Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15550 on Civil Servants: Veterans, if he will make an estimate of the number of veterans that were employed through the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative in the West Midlands in the last 12 months.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member on 20 May 2024. (UINs PQ26837-PQ26838-PQ26840).
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that cycle lanes are not a danger to (a) visually impaired and (b) blind pedestrians.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Design guidance for cycle infrastructure issued by the Department for Transport sets out that there should be separation of pedestrian and cycle infrastructure wherever possible. This guidance was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, including disability groups.
The Department for Transport established Active Travel England (ATE) to up-skill local authorities, enabling the installation of changes that are well thought through for all modes of travel, and disseminating best practice. As part of this, ATE has recently published a suite of design assistance and scheme review tools to support the development of accessible active travel schemes. The agency has also commissioned West Midlands Combined Authority to undertake research into crossing detection systems.
ATE will continue to work with organisations representing blind and visually impaired people to improve standards and further reduce the rare occasions that collisions occur.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of Cryptosporidiosis have been recorded (a) by each NHS trust, (b) by each integrated care board and (c) in total in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
While this information is not held in the requested format, the following table shows the laboratory reported figures for cryptosporidiosis, and the reports of cryptosporidiosis per 100,000 people, in England and Wales, each year from 2008 to 2017:
Year | Number of laboratory reports | per 100,000 population |
2008 | 4,162 | 7.6 |
2009 | 4,831 | 8.7 |
2010 | 3,901 | 7.0 |
2011 | 2,990 | 5.3 |
2012 | 5,765 | 10.2 |
2013 | 3,520 | 6.2 |
2014 | 4,023 | 7.0 |
2015 | 5,222 | 9.0 |
2016 | 5,925 | 10.1 |
2017 | 4,292 | 7.3 |
Source: data is taken from Public Health England’s report, Cryptosporidium data 2008 to 2017, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cryptosporidium-national-laboratory-data/cryptosporidium-data-2008-to-2017
Note: figures for England 2018 to 2023 are due to be published in Summer 2024.
In addition, the following table shows the regional distribution of the laboratory reports of cryptosporidium in England and Wales, in 2017:
Country | Region | Number of laboratory reports | per 100,000 population |
England | East Midlands | 378 | 7.9 |
England | East of England | 539 | 8.7 |
England | London | 250 | 2.8 |
England | North East | 275 | 10.4 |
England | North West | 554 | 7.6 |
England | South East | 582 | 6.4 |
England | South West | 590 | 10.6 |
England | Yorkshire and The Humber | 450 | 8.3 |
England | West Midlands | 414 | 7.1 |
Wales | Wales | 260 | 8.3 |
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero-emission buses had been ordered through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (a) 1 and (b) 2 schemes as of 14 May 2024; and how many zero-emission buses are expected to be ordered through both schemes by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to buy new zero-emission buses through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area schemes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the buses funded through Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (a) 1 and (b) 2 schemes are (i) UK and (ii) non-UK-made, broken down by country of origin; and how much Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding has been spent on UK-made zero-emission buses as of 14 May 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2024 to Question 25469 on Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, how many recipients there are in each region of the UK.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of scheme members by region, as at July 2023, is as follows:
Name of Region | Number of members |
Channel Islands | 8 |
East Midlands | 29641 |
East of England | 490 |
Isle of Man | 4 |
London | 194 |
North East | 15917 |
North West | 4901 |
Scotland | 8269 |
South East | 1791 |
South West | 908 |
Wales | 13838 |
West Midlands | 9461 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 30510 |
A breakdown by region of former miners and dependants is not available.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in care are moved more than 10 miles away due to a lack of appropriate local care options.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ 2023 data shows that 70% of children who were looked after on 31 March 2023 were placed within 20 miles of home and 21% were placed over 20 miles from home. This data is published on GOV.UK. Information for the remaining 9% was not known or not recorded. In most cases this will be because the child was an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child but it could also be because the home address was not known or for reasons of confidentiality. Information on reasons why children were placed more than 20 miles from their home is not held centrally by the department.
Sometimes out of area placements are essential to keep a child safe, but the department recognises there are challenges in the children’s social care sector. At the Spring Budget, the government announced a £165 million boost to expand places in secure and open residential children’s homes, on top of the £259 million secured at Spending Review 2021. This takes the total planned investment to over £400 million. This Spring Budget funding is expected to create a further 200 open children’s homes (OCHs) places and rebuild Atkinson and Swanwick secure children’s homes (SCHs). This is in addition to the 95 new OCHs, providing 360 additional placements, and two brand new regional SCHs in London and West Midlands created by the Spending Review funding. This total investment illustrates the department’s commitment to support councils in continuing to deliver high-quality services to vulnerable children and families.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
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 support the automotive industry's transition to electric vehicles in the West Midlands.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
We continue to work with industry via the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to support the creation of an internationally competitive zero emission vehicle supply chain in the UK, including gigafactories.
There are substantial opportunities for R&D and capital investment across the supply chain and the West Midlands is well-placed to benefit.
As part of the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, we have announced over £2bn of capital and R&D funding over five years to 2030 in zero emission vehicles, batteries and the wider supply chain, boosting the UK’s competitiveness and unlocking strategic investments in our automotive industry.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies there are in the probation service by region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The workforce position, at 31 March 2024, was 20,758 FTE Staff in Post working in Probation Service grades (including those working in Approved Premises). This is an increase of 728 FTE (3.6%) since 31 March 2023.
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to deliver more robust supervision, recruit more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer.
We have recruited 4,582 trainee Probation Officers between 2020/21 and 2023/24. Many of these trainees have already qualified and taken up Probation Officer posts and we expect the remainder of these intakes to qualify by the end of 2025 and begin to take on Probation Officer caseloads. We will continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions to help bolster the number of applications.
Table One: Vacancies across Probation Service Regions, March 2024, all Probation Service grades.
Probation Service Region | Vacancies (FTE) |
PS East Midlands | 45 |
PS East of England | 204 |
PS Greater Manchester | 18 |
PS Kent, Surrey & Sussex | 100 |
PS London | 446 |
PS North East | 50 |
PS North West | 89 |
PS South Central | 103 |
PS South West | 71 |
PS Wales | 0 |
PS West Midlands | 67 |
PS Yorkshire & the Humber | 109 |
PS Approved Premises | 0 |
Notes