Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Traffic regulation orders: changes to publishing requirements and special events order approvals, which closed on 17 April 2022, whether she plans to publish part 2 of the response to that consultation.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 12696 on Primodos: Research, whether the meeting of the Commission on Human Medicines has taken place.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), together with wider Government, have committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence which comes to light.

The new publication by Danielsson et al has been reviewed by the MHRA and advice has been sought from the Government’s independent advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), who have provided their independent expert advice on our assessment of whether the findings of the latest publication justify a further review. The MHRA will consider the recommendations given by the CHM before deciding whether any further action is warranted.

The minutes of the November CHM meeting will be made publicly available through the GOV.UK website at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on establishing the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 10 October 2024, the Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill in Parliament. Among other powers, and as currently drafted, the bill confers powers on my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to establish a body to negotiate for Fair Pay Agreements in the adult social care sector. This bill is currently at the committee stage in the House of Commons.

The Department is currently engaging national stakeholders, as it works towards implementing Fair Pay Agreements in the care sector, and will fully consult, including on the establishment of a negotiating body, following Royal Assent of the Employment Rights Bill.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 14413 on Road Traffic Control: Complaints, how many objections were made to Traffic Regulation Orders in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Whilst the Department holds information on Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders, there would be a disproportionate cost to provide this information for the timeframes and the areas requested within the deadline set for answering this question.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's timetable is for the delivery of rolling stock for Phase 1 of HS2.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 4 of the minutes of the meeting of Network Rail's Board held on 4 July 2024, whether the updated efficiency plan will be published.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 8 of the Network Rail publication entitled 2022 Delivery Plan Update: North West and Central, published in May 2022, what was the outturn proportion of investment milestones that were missed in that region in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24; and what were the investment milestones that were missed in that region by each item in (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether capital funding was allocated to restore disused platforms at Kings Norton railway station before 4 July 2024.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Proposals to bring the island platforms at Kings Norton station back into use are part of the Midlands Rail Hub programme. In March this year £123m was allocated to design the first phase, which includes Kings Norton.

However, the Chancellor has been clear about the state of the nation's finances and launched a multi-year Spending Review. This includes a thorough review of plans to ensure our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 15053 on Roads: Suicide, if she will publish the operational data with a description of the data quality issues for each of the last ten years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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:

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24203 on Youth Endowment Fund, whether it remains her Department's policy to (a) fund and (b) promote the alternative provision specialist taskforce programmes.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

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.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 15056 on Non-teaching Staff: Pay, if she will provide a version of that table further broken down by (a) local authority maintained, (b) academy and (c) free school employer status.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

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.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by her Department entitled Academic year 2022/23: Key stage 4 destination measures, published on 24 October 2024, how many and what proportion of students who left key stage 4 study in each year between 2015-16 and 2020-21 in (a) Birmingham, (b) West Midlands and (c) England progressed to a sustained (i) education, (ii) employment and (iii) apprenticeships, broken down by whether those students received (A) an education, health and care plan, (B) SEN Support provision and (C) no SEND provision.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by her Department entitled Academic year 2022/23: Progression to higher education or training, published on 24 October 2024, how many and what proportion of students who left 16-to-18 study in each year between 2015-16 and 2020-21 in (a) Birmingham, (b) West Midlands and (c) England progressed to a sustained level 4 or higher destination, broken down by whether those students received (i) an education, health and care plan, (ii) SEN Support provision and (iii) no SEND provision.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of (a) UK and (b) other sanctions on Russian economic performance.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Our Russia sanctions are restricting Putin's war machine and degrading his military. Sanctions have deprived Russia of over $400 billion since February 2022, equivalent to four more years of funding for the invasion. We have sanctioned 73 vessels forming part of Russia's 'Shadow Fleet', more than any other country. Many of these ships have been left idling at sea, and have struggled to fully re-enter the Russian oil trade. In September 2024 we sanctioned carriers transporting Russian Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), followed by a second set of vessels sanctioned in October. These carriers were involved in the shipping of LNG from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project which has recently been forced to cease production as a result of sanctions, denying Russia a key source of revenue. The FCDO regularly reviews the effectiveness and impact of our sanction regimes and remains committed to continuing to impose and enforce sanctions, alongside our partners, to constrain Russia's remaining sources of revenue.

Found: Arthur; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover; Katie Lam; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Rebecca Smith; Laurence Turner

Found: Arthur; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover; Katie Lam; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Rebecca Smith; Laurence Turner

Submit Evidence (by 21 Jan 2025)

Street works are works carried out by utility companies to install, repair or maintain their services, which involve digging up roads or pavements. (These are distinct from works being done to the road itself). Although necessary to provide utility services, street works can be disruptive to road and pavement users and can affect surface quality in the long term.

Submit Evidence (by 7 Feb 2025)

The Transport Committee is examining investment pipelines for the railway.