Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many apprentices her Department recruited in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Office recruited the following number of apprentices in the years requested.
Year | Law Officer Departments |
2022 | 7 |
2023 | 7 |
2024 | 5 |
2025 | 1 |
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered changing the basis for determining Vehicle Excise Duty rates on motorcycles in line with other vehicles; and whether her Department plans to reduce Vehicle Excise Duty on motorcycles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as date of first registration, engine size, and CO2 emissions. VED for motorcycles is based on engine size.
Zero emission motorcycles now pay the lowest VED rate which applies to the smallest engine size of 150cc or less (currently £26, and increasing to £27 from 1 April 2026 in line with the Retail Price Index).
The government does not currently have any plans to reform the VED system for motorcycles.
The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many apprentices her Department recruited in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Apprenticeships are a valuable tool for improving skills, productivity, and social mobility, whilst also supporting the development of our workforce. My Department continues to offer apprenticeships whenever a suitable vacancy arises.
My Department recruited three apprentices in 2022, three in 2023, and none in 2024 or 2025.
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 assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the backlog of grid connection; and what steps he is taking to help reduce connection times for businesses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has worked closely with the National Energy System Operator and network companies on their programme of connections reforms which have already reduced the queue for generation and storage connections by over half.
Government is also developing further reforms to the grid connection process for demand, to manage the backlog of speculative data centre applications and enable prioritisation of available capacity for strategically important demand projects.
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, whether he plans to issue guidance to planning authorities on the capacity of the grid for battery projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines an ambition for 23 – 27 GW of grid-scale batteries in Great Britain by 2030 and indicates what proportion of this capacity is required in which part of the country for 2030. It also does the same for 2035.
It is a matter for planning authorities whether to grant permission to proposed battery developments in line with existing planning guidance. Government does not plan to issue additional guidance on this matter.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Palantir on the award of a contract by his Department in December 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As the Secretary of State has publicly said, Peter Mandelson had no influence or involvement in the Defence Enterprise Agreement with Palantir.
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 progress has been made on introducing legislated protections for freeholders against uncapped service charges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 4 July 2025 (HCWS780) and the answer given to Question UIN 103549 on 14 January 2026.
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 steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle kidney disease nationwide and (b) help raise awareness of kidney disease in Bromsgrove and the Villages.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease through the renal services transformation toolkit published in 2023. Eight commissioned regional renal clinical networks are implementing the toolkit in collaboration with providers.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) in the Midlands, including those covering Bromsgrove, are working to improve pathway flows for renal services. Integrated commissioning will make it easier to deliver upstream interventions in primary care around diagnosis and early treatment of kidney disease, that can potentially prevent or delay the need for dialysis and transplants. In addition, renal care is a core component within the Midlands Clinical Strategy for Acute Specialised Services.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of processing times for paper probate application; and what steps he is taking to help improve the processing time for paper applications inline with wait times for digitally submitted applications.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Processing times for paper applications have improved significantly, but we recognise that they need to improve further. Paper applications are often more complex and may require additional enquiries where they cannot be issued on the first examination, which can affect overall timeliness. HM Courts & Tribunals Service has therefore invested in more staff in 2026, alongside system process improvements and a programme of upskilling to improve the processing time for paper applications.
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 estimate his Department has made of carbon emissions produced by Chinese manufacturing of UK energy infrastructure for (a) power grids, (b) battery storage, (c) offshore wind power and (d) green hydrogen; and whether he plans to include those emissions in the UK's overall emissions.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department estimates greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon dioxide) on a territorial basis, meaning emissions that occur within UK borders. This is the approach required by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008. The latest estimates are published here: UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions statistics - GOV.UK
Defra publishes consumption-based emissions statistics, calculated by the University of Leeds, which include emissions associated with imported goods and services. The latest estimates are published here: UK and England's carbon footprint to 2022 - GOV.UK
The Government’s industrial strategy and economic growth ambitions are underpinned by large-scale public investment into UK manufacturing and proactive measures to secure demand for UK made products through the deployment of clean energy technology, including through procurement and public finance.