Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the a) age, b) ethnic and c) socioeconomic diversity of magistrates.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to make progress in building a magistracy that better reflects the communities it serves. Recent recruitment rounds have shown increasing diversity among applicants and new appointees, supported by targeted outreach and improvements to the recruitment process. In 2024/25, 23% of new appointees came from ethnic minority groups, 41% of new appointees were aged under 50, and around 3% of new appointees were from routine or manual occupations: Diversity of the judiciary: 2025 statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Crown Court Judges were assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March in each of the last 5 years including 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question has been interpreted to mean the total number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March and not the number that actually sat on 1 March each year. 1 March 2025 and 1 March 2026 were on a Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March for each of the past 5 years are as follows:
1 March 2022: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 1.9
1 March 2023: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.1
1 March 2024: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.2
1 March 2025: In Post: 4 – Full Time Equivalent: 3.2
1 March 2026: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 3
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Orchestra Tax Relief scheme to include a cappella choirs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including orchestras, and supports them through funding and through the tax system. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides tax relief on production costs and provided around £50 million of support in 2023‑24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras.
In considering any changes to existing tax reliefs or introducing new ones, Government has to consider a wide range of factors, including the specific aims of the relief, the costs and complexity of designing and administering new provisions, and fairness.
Decisions on tax are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events, in the context of overall public finances.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of making funding available to provide lip-reading courses for people with hearing loss.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. As well as qualification based provision, this can fund Tailored Learning. Tailored Learning is non-qualification based provision that is locally developed, to meet the needs of learners. Lip-reading provision can be delivered as part of Tailored Learning and recorded as an aim on the Individualised Learner Record.
As of August 2025, 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities (SAs) and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. It is up to these authorities whether they fund lip-reading courses. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas.
There are other forms of available funding for those with hearing loss. For those in work, or who are about to start work, Access to Work provides grant funding to disabled people, and people with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Support via Access to Work could include specialist equipment, physical adaptations to premises, or help with the cost of a support worker.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of when the Office for Road and Rail will decide on the next phase new services on the West Coast Mainline.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
ORR are currently considering multiple applications for access rights from public service operators on the West Coast Mainline to support service alterations and additions from the May 2026 timetable change.
Access to the rail network is currently a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its capacity as independent regulator for the rail industry. DfT is unable to direct ORR in its decision-making or to influence the timing of decisions.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of extending the 18-month limit on the Bereavement Support Payment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) aims to provide support during the acute period following a bereavement by way of an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly instalments with a higher amount paid for those with children. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. The Government keeps the eligibility of all benefits under review.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Bereavement Support Payment in supporting widowed families.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) aims to provide support during the acute period following a bereavement by way of an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly instalments with a higher amount paid for those with children. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. The Government keeps the eligibility of all benefits under review.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the date that a vacancy to become a Magistrate on the Shropshire bench was a) advertised b) recruited to.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
For the Family Court, the most recent Shropshire vacancies were advertised from 1 February 2024 and closed on 29 February 2024. For the Adult (crime) Court, the vacancies were advertised from 2 July 2024 and closed on 29 July 2024.
Appointments to the Shropshire bench arising from these campaigns were made in June and July 2025.
We expect Shropshire to open its next recruitment in May 2026.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of 5G available on rail networks.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. As part of the Government’s Mobile Market Review Call for Evidence, launched on 10 February 2026, we are asking for detailed evidence on how government should think about, and define, ‘good’ mobile coverage in relation to the quality of service provided to consumers, businesses and the public sector.
In the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (June 2025), the Government committed to work with Ofcom and other regulators to assess the telecommunications needs of the transport sector, including rail networks, by December 2026. My officials are undertaking this assessment alongside the Department for Transport, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, and Ofcom, the regulator for telecommunications.
The Department for Transport has secured funding to introduce low-Earth-orbit satellite connectivity on all mainline trains, which will significantly improve both the availability and internet data connection speeds for Wi-Fi connected passengers.
My officials are also working with Ofcom to improve the evidence base on mobile connectivity across the rail network, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered introducing minimum quality standards for 5G coverage from mobile providers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s ambition is for all populated areas of the UK to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to working with industry to support the rollout of standalone 5G across the UK.
The Government is undertaking a Mobile Market Review to assess the impact of technological, structural and financial market developments on investment in comprehensive high-quality mobile connectivity. On 10 February 2026, Government published a Call for Evidence to support this assessment, and all stakeholders are encouraged to engage in this process ahead of it closing on 21 April 2026.
As part of the Call for Evidence, we are asking for detailed evidence on how the Government should think about, and define, ‘good’ mobile coverage in relation to the quality of service provided to consumers, businesses and the public sector. We are also looking to understand if there is evidence to suggest that the Government’s standalone 5G coverage ambition should go further.