Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to help promote private sector investment in Wolverhampton North East constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Private investment in the UK is increasing and since the general election, companies have announced investment plans totalling £495 billion.
We’re ensuring that the UK continues to be an attractive place to invest, including by maintaining the lowest headline rate of corporation tax in the G7.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with international partners to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
This Government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls, supporting its mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
We have established a new ministerial International Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), alongside leaders, experts and survivors, to drive collective action.
In August, I convened a roundtable with senior civil society leaders and policy experts from across the gender and development sectors to discuss priorities for international action on VAWG and shape UK ambitions ahead of the proposed VAWG Summit and G20 Presidency.
And we have protected our ODA spending on VAWG, continuing to invest in evidence-based approaches that prevent violence, support survivors and strengthen protection.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what engagement her Department has had with schools that deliver a defined annual enrichment entitlement; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a aspirational annual enrichment hours target.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department published a new Enrichment Framework in June 2026, which supports the government's ambition for an aspirational enrichment entitlement for every pupil and student. Schools and colleges need the flexibility to plan and deliver enrichment activities in a manner that best suits their circumstances and community needs, and the Framework does therefore not set out an aspirational annual enrichment hours target.
Educational settings may however choose to set their own internal targets where they consider this helpful in meeting the enrichment benchmarks.
The Framework includes case studies from a wide range of educational settings, showcasing different approaches to the delivery of high-quality enrichment provision, including those which set out a defined offer for pupils or an ambition around the number of enrichment hours provided.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with metro mayors on the potential impact of fiscal devolution on economic growth.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Fiscal devolution is an essential component of making sure devolution drives economic growth, and this government is going to get it right. To do so, we need to ensure aking sure that Mayors have the right incentives to invest in their communities, through receipt of a slice of income tax and business rates revenues.
HM Treasury, with the leadership of FST, and I via No 10 North are engaging Mayors on regular basis on how we can get fiscal devolution right
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a long-term financial sustainability plan for community pharmacy co-produced with the community pharmacy sector in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
The Government recently announced a £340 million uplift to community pharmacy funding, a 10% increase, recognising the essential role pharmacies play in supporting patients and the wider National Health Service. This follows on from a 19% uplift delivered across 2024/25 and 2025/26, the largest uplift in the NHS at the time.
The Government is committed to continuing to work jointly with Community Pharmacy England on reforms to ensure the sustainability of medicine supply and resilience of the community pharmacy network, to ensure that patients receive the best possible care and support.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
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 ensure that children and families in areas with high levels of childhood excess weight, including Wolverhampton North East, have access to appropriate nutrition and dietetic support through neighbourhood health services.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes taking decisive action on the obesity crisis.
Local authorities and National Health Service integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to support children, families, and others living with overweight and obesity, based on local decision making and priorities. In line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, these services should include nutritional support to improve diet, eating patterns and behaviours, and may include dietetic support where appropriate. This applies to services delivered through neighbourhood health models, including neighbourhood health centres, where these are part of local provision.
Core funding for local authorities’ public health responsibilities is provided through the ring-fenced Public Health Grant (PHG) which funds a range of preventative and treatment health services, including obesity programmes. The PHG allocation is weighted heavily towards deprivation. On average, the most deprived areas receive over twice the funding per capita as the least deprived. Wolverhampton’s consolidated PHG for 2026/27 is £28,621,803 (est. £28.6 million).
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to local NHS bodies and public health teams in Wolverhampton to improve prevention and treatment for people living with obesity and diet related long term conditions in areas of high deprivation.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes taking decisive action on the obesity crisis.
Local authorities and National Health Service integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to support children, families, and others living with overweight and obesity, based on local decision making and priorities. In line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, these services should include nutritional support to improve diet, eating patterns and behaviours, and may include dietetic support where appropriate. This applies to services delivered through neighbourhood health models, including neighbourhood health centres, where these are part of local provision.
Core funding for local authorities’ public health responsibilities is provided through the ring-fenced Public Health Grant (PHG) which funds a range of preventative and treatment health services, including obesity programmes. The PHG allocation is weighted heavily towards deprivation. On average, the most deprived areas receive over twice the funding per capita as the least deprived. Wolverhampton’s consolidated PHG for 2026/27 is £28,621,803 (est. £28.6 million).
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the role of nutritious school food in reducing health inequalities in constituencies with high levels of child poverty and childhood excess weight, including Wolverhampton North East.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department recognises that access to nutritious school food plays an important role in supporting children’s health and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink in state‑funded schools, ensuring pupils receive the energy and nutrients they need while developing healthy eating habits. This is why we are taking action to update the Standards and are consulting on the changes to ensure they better reflect current nutritional guidance. Nutritious school food, alongside education on healthy eating, supports wider efforts to improve health outcomes.
The consultation is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the action relating to a specialised service for patients with very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was included in the Final Delivery Plan without full consideration of system constraints affecting its implementation.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of specialised services that meet the needs of their local populations. ICBs are expected to commission services in line with National Health Service expectations of care. NHS England supports ICBs through statutory guidance, service specifications, and the Strategic Commissioning Framework, but decisions on commissioning and service configuration ultimately rest with individual ICBs, based on local need. This is also the case for the commissioning of services for all levels of severity of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The action within July 2025’s final delivery plan on ME/CFS, to consider whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS has been delayed until April 2027.
Officials in the Department and NHS England are currently considering, along with ME/CFS stakeholders, interim measures to support patients with very severe ME/CFS, including referencing severe and very severe ME/CFS in a new template service specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
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 ensure integrated care boards are accountable for commissioning effective services for patients with very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome until the nationally commissioned specialised service is introduced.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of specialised services that meet the needs of their local populations. ICBs are expected to commission services in line with National Health Service expectations of care. NHS England supports ICBs through statutory guidance, service specifications, and the Strategic Commissioning Framework, but decisions on commissioning and service configuration ultimately rest with individual ICBs, based on local need. This is also the case for the commissioning of services for all levels of severity of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The action within July 2025’s final delivery plan on ME/CFS, to consider whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS has been delayed until April 2027.
Officials in the Department and NHS England are currently considering, along with ME/CFS stakeholders, interim measures to support patients with very severe ME/CFS, including referencing severe and very severe ME/CFS in a new template service specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS.