First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Sarah Coombes, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Sarah Coombes has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Sarah Coombes has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to make provision for a review of certain offences relating to vehicle registration marks; and for connected purposes.
Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme (Report) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Liam Conlon (Lab)
Both the UK and EU separately apply a safeguard measure on certain categories of steel products. A safeguard measure protects domestic producers from injury as a result of unforeseen surges of imports. Both the UK and EU apply a 25% duty where import thresholds have been exceeded. HMRC may have the necessary data pertaining to any assessment of the total costs by businesses on the UK safeguard measure. However, since the expiry of the transition period an assessment has not been conducted. I will write to you on your question once my officials have consulted with HMRC.
Both the UK and EU separately apply a safeguard measure on certain categories of steel products. A safeguard measure protects domestic producers from injury as a result of unforeseen surges of imports. Both the UK and EU apply a 25% duty where import thresholds have been exceeded. HMRC may have the necessary data pertaining to any assessment of the total costs by businesses on the UK safeguard measure. However, since the expiry of the transition period an assessment has not been conducted. I will write to you on your question once my officials have consulted with HMRC.
We recognise the important role that the night-time economy plays in supporting local communities. Healthy night-time economy businesses not only support our creative industries, including musicians, DJs and performance artists, but also support tourism and bolster day economy businesses.
In her Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced an increase to the National Living Wage in line with the Low Pay Commission recommendation to £12.21 per hour, alongside a minimum wage for 18-20 year olds of £10.00 per hour, with a view to eventually creating a single adult wage rate. This will benefit over 3.3 million workers around the UK, including those employed in the night-time economy.
Earlier this month, we announced the signature of four Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach to roll out gigabit-capable broadband to over 130,000 premises in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
This announcement marks another significant step towards achieving our goal of nationwide gigabit coverage by 2030. More than £2 billion of contracts have now been signed to bring fast, reliable broadband to over a million more premises.
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 93% of premises in the West Bromwich constituency can already access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. We anticipate that the majority of the premises in West Bromwich will receive a gigabit-capable connection through the commercial market. Any remaining premises will be considered for support through Project Gigabit.
Improving school attendance is central to the government’s Opportunity Mission to drive high and rising standards for every child. The government has inherited an epidemic of school absence which is one of the biggest barriers to opportunity, damaging learning, health and wellbeing.
Each day of lost learning can do serious harm. Days missed add up quickly. We know there is a link between absence and attainment, and that can have a knock-on effect on lifetime outcomes.
Analysis produced by the department in 2016 found that overall absence due to family holiday has a statistically significant negative link to attainment at both key stage 2 and key stage 4. The analysis is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a808fdee5274a2e8ab50d9f/The-link-between-absence-and-attainment-at-KS2-and-KS4-2013-to-2014-academic-year.pdf. This is further supported by a 2023 study by the Office for the Children’s Commissioner using departmental data which shows of the pupils who were persistently absent in year 10 and 11, 36% passed at least 5 GCSEs, including English and mathematics, compared to 78% who were rarely absent. The full details of the analysis can be found in the ‘Missing Children, Missing Grades’ report, which is accessible here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2023/11/CC-REPORT-_-Attendance-and-Attainment-_-Oct-23.pdf.
Absence does not just harm the attainment of those not in school, it can impact children in the classroom too. Children thrive on stability, but a steady churn of absences disrupts the learning of every child. The work of staff to cultivate a sense of community and belonging is weakened, and it increases workload for teachers who have to replan lessons.
The department’s ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which became statutory in August 2024, emphasises the importance of a 'support first' approach, setting clear expectations that schools and local authorities should work with families to address barriers to attendance in a sensitive way.
The department is also supporting school attendance through broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn and providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.
This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. There is evidence that more students are attending school this year compared to last, thanks to the sector’s efforts although around 1.6 million children remain persistently absent and miss 10% or more of lessons.
The department has a national approach to supporting all schools to tackle absence, including those in the West Bromwich constituency. Central to this approach are stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families in addressing attendance barriers.
Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.
The department recognises the importance of creating opportunities within the sector to share existing best practice on how to improve attendance. This is why the department has set up a network of 31 attendance hubs, who have offered support to 2000 schools and shared their strategies and resources for improving attendance.
In addition to this work, the department also aims to improve the existing evidence on which interventions work to improve attendance. Over £17 million is being invested across two mentoring projects that will support at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally.
From early 2025, new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will support all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice across areas, including attendance, and empowering schools to feel they can better access support and learn from one another. For schools requiring more intensive support, RISE teams and supporting organisations will work collaboratively with their responsible body to agree bespoke packages of targeted support, based on a school’s particular circumstances.
School attendance is also supported by broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs, across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn.
We are working across government on plans to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
Schools can also allocate pupil premium funding, which has now increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, to support pupils with identified needs to attend school regularly.
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.
This government is focused on supporting qualified teachers, be they newly qualified or returning to the profession, and helping them find teaching jobs that help both them and their pupils achieve the best possible outcome. The department has established its own vacancy listing service for state-funded schools in England, Teaching Vacancies, to provide an effective and simple process for teachers to find the right jobs. Schools can list all their vacancies on the service, including support staff roles, for free. Over 85% of state-funded schools now use this service to advertise teaching roles. Support is also provided to jobseekers on searching, applying and interviewing for a school that feels like the right fit.
For qualified teachers returning to the profession, the department offers additional support, including the Return to Teaching Advisory (RTTA) service, specialised events, and the Return to Teaching webpage. The RTTA provides tailored support from a one-to-one adviser who can help with the application and interview process, increasing classroom readiness and finding suitable vacancies. This year, we have seen an increase in the number of teachers returning to teach in state-funded schools in England; 17,388 (FTE) teachers returned this year, which is 669 more than last year (16,719).
The department does not hold data on the number of qualified teachers who are unemployed. The School Workforce Census measures the number of qualified teachers employed in the state sector and does not cover those employed by the independent sector. Further data on the teacher workforce is available through the publication of the School Workforce Census data, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2023.
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.
This government is focused on supporting qualified teachers, be they newly qualified or returning to the profession, and helping them find teaching jobs that help both them and their pupils achieve the best possible outcome. The department has established its own vacancy listing service for state-funded schools in England, Teaching Vacancies, to provide an effective and simple process for teachers to find the right jobs. Schools can list all their vacancies on the service, including support staff roles, for free. Over 85% of state-funded schools now use this service to advertise teaching roles. Support is also provided to jobseekers on searching, applying and interviewing for a school that feels like the right fit.
For qualified teachers returning to the profession, the department offers additional support, including the Return to Teaching Advisory (RTTA) service, specialised events, and the Return to Teaching webpage. The RTTA provides tailored support from a one-to-one adviser who can help with the application and interview process, increasing classroom readiness and finding suitable vacancies. This year, we have seen an increase in the number of teachers returning to teach in state-funded schools in England; 17,388 (FTE) teachers returned this year, which is 669 more than last year (16,719).
The department does not hold data on the number of qualified teachers who are unemployed. The School Workforce Census measures the number of qualified teachers employed in the state sector and does not cover those employed by the independent sector. Further data on the teacher workforce is available through the publication of the School Workforce Census data, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2023.
The department does not hold this information.
This government recognises the vital work that private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers, including childminders, undertake to deliver before-school, after-school and holiday childcare. The government knows that they are an important part of the system, bringing expertise, resources and capacity to the provision of school aged childcare. Local authorities are currently working in close collaboration with PVIs as part of the wraparound childcare programme to deliver new and expanded wraparound childcare places, so that parents can work and receive education and training, making everyone better off, not just the few.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly known as ‘4D plates’. Some 4D plates can also be described as ‘ghost’ plates where the characters are constructed from materials that are unable to be read by infrared Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems. Work is currently ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation.
It is already an offence to sell number plates that do not meet the requirements of the relevant legislation. That offence is punishable by a fine of up to £2,500. The DVLA works with the police and Trading Standards to help prosecute suppliers found to be operating outside of the law.
Number plates are currently supplied by private businesses who are required to be registered with the DVLA. Suppliers who fail to request proof of identification or entitlement to the registration number can be subject to enforcement action, including fines and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers via a court order.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly known as ‘4D plates’. Some 4D plates can also be described as ‘ghost’ plates where the characters are constructed from materials that are unable to be read by infrared Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems. Work is currently ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation.
It is already an offence to sell number plates that do not meet the requirements of the relevant legislation. That offence is punishable by a fine of up to £2,500. The DVLA works with the police and Trading Standards to help prosecute suppliers found to be operating outside of the law.
Number plates are currently supplied by private businesses who are required to be registered with the DVLA. Suppliers who fail to request proof of identification or entitlement to the registration number can be subject to enforcement action, including fines and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers via a court order.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly known as ‘4D plates’. Some 4D plates can also be described as ‘ghost’ plates where the characters are constructed from materials that are unable to be read by infrared Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems. Work is currently ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation.
It is already an offence to sell number plates that do not meet the requirements of the relevant legislation. That offence is punishable by a fine of up to £2,500. The DVLA works with the police and Trading Standards to help prosecute suppliers found to be operating outside of the law.
Number plates are currently supplied by private businesses who are required to be registered with the DVLA. Suppliers who fail to request proof of identification or entitlement to the registration number can be subject to enforcement action, including fines and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers via a court order.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One element of the work underway is to quantify the number of illegal plates that are in circulation. The evidence received will support further action to address this issue.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One element of the work underway is to quantify the number of illegal plates that are in circulation. The evidence received will support further action to address this issue.
Statistics and data on road injury collisions and casualties reported to and recorded by police are collected via the data collection system known as STATS19. While STATS19 collects information on the collision circumstances, vehicles involved and contributory factors, it does not identify when collisions are the result of illegal street racing incidents.
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE published its 10 year strategy ‘Protecting people and places’ in 2022 and this includes a strategic objective to reduce work-related ill health. HSE works closely with other government departments to ensure that they cooperate and collaborate on matters concerning their respective health responsibilities.
The Department for Business and Trade has overall policy responsibility for the Working Time Regulations 1998. However, both HSE and Local Authorities (LAs) enforce certain aspects of the Regulations and night work is one of the requirements that HSE enforces.
The Working Time Regulations require employers to ensure workers do not exceed night work limits, and to provide night workers with the opportunity to have a free health assessment at regular intervals.
When organising and planning night work, employers must also comply with their general duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR).
HSWA places a duty on all employers, so far as is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. MHSWR places a duty on all employers to make an assessment of the risks to their employees from work activities and introduce measures that are ‘reasonably practicable’ to remove or control these risks.
This includes any health and safety risks associated with the number of hours worked, how these hours are scheduled and hazards such as fatigue, and its likelihood of occurring because of night shift working.
HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the health and safety of shift workers (Managing shift work [HSG 256]) and Hints and tips for shift-workers (hse.gov.uk) to improve sleep quality, increase alertness and reduce health risk.
We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
This summer we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to build the transformed health service we will deliver over the next decade.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that between 2020 and 2022, the years in which they have the most recently data available, 25% of patients in same-sex female couples in the United Kingdom received National Health Service-funded in vitro fertilization (IVF), after completing six self-funded rounds of intrauterine insemination.
Integrated care boards are expected to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment are still appropriate. We expect this review to be published in 2025. The Government will also be receiving advice from NHS England on the eligibility criteria for IVF and on access to treatment, and this will inform the Government’s considerations of future policy options.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that between 2020 and 2022, the years in which they have the most recently data available, 25% of patients in same-sex female couples in the United Kingdom received National Health Service-funded in vitro fertilization (IVF), after completing six self-funded rounds of intrauterine insemination.
Integrated care boards are expected to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment are still appropriate. We expect this review to be published in 2025. The Government will also be receiving advice from NHS England on the eligibility criteria for IVF and on access to treatment, and this will inform the Government’s considerations of future policy options.
The Government has signed secondary legislation into law on 31 October 2024 to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which removes additional screening costs for female same sex couples undergoing reciprocal in-vitro fertilisation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently reviewing the fertility guideline and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment are still appropriate. We expect this review to be published in 2025. NHS England will be providing advice on this issue, and the Government will be considering future policy options soon.
The National Health Service resource allocation formula is intended to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, taking account of NHS England’s duty to have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities. The formula takes account of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas. In addition, a further adjustment to address health inequalities and unmet needs increases the resources directed to deprived areas. The formula is based on independent academic research which is overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, which in turn provides advice to the Chief Executive of NHS England on whether changes to the formula should be considered.
We recognise that despite the hard work of general practice (GP) teams, patients are still struggling to access care from GPs nationally and in local areas such as Bromwich. We also know that while GPs are delivering record numbers of appointments, patient satisfaction has dropped nationally.
We have a plan to fix this, which will require both investment and reform. Firstly, we will increase the proportion of funding for GPs, starting with a commitment to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs, secure the future pipeline of GPs, as well as take pressure off those currently working in the system.
Additionally, we will deliver a modern booking system and end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments, which we know impacts patient satisfaction. We will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient to improve care for those with long-term conditions.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet. Equality of both access to care and outcomes will be at the heart of building an NHS that is fit for the future.
We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week across the country, and will increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests, that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits.
NHS providers, including those serving the West Bromwich constituency, are focused on reducing waiting lists for planned treatment, and specifically focusing on patients waiting over 65 weeks by the end of September.
Too many patients are finding it impossible to access care. In May, a staggering 1.4 million patients waited for over a month for an appointment.
That is why we are committed to: fix the front door to the NHS; bring back the family doctor; and shift the focus of care away from hospitals and into the community.
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of vehicle number plate cloning offences recorded by the police in England and Wales as this is included within the offence sub-code of ‘Fraud and forgery associated with registration and licensing documents’ offences.
The table shows the total number of such offences recorded, from 2019/20 to the year ending September 2024.
Table: the number of ‘Fraud, forgery etc. associated with registration and licensing documents’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales1, 2019/20 to the year ending September 2024.
Year | Offences |
2019/202 | 447 |
2020/21 | 376 |
2021/22 | 419 |
2022/23 | 362 |
2023/24 | 393 |
|
|
Year ending September 2023 | 373 |
Year ending September 2024 | 471 |
1. Humberside police are excluded from all years, as they have been unable to provide data to the Home Office Data Hub
2. 2019/20 excludes Greater Manchester police, who were unable to provide data to the Home Office Data Hub for this period.
ANPR is a valuable tool to help the police tackle crime and keep the road safe.
We keep the effectiveness of police and law enforcement use of ANPR under regular review, to ensure it remains a robust tool for identifying vehicles of interest to the police and drivers who break the law.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release. The latest data is available here Police powers and procedures: Roads policing, to December 2023 - GOV.UK and covers the calendar year ending December 2023.
Data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for vehicle registration offences for the last three years is covered under offence classification 810, “vehicle registration and excise licence offences”, and is provided in table FPN_03 of the motoring offences data tables, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67506ce8d12a2dad3bc97ab4/FPN-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-procedures-year-ending-dec-23.ods
The cloning and defacing of number plates is illegal. We are working with the police, the DVLA and other partners to crack down on these crimes.
We have begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, which aims to reduce road deaths and prevent related crime.
Data on the readability of ANPR reads is not collected or published.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to evaluating the impacts and effectiveness of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UKSPF evaluation strategy sets out the approach to evaluation. The department has committed to publish evaluation findings on an ongoing basis as they are available.
The Government does not collect data on whether weekly rent charged by housing associations is collected 52 or 53 times in a year. Government policy on social housing rents stipulates how the maximum weekly rent is to be calculated for any given social housing property, not how many times that weekly rent may be charged in any given year. The arrangements for charging rent should be set out in a tenancy agreement.
Every year, the Government and the Judiciary agree a number of sitting days and an overall budget in what is known as the Concordat process.
In June, the Judiciary reached an agreement with the former Lord Chancellor to sit 106,000 days in the Crown Court within a total budget of £275 million.
The Lord Chancellor has since agreed to fund an additional 500 days, but it has become clear that there has been significant over-listing against this budget – with more trials scheduled than the funding allows.
As a result of that, approximately 1,600 sitting days have had to be withdrawn. The level of impact will vary across regions and is being managed closely to ensure there is minimal disruption to all involved.