Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support job creation schemes in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work and is committed to reducing economic inactivity. We want everyone who can work to be able to find a job, progress, and thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Department delivers comprehensive employment support including through face-to-face time with work coaches in our Jobcentres and via more intensive contracted employment programmes.
Our Employment Advisor team are working with employers to generate employment opportunities for all residents across Coventry. By working with local stakeholders such as Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Coventry City Council and WMCA, we are encouraging employers to think more widely in their workforce planning activity through devolution projects such as the Job Rotation Pilot and other local initiatives to help employers grow their businesses whilst recruiting through a more inclusive approach for example through Disability Confident.
Recent recruitment campaigns across the retail sector include B&M and Iceland. Particular focus is ongoing with the logistics sector including Halfords, Menzies, Co-op and Tesco.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving employment support services to (a) London boroughs and (b) the Mayor of London.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the English Devolution Trailblazer deeper devolution deals, the Department of Work and Pensions have agreed with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities to test a new approach to design of future Contracted Employment Programmes including co-design and a delegated delivery model, aligned with the Combined Authorities geographical footprint.
We will evaluate the impacts and outcomes of this new approach to further understand the opportunities and risks involved, before considering the Department’s approach to future contracted employment programmes.
Full details of the ‘Trailblazer’ deals can be found here:
Greater Manchester Combined Authority Trailblazer deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
West Midlands Combined Authority: “Trailblazer” deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of trends in childhood obesity levels in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) collects data on children aged four to five years old, who would be in reception, and 10 to 11 years old, who would be in year 6. It provides detailed trend data on children’s weight status, including childhood obesity. While data is not available at a constituency level, it is available at a local authority, regional, and national level. The following table shows the obesity prevalence from the NCMP in Coventry, the West Midlands, and England, for 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23:
Area | Children aged four to five years old | Children aged 10 to 11 years old | ||||||
2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
Coventry | 11.7% | 15.2% | 10.4% | 9.8% | 25.3% | 30.2% | 26.7% | 25.6% |
West Midlands | 11.2% | 16% | 11.3% | 10.1% | 23.9% | 28.4% | 26.2% | 25.2% |
England | 9.9% | 14.4% | 10.1% | 9.2% | 21% | 25.5% | 23.4% | 22.7% |
Note: the data for 2019/20 was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data shows that the prevalence of obesity in children aged four to five years old has decreased since the increase seen in 2020/21, during the COVID-19 pandemic. For children aged 10 to 11 years old, prevalence has decreased, but it still remains higher in 2022/23 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019/20, for the West Midlands and England. For Coventry, however, prevalence in 2022/23 is similar to pre-pandemic levels in 2019/20.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided for transport projects in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has spent £8.4 billion on transport in the West Midlands region over the last three years, improving connectivity, shortening journey times, reducing congestion, and transporting people and goods.
Figures are not available at the level of individual local authorities. However, in Coventry, recent Government investment includes;
Coventry also stands to benefit from allocations to West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) including
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the take-up rate was for breast cancer screening in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last two years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Breast Screening Programme statistics are available at the NHS Digital website's Breast Screening Programme page:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate her Department has made of the average amount spent on energy bills per household in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Data on household electricity and gas energy bills are published as part of the Quarterly Energy Prices statistical series (here). The department collects this information at the regional level and does not hold it for smaller geographies.
Average annual domestic electricity bills for England and UK regions are presented in table QEP 2.2.3 and average annual domestic gas bills for GB regions are presented in table QEP 2.3.3 (here).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the number of people in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry North East constituency who have been employed in the automotive industry in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
According to the ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey (BRES) the estimated numbers employed in automotive manufacturing in the West Midlands, Coventry and Coventry North-East were as follows (latest published year 2022):
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
West Midlands | 54,000 | 57,000 | 46,000 |
Coventry | 7,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 |
Coventry North-East | 1,750 | 2,000 | 1,500 |
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of empty residential properties in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure empty residential properties do not fall into disrepair.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 24519 on 10 May 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce health inequalities through housing in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of rented homes and committed in the Levelling Up White Paper to reduce the number of non-decent rented homes by 50% by 2030, building on the extensive progress made since 2010. We are introducing a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector through the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will introduce new standards that all private rented sector homes must meet. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act introduced new measures to drive up the quality of social homes, including through a new proactive consumer regulation regime led by the Regulator of Social Housing. We are also introducing Awaab’s Law, which will set new strict timeframes for social landlords to fix health hazards in homes.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to older jobseekers in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who are looking to (i) reskill or (ii) change careers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Eligible older jobseekers on Universal Credit benefit from Additional Work Coach Time (AWCT) and the delivery of Mid Life MOTs in Jobcentres across England which support people to review their health, wealth and skills.
77 50PLUS Champions are working in all 37 Districts across England, Wales and Scotland, and personalise support, including helping customers to reskill or change career.
At the 2023 Budget, the Chancellor announced increasing skills provision through Returnerships for those aged 50 and over which bring together three programmes to support older workers. These include Accelerated Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs).