Helen Morgan

As of 30 August, 253 offers had been made to claimants under the GLO scheme; 207 postmasters had accepted their offer. Data on all Horizon redress schemes are published monthly on gov.uk.

DBT Funding for the Marches Growth Hub for each FY since it was established is set out in the table below:

To deliver the Shared Rural Network, the UK’s four mobile network operators are investing £532m to eliminate the majority of ‘partial not-spots’ – areas which receive coverage from at least one, but not all, operators. The programme has already delivered substantial improvements for rural communities across the UK, with Ofcom reporting that 4G coverage from at least one operator now stands at over 93%, up from 91% when the programme started.

The government’s grant funding to upgrade Extended Area Service masts and tackle ‘total not spots’ is capped to prevent overspend. Building Digital UK is working with its delivery partners, including the Home Office, to ensure that maximal benefit can be achieved within the allotted programme funding and that the programme represents good value for money.

To deliver the Shared Rural Network, the UK’s four mobile network operators are investing £532m to eliminate the majority of ‘partial not-spots’ – areas which receive coverage from at least one, but not all, operators. The programme has already delivered substantial improvements for rural communities across the UK, with Ofcom reporting that 4G coverage from at least one operator now stands at over 93%, up from 91% when the programme started.

The government’s grant funding to upgrade Extended Area Service masts and tackle ‘total not spots’ is capped to prevent overspend. Building Digital UK is working with its delivery partners, including the Home Office, to ensure that maximal benefit can be achieved within the allotted programme funding and that the programme represents good value for money.

The Shared Rural Network will bring 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass. Ofcom assesses the mobile network operators progress against their individual coverage targets. Ofcom reports that 4G coverage from at least one operator currently stands at over 93%, up from 91% when the programme started.

The Shared Rural Network will bring 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass. Ofcom assesses the mobile network operators progress against their individual coverage targets. Ofcom reports that 4G coverage from at least one operator currently stands at over 93%, up from 91% when the programme started.

From my own experience, I am aware that Ofcom’s coverage maps do not always match consumers’ experience of mobile networks. My Department is working with Ofcom to identify what more can be done to improve the accuracy of its reporting, noting that all sorts of factors will impact people's experience, including how many other people are on the network at any given point, as well as weather conditions.

We have also asked Ofcom to keep under review its definitions of what constitutes “good” 4G and 5G coverage, so that they continue to reflect consumer expectations as people’s usage and their requirements evolve.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of where they live, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. Sport England’s Movement Fund offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.

Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme continues to be invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

The Government is also acting to support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live through the delivery of £123 million UK-wide through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme continues to be invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs) which have been developed in partnership with local authorities and are in the process of being refreshed to reflect the current landscape. The existing LFFP for Shropshire can be found by visiting the Football Foundation’s website, and North Shropshire has benefitted from £152,070 of investment under this programme and the Swimming Pool Support Fund to date.

Should a constituent have an enquiry about prospective investment at a specific facility, they can get in touch with the Football Foundation directly via enquiries@footballfoundation.org.uk.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

The Government is also acting to support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live through the delivery of £123 million UK-wide through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme continues to be invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs) which have been developed in partnership with local authorities and are in the process of being refreshed to reflect the current landscape. The existing LFFP for Shropshire can be found by visiting the Football Foundation’s website, and North Shropshire has benefitted from £152,070 of investment under this programme and the Swimming Pool Support Fund to date.

Should a constituent have an enquiry about prospective investment at a specific facility, they can get in touch with the Football Foundation directly via enquiries@footballfoundation.org.uk.

My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has been clear that if a child has an education, health and care plan that requires them to attend a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, they will not feel an impact from this policy.

The department will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient places for children that need them, and that appropriate support is provided where pupils with special educational needs require a place at a state-funded school.

The department does not hold or collect the data to provide the requested estimate.

For state-funded schools wishing to recruit teachers on a permanent or fixed term basis, Teaching Vacancies is a free national listing service which removes the cost for schools to list vacancies. 87% of schools are signed up to use the service.

Schools have the autonomy to decide whether to use private supply agencies to fill temporary posts or cover teacher absence and are best placed to make decisions on their approach to recruitment. The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities.

In July 2022, a ring-fenced £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance (FFA) was created as part of the Government’s £5.6 billion investment programme into flood and coastal erosion schemes.

The eligibility criteria for the FFA were designed, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, to ensure funding is targeted towards communities that have flooded more than once within the past ten years. They were subject to targeted testing with Regional Flood and Coastal Committees and representatives from Risk Management Authorities. The criteria aim to address some of the specific challenges faced by frequently flooded communities, particularly those that are smaller and more rural and can face barriers accessing funding due to the relative complexity and cost of building flood defences compared to the size of the community.

Projects not eligible for the FFA are able to apply for Grant in Aid as part of the Government’s floods investment programme. We will review this programme to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

The Farming Recovery Fund is a contribution towards uninsured costs that have likely been incurred in re-establishing productive, farmable land in areas significantly damaged by water, caused by flooding from Storms Babet and Henk or exceptional rainfall during October 2023 to March 2024.

To date all eligible farmers identified in the original Farming Recovery Fund announced in April 2024 have been offered the payment in line with the published criteria. In May, Defra announced a further expansion to the fund and further information on that will be available soon.

The actual impact on yield and quality of several arable crops will not be known until harvest; from mid-August onwards, but the Department expects some impact and is assessing what that might be. Early indications from the June AHDB Planting and Variety Survey suggests that, while the 2024 cropping area has reduced compared with 2023, the magnitude of the reduction is smaller than was projected in March 2024. Yields and productivity is also dependent on individual farmer decisions, region, area and in the case of the arable sector, crop.

The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain.

Following the recent period of prolonged wet weather the Department’s current assessment is that while there may be implications for certain commodities, price rises are likely to be within a normal range and should not cause significant issues with business viability or overall supply, with any possible shortfalls being met by imports.

This government has considered the impact of changes to labelling costs across a range of sectors. The Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith, including commitments on the use of 'Not for EU labels', as well as taking all steps necessary to protect the UK internal market.

The recent ‘Balance Sheet Analysis’ publication highlights that average liquidity in the sector has been consistently improving over the latest five years of data and reached a 10-year high in the latest year of data (2022/23). This suggests that levels of debt in the farming sector are lower than average.

To confirm, we will deliver a resilient and healthy food system, with a new deal for farmers that works for farmers, food security and nature.

The only way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. We are doing this and assessing data and information about what is working and what is not before setting out detailed plans. We will confirm plans for further optimisation and rollout of farming grants and schemes shortly.

The Government is considering the content and timing of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) alongside all transport infrastructure spend. We will provide an update in due course.

The Chancellor’s statement of 29 July 2024 confirmed that the Restoring Your Railway (RYR) programme will be brought to a close. Aside from RYR projects currently at the delivery stage or in construction, all remaining RYR-originated projects are now being considered as part of preparations for the upcoming Spending Review. This will include reviewing the business cases of these projects. Ministers have been clear that not all proposed transport projects will be able to proceed to delivery due to the challenging financial situation facing the Department.

National Highways continues to consider the case for safety improvements to the A483 between Pant and Llanymynech through a route optimisation study. The content and timing of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will be considered alongside all transport infrastructure spend.

This Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to transport and transport infrastructure that enables them to travel to the destinations they want to reach and meets their needs. As my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor has set out, decisions must be made based on the assessment of the spending inheritance from the previous Government. The Department has ambitious plans for improving transport connectivity, including through the Buses Bill. The Bill aims to deliver the government’s plan for improving the bus network and ending the postcode lottery. This plan includes providing more control and flexibility over bus funding, giving local leaders the freedom to take decisions to deliver their local transport priorities, and removing the ban on the creation of new municipal bus companies.

Application of Schedule 12 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended (C&U), is a policing matter. Any concerns on their application should be raised with the responsible local police force(s) in question. My Department does not have any remit or plans to make an assessment on the impact of the approaches by local police forces to the application of Schedule 12 of C&U.

As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.

The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government will be in a position to outline its approach.

I met with representatives of the WASPI Campaign on the 5 of September.

Tribunals are administered independently of the Department and therefore appeals to the Upper Tribunal are a matter for the appellant and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). The appellant should follow guidance from the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) on the process for appealing to the Upper Tribunal. There is also helpful information on gov.uk: www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/unhappy-tribunals-decision. This includes links to third party organisations who offer free advice on engaging with this process.

The Dementia: Good Personalised Care and Support Planning guide sets out how primary care providers can ensure personalised care and support planning is undertaken consistently and reliably. This includes annual dementia reviews. The guide offers a quality assurance framework to ensure care planning is responsive to needs and preferences.

To improve care for patients with dementia, NHS England's RightCare team has refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario, which works through the Well Pathway for Dementia, detailing optimal and suboptimal approaches. The RightCare team has developed a model dementia pathway based on data for each component of the pathway, to provide a high-level view of what dementia care activity looks like for local areas, and to aid targeted support where appropriate.

The NHS Long Term Plan committed the National Health Service to a series of financial reforms, designed to return the NHS to financial balance. NHS England’s regional finance team have been working directly with The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on possible solutions to enable funding for the service to continue.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) is in segment four of the NHS Oversight Framework. This means that the trust is in receipt of national mandated support via NHS England’s Recovery Support Programme. The National Recovery Support team is working closely with the trust and region to support the SaTH, and ensure delivery of improvements. A new interim Chief Executive Officer has been appointed, and is joining the trust shortly. We are working closely with NHS England to monitor the situation.

This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The Integrated Care Board (ICB) has taken steps to improve access to NHS dental care in North Shropshire, but we know more needs to be done. The ICB is ensuring that undelivered NHS dental activity is redistributed to other practices to help support access to care.

Four practices across the North Shropshire parliamentary constituency recently saw an uplift to their Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) rate to £28. This should help support recruitment and retention of NHS dentists in this area. In addition, a new dental practice in Oswestry has increased their contracted UDAs and will do so again in April 2025.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve ambulance response times and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution. In doing so we will be honest about the challenges facing the health service, and serious about tackling them.

As a first step, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has appointed the Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of NHS performance, which will report in September 2024.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system

This VAT change will not impact pupils with most acute additional needs where these can only be met in private schools, as determined by an Education and Health Care Plan in England, and equivalent processes in other nations.

Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.

The government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the impacts of the changes, including the equalities impacts, alongside the Finance Bill.

The Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) target is to issue 85% of Basic checks within 2 days, 85% of Standard checks within 3 days, and 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days.

DBS publishes its performance data every quarter. The most recent data for April to June 2024 records the following performance for all applications processed within England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man:

Basic check target attained with an average of 88.1%. The 85% target was met on day 2 and the average turnaround time was 0.7 days.

Standard check target attained with an average of 88.2%. The 85% target was met on day 3 and the average turnaround time was 1.4 days.

Enhanced check target not attained with an average of 75.1%. The 80% target was met on day 21 and the average turnaround time was 12.4 days.

The DBS measures its progress using a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets agreed by its Board. The KPIs are grouped into four themes: quality, timeliness, value for money, and people. There is a strong focus on the quality and timeliness of its products and services as these are the issues that customers tell DBS are important to them and it is these that ensure the DBS supports the safeguarding of vulnerable groups including children, as effectively as possible. The 2024/25 DBS Business Plan can be viewed at: DBS business plan: 2024-25 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The most recent quarterly datasets showing statistics against internal performance standards can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The data applies to DBS checks, the Update Service, and disputes.

A post activation review of the Flood Recovery Framework is underway and I expect this to report in the Autumn.

Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.