Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the Department's long-term strategy is for enabling local communities to save valued community assets from deterioration.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Through the English Devolution Bill, we are committed to legislate for a ‘right to buy’, giving local people stronger powers to secure and preserve valued community assets if they come up for sale.
We are also committed to regenerating our country’s neighbourhoods. As the chancellor announced at the spending review the government will be supporting communities with funding for up to 350 places. More details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are being taken to improve the UK defence industrial base in (a) Shropshire and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The recent Strategic Defence Review and National Security Strategy have identified the need to grow and enhance resilience in our defence industrial base. The Defence Industrial Strategy will set out the full package of measures to make the UK a defence industrial superpower by 2035. This will include a new partnership with industry to realise defence’s potential as an engine for growth across all the nations and regions of the UK, including Shropshire and the West Midlands.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the level of apprenticeship opportunities within his Department.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The 'Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship' (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.
We are also working on aligning our apprenticeship approach with our capability framework. For example, we are exploring new apprenticeship opportunities to scale our approach and build internal capability on Data and AI.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales, wherever they live. On 10 April, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including that by July, every community, will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing issues facing their communities. Local communities and businesses will also have ongoing opportunities to engage with neighbourhood teams and raise local concerns and priorities through regular local beat meetings.
The Guarantee was developed through close working with the National Police Chief’s Council and other policing leads, and we continue to work closely with them to ensure it is delivered across all police forces in England and Wales.
The Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeships available in her Department.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th May 2025 to PQ51804.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities within her Department.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.