Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to provide proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to humanitarian causes in Ukraine in the first half of 2025.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is working hard to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible. The proceeds are currently frozen in a UK bank account while a new independent foundation is established to manage and distribute the money. They are not Government funds. UK officials continue to hold discussions with Mr Abramovich's representatives, experts and international partners, and we are continuing on our efforts to reach a resolution.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of practical driving tests in the West Midlands.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

DVSA continues recruitment for DEs at driving test centres (DTCs) that serve customers in the West Midlands region and is currently working through the recruitment process from recent campaigns. As part of this, DVSA is currently aiming to recruit up to twelve potential new DEs in the Birmingham area, five in the Worcester area, two in Ludlow and two in Hereford. There is also the potential for five new DEs for DTCs in Gloucestershire, which might also serve customers in the West Midlands region.

Some of these candidates have started training, whilst others are currently undergoing checks as part of the recruitment process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the level of vehicle theft in the West Midlands.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police – taking a national approach - to ensure our response is as strong as it can be, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them.

We are also providing £250,000 funding this financial year to help support enforcement at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment.

Via the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles; this includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the recycling rates in Birmingham in 2022-23.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting for Birmingham City Council in 2022-23 was 22.9 per cent.

Waste and recycling statistics including household recycling rates are published annually for all local authorities in England here.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with (a) the West Midlands Combined Authority and (b) Birmingham city council on the AI Growth Zones scheme.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government recognises the critical role of AI infrastructure in supporting advanced AI technologies. The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines how the UK can build the cutting-edge compute infrastructure needed to lead in AI development and deployment, securing long-term economic growth and staying at the forefront of AI innovation.

We are interested in partnering with local and regional authorities and devolved administrations to establish AI Growth Zones, ensuring substantial regional and national benefits, such as upskilling and employment opportunities, are felt across the country.

On Monday 10 February, local and regional authorities, along with industry, were invited to come forward with potential sites suitable for hosting AI infrastructure as an early expression of interest. This was followed by a discussion about towns in the Birmingham area.

Found: that “Hamas has the power to stop the fighting,”12 met with agreement by then- Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell

Found: 29 October 2024 755 cc682-7 Sudan Urgent question on the situation in Sudan Lead Member: Andrew Mitchell