject to a qualifying period of 2-years' continuous service.
The Government notes the CMA's findings and supports its continued work on groceries pricing. Tackling the cost of living is a priority issue for this Government and the cost of grocery products is a key component of household expenditure. Through regular engagement, the Government will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food.
The UK government has recently announced plans to continue recognising the EU’s CE marking indefinitely for 18 manufactured goods product regulations managed by the Department for Business and Trade. This announcement followed extensive engagement with industry. We are working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to ensure our approach to regulation supports the UK economy, industry and consumers.
Eligible Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are supported with their energy costs through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme which provides a baseline discount on high energy bills for 12 months from April 2023 until 31 March 2024. A higher level of support is also provided to some Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) that are particularly exposed to energy cost increases due to their energy and trade intensity and are therefore less able to pass these costs through to their customers due to international competition.
I regularly meet with Ofgem to discuss the energy retail market, including standing charges. On 16th November, Ofgem announced a call for input on standing charges. Government welcomes this and looks forward to Ofgem’s conclusions.
While the Post Office is publicly owned, it is a commercial business that operates independently of the Government. BEIS has not made an assessment on the profitability of the 114 remaining Directly Managed Branches (DMBs) in the Post Office's network of 11,500 branches as this is a matter for Post Office Ltd.
£210 million in capital investment was allocated to Post Office Ltd between 2018 and 2021. Post Office Ltd received £168 million in 2018/2019 and £42 million in 2019/2020. No capital investment was provided to Post Office Ltd in 2020/2021. This investment funding was designed to modernise the branch network and improve the systems and processes in place so that the Post Office could continue its journey towards commercial sustainability.
In the most recent Spending Review for 2021/2022, the Government announced further Post Office investment funding of £227 million. This reflects the Government’s commitment to the role that post offices play in our communities. This funding consists of £50 million subsidy to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network, and a further £177 million which will allow Post Office Ltd to invest for the future and to ensure the Post Office remains a vital force on our high streets.
This investment includes supporting Post Office Ltd's future strategy for its network, including the remaining Directly Managed Branches. The management of the Post Office network, including decisions on Directly Managed Branches, is an operational matter for the Company. Changes to the branch network are subject to local consultation processes.
It is important to note that over 99% of the Post Office network is already successfully franchised. This is the preferred business model for the Post Office as it delivers significant cost savings without impacting service provision for local communities. Franchising enables longer opening hours, increased convenience, and greater accessibility for communities.
£210 million in capital investment was allocated to Post Office Ltd between 2018 and 2021. Post Office Ltd received £168 million in 2018/2019 and £42 million in 2019/2020. No capital investment was provided to Post Office Ltd in 2020/2021. This investment funding was designed to modernise the branch network and improve the systems and processes in place so that the Post Office could continue its journey towards commercial sustainability.
In the most recent Spending Review for 2021/2022, the Government announced further Post Office investment funding of £227 million. This reflects the Government’s commitment to the role that post offices play in our communities. This funding consists of £50 million subsidy to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network, and a further £177 million which will allow Post Office Ltd to invest for the future and to ensure the Post Office remains a vital force on our high streets.
This investment includes supporting Post Office Ltd's future strategy for its network, including the remaining Directly Managed Branches. The management of the Post Office network, including decisions on Directly Managed Branches, is an operational matter for the Company. Changes to the branch network are subject to local consultation processes.
It is important to note that over 99% of the Post Office network is already successfully franchised. This is the preferred business model for the Post Office as it delivers significant cost savings without impacting service provision for local communities. Franchising enables longer opening hours, increased convenience, and greater accessibility for communities.
£210 million in capital investment was allocated to Post Office Ltd between 2018 and 2021. Post Office Ltd received £168 million in 2018/2019 and £42 million in 2019/2020. No capital investment was provided to Post Office Ltd in 2020/2021. This investment funding was designed to modernise the branch network and improve the systems and processes in place so that the Post Office could continue its journey towards commercial sustainability.
In the most recent Spending Review for 2021/2022, the Government announced further Post Office investment funding of £227 million. This reflects the Government’s commitment to the role that post offices play in our communities. This funding consists of £50 million subsidy to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network, and a further £177 million which will allow Post Office Ltd to invest for the future and to ensure the Post Office remains a vital force on our high streets.
This investment includes supporting Post Office Ltd's future strategy for its network, including the remaining Directly Managed Branches. The management of the Post Office network, including decisions on Directly Managed Branches, is an operational matter for the Company. Changes to the branch network are subject to local consultation processes.
It is important to note that over 99% of the Post Office network is already successfully franchised. This is the preferred business model for the Post Office as it delivers significant cost savings without impacting service provision for local communities. Franchising enables longer opening hours, increased convenience, and greater accessibility for communities.
£210 million in capital investment was allocated to Post Office Ltd between 2018 and 2021. Post Office Ltd received £168 million in 2018/2019 and £42 million in 2019/2020. No capital investment was provided to Post Office Ltd in 2020/2021. This investment funding was designed to modernise the branch network and improve the systems and processes in place so that the Post Office could continue its journey towards commercial sustainability.
In the most recent Spending Review for 2021/2022, the Government announced further Post Office investment funding of £227 million. This reflects the Government’s commitment to the role that post offices play in our communities. This funding consists of £50 million subsidy to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network, and a further £177 million which will allow Post Office Ltd to invest for the future and to ensure the Post Office remains a vital force on our high streets.
This investment includes supporting Post Office Ltd's future strategy for its network, including the remaining Directly Managed Branches. The management of the Post Office network, including decisions on Directly Managed Branches, is an operational matter for the Company. Changes to the branch network are subject to local consultation processes.
It is important to note that over 99% of the Post Office network is already successfully franchised. This is the preferred business model for the Post Office as it delivers significant cost savings without impacting service provision for local communities. Franchising enables longer opening hours, increased convenience, and greater accessibility for communities.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Ministerial team regularly meets with BBC leadership, including members of the Board, to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. In delivering that duty, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decisions around its editorial policies and guidelines are a matter for the BBC. Ofcom is the external independent regulator responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.
The Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear that the BBC’s accuracy and impartiality is critical to viewer trust. It is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive events, such as the terrorist acts committed in Israel on 7 October and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The Secretary of State has regularly stated that point in meetings with the BBC.
The Government has no plans to restrict new categories of advertising, including on high carbon products.
Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and on the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.
The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people. In addition, we have allocated over £800m from the Culture Recovery Fund to almost 3,800 cultural organisations and sites in England, including organisations that focus on arts provision for children and young people.
The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recent announced Spending Review £30m of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.
Separately, Sport England have invested £194m into children and young people since 2016, including £40M over four years for the Families Fund; £11M each year on School Games, supported by a further £7M from DHSC; £34M over four years to the Satellite Club program; and £13.5M over four years on Teacher training.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. The department supports head teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools. To support schools to do so, the department has strengthened the Behaviour in Schools guidance which is the primary source of help and support for schools on developing and implementing a behaviour policy that can create a school culture which has high expectations of all pupils. This guidance outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour and the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, including vaping anywhere in school.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes or vapes. School staff can search pupils for banned items as outlined in the department’s searching, screening and confiscation guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced an intervention which will take steps to prevent children obtaining e-cigarettes illegally. The government consulted on measures to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children. The consultation response will be published in the coming weeks.
The department is planning to include a specific reference to the dangers of e-cigarettes in the amended relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum. The RSHE statutory guidance sets out the curriculum topics and already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department published a suite of teacher training modules, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes. The RSHE statutory guidance is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
The most recent School workforce census shows that, as at November 2022, there are over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
Teacher numbers at a school level are published in the additional supporting files. This can be found in the School workforce census 2022 publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england#dataBlock-d32da738-358d-4c1f-955b-6c6f83552d65-tables. The department also produces national targets for postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) for each subject based on estimates from the Teacher Workforce Model to ensure focus on the right subjects each year. These are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets.
The department knows that some schools face challenges with recruitment and retention, particularly in some secondary subjects, and action is being taken to increase teacher recruitment and retention.
The department is offering a financial incentives package worth up to £196 million for those starting ITT in the 2024/25 academic year, including bursaries worth up to £28,000 and scholarships worth up to £30,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing. The department is also offering a £25,000 tax-free bursary for biology, design and technology, geography and languages (including ancient languages), and a £10,000 tax-free bursary for English, art and design, music and RE.
The department is providing a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools nationally, including within education investment areas (EIAs). For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be investing approximately £100 million each year to double the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. This builds on knowledge gained from similar pilots and will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
There are 97 schools in the Birmingham local authority area eligible for the Levelling Up Premium, including nine schools in the Birmingham, Hall Green constituency. The eligibility criteria and list of eligible schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers.
Earlier this year the department accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and leaders. This means that teachers and leaders in maintained schools will receive a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years and delivers the manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for school teachers across England.
To support teacher retention across all school phases, the department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the workload reduction toolkit and the education staff wellbeing charter. More than 3,000 schools have signed up to the wellbeing charter so far. The wellbeing charter can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The workload reduction toolkit is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit. As part of the pay announcement for 2023/24, the department also convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how to further support trusts and school leaders to minimise workload.
Local authorities have a statutory duty, under Section 14 of the Education Act 1996, to ensure that there are sufficient primary and secondary school places for all children living in their area, with a view to securing diversity of provision and increasing opportunities for parental choice and special educational provision for pupils who have Special Educational Needs. The department’s Pupil Place Planning Advisers engage with local authorities on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, they offer support and advice. The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. This funding is based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. Local authorities can use the funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools and can work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools.
The funding is not ringfenced, subject to the conditions set out in the published Grant Determination Letter, nor is it time bound, meaning local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities.
The department has announced Birmingham City Council will receive just over £51 million to support the provision of new school places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the 2022/23 and 2025/26 financial years. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just over £345.7 million.
The department considers all teachers as teachers of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including autism, and is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.
The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils. To be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), trainees must demonstrate that they have met all the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. The standards are also used to assess the performance of all teachers with QTS under the School Teachers’ Appraisal Regulations (2012). Therefore, most teachers need to adhere to the standards throughout their careers.
The Teachers’ Standards require teachers to adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils, and to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs.
To support all teachers in meeting the Teachers’ Standards, the department is implementing high-quality teacher training reforms which begins with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and continues as their careers progress. The department’s Universal Services programme, backed by almost £12 million, provides SEND-specific training to the school and college workforce, with over 100,000 professionals undertaking autism awareness training since 2022.
The department is exploring opportunities to build teacher expertise through a joint review of the ITT Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework. The review, due to published in early 2024, has an aim to support trainees and Early Career Teachers to be more confident in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, including autism, both through engaging with the most up to date evidence to inform their practice, and applying this in the contexts in which they work as new teachers.
In May 2023, the department published guidance for accredited ITT providers and their partners, to support the involvement of special schools and alternative provision in ITT. The guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1157879/ITT_-_special_schools_and_alternative_provision_May_2023.pdf#:~:text=It%20has%20been%20produced%20to%20help%20accredited%20Initial,units%2C%20and%20mainstream%20schools%20with%20SEN%20resource%20units.
The department’s reforms to teacher recruitment and retention will support all teachers, including teachers of children with SEND.
Every child growing up in care should have a stable, secure environment where they feel supported. That’s why the department has introduced mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection requirements for previously ‘unregulated’ independent and semi-independent accommodation for sixteen and seventeen year-old looked after children and care leavers.
The introduction of national standards and Ofsted registration requirements is vital to ensure that sixteen and seventeen year-olds in and leaving care have access to high quality accommodation and support, and action can be taken where provision is not good enough. The department has published guidance for the sector on the new requirements, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1187743/Guide_to_the_supported_accommodation_regulations_including_quality_standards.pdf.
Within the current spending review period, the department is providing £99.8 million of funding to local authorities to increase the number of care leavers that stay living with their foster families in a family home up to the age of 21 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme. Going beyond this, the department is also providing an additional £53 million to increase the number of young people leaving residential care who receive practical help with move-on accommodation, including ongoing support from a keyworker, through the ‘Staying Close’ programme. A further £3.2 million is being given to local authorities this year to provide extra support to care leavers at highest risk of rough sleeping.
The department is committed to actions set out in Stable Homes, Built on Love to ensure an increase in the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and a reduction in care leaver homelessness by 2027.
In order to raise awareness of T Levels, and to ensure that as many young people as possible benefit from these qualifications, the department has invested around £11 million in national communications campaigns. These campaigns will continue into at least 2025.
The department continues to work with the Careers and Enterprise Company and Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme to ensure students make informed decisions about qualifications at 16. In addition, the department has provided additional funding for all T Level providers to help them to promote T Levels locally in this financial year.
To support providers in scaling up their T Level provision, the department announced a 10% increase to the national funding rates for T Levels for the 2023/24 academic year. The department has also committed over £450 million in capital funding to ensure T Level students have access to high quality facilities and equipment. To help staff prepare to deliver T Levels, the T Level Professional Development programme continues to offer free support, with over 18,000 individuals in further education providers and schools benefitting.
Industry placements are a critical part of the T Level and the department is committed to ensuring a strong pipeline of employers across all sectors are ready to offer placements. The department has introduced a range of flexibilities to ensure that industry placements are deliverable across all industries. Since 2018/19 over £250 million has been invested in capacity funding to help providers build relationships with employers and secure high-quality industry placements. The department has also recently introduced a £12 million Employer Support Fund to support employers with the costs incurred when delivering placements in the 2023/24 financial year.
The department does not collect data on teachers teaching outside England.
One of the department’s top priorities is to ensure that we continue to attract, retain and develop the highly skilled teachers we need to inspire the next generation.
On 13 July 2023, the department announced that we are accepting the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and headteachers. This means that teachers and leaders in maintained schools received the highest pay award in over thirty years and it delivers our manifesto commitment of at least a £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country.
The department has created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers underpinned by the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.
The department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.
There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
The department’s reforms are aimed not only at increasing teacher recruitment through an attractive pay offer and financial incentives such as bursaries, but also at ensuring teachers stay and thrive in the profession.
Up to £24 million will be available to extend our support for school breakfast clubs until 2023, to make sure thousands of children in disadvantaged areas have a healthy start to the day.
Our plan is for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term, and on 2 July we published guidance to help schools prepare for this.
This guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Schools have continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20. As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources when making arrangements to welcome all children back for the autumn.
Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for the government. The COVID-19 outbreak represents a time of severe pressure across society, which we know presents heightened levels of risk for some children, especially those known to social care.
We have been working closely with local authorities, including Birmingham, to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on vulnerable children and ensure that children are being adequately protected.
Our Regional Education and Care Team (REACT) for the West Midlands is in contact with Birmingham Children’s Trust and Birmingham Council on a regular basis, to understand how they are supporting vulnerable children to attend school and ensure their systems and processes for maintaining contact with vulnerable children are robust. We also collect fortnightly data from local authorities across the country, including Birmingham, around their contact with vulnerable children, workforce availability and other system pressures in order to offer support and challenge where needed.
The government has provided £3.7 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures, including for looked after children and wider children’s services.
We are continuing to intervene with local authorities that have been found to be failing in their delivery of children’s services and judged inadequate by Ofsted. It remains an absolute priority for the government that children are kept safe. Where they are in place, we have also asked commissioners and advisers to support local authorities, for example, by helping them to manage conflicting priorities and reviewing their contingency plans to ensure they are robust.
Our guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services.
Defra has had no recent discussions with Birmingham City Council on tree planting rates in Birmingham. Local authorities can take advantage of grant schemes to help increase levels of tree planting in their areas, including:
The first three Highly Protected Marine Areas in English waters were designated in summer 2023 and we are currently working to put in place management measures.
Defra continues to explore additional sites for potential consideration. Any future sites would be subject to Ministerial agreement and public consultation.
We are determined to deliver our manifesto commitment on live exports. We will bring forward the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill in due course.
The Government supports a thriving, productive and efficient farming sector that prevents waste occurring in the first place. For instance, we are supporting investment in productivity-boosting equipment, technology and infrastructure through the Farming Investment Fund. This provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment. At the recent Farm to Fork Summit we announced new reviews into fairness in the horticulture and egg supply chain building on what we have already got underway to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets. We launched the review into the egg supply chain on 31 October 2023, and will launch a public consultation on horticulture in the coming weeks.
We acknowledge that more can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage. The ‘fair dealings’ powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 can be used to prevent these kinds of unfair trading practices where they occur, as we are aware that unreasonably late cancellations or specification changes can sometimes lead to produce being unharvested.
The Government works closely with businesses through our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to overcome any barriers to redistribution. This includes the development of guidance and best practice through a sector wide working group, and support for the Target Measure Act (TMA) approach to understanding and acting on food waste in supply chains, including the redistribution of any surplus should it arise and is supported by the National Farmers Union (NF8). Where the NFU stands on food waste – NFUonline.
Since 2018, Defra funding of nearly £13m has supported both large and small redistribution organisations across the country to increase their capability and capacity.
The total amount of food redistributed in the UK in 2022 was over 170,000 tonnes and a value of around £590 million, an increase of 133% since 2019.
Defra and the Environment Agency use research to help policy makers and practitioners develop options to better manage flood and coastal erosion risk management.
The Joint Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme undertakes research on flooding. The Programme is overseen by the Environment Agency, Defra, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government on behalf of all risk management authorities in England and Wales. The Joint Programme has funded new projections for sea level rise to the year 2300 - which are critical for our long-term planning, including in coastal cities. It has also funded new projections of how climate change will affect river flooding, and in 2020 we published a synthesis of current knowledge on sources of river and coastal flooding in the UK. More information can be found on Gov.uk.
Defra has previously commissioned research to review the causes of flooding events that Lead Local Flood Authorities have assessed under Section 19 of the Floods and Water Management Act 2010. This research provided an understanding of the principal factors contributing to flooding from surface water in England and Wales since 2010.
Finally, the Environment Agency is developing a new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA2) to provide a wide range of more accurate data, covering risk from rivers, the sea and surface water. The new Assessment will be published in 2024 and will provide a refreshed evidence base to better inform our management of risk.
Most airport operators are either in the commercial private sector or are public/private partnerships which operate commercially. As such, it is for airports to ensure they adhere to regulations and standards relating to safety and security.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issues either an aerodrome licence or aerodrome certificate to regional aerodromes on the basis that the aerodrome, and its operation, meets the licencing/certification criteria. The CAA establishes an oversight programme for each licensed/certificated aerodrome in which the continued compliance with the regulatory requirements is verified. Additionally, the aerodrome operator is required to have a safety management system, the effectiveness of which falls within the scope of the CAA oversight Programme. These UK regulations are developed and implemented to adhere to and go beyond the minimum international safety Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
As announced in the Network North command paper, every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Network North provided £500m to improve rail capacity North of Birmingham and work is ongoing to develop value for money interventions using these funds. This includes upgrades around Handsacre, where the HS2 line joins the West Coast Mainline, and other potential enhancements on the network.
In May 2023, CrossCountry increased service frequency to two trains per hour from Birmingham to both Manchester and Bristol.
A new CrossCountry National Rail Contract commenced in October 2023. This will deliver improvements for passengers travelling on CrossCountry services, including between the West Midlands and Manchester. Cascaded additional carriages will be introduced and the entire CrossCountry train fleet is due to be refurbished over the next few years.
The Government has funded Birmingham City Council’s Highways Maintenance contract at £50.3 million a year for 13 years and will continue to do so, maintaining the current level of funding to the council at £50 million a year for the remainder of the current spending review period until 2023/24.
After this time, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will become eligible for an additional share of the £8.3 billion as the £151 million for WMCA did not previously include an allocation for Birmingham City Council’s roads. This is part of the £2.2 billion wider funding for East Midlands and West Midlands.
This is in addition to the £1bn of CRSTS funding to WMCA up to 2026/27, and CRSTS 2 indicative funding of over £2.6billion over 5 years from 2027/28 to 2031/32.
The Government has funded Birmingham City Council’s Highways Maintenance contract at £50.3 million a year for 13 years and will continue to do so, maintaining the current level of funding to the council at £50 million a year for the remainder of the current spending review period until 2023/24.
After this time, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will become eligible for an additional share of the £8.3 billion as the £151 million for WMCA did not previously include an allocation for Birmingham City Council’s roads. This is part of the £2.2 billion wider funding for East Midlands and West Midlands.
This is in addition to the £1bn of CRSTS funding to WMCA up to 2026/27, and CRSTS 2 indicative funding of over £2.6billion over 5 years from 2027/28 to 2031/32.
Responsibility for making decisions about the roads under its care, including measures to protect the safety of inner city road users, sits with the relevant Local Traffic Authority (LTA) for that inner city area.
The Department for Transport provides guidance to LTAs on various traffic management measures which impact road safety. A collection of these can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-transport-notes.
Guidance provided by the Department for LTAs is kept updated to maintain the highest road safety standards possible.
It is up to the traffic authority and the police to decide whether to use speed cameras and how they wish to operate them. This is a local decision in which the Department for Transport does not become involved.
The Department for Transport provides funds direct to local authorities, which may be used for road safety purposes, allowing authorities to spend their allocations according to their own priorities. It is therefore for each authority to decide how it allocates its resources and which transport improvement projects to support. This could include decisions on the installation of speed cameras.
In Summer 2021 the Department released £59m of Rail Network Enhancement (RNEP) funding towards the delivery of five new stations, including three on the Camp Hill line.
I understand from West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), who are responsible for managing delivery of the work, that the stations remain on budget despite the recent delay.
The Department for Work and Pension’s Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to those seeking employment, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus, ethnic minorities and disabled people and people with health conditions. There is also support for those with childcare costs through Universal Credit. The DWP Jobhelp pages [https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/] provide fuller information of the help and support available. DWP also works in partnership with others, including working with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide support embedded within health systems, for example, Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies.
Due to rising levels of inactivity due to long-term sickness, a new package of support, building upon existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget 2023, was announced in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
The Government is committed to reducing poverty, including child poverty, and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.
Working age benefits will increase by 6.7% from April 2024, subject to Parliamentary approval, following a 10.1% increase in 2023/24. To further support low-income households, we are also raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.
With over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.
To further support parents into work, we increased the Universal Credit childcare costs cap to £951 a month for one child and £1630 a month for two or more children in June 2023. We will also increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 for workers aged 21 years and over from this April - an annual increase in gross earnings of over £1800 for someone working full-time on the National Living Wage.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills.
Over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top up to their winter fuel payment increasing payments to £500 for those aged 66-79 and £600 for those aged 80 and over.
In addition, households in receipt of Pension Credit will be entitled to get up to £900 in means-tested Cost of Living Payments across the 2023/24 financial year.
We continue to maximise opportunities to raise awareness of Pension Credit, including highlighting that there is still time to apply for Pension Credit by the 10 December and be eligible for £300 cost of living payment thanks to the Pension Credit backdating rules.
The Government has also just announced that from April 2024, the basic and new State Pensions as well as the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit will be increased by 8.5%.
Estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system, including for the last two financial years, have been published and can be found at:
Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The rate of fraud overpayments fell from 3.0% of benefit expenditure in 2021/2022 to 2.7% in 2022/23.
To be clear, the percentage of fraud cases represents the average cases incorrect due to fraud at one time, rather than the total number over a whole year. We express this as a percentage, rather than as a whole number.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities (LAs) are jointly responsible for health and safety regulation of Royal Mail’s activities. Broadly, HSE regulate larger distribution centre and mail delivery activities and LAs regulate Post Offices and delivery offices/sorting centres.
HSE has carried out assessment of compliance at individual locations around the country and through liaison with Royal Mail’s Global Director for Compliance and Sustainability. Complaints (referred to as ‘concerns’ by HSE) have been raised about the management of Covid-19 risks at Royal Mail sites, and HSE responds to any concerns notified by Royal Mail’s workforce by assessing Royal Mail’s risk controls against the standards set out in government guidelines addressing social distancing, handling mail, cleaning, and hygiene.
As part of HSE’s assessment of compliance, investigation of these concerns have involved a mixture of visits to premises and contact through email or telephone. Where improvements in the measures to protect workers from Covid-19 have been identified, HSE staff have secured compliance with the law by providing advice or writing to Royal Mail to require improvements.
HSE has advised LAs to ensure a coordinated approach in applying consistent and proportionate standards to securing compliance against Covid-19 risks in Royal Mail premises
NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) Workforce statistics and General Practice Workforce statistics publications for England. These show that as of December 2023, the latest data available, there are 80,123 full time equivalent junior doctors working across HCHS and general practice settings in England. This is 4,505, or 6.0%, more than in December 2022.
It is not possible to report how much of this net increase is new recruitment, as the figures will also include movements of staff coming in and out of active service for reasons such as career breaks or maternity leave, and the impact of movements in staff working part time.
Junior doctors have been defined as those working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations, who are recorded in the grades Foundation Year One, Foundation Year Two, Core Training and Specialty Registrar, and also those working in training grades in general practice.
Regulation of Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs) by the General Medical Council (GMC) will mean that individual AAs and PAs can be held to account if serious concerns are raised.
Regulation will provide set standards of practice, education, and training for AAs and PAs as well as requirements around continual professional development and conduct. The GMC set the standards required for entry to its register by approving the curricula and assessments for AA and PA courses. These standards will give assurance that AA and PA students have demonstrated the core knowledge, skills and professional and ethical behaviours necessary to work safely and competently in their areas of practice. Regulation will also help bring further clarity to patients and healthcare professionals on the nature of these roles and their remits.
National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on recall intervals indicates that a healthy adult with good oral health need only see a dentist once every two years, and a child once every year. Data is therefore collected accordingly.
Under our reforms of July 2022 practices have been reminded that urgent dental care should be provided as part of their core service offer to patients, and that adherence to risk based recall intervals and other NICE guidance is a contractual requirement.
NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2022-23 Annual Report, brings together information on National Health Service dental activity in England for the 12-month period to 31 March 2023 and information on the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist up to 30 June 2023. This is available at the following link:
The data shows that 58.5% of courses of treatments were delivered to patients exempt from paying patient charges in 2022/23 for Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board.
Our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services set the ambition in to increase the core general and acute (G&A) bed base by 5,000 permanent beds above originally planned 2022/23 levels. The latest published core G&A beds figures show over 3,700 additional core beds are now in place. The peak of total G&A bed numbers, encompassing both core and escalation beds, will depend on demand pressures, including from respiratory illnesses such as flu.