Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for unauthorised school absence in (a) Bromsgrove constituency and (b) Worcestershire in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information is not held by the department at constituency level.
Information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence is collected at local authority level. The latest available data, covering the 2023/24 academic year is available in the parental responsibility measures statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.
The number of penalty notices issued in Worcestershire in the 2023/24 academic year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e0dc750b-0698-49dc-a884-08ddb31391cd.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many breathalyser tests were carried out across West Mercia in the last 12 months; how many tested positive; and how many resulted in a prosecution.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on roadside breath tests for alcohol as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release. The latest data is available here Police powers and procedures: Roads policing, to December 2023 - GOV.UK and covers the calendar year ending December 2023.
In 2023, West Mercia Police carried out 7,811 roadside breath tests for alcohol, of which 1,248 were positive or refused.
The Home Office does not hold information on how many of these resulted in a prosecution.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment with the Secretary of State for Education of the potential impact of trends in the level of bus fares on school attendance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has made no such assessment. The government recognises the importance of affordable local bus services in facilitating access to education. We have acted to ensure bus services remain affordable by introducing the £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and at the Spending Review announced this would be extended by over a year until March 2027.
In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which Worcestershire County Council has been allocated £9.4 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce initiatives to reduce the cost of travel for young people.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots in areas including York and North Yorkshire.
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 contingency plans his Department has put in place in the event of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of a closure on energy security in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a public holiday to commemorate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government bodies use the Government Car Service; and what the average number of journeys has been in each Department in the last 12 months.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
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, how many and what proportion of local authority planning decisions have been overturned by the Planning Inspectorate in the last 12 months.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 the Planning Inspectorate overturned 4,747 planning decisions made by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).
These represent 31% of the 15,344 decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate on LPA planning cases in this period. Note these figures are taken from administrative data and so are subject to minor revisions.
The most recent published MHCLG statistics help put the 4,747 decisions in context (noting the different time periods covered). Between January to December 2024:
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the resilience of the UK’s digital economy in the event of disruption to undersea data cables.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) shoplifting in Wythall.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including delivery of a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to the police and other relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to tackle persistent adult ASB offenders, and extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 to 72 hours. Other measures in the Bill include enhancing the powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.
In the same bill, we are repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried in a magistrate’s court, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. In addition, we have brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
The Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence, and anti-social behaviour. West Mercia police will receive £1,000,000 of this funding.
We will continue to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers. We will provide £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.
We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.
I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft. The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of charging VAT on independent school fees on cadet force partnerships between state and independent schools.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Both independent schools and state schools with established Combined Cadet Force contingents continue to play an important role in supporting junior partners. There are currently 45 ‘junior partnerships’ where independent schools are supporting state schools to set up and run their cadet units.
Changes to VAT on independent school fees came into effect in January 2025, midway through the school academic year. There is no current evidence of impact.
Given the fantastic benefits which can be gained from the cadet experience the Government wants more young people to be able to become cadets. The recently published Strategic Defence Review recommended an expansion of Cadet Forces across the country by 30% by 2030.