Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog for cancer treatment in the West Midlands.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will improve National Health Service cancer waiting time performance so that cancer patients are diagnosed and treated faster, including patients in the West Midlands.
We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. Our reforms to cancer care will see thousands of patients starting treatment within two months, and across the NHS we have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to improve rail services in the West Midlands.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
West Midlands Trains has recently introduced two brand new fleets of high capacity trains in the West Midlands area, with a third new fleet on its West Coast routes starting service shortly. Five new stations are also under construction. Meanwhile, CrossCountry started operating a bigger fleet last weekend, significantly boosting capacity on its network, and all its trains will be fully refurbished in the next three years. A Pay-As-You-Go scheme is being implemented to help deliver seamless journey integration. Longer term, work continues on developing the Midlands Rail Hub scheme.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to circulate to all Ministers holding economic portfolios the article published in The Times entitled Want to help the poor? Don’t chase out the rich, published on 16 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Successful businesses and entrepreneurs who create jobs and wealth are the driving engine of the Government’s mission to increase economic growth. We will support them to succeed whilst making those with wealth pay their fair share toward the public finances.
That is why the Government is removing barriers to growth such as burdensome planning processes and unnecessary regulation, whilst also increasing the rates of capital gains taxation and restricting reliefs for inheritance tax that benefit some of the wealthiest estates. These and other decisions announced at Autumn Budget 2024 will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear up water ways in the West Midlands.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Navigation authorities are responsible for keeping their waterways clear of obstacles, rubbish, aquatic plant overgrowths, and any other impediments to ensure safety of navigation for users. They also work closely with the relevant authorities in responding to pollution incidents; an example of this was the Canal and River Trust working with the Environment Agency and others to deal with a serious pollution incident in the Walsall Canal in August 2024.
More widely in the West Midlands in 2024/25 the Environment Agency’s Water Industry National Environment Programme included over 160 actions aimed at improving sewage treatment works and storm overflow discharges to improve water quality and over 100 actions aiming to prevent deterioration of water quality. There is also a continued focus on the impact of agriculture on our rivers, with more than 400 farm inspections conducted by the Environment Agency across the West Midlands in 2024/25.
In 2024/25, £1.9m of Water Environment Improvement Fund money was invested in the West Midlands. Through partnerships, 29 projects were delivered improving or enhancing 15km of watercourse and more than 110 hectares. These projects covered rural land management, urban communities, and habitats and priority species including Atlantic Salmon, Trout, and White-Clawed Crayfish.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the work of foster carers in Sutton Coldfield constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Birmingham local authority, which includes Sutton Coldfield constituency, receives support from Fosterlink. This government-funded service provides diagnostic support to councils’ fostering recruitment and assessment services. Fosterlink’s work with Birmingham identified strengths and areas for development, making recommendations for improvements. Foster carers in Sutton Coldfield can also access ‘Fosterline’, a free helpline for current and prospective foster carers.
More broadly, as part of children’s social care reform, we are providing £15 million of funding in 2025/26 to recruit and retain more foster carers. We will provide an additional £25 million for fostering covering the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years. As part of this model, we are supporting foster carers and children by expanding ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’. Evaluation shows that Mockingbird improves carer retention, meaning that local authorities have a greater number of suitable fostering places available.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Ofgem and (b) energy suppliers on ensuring enough engineer appointments are available to complete the replacement of radio teleswitch service meters before the forthcoming switch-off in the West Midlands.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has allocated for the repair of roads in Sutton Coldfield in the last two years for which information is available.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Birmingham City Council (BCC) is the local highway authority for Sutton Coldfield and is a constituent authority of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
BCC has a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement for its highway maintenance operations, under which the Department for Transport provides approximately £50.3 million per year to BCC. The Department will make an announcement in due course on the future of this agreement.
In addition, WMCA receives a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) from the Department, that runs for 5 years between 2022/23 – 2026/27. This settlement consolidates all transport capital funding allocations, including highways maintenance. The WMCA has a total CRSTS settlement of £1.05 billion; decisions on how this funding is allocated is a matter for WMCA. On Friday 20 December, the Government announced that, as part of the £500 million autumn Budget uplift, WMCA will receive an additional £8.61 million funding for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Birmingham and Solihull integrated care board on access to ear wax removal services in the context of their decision to commission self-referral community audiology services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not engaged with the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) directly on this point, but it is supportive of the ICB’s work to improve access to community-based services. All ICBs have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of audiology services.
In line with NHS England’s work to improve access to primary care following the COVID-19 pandemic, all ICBs were asked to expand self-referral pathways for certain carefully considered community-based services by September 2023.
However, the Birmingham and Solihull ICB recommend visiting a pharmacist for blocked ears caused by ear wax rather than using the self-referral hearing check service. Ear wax removal services are not a core service included in the national GP Contract, and general practitioners often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up as manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has robust processes in place for reviewing the list of proscribed organisations. However, the Government does not routinely comment on whether or not an organisation is being considered for proscription. The UK continues to support UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve access to arts and culture in the West Midlands.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England has provided over £357 million of funding in the West Midlands between 2021-2025. Sutton Coldfield has received over £1.5 million between 2021-2025.
For example, Selina Thompson Ltd is in receipt of £350,000 per annum as a new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). This NPO makes theatre installations, workshops and radio work for performance spaces, pubs, clubs and shopping centres across England and internationally.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery has received £5m as part of the Cultural Development Fund to create a striking extended building and repurpose spaces to showcase Stoke-on-Trent’s world class museum collections and enhance the visitor experience. In February, the Secretary of State announced that museums in the West Midlands, including Tamworth and Wolverhampton, would receive Museum Estate and Development Fund awards of over £3.4 million.
The Department has also announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund on 20 February. This will include support to museums, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.