Written questions by Turner.

With reference to page 18 of the Financial Conduct Authority's publication entitled Regulatory Initiatives Grid - 9th Edition, published on 12 December 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the FCA's commitment to consult on the implementation of Sustainability Reporting Standards disclosure requirements for UK listed companies on (a) alignment with international financial reporting standards and (b) economic growth.

The government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy set out how UK can play a leading role in facilitating the financing of the global net zero transition. The UK is already one of the world’s leading sustainable finance centres – the challenge is to evolve and expand. To achieve that challenge, the government is delivering on a small number of targeted initiatives, working closely with the sector to make the biggest impact – boosting investor protection and UK competitiveness.As part of this, the government consulted last year on the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, the UK’s implementation of the International Sustainability Standard Board’s global standards. The aim is to provide clear standards which support comparable and decision-useful disclosures for investors, and which align with other jurisdictions. The government will be publishing its consultation response along with the endorsed UK standards in Q1 2026.The government welcomes the FCA consultation on the implementation of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards for listed companies, which is due to be published later this month, and encourages the sector to engage with that process.

How much each train operating company paid on average in access charges per 100,000 passenger kilometres in 2024-25 by type of access charge.

The net access charge for each operator varies for several reasons such as infrastructure provider, and type and length of train being operated. This means it is not meaningful to compare the net costs of one operator against another. The range of net charges payable by the 14 Department for Transport contracted operators is shown in the following table. They include track, station and depot access charges, net of depot and station access income, but exclude charges for electricity consumption. Operator Access Charges Values in £k per 100,000 passenger kilometres (-ve indicates income)MinimumMaximumAverageFixed Track Access0.863.781.94Variable Track Access0.276.690.88Electric Asset Usage-0.080.04Other Infrastructure Access Charges-0.550.09Station and Depot Access Charges-0.182.651.27Schedule 4 Access Charge Supplement0.220.770.48

Whether his Department holds information on delays to postal deliveries in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) the Birmingham Northfield constituency.

The government does not collect or hold this information. Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets as appropriate, taking account of all relevant factors.

If he will have discussions with Royal Mail to encourage timely deliveries in Birmingham.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.In November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail's performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and implement a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.

Whether any agreements have been entered into under Section 13 of the Railways Act 2005 since the passage of that Act; and whether any such agreements are currently in force.

The Department does not have a record of any agreements under Section 13 of the Railways Act 2005 since its passage. Agreements can be made with the Secretary of State or a franchise operator. There are no agreements currently in force through this provision.

Media and Sport, what payments were made by Historic England to local authorities in the West Midlands in each of the last ten years by (a) type of payment and (b) local authority.

In 2016/17, no funding was given to local authorities within the West Midlands.In 2017/18, a regional grant of £105,582 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.In 2018/19, a regional grant of £272,311 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.In 2019/20, 2 regional grants: £272,311 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £6,326 given to Coventry Local Authority.In 2020/21, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £166,904 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £165,609 given to Coventry Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £24,111 to Dudley Local Authority and £18,489 given to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2021/22, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £310,829 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £55,760 given to Dudley Local Authority. A Covid-19 Recovery Fund grant of £100,000 was given to Birmingham Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £607,858 to Dudley Local Authority and £563,849 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2022/23, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £20,034 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £9,840 to Dudley Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants given: £467,760 to Dudley Local Authority and £441,569 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2023/24, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £7,180 given to Coventry Local Authority and £55,240 to Sandwell Local Authority. 3 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £534,000 to Coventry Local Authority, £942,271 to Dudley Local Authority, and £582,332 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2024/25, 2 regional grants: £177,302 to Coventry Local Authority and £67,708 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2025/26, 2 grants were administered. One regional grant of £50,150 was given to Coventry Local Authority. One Heritage at Risk Capital Fund grant of £200,000 was given to Sandwell Local Authority.

Media and Sport, what the funding allocation is for the Midlands Regional Office of Historic England for the (a) 2025-2026 financial year and (b) 2026-2027 financial year.

DCMS funding allocation is given to Historic England, it is then an operational decision for them how much funding is allocated to each region. Historic England have confirmed that, for 2025/26 the Midlands region operation budget is £2,507,700. The funding allocation for 26/27 is not yet determined.

What agreements are in force under section 20 of the Transport Act 1968.

There are currently no agreements in force under section 20 of the Transport Act 1968.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency has undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of Revaluation 2026 on the profit margins of public houses.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to UIN 101363.

Whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of measures in the Rhode Island Latex Gloves Safety Act 2024 to help prevent latex allergy harm in England.

The Department is working closely with a range of stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, and patient representative groups to consider how allergy care and support could be improved.The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy met most recently on 3 December and continues to bring together key stakeholders to inform policymaking and identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies.In terms of the use of gloves for medical purposes, the NHS purchases examination and surgical gloves through NHS Supply Chain’s two national frameworks and, ultimately, it is the choice of NHS trusts which gloves they wish to procure. Regarding examination gloves, latex was once the most commonly used glove, but nitrile, latex-free, gloves are now the most common choice. There are also ‘specialist examination gloves’ available, which aim to provide a reduction in allergy irritation.Surgical glove purchase decisions are generally more clinically lead, and the choice of manufacturer and glove is usually made by the surgeon or consultant. There are latex and latex-free options available via the Surgical Glove Framework.

What recent assessment Network Rail has made of the potential impact of (a) the reopening of the Camp Hill Line and (b) the May 2026 timetable change on capacity constraints at Birmingham New Street.

West Midlands Combined Authority produced a Full Business Case for delivery of Moseley, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road stations on the Camp Hill line. The stations facilitate a range of transformational benefits to the region including job creation, new supply chains, economic growth, and decarbonisation by moving passengers from road to rail. The services for the new stations have been agreed via the usual Network Change process to ensure all stations affected, including Birmingham New Street, meet regulatory compliance requirements.

How many assaults by prisoners on (a) prison officers and (b) other prison staff were recorded at HMP Hewell in each of the last five years.

Please see the attached table showing the number of incidents of assault on (a) prison officers and (b) other prison staff at HMP Hewell in each of the last five years, and accompanying notes.

What the employee (a) vacancy and (b) turnover rates were at HMP Hewell in each of the last five years by (i) prison staff and (ii) prison officers.

The latest published workforce statistics for HM Prison & Probation Service cover the period up to 30 September 2025 and contain figures for the last five years for working days lost, average staff and average working days lost for each public sector prison and for different grades, but not by prison and grade combined. The published figures are for the 12 months to 31 March each year and latest figures are for the 12 months to 30 September 2025. These figures for HMP Hewell, split by band 3-5 prison officers and other prison staff, are given in the table below.Working days lost to sickness absence, for HMP Hewell, by band 3-5 prison officers and other staff – for 12 months to 31 March 2021 to 2025 and for 12 months to 30 September 2025.(Full Time Equivalent)12 months to given dateBand 3-5 prison officers1Other prison staffAll staff at HMP Hewell31-Mar-214,3442,1896,53231-Mar-224,3922,6777,06931-Mar-233,7062,1585,86431-Mar-243,8012,2666,06731-Mar-254,7012,1036,80330-Sep-2525,0732,7367,809 NotesBand 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.Figures relating to the most recent 12 months are provisional, and may be subject to change in the futureA comparison between target staffing levels and staff in post can be found in the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691da96221ef5aaa6543ef83/annex-prison-and-probation-officer-recruitment-Sep-2025_final.ods.Internal management information has long been used for workforce planning to monitor vacancies and other resource monitoring purposes. However, target staffing and parallel staff in post data has only been produced for the purpose of official statistics for the last few years. As a result, the full historic time series is not available in a consistent format for the grade breakdowns requested.Turnover rates1 at HMP Hewell for (i) band 3-5 officers2 and (ii) all other prison staff, in the 12 months to 31 March 2021-2025 and in the 12 months to 30 September 202512 months to given dateBand 3-5 prison officers (%)Other prison staff (%)All staff at HMP Hewell (%)31-Mar-2113.611.912.931-Mar-2214.49.812.631-Mar-2315.011.714.031-Mar-2414.28.011.631-Mar-2513.810.412.430-Sep-2514.68.912.2Notes:1. Turnover rates include all reasons for leaving and include both permanent and temporary staff. 2. Band 3-5 officers include: Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers3. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time and is dependent on staff completing the details correctly. The database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, or are incorrect then these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate and may not match local data.Figures relating to the most recent 12 months are provisional, and may be subject to change in the future.

How many full-time equivalent days were lost to sickness absence at HMP Hewell in each of the last five years by (a) prison officers and (b) other prison staff.

The latest published workforce statistics for HM Prison & Probation Service cover the period up to 30 September 2025 and contain figures for the last five years for working days lost, average staff and average working days lost for each public sector prison and for different grades, but not by prison and grade combined. The published figures are for the 12 months to 31 March each year and latest figures are for the 12 months to 30 September 2025. These figures for HMP Hewell, split by band 3-5 prison officers and other prison staff, are given in the table below.Working days lost to sickness absence, for HMP Hewell, by band 3-5 prison officers and other staff – for 12 months to 31 March 2021 to 2025 and for 12 months to 30 September 2025.(Full Time Equivalent)12 months to given dateBand 3-5 prison officers1Other prison staffAll staff at HMP Hewell31-Mar-214,3442,1896,53231-Mar-224,3922,6777,06931-Mar-233,7062,1585,86431-Mar-243,8012,2666,06731-Mar-254,7012,1036,80330-Sep-2525,0732,7367,809 NotesBand 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.Figures relating to the most recent 12 months are provisional, and may be subject to change in the futureA comparison between target staffing levels and staff in post can be found in the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691da96221ef5aaa6543ef83/annex-prison-and-probation-officer-recruitment-Sep-2025_final.ods.Internal management information has long been used for workforce planning to monitor vacancies and other resource monitoring purposes. However, target staffing and parallel staff in post data has only been produced for the purpose of official statistics for the last few years. As a result, the full historic time series is not available in a consistent format for the grade breakdowns requested.Turnover rates1 at HMP Hewell for (i) band 3-5 officers2 and (ii) all other prison staff, in the 12 months to 31 March 2021-2025 and in the 12 months to 30 September 202512 months to given dateBand 3-5 prison officers (%)Other prison staff (%)All staff at HMP Hewell (%)31-Mar-2113.611.912.931-Mar-2214.49.812.631-Mar-2315.011.714.031-Mar-2414.28.011.631-Mar-2513.810.412.430-Sep-2514.68.912.2Notes:1. Turnover rates include all reasons for leaving and include both permanent and temporary staff. 2. Band 3-5 officers include: Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers3. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time and is dependent on staff completing the details correctly. The database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, or are incorrect then these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate and may not match local data.Figures relating to the most recent 12 months are provisional, and may be subject to change in the future.

Innovation and Technology, whether the broadband provider BRSK has recently contacted her Department regarding a customer data breach.

BRSK has not recently contacted my department regarding a customer data breach. I understand BRSK has reported a data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).Under PECR, public electronic communications service providers are required to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the security of their services. They are required to notify the ICO of any personal data breach without undue delay, and where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of the breach.

What information her Department holds on the number of ticket sales for season tickets from (a) Longbridge, (b) Northfield and (c) Kings Norton to (i) Birmingham stations, (ii) Redditch and (iii) Bromsgrove in the 2024-2025 financial year.

The number of season tickets is shown below OriginDestinationNumber Of Season TicketsLongbridgeBirmingham stations1,369LongbridgeBromsgrove162LongbridgeRedditch216NorthfieldBirmingham stations2,001NorthfieldBromsgrove15NorthfieldRedditch93Kings NortonBirmingham stations3,446Kings NortonBromsgrove43Kings NortonRedditch149 The Birmingham stations group includes Birmingham Moor Street, Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.

What recent progress has been made on the determination of the future of Birmingham's PFI roads contract.

The Department has taken careful note of the High Court ruling relating to the previous Government’s decision not to support the PFI arrangements for Birmingham City Council’s highway maintenance services.The Department has subsequently conducted a consultation with the Council about the PFI contract and we have been carefully reviewing the Council’s detailed representations, with the Council’s support on clarification questions.We are continuing to engage with the Council on the PFI with a view to confirming the decision on whether or not to support the continuation of the PFI contract as soon as possible.I am committed to working together with Birmingham City Council to find a way forward which is in the best interests of the people of Birmingham and the taxpayer.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of replacing animal testing in the UK with Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs); and if this will be reflected in the upcoming strategy to phase out animal testing.

I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield to the answer of 01.12.2025 to Question 92600.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merit of redirecting existing funding and resources to support the transition to Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to support the phasing out of animal testing.

The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” is supported by new funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology including £30 million to set up a translational hub and £30 million for the UK centre for the validation of alternative methods. £11.4m has also been committed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK’s core budgets and £4.5m from the Wellcome Trust to support strategy implementation to build a world-class UK research system by enhancing investment.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to monitor and report on its progress towards phasing out animal testing; and whether industry stakeholders will be involved in assessing the effectiveness of the strategy once implemented.

We will establish governance structures to oversee strategy delivery, including a cross-governmental Ministerial group on alternative methods, chaired by the Science Minister, key performance indicators (KPIs) and a publicly available dashboard of progress against the strategy’s key deliverables. From 2026 we will also report biennially on updated research and development priorities, alternative methods accepted by regulatory agency and priorities for future development and validation. We will work closely with experts from across many fields including regulators, academics, industry and civil society organisations, to ensure that this strategy remains up to date, focused on the key issues and delivers on track.