Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of bringing train leasing companies into public ownership, including to achieve a fair price for leasing rolling stock.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rolling stock companies own and lease trains and carriages worth billions of pounds. It would not be responsible for the Government to take on the cost of renationalising all the rolling stock at the present time, as there are other urgent pressures on the public purse and we need to focus on wider rail reform.
We recognise the value that the private sector can bring, including funding improved trains and infrastructure. But we must secure much better value from the rolling stock market in future – which is why for the first time in over 30 years, the Government is developing a long-term rolling stock and infrastructure strategy. We expect to publish this strategy later in 2026.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking in the context of the University of Sheffield’s findings that gambling advertisements during the 2022 FIFA World Cup significantly influenced betting behaviour; and what measures she plans to put in place to ensure adequate protections before the 2026 tournament.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We consider a wide range of evidence when making policy and regulatory decisions. This includes consideration of Sheffield University’s recent report on World Cup advertising and its impact on gambling behaviour.
All operators advertising in the UK must comply with robust advertising codes. These codes are regularly reviewed and updated. In this context, those include a ban on gambling advertisements during pre-watershed live sports broadcasts lasting from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after the event itself.
The Government recognises that exposure to gambling advertising is an important issue. We continue to consider a wide range of evidence in this space and will work closely with relevant stakeholders to further strengthen protections. This includes our recent announcement of an intention to consult on banning sports sponsorship by unlicensed gambling operators.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which organisations will replace Healthwatch Dudley; and how health and social care will be monitored in Dudley borough.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape report published in July 2025, and in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, the statutory functions of local Healthwatch bodies will be transferred to integrated care boards (ICBs) for health, and to local authorities (LAs) for social care.
Both ICBs and LAs will be required to demonstrate how they have gathered patient and user feedback, including and how this has fed into their strategic planning.
To further ensure that the patient voice is at the heart of planning considerations, as part of their regulatory role, the Care Quality Commission will assess whether every commissioner and provider is listening to the views of local people.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under what legislation developers are responsible for mitigating the risk of landslides in their property developments.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 46774 on 29 April 2025.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) financial and (b) any other support (i) is and (ii) will be available to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, in the context of improvement notice and auditor evaluations.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My department continues to work closely with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council to ensure strong oversight of progress against the requirements of the best value notice issued in July 2025. The council is leading its own improvement journey and has secured independent challenge and support through its Improvement and Assurance Board, the Local Government Association and other sector bodies.
Through the multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, Dudley will see an increase in Core Spending Power of 12% by 2028-29 compared to 2025-26, worth £44 million. We will also be maintaining their £5 million Recovery Grant allocation across the multi-year Settlement and they will benefit from the Recovery Grant Guarantee next year.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how he plans to support Councils with low council tax bases and entrenched deprivation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following extensive consultation and engagement, we are realigning funding distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement with need and deprivation. We will target a greater proportion of grant funding towards the most deprived places which need it most, ensuring the best value for money for government and taxpayers.
These updates will account for local circumstances, including for different ability to raise income locally from council tax, and the variation in the cost of delivering services, including between rural and urban areas. By using the most up to date data available, the government will be able to assess local authorities' relative demand for services more effectively. This includes using the most up-to-date 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation in our assessment of need.
We introduced the £600 million Recovery Grant in 2025-26 to support the most deprived local authorities which are least able to fund their own services through income raised locally. After years of funding cuts to local government, in which the most deprived places suffered the most, the recovery is not over. Following a large number of representations on the importance of Recovery Grant funding, the government has consulted on its plans to maintain the Recovery Grant across the multi-year Settlement, to enable these places to continue their recovery.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of financial penalties for social responsibility failings in acting as a deterrent.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Financial penalties are one element of the Gambling Commission’s regulatory toolkit. Action taken by the Gambling Commission is based on the need to gain compliance from gambling operators with the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice at the earliest opportunity. If breaches occur, financial penalties may be imposed.
Since 2016/17, the Commission’s enforcement action has resulted in over £215 million in fines and regulatory settlements. As a result of the Commission’s compliance and enforcement work, in the last three years there have been fewer instances of extreme failings at gambling operators. However, the Commission continues to address any non-compliance through use of its enforcement powers and will continue to do so wherever necessary.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling advertisements on children and young people; and whether she plans to introduce legislative measures to restrict or ban gambling marketing and sponsorship.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All operators advertising in the UK must comply with robust advertising codes, which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) independently of Government. These codes are regularly reviewed and updated and include a wide range of provisions designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm.
The Government does not currently have plans to ban gambling advertising. However, we recognise that children and young people’s exposure to gambling advertising is an important issue and we continue to work closely with the gambling industry to further strengthen protections.
We have welcomed the Premier League’s voluntary front of shirt ban on gambling advertisements from next season, which will reduce gambling exposure for children and young people. Additionally, we will redouble our efforts to work cross-government and with tech platforms to address illegal gambling advertising, which poses the most risk for children and young people.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of nationalising the M6 Toll road.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently no discussions underway about nationalising the M6 Toll. The M6 Toll sits outside of the Strategic Road Network managed by National Highways and is owned and operated by private entity Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL).
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support SMEs in the West Midlands to access the Growth and Skills Levy.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To support SMEs to access apprenticeships, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships across the country, including in the West Midlands, by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers.
At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.
The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including the West Midlands, through nine regional networks. These networks provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.