Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Railways Bill on service reliability of rail routes (a) connecting Birmingham and Walsall and (b) the rest of the West Midlands.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Railways Bill includes the introduction of Great British Railways (GBR) which will be a new public company responsible for providing the single point of leadership our railways sorely need, squarely accountable to its passengers for the service it delivers. This will help prioritise service reliability throughout the country, including Birmingham and Walsall, as well as the rest of the West Midlands.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Budget’s roads funding announcements on tackling congestion hotspots in Aldridge-Brownhills, including the A452, A461, Chester Road, Walsall Wood Road and Brownhills High Street; and whether additional funding will be made available to local authorities to deliver small-scale but high-impact junction and safety improvements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Tackling congestion hotspots on local roads is a matter for local highway authorities. The roads in question are the responsibility of Walsall Council, which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). WMCA is in receipt of £1.05bn of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27, and this Government has allocated £2.4bn of Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding to the region for the period up until 2031/32. It is for the combined authority to determine how this funding is allocated across the city region in line with its local priorities.
The Government has also committed over £2 billion annually by 2029/30 for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes – doubling funding since coming into office. For the first time, we have confirmed funding allocations for four years, enabling local authorities to plan ahead with certainty, move away from expensive, short-term repairs, and instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance. As a result of this, WMCA are eligible to receive an additional £9 million in 2026/27.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the West Midlands; and whether she plans to provide additional support for installing public EV chargers across Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of 1st October 2025 there were 7,661 public charging devices in the West Midlands, equating to 127 devices per 100,000 of the population. There were 31 public charging devices in the Aldrige-Brownhills constituency at the same period.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which includes Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, has been allocated £16.6 million capital and resource funding as part of the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, to transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking in the area. The WMCA has also been allocated £1,531,000 through the Electric Vehicles Pavement Channels Grant.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that additional capital funding for roads, rail and bus networks announced in the Budget is allocated fairly across the West Midlands, including to areas across Aldridge-Brownhills which do not benefit from major rail interchanges or tram extensions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The West Midlands Combined Authority will receive almost £2.4bn in Transport for City Region (TCR) funding up to 31/32.
Enabling Mayors in recipient areas to deliver schemes that align with local priorities, the TCR programme provides unprecedented, multi-year, consolidated funding settlements to enhance the local transport networks of some of England’s largest city regions, including investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure, to help to drive growth and productivity.
It is for the Combined Authority to determine how this funding is allocated across the city region in line with local priorities.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the how timetable integration on the Sutton Park line could support the restoration of passenger services at Aldridge Station.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is aware that the West Midlands Rail Executive are at an early stage of undertaking a study to potentially introduce passenger services on the Sutton Park Line, including at Aldridge. This will include how such services would need to integrate with the existing timetable.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of rail freight crime; and what steps her department is taking to reduce those levels.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales.
The BTP work proactively with Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) to identify trends, advise on crime prevention and work to identify and arrest any offenders when crime is reported. BTP hold a 4-weekly Freight Working Group which is open to all freight operators.
For 2025/26 year to date, BTP recorded 48 crimes across all FOCs, the majority of which relate to graffiti.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with West Midlands Rail Executive on improving rail connectivity between Walsall and Birmingham; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of restoring previous services levels.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The service between Walsall and Birmingham is operating with four trains per hour, which means that the previous service levels operating before Covid-19 have already been restored. These services operate with newly introduced Class 730 trains.
The Department is working with West Midlands Rail Executive, Walsall Council and the railway industry regarding rail services in the wider Walsall Council area serving the new stations at Willenhall and Darlaston from next year.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support bus operators in the West Midlands to maintain service frequency on key local routes, including those serving Aldridge and surrounding communities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows that reliable and frequent bus services are vital to providing access to services and keeping communities connected. The Government’s Bus Services Act 2025 puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 2025/26 and keep fares affordable. This includes £243 million for operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and BSOGPlus, and £712 million for local authorities. The BSOG helps operators to keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. Of the £712 million for local authorities, the West Midlands Combined Authority has been allocated £50 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including expanding services and improving frequency.
The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the Government confirmed additional funding per year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87314, what discussions she has had with (a) Mayor Parker and (b) the West Midlands Combined Authority on funding to enable the Aldridge station project to progress from design work to delivery and completion.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government recently announced a £2.4 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding settlement for the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which will be available to spend from 2027/2028 to 2031/2032.
Decisions on how this money is to be spent are devolved to Mayor Richard Parker and WMCA.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of highways maintenance funding allocated to the West Midlands for 2025–26.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is in receipt of £1.05bn of devolved City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27, and has been allocated £2.4bn of Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding for the period up until 2031/32. These funding settlements are for investment in the West Midlands local transport network including local highways maintenance.
For 2025/26, the Department has allocated £1.6 billion in capital funding for local highways maintenance nationally, including a £500 million uplift compared to the previous year. 25% of this uplift is contingent on local authorities adhering to reporting requirements and demonstrating that they are following best practice in highways maintenance. WMCA are eligible to receive an additional £8.6 million from this additional funding.
Decisions on how this funding is spent across the city region rests with the combined authority in line with local priorities.