Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the impact of adult social care obligations on local authorities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers regularly discuss a range of topics with other Cabinet colleagues. In response to the pressures facing adult social care, the Government will make up to £3.5 billion of additional funding for social care authorities available in 2025/26, which includes a £680 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that future housing is designed to a beautiful standard, following the closure of the Office for Place.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 12 November 2024 (HCWS209).
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) frequency and (b) reliability of rail services between Wythall and Birmingham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department works with West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) to ensure that West Midlands Trains (WMT) are focused on tackling the issues of frequency and reliability of all services, including between Wythall and Birmingham. Initiatives includes improving WMT’s operating processes/procedures, recruiting additional traincrew and also working with Network Rail to improve infrastructure resilience.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with Worcestershire County Council on (a) local government reorganisation and (b) devolution.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On Monday, this Government published a landmark English Devolution White Paper, setting out an ambitious plan for extending the benefits of devolution to more of England and unleashing further powers from Whitehall back into local communities that know their areas best. The White Paper sets out a new Devolution Priority Programme which is available to all places, including Worcestershire, who are ready to come together under sensible geographies and are ready to deliver on the Governments ambitions around mayoral devolution. This programme will aim to deliver institutions and have Mayors elected in the May 2026 elections. The Government will announce the places included in the Devolution Priority Programme in due course.
Alongside this, Government will shortly invite unitary proposals from all councils in two-tier areas, including Worcestershire. Any new unitary councils must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
Government looks forward to hearing from Worcestershire on English Devolution and Local Government Reform.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's timetable is for lowering energy bills for people in Bromsgrove constituency, in the context of the Great British Energy Bill.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy is a key part of the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. This is a sustainable, long-term plan to protect billpayers. In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy.
We are progressing the Great British Energy Bill through Parliament. By putting the company on a statutory footing and using the £100 million of capital funding announced at Autumn Budget, Great British Energy will be able to hit the ground running next year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional police officers her Department plans to fund in West Mercia by the end of 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of our Safer Streets Mission we will put neighbourhood police back on the beat, with 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales.
Last week the Prime Minister announced that £100 million will be made available in 2025/26 to support the initial delivery of the 13,000 additional neighbourhood police, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales.
The Home Office is working closely with policing to implement this commitment and will announce further detail in due course.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she made of the potential impact of increases in employer National Insurance contributions on charities prior the the announcement of the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.
HMRC has published a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the impact of employer NICs changes.
The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year; more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.
More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect rural communities in Bromsgrove constituency from flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Communities at risk of flooding in the Bromsgrove constituency include Hagley, Hollywood and Bromsgrove itself. At present, there have been no reports to the Environment Agency (EA) of property flooding in this constituency during the recent wet weather.
The EA has been supporting Worcestershire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority and Bromsgrove District Council, to establish flood risk management projects on the 2021-2027 Flood and Coastal Risk Management Investment Programme. Over £300,000 has been invested to date with a further £600,000 planned to be invested over the next 3 years. The projects aim to better protect 155 properties from flooding by March 2027 through Property Level Resilience interventions across Bromsgrove and Redditch Council areas.
The EA are engaging with the community at Hagley and Bromsgrove via flood action groups and responding to direct enquiries from residents.
A Flood Warning Service is available to over 900 homes and businesses at risk of flooding from main rivers in the constituency. The EA will continue to work with partners towards raising awareness of flood risk in the area to support community resilience.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of multiple solar farms on the local environment; whether he has had discussions with the the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the impact of solar farms on the rural (a) landscape and (b) communities; and if he will take steps to ensure that those farms are distributed over a wide area.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Although the precise location of energy infrastructure is a matter for developers, planning guidance sets out that the cumulative impact of solar developments located close to each other can be a factor in planning decisions. This impact should be considered by decision-makers.
Officials are in regular contact with their counterparts at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with whom they work closely on matters related to the rural impacts of solar farms.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the long-term viability of pubs (a) in Bromsgrove constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Pubs, including those in Bromsgrove, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.
The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.
We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.
Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.