Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions on the budgets of train and bus operators transitioning from franchise to public mode of operations management.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Budgets for 2025/26 are in the process of being agreed, as part of the annual business planning process, with train operating companies. These budgets take account of the increase in the cost of changes to employer National Insurance contributions made at Autumn Budget 2024.
The increase to National Insurance employers’ contributions announced at the Budget is expected to increase bus operator costs. We are committed to working with the sector to deliver better bus services for passengers, and have confirmed investment of over £1 billion for buses in the financial year 2025 to 2026.
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, what assessment his Department has made of the social and economic impact of the British Council’s work on the UK’s soft power and international relations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Council plays a leading role in promoting UK values and interests through its work in arts and culture, education, and promotion of the English language.
The British Council's 2023 Global Perceptions report survey demonstrates that cultural relations initiatives are connected to higher levels of trust in the UK Government. The average score for trust in the UK Government given by young people surveyed in the G20 countries was 54%. However, for those who had participated in a UK cultural initiative, the score was 62%, and where this initiative was delivered by the British Council, it was 69%.
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, what steps his Department is taking to support the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government condemns the Taliban's inhuman repression of Afghan women and girls. We are working with international partners to maintain collective pressure to press the Taliban to respect the human rights of women and girls. While in New York in January, I publicly demonstrated my support for Afghan women and girls at the UN, ahead of the International Day of Education on 24 January. The UK Government is committed that at least 50 percent of Afghans reached by UK aid are women and girls.
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, which countries have had reductions in Official Development Assistance in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24; and what the total reduction is in each case.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations for 2024/25 were published on 6 February 2025. We will publish final ODA programme spend for 2024/25 in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. Equality impact assessments are an essential part of how we make decisions, including on ODA allocations.
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, what criteria were used to determine the regional and country-level allocations of Official Development Assistance for 2024-25.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations for 2024/25 were published on 6 February 2025. We will publish final ODA programme spend for 2024/25 in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. Equality impact assessments are an essential part of how we make decisions, including on ODA allocations.
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, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the application by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to condemn the Taliban's draconian restrictions on women and girls' rights. Those responsible for international crimes committed in Afghanistan should be held to account for their actions. We note the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's application for arrest warrants against Taliban leaders in relation to the persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan. We welcome the progress being made in the investigation in Afghanistan. The UK Government respects the independence of the ICC. It is for the ICC Prosecutor to determine independently who should be prosecuted in accordance with his mandate under the Rome Statute.
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, what plans his Department has to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In their meeting on 27 February, the Prime Minister and President spoke about the fair, balanced and reciprocal economic relationship that the UK and the US enjoy. They agreed to deepen this relationship, and tasked their teams to work together on an economic deal focused on tech. We are in regular discussions with our US counterparts, and we will set out more details as conversations evolve.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she discussed China’s economic practices during her visit to Beijing in January 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
During the 2025 UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Chancellor was clear that whilst we must cooperate with China on areas of mutual interest, we will confidently challenge on areas where we disagree. The Chancellor raised UK concerns during meetings with her Chinese counterparts, including about trade imbalances and economic security.
The Chancellor also published a written ministerial statement about her visit to China on the morning of Monday 13 January (found here) and delivered an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 January (found here).
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, in the context of proposed changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are clear that the vast majority of those claiming Agricultural and Business Property Relief will not be affected by our reforms. Three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which means farmers in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency and across the country will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done, while we fix the public services we all rely on.
Further support for farmers was revealed by the Secretary of State at February 2025’s NFU conference. This includes a £110 million investment in innovation, equipment, and technology, an increase in Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) payment rates, an extension of the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme for another year until March 2026, an update on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway’s coverage, and announcements on the reopening of the Capital Grants scheme and on the roll out the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme.
The Secretary of State also announced an extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years and new requirements for Government catering contracts to favour high-quality, high-welfare products that local farms and producers are well placed to serve, and reiterated the Government’s commitment to uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals
This will all support farmers in the Aldrige-Brownhills constituency and across the country in delivering public goods for the environment and a profitable farming sector and unlocking rural growth.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what period of time her Department has allocated funding for additional neighbourhood police officers; and whether individual police forces will need to cover the ongoing costs of these officers through local precepting.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to 2024-25 and includes £200.0 million to kickstart the recruitment of new neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs in communities across the country.
This will support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood personnel as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee in 2025-26. This major investment supports our commitment on safer streets and reflects the scale of the challenges that many forces face .
Setting the police precept is a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners taking into account the views of the local community and Police and Crime Panels.