Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of keyless theft equipment in vehicle-related crimes; if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing legislation for tackling the use of that equipment; and whether she plans to bring forward new legislative proposals to tackle this issue.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Estimate from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (for the year ending March 2023) showed the two most common methods of entry in theft of vehicles in England and Wales are “Offender manipulated signal from remote locking device” (40%) and “Offender used a key/electric fob” (32%). This information is published by the Office for National Statistics.
The Government works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focuses on tackling vehicle crime through various workstreams. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
The Government keeps all legislation under review. We will be introducing a Crime and Policing Bill and will consider what measures are needed to support efforts to tackle and prevent vehicle crime.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many keyless vehicle thefts there were in Dudley constituency in the last 12 months; and what methodology her Department uses to collect this information.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Estimate from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (for the year ending March 2023) showed the two most common methods of entry in theft of vehicles in England and Wales are “Offender manipulated signal from remote locking device” (40%) and “Offender used a key/electric fob” (32%). This information is published by the Office for National Statistics.
The Government works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focuses on tackling vehicle crime through various workstreams. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
The Government keeps all legislation under review. We will be introducing a Crime and Policing Bill and will consider what measures are needed to support efforts to tackle and prevent vehicle crime.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
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 plans to take to help (a) revitalize commercial areas and (b) encourage new businesses to occupy vacant properties in Dudley constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets and supporting the businesses and communities that make our town centres successful.
Through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help this Government safeguard our high streets. This measure will empower local communities to reclaim and revitalise empty shops, pubs, and community spaces, helping to revamp our high streets and eliminate the blight of vacant premises.
Outside of local government grants Dudley as a borough has received over £182 million of central government funding over the last ten years, in addition to devolved funding and powers worth £1.1 billion as part of the WMCA.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on investment in Dudley town centre in the last 10 years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets and supporting the businesses and communities that make our town centres successful.
Through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help this Government safeguard our high streets. This measure will empower local communities to reclaim and revitalise empty shops, pubs, and community spaces, helping to revamp our high streets and eliminate the blight of vacant premises.
Outside of local government grants Dudley as a borough has received over £182 million of central government funding over the last ten years, in addition to devolved funding and powers worth £1.1 billion as part of the WMCA.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) awareness of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), provides funding for research projects which aim to understand the underlying causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and find new treatments for the condition. For example, the NIHR, together with the Medical Research Council, have funded the world’s largest genome-wide association study of ME/CFS. This £3.2 million study, termed DecodeME, will analyse samples from 25,000 people with ME/CFS to search for genetic differences that may indicate underlying causes or an increased risk of developing the condition. By helping us to understand ME/CFS better, this research has the potential to lead to new treatments for the condition.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist ME/CFS services that meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021.
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services to meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.
In October 2023, the British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS published the ME/CFS National Services Survey. This report provides insight into the services being delivered for adults, children, and young people with ME/CFS.
The Department has been working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, to support staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. This has involved feedback and input from patients. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. A decision on next steps on ME/CFS at the national level will be taken in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to tackle period poverty.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2019 the National Health Service has made free period products available to every hospital patient who needs them, including long-term in-patients. The Department for Education’s period product scheme provides access to free period products for all state-funded primary and secondary schools, as well as Government funded 16- to 19-year-old education organisations in England. Since 1 January 2021, a zero rate of VAT has applied to sanitary products, and in January 2024 this was extended to include period pants.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce health inequalities in Dudley.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our health mission, the Government is committed to ensuring people live well for longer. This includes tackling the determinants that underpin stark health inequalities, to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
We are working closely with local Directors of Public Health to ensure the ring-fenced Public Health Grant funds evidence-based activity to improve health and tackle health inequalities. The grant allocated to the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council for 2024/25 was £23,251,698. In addition, £1,221,970 was allocated to invest in drug misuse services. The council also receives funding, £1,533,953 from 2023/24 to 2024/25, for the Family Hub and Start for Life Programme. This programme is creating a network of family hubs with services that support families from conception to the age of two.
We are also working alongside NHS England Midlands and the Black Country Integrated Care System to support a range of local initiatives and to embed the Core20PLUS5 approach, focused on clinical areas with the most need of accelerated improvement in the poorest 20% of the population and other underserved population groups identified locally. Work also continues with the West Midlands Combined Authority to take forward a health in all policies approach across the wider determinants of health.