Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a direct train services from Shropshire (via Telford) to London on economic growth; and what her planned timetable is for announcing a decision on the application for the new line between Wrexham General and London Euston (via Telford).
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport provided a response to the Office of Rail and road regarding the live Open Access application from Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway to operate services between Wrexham General and London Euston on 4 February 2025. This letter set out our broad support for the proposal. We note the benefits of improved connectivity that these services would bring to a number of communities, but access to the rail network is ultimately a decision for the regulator, who will weigh stakeholder views against statutory duties and publish its decision in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish data on levels of child poverty in Telford constituency for each year that data is available.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty on a before housing costs basis by parliamentary constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “6_Absolute_ParlC” and “5_Relative_ParlC” at Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 are for the financial period 2022/23. The figures provided for parliamentary constituencies are on the 2010 boundaries.
The latest available data can also be found on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) in the Children in low income families dataset. Figures on both the 2010 and 2024 parliamentary constituency boundaries are available here.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: Getting Started (dwp.gov.uk). An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure enrichment activities for students in (a) school and (b) further education colleges are incorporated in the recommendations of the Curriculum Assessment Review.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. friend, the Member for Telford to the answer of 24 January 2025 to Question 24528.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what he expects the operating capacity of the A&E at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to be on its relocation from the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The future operating capacity of local services, including accident and emergency units, is a matter for National Health Service commissioners, in this case the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board, working closely with providers and in the best interests of their populations.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has set a deadline for councils to publish their (a) local growth plans and (b) local housing development plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average, (b) shortest and (c) longest wait was for determination of an application for a new rail line by a private operator for each year that records are available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Access to the rail network is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its capacity as independent regulator for the rail industry.
ORR have advised that since 2020, it has determined four applications for wholly new open access services. ORR rejected one and approved three. The time taken to go through the industry processes and reach a decision on these applications was as follows:
- Grand Union Trains (London – Stirling): 126 days
- Grand Union Trains Application 1 (London – Carmarthen): 281 days
- Grand Union Trains Application 2 (London – Carmarthen): 163 days
- Go-op: 783 days
The Go-op process involved significant changes to the application from the applicant over the course of two years. For all of these applications, ORR took decisions within 6 weeks of receiving all relevant information from the parties.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office of Road and Rail on reducing decision making times on the introduction of new rail routes (a) to and from London, (b) between London and Wales and (c) between Shropshire and London.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Access to the rail network is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its capacity as independent regulator for the rail industry. The Department works closely with both ORR and Network Rail to ensure that information to inform access decisions is provided in as timely a manner as possible, however it is important that decisions are fully considered and potential impacts to taxpayers, the efficient operation of the network, and to other operators are properly assessed.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact of introducing a football regulator.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Independent Football Regulator will create a clearer and more certain regulatory environment for investors which will drive future investment and growth so that English football remains a global success story. A more sustainable game is a more investable game, and this in turn should drive continued economic growth in the market.
The government’s estimate of the economic impact of introducing a football regulator is set out in our Impact Assessment.
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 the timetable is for the (a) introduction of 5G and (b) the rollout of fibre broadband in Telford constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government wants all areas of the UK, including Telford constituency, to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.
5G is already available in the Telford constituency. I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 5G is available from at least one operator outside 99% of all premises in the Telford constituency.
In the Telford constituency, over 99% of premises can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 87% have access to gigabit-capable broadband coverage (>1000 Mbps). There is high existing gigabit coverage and commercial plans in the area. Therefore, this constituency is not expected to see significant benefits from Project Gigabit.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish a timetable for a decision on the funding of the M54-M6 North link.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Funding for the M54 to M6 Link Road is subject to the multi-year Spending Review, and assurances cannot be provided on individual projects until the conclusion of the Spending Review.