Shaun Davies

Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, Attorney General’s Office and Crown Prosecution Service employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.

Management information is held showing the number of cases with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which are awaiting a pre-charge decision.

The overall number of cases which were awaiting a charging decision or administrative triage (completed on files sent by the police to the CPS for a charging decision) as of 25 March 2024 was 13,697. This data is provided in line with the last quarterly data release in March 2024. The next quarterly release is due on 17 October 2024 which will be available on the CPS website at CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

These figures do not include cases that have been referred to the CPS but that are currently with the police to action, having been sent back to them with a request for further information.

This count is of the number of cases, not suspects. A single case may cover one suspect or several. No data is available in the report showing whether the alleged offences are summary, either-way or indictable only. To obtain this information would require a manual review at disproportionate cost.

Management information is held showing the number of cases with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which are awaiting a pre-charge decision.

The table below shows the overall number of cases which were awaiting a charging decision or administrative triage (completed on files sent by the police to the CPS for a charging decision) as of 25 March 2024. This data is provided in line with the last quarterly data release in March 2024.

These figures do not include cases that have been referred to the CPS but that are currently with the police to action, having been sent back to them with a request for further information.

This count is of the number of cases, not suspects. A single case may cover one suspect or several.

No data is available in the report showing whether the alleged offences are summary, either-way or indictable only. To obtain this information would require a manual review at disproportionate cost.

Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, 258 Cabinet Office employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below. ​​

The table below shows the average length of paternity leave taken by staff. This includes paternity leave after birth.

The Department for Business and Trade is a newly formed Department established in February 2023. The new department absorbed the functions of the former Department for International Trade (DIT) and some of the functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The figures prior to 01.08.2023 include all former DIT staff and former BEIS staff who transferred to DBT.

The below figures cover the same period for staff at the Competition and Markets Authority.

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course.

The Government’s retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers make their homes greener and cheaper to run.

All businesses installing measures under Government schemes and initiatives must be certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and follow PAS 2035 standards. In the next review of the standards, the British Standards Institute (BSI), who publish PAS 2030 and 2035, will consider how to address more innovative products that do not fit within existing annexes, subject to steering group consensus.

The Government is committed to protecting homeowners across the UK who have clean heating and energy efficiency products installed. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to next year.

There are several Government schemes offering loft insulation as a measure to improve energy efficiency. The Government’s retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers make their homes greener and cheaper to run.

All businesses under Government schemes and initiatives must be TrustMark registered. These businesses must be certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and follow PAS 2035 standards. TrustMark's role under Government schemes is to ensure compliance with the overarching PAS 2035 process, setting clear requirements to protect consumer.

The average length of paternity leave in days taken by staff in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was 9.6 during 2023 and 9.8 during 2024.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was established in February 2023. Data before this time is unavailable.

Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) employee’s have taken 160 days paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

The average working days taken per colleague (AWDT) is shown in the table below.

*The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established in February 2023. Data before this time is unavailable.

The average length of paternity leave taken by DCMS staff was as follows:

2021: 10.8 days

2022: 9.7 days

2023: 10.3 days

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is a National Portfolio Organisation funded by Arts Council England, and receives £749,709 annually.

In 2022 Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) also received £9.975m from Cultural Assets Fund as part of DCMS Culture Recovery Fund.

In addition, since 1994, National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £12.7 million within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site area and has awarded the IGMT more than £20.9 million.

Historic England, the Government’ statutory advisor on heritage and a DCMS arm's length body, provides support and advice on specific issues related to the management of the wider Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

As the first person recorded to swim unaided across the Channel, Captain Matthew Webb’s achievement has no doubt inspired many people to undertake record breaking challenges of endurance. My department is not planning to commemorate the anniversary. Parliamentarians may choose to mark the occasion in other ways, for example by tabling a debate or an Early Day Motion to mark the achievement.

Many schools across the country will either allow others to make use of their facilities, or themselves be making use of land shared with their local communities. The department encourages schools to open their sites in this way. Shared use agreements or other arrangements to facilitate this are primarily a matter for local discussion between schools, their landowners and local authorities, who will all appreciate the individual local needs.

However, in specific circumstances, such as when a school converts to become an academy and the department is involved in agreeing how the academy will access land, the department can and will help schools and councils consider their options. Our good estate management for schools (GEMS) guidance also contains information for schools on allowing others to use their premises. More information about GEMS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.

The average length of paternity leave taken by employees of the Department for Education for each of the last three years is set out in the table below.

The department collects and publishes forecasts made by local authorities of demand for primary and secondary pupil places from the annual School Capacity (SCAP) survey, which are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. Forecast data is generated by local authorities based on their own data and local knowledge. These forecasts are challenged extensively during data cleaning processes. As with any forecast figures, there will be variation between the forecasts and the subsequent actual pupil numbers, and the level of accuracy is expected to reduce as forecasts are made further into the future.

This information is published at local authority level, with the latest publication covering the period 2022/23 to 2027/28, available for Telford and Wrekin here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d7c2bc7-052b-43f5-e0cc-08dccd7b577b. Previous years can be found in earlier publications, all available on Explore Education Statistics. Data on special educational needs provision was collected for the first time in SCAP in 2023 and published as official statistics in development in 2024 within the aforementioned publication.

The department also publishes pupil population projections at national level and by school type annually, which are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-pupil-projections. The latest publication includes historic pupil populations, plus projected population to 2028. These projections are not available at local authority level.

In just five months in Government, we have introduced a series of measures to better protect communities from flooding including:

• Invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences to protect communities across the country.
• Set up a new Floods Resilience Taskforce bringing together representatives from central and local government, Local Resilience Forums, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union, among others, to discuss how they will speed up and co-ordinate flooding preparation and resilience.
• Consultation to review the existing funding formula, ensuring the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately considered.
• Invested £50 million to Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) to better enable them to manage water levels for agriculture and environmental needs.
• Supporting farmers impacted by flooding through a £60 million Farming Recovery Fund, which provides grants of up to £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was in before storm damage.

This Government is investing £2.4 billion over this year and next year to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government funding will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

The Environment Agency is working with partners in the River Severn Partnership (RSP) including local authorities, water companies, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Natural England and environmental organisations on a long-term, whole-catchment scale view of planning for the future in response to climate change: Severn 2100+.

Under Severn2100+ work, the partnership is developing a Climate Resilience Strategy including an options appraisal of the flood risk adaptation actions needed in the River Severn catchment.

The work includes an ‘Adaptation Pathways Plan’ to help the Environment Agency understand how to sequence those actions, who can help and when.

As a pathfinder, the Environment Agency is working with partners on the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme to examine how a suite of flood risk interventions in the upper catchment of the River Severn can reduce flood risk.

These long-term plans will help the RSP play a key role in bringing forward initiatives to reduce flood risk and improve the water environment whilst supporting economic growth in the area.

A demonstrator programme is underway delivering a series of 8 projects to test concepts and ideas that will support the future roll-out of the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme.

The partnership will be engaging with honourable members in the partnership area to update them soon.

The Defra sponsored capital programme endorsed by the English Severn and Wye RFCC continues to reduce flood risk to properties throughout the Severn Catchment in England.

The Environment Agency is working with partners in the River Severn Partnership (RSP) including local authorities, water companies, Natural Resources Wales, Natural England and environmental organisations on a long-term, whole-catchment scale view of planning for the future in response to climate change: Severn 2100+.

Under Severn2100+ work, the RSP is developing a Climate Resilience Strategy including an options appraisal of the flood risk adaptation actions needed in the River Severn catchment.

The work includes an ‘Adaptation Pathways Plan’ to help the Environment Agency understand how to sequence those actions, who can help and when.

The Environment Agency is working with partners on the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme to examine how a suite of flood risk interventions in the upper catchment of the River Severn can reduce flood risk. A demonstrator programme is underway delivering a series of 8 projects to test concepts and ideas that will support the future roll-out of the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme.

Working with the industry, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has developed a comprehensive strategy to improve safety at the platform train interface (PTI) on the mainline railway. The strategy adopts a whole-system, safety by design, risk-based approach; which includes using human factors and data modelling to inform the design of infrastructure and rolling stock, launching safety campaigns such as ‘Respect the Edge’ to influence passenger behaviour and improve awareness of risks, and enhancing the skills and competence of dispatchers and guards by working with operators and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to improve the quality of training and guidance available to staff. This approach has seen PTI incidences decreasing year on year since 2020/2021.

Contracting of Transport for Wales services is devolved to the Welsh Government. Performance information from across the rail network in Great Britain is published by the Office for Road and Rail (https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/); further details are available on operators' websites.

Below is the average length of paternity leave, in working days, for each of the last 3 calendar years.

National Highways, who are responsible for operating, maintaining, and improving the Strategic Road Network, which includes motorways and trunk ‘A’ roads, is actively exploring renewable energy generation as part of its Net Zero Highways plan.

Multiple trials and studies have been conducted, including solar panels on signs and structures on the Strategic Road Network. National Highways have also considered larger ground-mounted solar farms on non-operational estates, small scale Renewable Energy Generation on the Strategic Road Network, Renewable Energy Generation at depots and solar car ports at depots and motorway service areas.

Feasibility studies to retrofit solar panels on existing motorway structures has shown that it does not represent value for money. The most economically viable option identified is rooftop solar generation at depots where most of the generation is consumed on-site and acts to offset the use of electricity from the grid.

On the issue of consent, rooftop solar generation in depots does not require planning permission, however, it is expected that any installations on the Strategic Road Network would be subject to consent using powers within the Highways Act 1980. Any installations on National Highways’ non-operational estates would be subject to consent by the relevant Local Planning Authority.

The Department provides investment to National Highways for such activities under the Road Investment Strategy funding. Any revenue from energy generation initiatives will help reduce National Highways’ operational expenditure.

A review of the Department’s capital spend portfolio has been commissioned, this will inform the Department’s new long-term strategy for transport, developing a modern and integrated network with people at its heart and ensuring that transport infrastructure can be delivered efficiently and on time. Assurances cannot be provided on individual projects, including the M54 to M6 Link Road, until the review is concluded.

In November 2022, 2,541 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit.

In November 2023, 2,509 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit.

Data is not yet available for November 2024. The latest available data is for May 2024, in which 2,450 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit.

This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk in the ‘Pension Credit - Data from May 2018’ dataset. More information on the data included in the ‘Pension Credit’ dataset can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office.

The Government has been clear that it will champion disabled people's rights, and work closely with them so that disabled people's voices and views are at the heart of all we do.

We know that some disabled people still face additional financial barriers when standing for elected office. We are looking at how we might work with political parties and others to help tackle this.

This data has been taken from a live system. Staff have 52 weeks to take paternity leave following the birth of the child, so figures for 2024 may rise.

The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below:

Our plan to get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or employment support. This will sit alongside; a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people. Further detail will be shared in the up-coming White Paper.

Such ambitious plans require input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders - from community groups and employers through to local authorities and providers of employment support and careers advice. We have convened a small advisory group with the Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local councils and the Central London Forward to gather expertise and support the development of the White Paper, and we are working closely with the Devolved Governments to share insights on what is currently working across Britain.

We look forward to working closely with stakeholders post-publication on the design and implementation of the measures in the White Paper.

Quarterly statistics on pensioners who receive a) pension credit and b) housing benefit from quarter ending February 2010 to quarter ending February 2024 are published on Stat-Xplore.

Housing benefit can be broken down by age group prior to April 2018 and from April 2018 onwards, it can be broken down by working age or pension age.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

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, including for those suffering from cancer and respiratory conditions.

We have committed to getting back to the NHS Constitutional standard, that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, or the equivalent to 40,000 per week. We will also increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits. As of August 2024, 62.5% of respiratory medicine patients are seen within this standard, compared to 60.7% in August 2023. This is compared to 58% of the total waiting list for planned procedures.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. The Government will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Outpatients make up most of the waiting list, so transforming outpatient services is a key part of the Government’s approach to cutting waiting times.

The overall mean average waiting time for children waiting for an outpatient appointment in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) is 23.3 weeks, with the median being 21.4 weeks, and the overall mean waiting time for adults waiting for an outpatient appointment is 21.2 weeks, while the median is 18.4 weeks.

The number of cases where children are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 4,471, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 715. The number of cases where adults are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 45,272, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 12,500.

The Government is committed to putting patients back at the heart of care. This includes supporting a patient’s right to choose, if they wish, where they go for their first appointment, including private providers holding contracts for National Health Services.

Information on the number of individual patients who have been treated out of area in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) is not held centrally. However, information on the number of outpatient appointments taking place outside of the ICS is available, although it should be noted that a patient may have had more than one outpatient appointment. The following table shows the combined outpatient activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, and the number and percentage of appointments made outside of the ICS, for each of the last three years:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.

In 2024/2025, NHS England provided £25 million in funding for children and young people’s hospices. This funding was distributed, for the first time, via integrated care boards, in line with National Health Service devolution.

I recently met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All Party Parliamentary Group to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting. NHS England is currently considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm men, as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects; for example, incontinence of faeces and urine and impotence.

The UK NSC is undertaking an evidence review for prostate cancer screening and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan.

The evidence review includes modelling the clinical cost effectiveness of several approaches to prostate cancer screening; this includes different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.