Bradley Thomas

The Table Office has 16 members of staff. There are no plans to review staffing levels at the moment.

The Bona Vacantia Division (“the Division”) of the Government Legal Department acts on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor (the Crown’s Nominee) to administer bona vacantia estates.

The Division currently has two unclaimed bona vacantia estates in the Bromsgrove constituency, neither of which involve the deceased owning property.

Current Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates are listed on the Division’s Unclaimed Estates List, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-listhttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-list.

Since April 2012, the Government Car Service has provided a Departmental Pool Car (DPC) service to several Government Departments for their ministerial travel, whereby the official car is contracted to a Department rather than allocated to an individual. The use made of these services based at Departments is therefore not held by the Cabinet Office.

As is longstanding practice for security reasons, specific details regarding the allocation of vehicles are also not disclosed.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has responsibility for housing and planning policy in Cabinet.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 6th February is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 6th February is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 5th February is attached.

The Government recognises the remarkable legacy of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

We regularly receive requests for additional bank and public holidays to mark a variety of occasions. While an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy remains considerable. The latest analysis estimates the cost to the UK economy for a one-off bank holiday to be around £2 billion.

For these reasons, the Government currently has no plans to change the well-established pattern of bank holidays.

Hospitality businesses, including those in Bromsgrove, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth and social cohension. We've launched a licensing taskforce aimed at cutting red tape and removing barriers that hinder progress. The Government also plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. Additionally, we've introduced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities. This includes helping those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity across the sector.

Whilst I don't have any immediate plans to visit Bromsgrove, I will endeavour to visit in future as part of my wider business engagement programme.

China is the world’s second largest economy and predicted to be the largest driver of global growth from 2021 to 2035. Identifying opportunities to build secure and resilient growth through a mature, stable, and balanced relationship with China is in our national interest.

National security and growth are not opposed – they are mutually reinforcing. The UK must engage with international partners, including China, on trade and investment to grow our economy, while ensuring we uphold our security and values by challenging China on areas where we disagree.

DBT’s Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations (TPIN) Group operates a flexible resourcing model to maximise efficiency across priorities. In January 2025, DBT had 675 staff working in TPIN.

The US is the UK’s largest single country trading partner, with trade worth around £300 billion in the year to September 2024.

The Government supports entrepreneurs, including those in Bromsgrove, through Start-up Loans via the British Business Bank and through programmes such as Growth Hubs in England and Help to Grow: Management across the UK. We will publish our Small Business Strategy later this year, which will signal a clear overarching ambition to promote entrepreneurship and articulate a new vision for business support, built around the new Business Growth Service. The strategy will enable scale-ups and other small businesses to grow, empowering entrepreneurs to innovate, export, and create new jobs.

Our Industrial Strategy is unreservedly pro-business, engaging on complex issues that are barriers to investment, like skills, recruitment of international talent, data, R&D, technology adoption, access to finance, competition, regulation, energy prices, grid connections, infrastructure, and planning – all through the lens of promoting investment.

Oil and gas markets are well supplied and functioning normally. Though they have responded to events in the Middle East, prices remain within the bounds we have seen over the last year. We have not witnessed any material reduction of traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. DESNZ will continue monitoring closely for any future impacts.

The UK holds oil stocks that can be released onto the global market collectively with releases by other International Energy Agency member countries in the event of a global oil supply disruption.

The Government's Clean Energy Superpower Mission, supported by the largest investment in home-grown clean energy in British history, will enhance energy security by boosting our energy independence, protecting billpayers, and reducing exposure to global supply shocks.

The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity was last updated in July 2023 and is expected to be updated again this year.

The designation of sites, systems and assets that make up the UK energy sector as Critical National Infrastructure is based on the extent that the loss, damage or disruption of that infrastructure has a major detrimental impact on the availability, integrity or delivery of the essential services of the UK energy system. This approach to identifying Critical National Infrastructure means that we assess all infrastructure, regardless of its ownership.

The Government is committed to ensuring a fair and affordable transition to Net Zero while considering the impact of policy costs on all energy consumers. Consumer energy bills are a vital tool to leverage private sector investment to support our critical goals to decarbonise the energy market whilst contributing to economic growth. Policy costs, or levies, fund essential schemes that have delivered significant benefits, including increasing renewable generation capacity and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Renewables Obligation and the Feed-in Tariffs schemes are now closed to new applications but have brought forward the successful renewable electricity sector that we see today in the UK.

The Department keeps the aggregate impact of these policies under review.

As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, a positive trading relationship benefits both the UK and China, and we continue to recognise the importance of trade and investment from China where it is safe, reciprocal and mutually beneficial.

The Government works closely with industry to maintain a detailed picture of foreign involvement in critical national infrastructure. Foreign involvement in critical national infrastructure undergoes the highest levels of scrutiny, with the government and industry working alongside each other to monitor and mitigate the security risks in the energy sector and its supply chain.

The Government recognises the critical role of undersea data cables in the UK’s digital economy. Individual subsea cables can be vulnerable to disruption. There is an average of 12 breaks a year from fishing, anchor drag, landslides and other causes. Most breaks have minimal impact on digital services due to resilience in the UK network. The UK has a large number of cables relative to other island nations. They are also geographically dispersed so data can be rerouted in the event of most disruptions. However, DSIT lead work on emergency preparedness and response in the event of a serious incident, as described in the National Risk Register.

DSIT is implementing the Online Safety Act to protect children and adults online. The Act’s duties apply to services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other. Protections for freedom of expression are built in throughout the framework. Services must have ‘particular regard’ to the impact on users’ rights to freedom of expression when implementing policies under the Act.

Ofcom, as the independent Regulator, must act in a way that is compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, including in relation to freedom of expression when developing codes of practice and making enforcement decisions.

The Government takes fraud seriously. DSIT works closely with Ofcom, who have a duty to ensure UK numbers are not misused including by requiring telecoms operators to block spoofing calls from abroad imitating UK landline numbers in order to help protect consumers from scam calls.

DSIT is also working closely with the Home Office, who lead on fraud policy, and other government departments to tackle telecoms fraud. Together, we are working with industry to develop a second Telecoms Fraud Charter, going further in identifying, preventing and disrupting telecoms fraud.

We will continue to work with industry and government departments to ensure that as threats evolve so too does the response.

DSIT’s closing R&D budget for 2023-24 was £12,300m. This reflects the position post-Machinery of Government changes, comprising elements of the R&D budgets of DSIT’s predecessor departments.

DSIT’s R&D budget for 2024-25, updated at Autumn Budget 2024 is £12,500m*.

* Rounded to nearest £100m

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport jointly published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024, seeking views on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and AI.

The Government has published a summary assessment of options alongside the consultation which aims to provide context on the range and scale of impacts the Government is considering in these policies.

The Government welcomes further information and evidence on impacts, including the economic impact of AI on the creative industries, to help shape its thinking.

The consultation closes on 25 February.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arms-Length body the Churches Conservation Trust is the national charity that saves redundant historic churches at risk, and has a portfolio of over 350 churches that have been kept open and now used to serve the local communities. These are now enjoyed as cultural, social, tourism and educational resources with over 4000 community, arts and educational events taking place within them per year.

Additionally, redundant churches may be eligible for wider DCMS Heritage funding to support their use by the community. In February my Department announced new funding worth almost £20 million for 2025/26. The Heritage at Risk fund will restore local heritage and is targeted towards areas of higher deprivation. The Heritage Revival Fund empowers local people to take control of and look after their local heritage, supporting community organisations to own neglected heritage buildings and bring them back into good use.

Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we face.

On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026 with a budget of £23m.

Further details can be found here in the Written Statement.

As I said in his Westminster Hall debate on the subject, based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change.

Local museums animate towns, high streets and rural communities across the country. Their programmes and activities promote education, entertainment and wellbeing, and play an important role in delivering the government’s agenda.

The Government, with Arts Council England (ACE), supports local museums through the ACE 2023-26 National Portfolio supporting 80 museum organisations with £37m annually, and a further £3m annually is invested in the Museum Development Network. The Government also funds regional museums maintenance through the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), with £86.6 million committed to date, and provides tax incentives through both the Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief, and the VAT Refund Scheme for museums. We hope to announce more soon.

To date, the DCMS Uniformed Youth Fund has enabled Uniformed Youth organisations to recruit over 4,200 adult volunteers in hundreds of new or expanded units across England, and created over 20,500 new places for young people. This includes over 1,000 new volunteers who have been recruited by the Scouts.

In line with the National Youth Strategy announcement in November 2024, the Government has committed to continue funding Uniformed Youth organisations in 2025/26 to ensure young people can continue to access opportunities outside of school in all parts of the country. More details will be shared in due course.

Around 70% of private schools affiliated with the Independent Schools Council hold charitable status. As charities, they are required to demonstrate public benefit and one way in which they do that is through partnerships with state schools. This activity should continue.

Mobile phone and smartphone development and social media use has increased (Ofcom, 2024) alongside increasing mental health problems in children and young people (NHS England, 2023), which has raised concerns amongst academics that the two are linked. The cited publications can be found here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/children/children-media-use-and-attitudes-2024/childrens-media-literacy-report-2024.pdf?v=368229; https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up.

Several recent reviews have explored the negative correlations between mobile phones and children’s wellbeing:

• Evidence from a systematic review (Jourdren et al. 2023) found significant positive correlations between high levels of screen exposure and attention difficulties. The full review can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37001326/.
• A systematic review (Santos et al. 2022) found that excessive screen use could be linked to attention problems across children of all ages. The full review can be found here: https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01166-7.
• A systematic review (Abdoli et al. 2024) found an indirect association between increased screen time and depression and anxiety. The full review can be found here: https://journals.lww.com/ijom/fulltext/2024/02290/screen_time_and_child_behavioral_disorders_during.4.aspx.
• Data from the Office for National Statistics (2024) showed an estimated 847,000 children (19.1%) experienced online bullying in the last year. The full data set can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/bullyingandonlineexperiencesamongchildreninenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023.
• Data from the department’s National Behaviour Survey (2024) for the 2022/2023 academic year showed that among pupils who reported they had been bullied in the past 12 months, 30% said that least some of it had been online bullying. The full data set can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6628dd9bdb4b9f0448a7e584/National_behaviour_survey_academic_year_2022_to_2023.pdf.

Information on the number of pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans attending schools in England is published in the statistical release, ‘Special Educational Needs in England, 2024’, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.

The number of pupils with EHC plans can be derived from the underlying school data which is available under the additional supporting files section of the above publication. This shows the number of pupils with an EHC plan attending schools in Bromsgrove constituency was 733 as of January 2024. This is the latest figure available. Figures from the January 2025 school census will be published in summer 2025.

The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the current national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The government has made a commitment that the Holocaust will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, which will also be required teaching in academy schools when it is implemented.

The government supports the teaching of Holocaust education in schools and colleges, including those in Bromsgrove, by funding teachers’ professional development in this subject through University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education, and the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project, which gives students aged 16 to 18 the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In addition, a further £2 million funding for Holocaust remembrance and education was committed at the Autumn Budget 2024. This will be used to support the ambition set by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister for all students to have the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony. The department is currently exploring how it can support schools to fulfil this ambition.

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there were 943 full-time equivalent teachers employed in the 38 state-funded schools in Bromsgrove constituency.