Laurence Turner

It is difficult to provide an accurate figure for the cost of administering an Early Day Motion as staff in the Table Office and the Procedural Publishing Unit who process EDMs have a wide range of other responsibilities and time spent exclusively on EDMs is not recorded.

We are able to provide a broad estimate based on staff time alone, but it should be noted that this takes no account of other fixed costs such as office accommodation and, notably, the cost of developing and maintaining the digital systems used to process EDMs.

The Table Office estimates that processing an EDM takes about five minutes of staff time if it is submitted electronically, 10 minutes if submitted by email and 15 minutes if submitted in hard copy.

The approximate staff costs (based on 2023 payscales) for processing EDMs by the Table Office are:

Although the Table Office does not record how many signatures it adds to EDMs through hard copy signatures and by email each day, we estimate that it takes approximately one minute to add each signature (at a staff cost of approximately £0.27). In 2023, there was an average of 11 signatures for each EDM.

After EDMs have been processed by the Table Office, they are published by the Procedural Publishing Unit. This involves downloading script, moving the information into a template, checking the content and publishing to the website. The process costs approximately £6.90 in staff time. The additional time for publishing each EDM is low – i.e. the cost is likely to be very similar whenever more than one EDM is published in a day. In 2023, on average eight EDMs were published on every sitting day. The average cost for publishing each EDM to the website was therefore £0.86.

In 2023, the average daily cost for printing paper copies of all EDMs tabled on each sitting day was £43.

Therefore, the average cost of administering an EDM submitted electronically in 2023 is estimated to be £11.90, which as noted above does not include certain fixed costs or expenditure on digital systems.

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.

There are currently no plans to undertake a new Workplace Employee Relations Study (WERS). The survey methodology is challenging to replicate as it relies on sampling via the employer which is harder to obtain due to increased privacy concerns in recent years.

WERS was co-sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Acas, the Economic and Social Research Council, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The Department undertook the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey in 2018/19 which provides evidence on employment relations and management practices in British workplaces.

The Government's manifesto committed to overhaul the local audit system to provide high quality, timely assurance to taxpayers. On 30 July, Jim McMahon, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, outlined to Parliament immediate actions to address the local audit backlog in England. Longer-term, he committed to reviewing the evidence (including external review recommendations) and to update the House this autumn.

The draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill will tackle bad financial reporting through a strengthened regulator. It will uphold standards and independent scrutiny of companies' accounts, supporting investment and economic security.

Small businesses are essential to our economic success.

This Government is committed to take action on late payments to ensure small businesses and the self-employed are paid on time. The practice of cash retentions can create problems for contractors in the construction supply chain, due to late and non-payment. Any policy solution must be a sustainable one that works for the industry.

We are committed to Sizewell C. New nuclear will play an important role in the Government’s vision for achieving energy independence, lowering consumers’ bills, and securing thousands of good, skilled jobs.

The Sizewell C project has recently received its Nuclear Site Licence and commenced its Development Consent Order. Work continues at pace to secure a final investment decision.

The Government will continue to update the House as project development continues.

DCMS officials have met with Birmingham City Council officers to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ library service across the area as required by the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, and to advise on superintendence processes.

However, the development of options for future library service provision in Birmingham is the responsibility of the Council.

The department publishes information on the percentage of level 3 pupils continuing to a sustained education or training destination at level 4 or higher, such as degrees, higher apprenticeships and higher national diplomas.

The data in the links below contain the data requested.

Data pertaining to England can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7eb58822-e8ec-4240-f93b-08dd0adc50ad.

Data pertaining to Birmingham and West Midlands can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/dd7c6d4b-5aff-4639-f93f-08dd0adc50ad.

The data provided is for state-funded mainstream schools and state-funded mainstream colleges. Special educational needs (SEN) status is only recorded for students leaving schools. Students in colleges are recorded as learners with learning difficulties and disabilities. The definitions differ from SEN recorded by schools and so the data is therefore presented separately to the data for SEN. Breakdowns by education health and care plan and SEN support are not readily available in the progression to higher education or training data so only “identified SEN” and “no identified SEN” have been provided.

The department publishes information on the destinations of pupils from state-funded mainstream schools in the year following completion of key stage 4, which shows the numbers and percentages of pupils continuing to a sustained education, employment or apprenticeship destination in England.

The tables in the links below contain the data requested.

Data pertaining to England can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0b20e9b5-2fef-47b9-7106-08dd0ae16946.

Data pertaining to Birmingham and the West Midlands can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/775f4fb7-7c15-495d-f93a-08dd0adc50ad.

The alternative provision specialist taskforces (APST) programme has placed multi-professional teams, including youth workers, family workers and speech and language therapists, within alternative provision (AP) in 22 areas in England. The objective of the APST is to holistically respond to the needs of children requiring AP, which includes some of the country’s most disadvantaged children, to address the multiple barriers preventing them engaging in education, achieving and thriving and being safe.

The department is sharing learning on APST to benefit areas outside of the pilot which may wish to adopt the approach, to strengthen provision for children within AP or on the cusp of permanent exclusion. This information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision-specialist-taskforces-apst.

The APST pilot is jointly funded by the department and the government Shared Outcomes Fund until March 2025. Departmental officials will continue to support pilot areas, including Birmingham, on planning for March 2025 onward.

Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

The attached table provides the pay ranges reported for support staff post contracts broken down by school type in the November 2023 school workforce census, which is the latest data available.

Support staff may have more than one contract, therefore individuals may be counted more than once.

School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and development. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

This Body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training and progression routes, thereby ensuring that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high-quality, inclusive education.

School support staff are an essential part of the school workforce, and the department recognises that they are crucial to ensuring we give children the best possible life chances.

That is why the reinstatement of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) is a priority for this government. The department has recently set out plans to reinstate the SSSNB through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in parliament on 10 October 2024. This is currently at the Committee Stage in the House of Commons. The SSSNB will have a remit to negotiate pay and terms and conditions, and to advise on training and career progression for school support staff in state-funded schools in England. The Body will be composed of representatives of employers, representatives of support staff, representatives of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and an Independent Chairperson.

The department is also continuing to engage with the recognised support staff trade unions and other stakeholders, including on the design of the SSSNB.

The SSSNB will play an important role in supporting the department’s work to drive high and rising standards in education and ensuring we give all children the best possible life chances.

As an independent coastal State, the UK sets total allowable catches (TACs) each year for many fish stocks through negotiations with other coastal States. UK positions in those negotiations are informed by the best available scientific advice, including advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on achieving the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for many stocks. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) conducts annually a robust assessment of the sustainability outcomes of our negotiations, including the number of TACs which have been set in line with the scientific advice.

In those negotiations, the UK seeks to balance the fisheries objectives set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement. We strive for outcomes that achieve greater environmental sustainability, including aiming to increase over the medium term the total number of stocks fished at MSY.

Defra will publish in early 2025 the Cefas assessment of the sustainability outcomes of the TACs negotiated by the UK this autumn.

Sustainability is at the heart of the UK’s approach to fisheries management. Through negotiations with other coastal States, we ensure that catch limits are set sustainably, consistent with the best scientific advice. This Government is also pleased to restart the Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) programme and is grateful for the support of the fishing sector and wider stakeholders in helping to shape these plans to secure the long-term sustainability of UK fish stocks in line with obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement. We are now consulting on the next 5 FMPs, these cover cockles, sprat, queen scallop, skates, rays and various other demersal species in different waters around England.

Published in June 2023, the Post Implementation Review of The Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018 confirmed that the legislation has met its objectives of improving animal welfare and providing assurance that slaughterhouses are operating to high welfare standards.

The welfare of greyhounds in England is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where greyhounds are raced at greyhound racing tracks, kept at trainers’ kennels, or kept elsewhere as pets, for example.

Further to these general provisions, specific welfare standards at all greyhound racing tracks in England are laid out in the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Requirements in the 2010 Regulations include having a veterinary surgeon in attendance while dogs are running (with all greyhounds inspected by the vet before being allowed to run); requiring all greyhounds to be microchipped and earmarked before they can race or trial; and requiring records to be kept by the track of all dogs run or trialled at the track and any dogs injured.

Standards in the 2010 Regulations are enforced by either the track’s local authority or the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The role of the GBGB as a regulator of these standards is independently scrutinised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

In addition to its role as an industry regulator, GBGB has also undertaken a number of welfare reforms, including publishing a long term, national welfare strategy in May 2022– ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’. The strategy focuses not only on reducing risks of injury but also developing and implementing new management practices to improve the welfare of greyhounds throughout their lives, including after they have finished racing. The Government is monitoring GBGB’s progress in delivering the strategy and should further measures and protections be required the Government will, of course, consider options which are targeted, effective, and proportionate.

The welfare of greyhounds in England is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where greyhounds are raced at greyhound racing tracks, kept at trainers’ kennels, or kept elsewhere as pets, for example.

Further to these general provisions, specific welfare standards at all greyhound racing tracks in England are laid out in the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Requirements in the 2010 Regulations include having a veterinary surgeon in attendance while dogs are running (with all greyhounds inspected by the vet before being allowed to run); requiring all greyhounds to be microchipped and earmarked before they can race or trial; and requiring records to be kept by the track of all dogs run or trialled at the track and any dogs injured.

Standards in the 2010 Regulations are enforced by either the track’s local authority or the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The role of the GBGB as a regulator of these standards is independently scrutinised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

In addition to its role as an industry regulator, GBGB has also undertaken a number of welfare reforms, including publishing a long term, national welfare strategy in May 2022– ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’. The strategy focuses not only on reducing risks of injury but also developing and implementing new management practices to improve the welfare of greyhounds throughout their lives, including after they have finished racing. The Government is monitoring GBGB’s progress in delivering the strategy and should further measures and protections be required the Government will, of course, consider options which are targeted, effective, and proportionate.

National Highways understand that suicide is not inevitable, it is preventable, with the vision that no one attempts to take their life on our roads. National Highways uses its Post Collision Fatal Reporting (PCFR) process to internally report fatal incidents, including suspected suicides on the Strategic Road Network. However, unless a coroner rules National Highways does not know if these numbers are correct and the coronial process can take many months to complete. National Highways therefore cannot be confident that every suspected suicide recorded was a confirmed suicide. Unvalidated operational data from PCFR covering the period of 2016 – 2024 is as follows:

There were no milestones missed for (a) Financial Year 22/23. For (b) 23/24, the outturn as a percentage for missed milestones was 2%. The two missed milestones were:

· Worcester Shrub Hill Canopies, which was the delivery of the scope of buildings work

The programme was delayed by site access and safety issues, including visibility of signals and the scope of works was increased as the assets were in a worse condition than anticipated.

· The Three Arch bridge between Cuddington and Delamere stations, which was a renewal of a 3-span bridge.

Further inspection of the asset showed that it was not in as bad condition as expected and it was deemed an inefficient use of public funds to progress with the work.

We hope to announce our response to changes to the process for making special event orders in due course. We will consider our response to the remaining changes proposed by the previous Government as soon as possible.

The Control Period 7 (CP7) Delivery Plans for each of the regions and functions set out efficiency plans and targets. Part of Network Rail’s annual Business Plan update includes updated plans and trajectories for regions and functions. The next CP7 Business Plan update is scheduled for publication at the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

The 23/24 efficiency performance has been reported by the Office of Rail and Road and is available on its website: Annual efficiency and finance assessment of Network Rail 2024 | Office of Rail and Road.

The rolling stock programme for Phase 1 of HS2 will support the target delivery-into-service of Birmingham Curzon Street to London Old Oak Common of 2029 to 2033.