Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of measures in the Rhode Island Latex Gloves Safety Act 2024 to help prevent latex allergy harm in England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working closely with a range of stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, and patient representative groups to consider how allergy care and support could be improved.

The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy met most recently on 3 December and continues to bring together key stakeholders to inform policymaking and identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies.

In terms of the use of gloves for medical purposes, the NHS purchases examination and surgical gloves through NHS Supply Chain’s two national frameworks and, ultimately, it is the choice of NHS trusts which gloves they wish to procure. Regarding examination gloves, latex was once the most commonly used glove, but nitrile, latex-free, gloves are now the most common choice. There are also ‘specialist examination gloves’ available, which aim to provide a reduction in allergy irritation.

Surgical glove purchase decisions are generally more clinically lead, and the choice of manufacturer and glove is usually made by the surgeon or consultant. There are latex and latex-free options available via the Surgical Glove Framework.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the funding allocation is for the Midlands Regional Office of Historic England for the (a) 2025-2026 financial year and (b) 2026-2027 financial year.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DCMS funding allocation is given to Historic England, it is then an operational decision for them how much funding is allocated to each region. Historic England have confirmed that, for 2025/26 the Midlands region operation budget is £2,507,700. The funding allocation for 26/27 is not yet determined.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department holds information on delays to postal deliveries in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) the Birmingham Northfield constituency.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government does not collect or hold this information. Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets as appropriate, taking account of all relevant factors.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with Royal Mail to encourage timely deliveries in Birmingham.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.

In November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail's performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and implement a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what payments were made by Historic England to local authorities in the West Midlands in each of the last ten years by (a) type of payment and (b) local authority.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• In 2016/17, no funding was given to local authorities within the West Midlands.

• In 2017/18, a regional grant of £105,582 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.

• In 2018/19, a regional grant of £272,311 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.

• In 2019/20, 2 regional grants: £272,311 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £6,326 given to Coventry Local Authority.

• In 2020/21, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £166,904 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £165,609 given to Coventry Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £24,111 to Dudley Local Authority and £18,489 given to Sandwell Local Authority.

• In 2021/22, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £310,829 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £55,760 given to Dudley Local Authority. A Covid-19 Recovery Fund grant of £100,000 was given to Birmingham Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £607,858 to Dudley Local Authority and £563,849 to Sandwell Local Authority.

• In 2022/23, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £20,034 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £9,840 to Dudley Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants given: £467,760 to Dudley Local Authority and £441,569 to Sandwell Local Authority.

• In 2023/24, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £7,180 given to Coventry Local Authority and £55,240 to Sandwell Local Authority. 3 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £534,000 to Coventry Local Authority, £942,271 to Dudley Local Authority, and £582,332 to Sandwell Local Authority.

• In 2024/25, 2 regional grants: £177,302 to Coventry Local Authority and £67,708 to Sandwell Local Authority.

• In 2025/26, 2 grants were administered. One regional grant of £50,150 was given to Coventry Local Authority. One Heritage at Risk Capital Fund grant of £200,000 was given to Sandwell Local Authority.

Found: Dr Scott Arthur; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Laurence Turner

Submit Evidence (by 13 Mar 2026)

The Government has published a new Road Safety Strategy setting out the Government’s approach to reducing death and serious injury. The Transport Committee is launching an inquiry to examine its potential effectiveness.