Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing levels of defence spending on levels of (a) Government funding and (b) private sector investment in Birmingham, Edgbaston constituency.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the significant contribution Birmingham, Edgbaston and the wider West Midlands plays to the UK economy and to supporting our national security. While the MOD does not allocate spending to specific regions, the Government has been clear that the increase in spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027 will support highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the whole of the UK.

The Defence Industrial Strategy will seek to further unlock the potential offered across the nations and regions of the UK to ensure a high growth economy. The Statement of Intent published in December 2024 also identified the “crowding-in” of private sector investment as critical to the Government’s imperatives of both national security and a high growth economy. We are continuing to explore how we can create the conditions needed for the private sector to invest more, and proactively, in Defence, consulting with a wide range of defence and financial services stakeholders.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure effective prosecution rates (a) serious and (b) violent crime in Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Reducing serious and violent crime is integral to this Government’s Safer Streets Mission and commitment to halve knife crime in a decade.

Our new Crime and Policing Bill will back our police by giving them enhanced and tougher powers to keep our streets safe, to tackle anti-social behaviour, and to crack down on knife crime.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes serious and violent crime robustly, providing early investigative advice on complex and serious offending to build strong cases and deliver justice for victims.

The CPS is working with cross-government partners to support the delivery of the Safer Streets Mission, and all CPS guidance and training is kept under constant review to ensure front-line prosecutors are equipped to prosecute these serious offences. Serious and violent crime encompasses many different types of crime but is more commonly associated with drug crime, knife crime, gun crime, and homicide.

In 2023-2024, the CPS prosecuted the following serious and violent offences in the West Midlands Police force area, in which the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency is located:

• 1,249 defendants for drug offences under the principal category offence for drugs (which includes possession of controlled drugs, supplying or offering to supply controlled drugs, unlawful importation of controlled drugs, and manufacturing a scheduled substance) (up from 942 in 2022-23).

• 1,645 offences for possession of a knife under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (up from 1,408 in 2022-23).

• 189 offences under the Firearms Act 1968 (up from 117 in 2022-23).

• 124 defendants were prosecuted for homicide offences under the principal offence category for homicide (which includes offences of murder, attempted murder, causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult, child destruction, conspiring or soliciting to commit murder and causing death by dangerous or careless driving) (up from 73 in 2022-23).

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure effective prosecutions in cases of violence against women and girls in Birmingham, Edgbaston constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a national emergency and through the Safer Streets Mission, this Government will deliver on our ambition to halve VAWG in a decade. A key part will be delivering effective prosecutions, and we continue to see improvements in the prosecution of VAWG offences.

As Solicitor General, I superintend the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is continuing to transform its approach to adult rape prosecution through the implementation of its new national operating model, based on robust evidence from Operation Soteria. Through this work, the CPS has seen substantial increases in referral, charge, and prosecution volumes for adult rape.

These improvements have also informed the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan with policing which launched in November 2024. Better partnership with policing has already led to modest initial increases in domestic abuse referrals, setting a strong foundation for future improvements.

To address the increasingly complexity of VAWG offending and the holistic needs of victims, the CPS will also begin implementation of its 2025-30 VAWG strategy this spring. This will ensure prosecutors have the right skills and tools to prosecute VAWG effectively.

I was delighted to give a keynote address at a joint CPS, Home Office, and National Police Chiefs’ Council conference on tackling honour-based abuse held in Birmingham last week. On the same day, I met with the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands and the Area’s Victim Liaison Unit and heard directly from CPS staff about the critical work they are doing to prosecute VAWG offences.

In the West Midlands police force area in 2023-24, the CPS prosecuted 1,596 domestic abuse flagged cases (an increase from 1,543 in 2022-23), 135 rape flagged cases (an increase from 108 in 2022-23), and 419 sexual offences (excluding rape flagged) cases (an increase from 295 in 2022-23).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for driving tests is in Birmingham, Edgbaston constituency.

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

The table below shows the average waiting time for driving test centres that serve customers living in the Edgbaston constituency, as of the 17 March 2025.

The current national average for driving tests as of February 2025 is 21.3 weeks.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes based on religion in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37961 on 20 March 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the collection of data on people affected by hate crime by (a) religion and (b) ethnicity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of religious hate crimes by the perceived targeted religion of the victim and on the ethnicity of victims in racially or religiously aggravated crimes that occur in England and Wales. The latest information can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

The Home Office is continuously working with Police Forces to improve the quality and coverage of these data. Home Office crime and policing data collections are reviewed annually via the Annual Data Requirement board consisting of Home Office and police force representatives. Ways to improve quality and coverage of data collections are considered as part of the review process.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, will she make an assessment of the potential merits of delivering the next stage of the Midlands Rail Hub.

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

Midlands Rail Hub would kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity by upgrading connectivity and reliability, and last year £123m was committed to design its first phase. In December, the Chancellor launched the second stage of the Spending Review. All infrastructure investment projects are subject to the outcome of the Spending Review, including the next stage of the Midlands Rail Hub.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of young people not in education, employment or training in (a) Birmingham and b) Birmingham, Edgbaston constituency.

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

The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey for young people aged 16-24. An overview of the publication can be found here:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief.

The number of 16-24-year-olds estimated as NEET in England at the end of 2024 is estimated to be 837,000, which is equivalent to 13.6% of the population. These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16-24 in Birmingham and Birmingham Edgbaston constituency are not available.

However, local authorities are required to encourage, enable or assist young people’s participation in education or training and return management information for young people aged 16 and 17. Data for the 2023/24 academic year was published in ‘Participation in education, training and NEET age 16 to 17 by local authority’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/participation-in-education-training-and-neet-age-16-to-17-by-local-authority/2023-24.

The data shows that of the 33,264 young people aged 16 and 17 years old who were known to Birmingham local authority at the end of 2023, 2,037 were NEET or their activity was not known. These statistics are published as transparency data, so some caution should be taken if using these figures.

In addition, 16-18 destination measures are published. These official statistics show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16-18 study. This can be used as a proxy to determine how many can be classified as NEET at the age of 18. The latest publication includes destinations in 2022/23 by parliamentary constituency boundaries at that time. Data can be found here for Birmingham Edgbaston parliamentary constituency: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8969680b-7fea-4615-ce51-08dd66bfee22.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of employees of NHS England: Midlands are in the (a) ESM 1, (b) ESM 2, (c) ESM 3 and (d) ESM 4 salary bands.

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

Of the 961 staff employed in the NHS England Midlands region, 2.3% of employees in the region are at Executive Senior Manager (ESM) grades, none of whom are at ESM4. The following table shows the number and proportion of staff in the NHS England Midlands region who are at ESM grades, as of end of February 2025:

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulations for managing agents.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to continue supporting local authorities with large shares of exempt supported accommodation in their areas through the supported housing improvement programme.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Future spending on specific programmes in 2025-26, including for the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP), is yet to be determined. SHIP local authorities will be notified as soon as possible.

The government is currently consulting on proposals for implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. The consultation closes on 15 May. Following this, the responses will be analysed before regulations are drafted and consulted on. We are continuing to engage closely with the sector as we work to implement the Act.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has she made in implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Future spending on specific programmes in 2025-26, including for the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP), is yet to be determined. SHIP local authorities will be notified as soon as possible.

The government is currently consulting on proposals for implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. The consultation closes on 15 May. Following this, the responses will be analysed before regulations are drafted and consulted on. We are continuing to engage closely with the sector as we work to implement the Act.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of restoring Birmingham’s Cross City service to four trains per hour on the economy.

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

West Midlands Trains (WMT) are working on the feasibility of increasing CrossCity line services where the infrastructure allows, and the business case for such an increase will be expected to include the impact on passengers, taxpayers and the economy.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Yemen on the restriction of freedom of religion or belief for Baha’is in that country; and whether the John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief will be used to assist people facing persecution.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding, including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund (JBF), a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects.

The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

We track the treatment of the Bahá'ís in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to condemn the continued persecution of the Bahá'ís and other religious minorities in Yemen.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of local authority powers to ensure that vacant rental properties are made available for new tenancies.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.

Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found here.

The government expects social housing landlords to manage their stock efficiently, ensuring that vacant properties are made available where possible.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of proposals to (a) integrate geospatial data into the National Data Library and (b) review licensing barriers to its use.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government has been clear that it wants to maximise the benefits from public sector data assets to deliver better public services and cutting-edge innovation. The National Data Library will provide simple, secure and ethical access to our key public data assets for researchers, policy makers and business.

Work is underway to design the National Data Library, including consideration of the data to be included and how it should be licensed, and decisions on its design and implementation will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to boost physical activity among children and young people.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government is committed to providing all young people with more opportunities to be physically active. We have set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for PE in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

To further support children to be active, this government committed £320 million for the primary PE and sport premium this academic year (2024/25), benefiting over 18,000 schools and around 3.9 million pupils in England.

The department has also launched an open procurement for a new grant programme from spring 2025, of up to £300,000 a year. This will focus on improving and increasing PE, school sport and physical activity opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

The department is working with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport when considering our future investment into PE and school sport, to ensure this enables the maximum benefit to providing children with opportunities to be physically active.

The department also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in 2024 which will seek to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, so that all children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama, as well as vocational subjects. The interim report of findings was published on 18 March 2025.

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