Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, what information his Department holds on the timescale for the Palestinian Authority to hold (a) presidential and (b) parliamentary elections.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports and commends the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform', based on its seven strategic development initiatives and four institutional performance and service delivery reform pillars. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding, the PA committed to convening Presidential and Parliamentary elections within the shortest feasible timeframe. President Abbas has publicly outlined his commitment to holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections within a year. We continue to encourage the PA to work towards genuine and democratic elections within the shortest feasible timeframe.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhill of 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, if he will publish the bilateral humanitarian aid spend allocation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 April, the UK announced a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £101 million for humanitarian aid, support for Palestinian economic development and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform. As part of this package, on 21 May the Minister for Development announced a £4 million contribution to the British Red Cross to deliver humanitarian relief in Gaza through their partner, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Once the remainder of the funding has been allocated, we will publish the information.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhills on 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, what steps he is taking to get (a) new aid routes into the Occupied Palestinian Territories opened and (b) more aid where it is needed most.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. Not enough aid is getting in and vital services such as water supplies, ambulances and hospitals are at risk of shutting down due to fuel shortages. On 12 July, the UN stated that fuel shortages in Gaza had reached a critical level. The small amounts that have been allowed to enter in recent days are nowhere near enough. We continue to call on Israel to allow for a full and unhindered resurgence in the flow of aid into Gaza and to allow the UN and humanitarian partners to operate in line with humanitarian principles. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 12 July, where he reiterated our concerns about the situation on the ground and pressed for a return to a ceasefire. We called on Israel to open all access routes and allow fuel into Gaza at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 30 June.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department with Cabinet colleagues to help seek justice for every victim of grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 June 2025, the Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament announcing Government's acceptance of all the recommendations made in Baroness Louise Casey's independent National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales.
The Government is now moving swiftly to act on these recommendations which includes the establishment of a national inquiry into Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation, with the power to go into local areas, gather evidence, talk to victims, compel witnesses to appear, and to get to the truth of institutional failures.
We have also announced that the police will launch a new national criminal operation into group-based child sexual exploitation, overseen by the National Crime Agency, against a backdrop of continued investment in other work to strengthen law enforcement capacity and capability to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation, including the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce which - since July 2023 - has supported the arrest of over 1300 individuals and protected thousands of victims.
Both initiatives will operate in parallel with continued commitment from Government to strengthen efforts to tackle this abhorrent crime and improve victims and survivors' access to justice.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of funding the National Association of Local Councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government welcomes the work of the National Association of Local Councils to support and represent town and parish councils in England. The government has not assessed the merits of providing general funding to the National Association of Local Councils.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of where he plans for the 41,000 new homes in the West Midlands to be built; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this matter.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In setting out how the Government will strengthen connections between and within city regions and clusters, the Industrial Strategy confirmed our commitment to delivering and maximising the growth benefits of HS2. The Industrial Strategy referenced independent research by Arcadis, conducted on behalf of HS2 Ltd, that suggests HS2 could lead to 41,000 new homes in the West Midlands. The source can be found at https://www.arcadis.com/en-gb/projects/europe/united-kingdom/hs2-impact-study.
The department has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government during the development of the Industrial Strategy and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Transport of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, Official Report, columns 822-3, whether it is her policy that the full cost of the midlands rail hub should be paid for by her Department; and when she expects the midlands rail hub to be completed.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A sum of £123m has been allocated by the Government to deliver detailed designs of the first phase of MRH. The designs will produce a more accurate cost estimate, a delivery schedule and subsequently form the basis of a ‘Final Investment Decision’. This phase is due to enter service in the early 2030s. The costs and delivery timescales for later phases are subject to further development work and subsequent investment decisions.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what infrastructure projects the National Wealth Fund has (a) funded, (b) initiated and (c) delivered in the West Midlands since October 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has a strong regional mandate and proactively identifies investment opportunities across the UK to ensure the benefits of investment are felt nationwide.
In March 2025, the NWF’s local authority function provided a £9.6 million loan to Solihull Council to help deliver its innovative new town centre energy network.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to p.99 of The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025, what strategic partnerships are being trialled by The National Wealth Fund in the West Midlands.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is trialling a Strategic Partnership with West Midlands – as well as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Glasgow City Region – to provide enhanced, hands-on support to help it develop and finance long-term investment opportunities.
The Strategic Partnerships will offer a closer, enhanced relationship with a small number of places to test whether this approach is more effective at building investment pipelines. They are bespoke arrangements, tailored to unique local requirements. This will include specific support at the early stages of project development to address capability and capacity gaps.
Alongside these, the NWF continues to provide financial and commercial advice and financing to local authority projects across the UK.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide transitional funding to help prevent the closure of surveillance laboratories.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK recognises the role that surveillance laboratories play in early detection and response to infectious disease threats. We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.