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Written Question
Junior Doctors: Recruitment
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

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.


Written Question
Wayne Couzens
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

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.


Written Question
Tree Planting: Birmingham
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

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.

Written Question
Regional Airports: Safety
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

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).


Written Question
Railways: Birmingham and Greater Manchester
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

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.


Written Question
Coroners: Birmingham and Solihull
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a body was released more than seven days after the coroner's office was notified in (a) Birmingham and (b) Solihull in each of the last 12 months; and whether the coroner (i) collects information on someone's religion and (ii) takes into account the timeframe for religious beliefs and practices relating to death and dying.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Information is not held centrally on the release by coroners of the bodies of the deceased whose deaths are reported to them.

Coroners are judges and, as such, are independent in the decisions they make in conducting their investigations. They exercise their judicial discretion in accordance with the relevant statutory and regulatory framework.

The Chief Coroner has issued a suite of Guidance to assist coroners with the law and their legal duties, and to provide advice on policy and practice. His Guidance No.28 on Decision Making and Expedited Decisions is intended to be a practical guide to assist coroners in situations where a bereaved family has made a request to the coroner for urgent consideration of the death of a loved one and/or early release of their body; or where the coroner or coroner’s officers otherwise become aware of features of a particular death which may justify treating it as especially urgent.


Written Question
Unemployment
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to tackle disproportionate levels of unemployment of (a) women, (b) disabled people and (c) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

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:

  • Doubling the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme, to provide support for 100,000 people per year when fully rolled out;
  • Formally launching WorkWell, which will bring together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres, to provide light touch work and health support in approximately 15 pilot areas;
  • Building on the extension of the certification of the fit notes to a wider range of healthcare professions, exploring new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to work and health support; and
  • Establishing an expert group to support the development of the voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision.

Written Question
Poverty: Birmingham
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Cities Outlook 2024, published on 22 January 2024 by the Centre for Cities, what steps his Department is taking to reduce child poverty in Birmingham.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

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.


Written Question
BBC: Gaza
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the BBC board on impartiality in its news coverage of the conflict in Gaza.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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.


Written Question
Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates: Regulation
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on patient safety of the regulation by the General Medical Council of (a) physician and (b) anaesthesia associates.

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

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.