Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are an adequate number of firefighters with (a) adequate and (b) reliable equipment to tackle fires in cities in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.
Decisions on how FRSs are run, and how their resources are allocated, including crewing numbers and the procurement of equipment, are for the local Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected FRA. They are responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met and are able to direct their resources where they are needed most.
All FRAs have a statutory duty to produce a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) in which they set out the key challenges and risks facing their communities and how they intend to meet and reduce them. This is in line with the Fire and Rescue National Framework, which is the document by which the Home Office sets strategic requirements for the FRA.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to (a) reduce crime and (b) improve community safety in Birmingham.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to cutting crime, keeping our streets safe, and restoring confidence in the criminal justice system.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), as the locally elected and democratically accountable individual, are responsible for the totality of policing in their area. They set local policing and crime objectives in partnership with their communities and key stakeholders and hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of efficient and effective policing.
The Government is funding a range of initiatives in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands police force area to reduce crime. Through the Safer Streets Fund, the West Midlands has received just over £3.7m of investment through five rounds of the Fund. As part of the current Round Five, the West Midlands PCC has been allocated £819k to deliver interventions aimed at targeting neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls.
To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has invested over £20m since 2019 to develop the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), including funding of over £4.38m in 2023/2024. The West Midlands VRU delivers a range of preventative interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy programmes, and sports-based diversionary programmes.
During the Police Uplift, West Midlands recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 1,218 officers. As at 30 September 2023, there were 7,982 police officers in West Midlands, a total growth of 1,291 additional officers against the baseline (6,691) at the start of the Police Uplift.
Overall, the West Midlands will receive up to £790.4 million in 2024/2025 from the police funding settlement, an increase of up to £51.1 million when compared to 2023/2024.
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 his Department is taking to help people claim each benefit to which they are entitled.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides information on eligibility and how to make a claim for benefits, including signposting to telephony routes (including textphone and Relay UK) for people who are unable to complete forms online. There are videos on the DWP YouTube channel that provide further information on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit, Winter Fuel Payment, Pension Credit and DLA for Children and these explain how to claim and what to expect once a claim has been made.
Guidance on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) includes information on benefits people may be able to claim and other financial support. This includes housing support, help with council tax and direct payments for social care. Where appropriate DWP letters include signposting to additional help and support.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote businesses owned by women.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government promotes women-led businesses through partnerships with the private sector. With the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs we have created the Invest in Women Hub (iiwhub.com) which provides information and free access to expert mentors.
We are working with the Invest in Women Taskforce towards their goal of making the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur, including by raising private sector capital to invest in women-led businesses.
The Women’s International Networking Programme aims to increase the participation of women-led businesses in international trade through access to networks, role models and DBT intelligence.
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, if he will take steps with local authorities to increase access to mobile household recycling centres in cities.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) play an important role in helping people manage the waste they produce in a convenient and sustainable way. Local authorities are responsible for managing HWRCs and determining how best to support their residents to manage waste responsibly. We encourage any innovative approaches that local authorities take to improve access and availability of their waste services.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department took to increase levels of housebuilding in Birmingham in 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Department has consistently set the conditions for the building of homes – and building them in the right places, including the revision of the NPPF in December 2023 and the Written Ministerial Statement on a long-term plan for housing in February 2024. Beyond that, Birmingham City Council is responsible for setting the plan for building the houses the city needs.
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.
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.
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:
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).