Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on household energy bills.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will bring energy security, protect billpayers, create good jobs, and help to protect future generations from the cost of climate breakdown. Delivering clean power by 2030 will protect billpayers from volatile international fossil fuel markets and bring down energy bills for good.
Great British Energy is a key part of this plan. It will ensure taxpayers and billpayers reap the benefits of homegrown energy by investing in and developing clean energy projects across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposed changes to the right to a jury trial on the rule of law.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government will publish a full impact assessment of our proposed justice reforms in the usual way with bill introduction. That will include an assessment of the impact of the proposed changes in the threshold for who can access a jury trial. Currently, over 90% of criminal cases are already heard by magistrates, without a jury. These proposals make a modest change to the threshold. All indictable only offences and any offence with a likely sentence over three years will continue to receive a jury trial.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to HCWS1249, whether he will publish annual progress reports against the roadmap, department-level performance metrics for digital services, and information on major digital programmes assessed as high risk.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The roadmap is an iterative and transparent record of government’s digital priorities and will be updated regularly as projects progress and delivery milestones are met. The Government Digital Service (GDS) is also developing the Digital Performance Framework to provide a single, cross-government way to measure and understand digital and technology performance. Departments will start sharing annual outcome-based data on the performance of their services with each other, with Secretaries of State held accountable in regular reviews. This will encourage open working and drive evidence-led improvements across digital government.
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 funding for road maintenance for metropolitan authorities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that historic under-investment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way that they would want to. The Government has therefore confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government's investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year. By confirming funding allocations for a four-year period, authorities have certainty to plan ahead and shift from short-term fixes to proactive, preventative maintenance.
Metropolitan authorities that are part of a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) who receive a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), receive their baseline highways maintenance funding consolidated into their City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) which is paid to the relevant MSA. From 2027/28, 9 eligible MSAs will receive increased funding from the Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to HCWS1249, what productivity gains and cash-releasing savings are expected from the digital government roadmap by 2030; how those savings will be measured; and how benefits will be shared between central government and local public bodies.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Work undertaken by the Office for Value for Money at SR25 identified total annual efficiency gains of almost £14bn by 2028-29, of which the Government expects digital to contributes a substantial portion of this. The Government Digital Service (GDS) will work with HM Treasury to measure central government departments’ contributions to this by tracking the digital efficiencies they’ve identified in their delivery plans by the end of the spending review period. GDS will also draw on productivity and efficiency information from across the public sector to understand how government is driving wider efficiency.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to HCWS1249, what steps are being taken to prevent digital exclusion arising from the expansion of the GOV.UK app, GOV.UK Wallet and GOV.UK One Login; how access to offline or assisted services will be protected between 2025 and 2030; and how progress on digital inclusion will be measured.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All new GDS products are designed and tested to meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards and support users with diverse access needs, skills and devices. In addition, the Government is taking coordinated action to reduce digital exclusion. Through the Digital Innovation Fund we are supporting locally led projects that test new approaches to help people gain skills, confidence and access to digital public services. This forms part of the wider Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which brings together work across accessibility, connectivity, skills and affordability to ensure those facing the greatest barriers are supported to get online.
Departments will continue to offer offline, phone and assisted‑digital routes so people who cannot or prefer not to use online services can still get help. No essential service will become digital‑only without suitable support.
Progress on digital inclusion is measured through accessibility assessments, user research and service performance data to ensure services work for everyone.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 January 2026 on Launch of new capital fund for places of worship, HCWS1268, and the evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, what evidence her Department has used to support the determination that 80% of respondents would have undertaken works without the rebate; and what steps her Department took to assess whether those works would have been delayed, scaled back, or funded through additional fundraising and debt.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report. Our evaluation showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 January 2026 on Launch of new capital fund for places of worship, HCWS1268, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the financial sustainability of (a) historic churches and (b) other faith buildings; what estimate she has made of the potential number of repairs likely to be (i) delayed and (ii) cancelled as a result; and what estimate she has made of the additional financial burden placed on congregations and local communities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report. The evaluation did not assess the impact of ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the financial sustainability of places of worship. Our evaluation showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most. Over the next four years, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship and is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of police officer numbers in the West Midlands Police force area and planned officer numbers for 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.
Published statistics show, as at 30 September 2025, West Midlands Police had 8,027 full-time equivalent police officers.
It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate and deploy the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.
Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors with PCC functions will also be able to make decisions on the shape of their overall workforce of officers and staff in response to the 2026/27 Police Funding Settlement and future funding settlements.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the apology from the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police for providing erroneous evidence used to justify the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban on the level of public confidence in policing in the West Midlands.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises that public confidence in policing is fundamental to the effectiveness of the police and to the principle of policing by consent.
I met the Acting Chief Constable, Scott Green, for West Midlands Police on 21 January. I was assured that appropriate steps are being taken to rebuild trust and confidence in the force and its leadership team, including with local communities.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation, using its power of initiative, into the role of West Midlands Police in the intelligence and decision‑making that led to the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
Accountability for the performance of West Midlands Police rests primarily with the directly elected West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, who is responsible for holding the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the public. The PCC has a range of statutory powers to scrutinise force performance and governance, and to ensure that public confidence is maintained.
From Local to National: A New Model for Policing” published on 26 January set out the Government’s proposals to reintroduce a power for the Home Secretary to remove a Chief Constable on performance grounds and reforming the appointment, suspension and dismissal of Chief Constables.
Through Home Office funding to the NPCC Artificial Intelligence (AI) portfolio, detailed guidance has been developed and published on the responsible use of AI in policing, including through the NPCC AI Playbook and the Covenant.
All Chief Constables have signed up to the Covenant, which establishes core principles for the transparent, responsible and accountable use of AI and generative technologies in UK policing. It also explicitly refers to the need for processes in place to ensure AI output is not accepted uncritically.