Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the net increase in junior doctors through recruitment to the NHS is in the last 12 months.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Birmingham City Council on levels of tree planting in Birmingham.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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 Urban Tree Challenge Fund, which provides 80% funding of standard costs for planting large trees and their establishment costs for three years following planting in urban and peri-urban areas.
• The Local Authority Treescapes Fund, which supports the planting and maintenance of trees in urban areas, including beside roads and footpaths.
• The England Woodland Creation Offer administered by the Forestry Commission.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase safety at regional airports.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to use funds saved by the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2f to tackle problems on rail links between Birmingham and Manchester.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in managerial roles have faced disciplinary action as a result of inquiries into Wayne Couzens.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The IOPC carried out a number of investigations into incidents related to Wayne Couzens, including the handling of indecent exposure allegations against him and sharing offensive content via social media.

As a result, a total of eleven officers from multiple forces faced disciplinary action; ten of these were constables and one was a sergeant.

Seven of the officers were found to have committed gross misconduct at proceedings and were dismissed, or would have been dismissed if still serving. Two officers received final written warnings and two officers received reflective practice.

Found: Current membership Sir Robert Neill MP (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst ) (Chair) Tahir Ali MP

Found: As part of that evidence, I answered questions from your colleague , Tahir Ali MP , in respect of coroner

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Robert Neill (Chair); Tahir Ali; Rachel Hopkins; Dr Kieran

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Robert Neill (Chair); Tahir Ali; Rachel Hopkins; Dr Kieran

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Robert Neill (Chair); Tahir Ali; James Daly; Rachel Hopkins

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Robert Neill (Chair); Tahir Ali; James Daly; Rachel Hopkins