Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has assessed trends in the level of child exploitation in Pakistan’s brick kiln sector.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given on 26 November to question 91957.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Russian mercenary groups operating in Mali on efforts to counter Islamist insurgencies; and what potential implications this has for the UK’s wider strategy towards countering Russian influence operations on the African continent.

The continued terrorist fuel blockade is deeply concerning for Mali, and for the wider region, and we condemn its impact on civilians. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Diop on 6 November, and the Minister for International Development and Africa spoke to him on 10 November, encouraging him to cooperate closely with all West African partners to address this shared challenge.The UK works with Malian institutions and society to address fragility and support regional stability. Last year, we invested over £35 million in Mali through our regional overseas development assistance programmes. This year, we plan to spend £170 million in the Sahel region, to address the drivers of conflict and provide humanitarian support.On 30 October, we advised British nationals to leave Mali urgently by commercial means. No British nationals have requested support during this period, but our consular assistance remains available around the clock, and we continue to update Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Travel Advice as necessary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has considered allowing British International Investment to borrow to invest.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 20 March to Question 38518.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve outcome-based reporting across official development assistance programmes.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the evidence provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to the inquiry by the International Development Committee into the FCDO's Approach to Value for Money in Official Development Assistance, published on 29 October, and available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/142772/default/.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of retail crime in the West Midlands; and what steps her Department is taking to support local police forces to help tackle (a) persistent and (b) organised shop theft.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. There were 33,363 shoplifting offences recorded by West Midlands police in the year ending June 2025, a 28% increase on the previous year. Nationally shop theft increased by 13% on the previous year. We are ensuring the right powers are in place. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Additionally, we are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders. Tackling retail crime requires a partnership approach between policing representatives and business. The previous Minister for Crime and Policing launched the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’, which was jointly developed by the police and industry and aims to provide a collaborative and evidence-based approach to preventing retail crime, including organised shop theft. The Police Funding Settlement of £200 million will support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood personnel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review aid spending channels to ensure a greater proportion reaches frontline, locally-led development organisations.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the evidence provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to the inquiry by the International Development Committee into the FCDO's Approach to Value for Money in Official Development Assistance, published on 29 October, and available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/142772/default/.

What steps she is taking to support local enforcement action against illegal off-road bikes and antisocial vehicle use in the West Midlands.

Tackling criminality and anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles used for anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing the vehicles.The Government has also consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose in quicker time of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially and ridden without insurance or a driving licence.Combined, these actions will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and to communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of discharges late on Friday evenings on the safeguarding and wellbeing of patients.

Every acute hospital has access to a multi-disciplinary care transfer hub, where National Health Service and social care professionals manage discharges and arrange appropriate support packages for patients, so they receive the services they need upon their discharge. As set out in the statutory guidance on hospital discharge and community support, these teams should ensure that any safeguarding concerns have been considered alongside other support needs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Child Nutrition Fund on nutrition outcomes for women, children and new-borns in Nigeria.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer she was provided on 14 March in response to Question 35278.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support high street revitalisation in places such as Aldridge and Brownhills; and what funding streams are available for local regeneration projects.

Government’s commitment to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) area involves a Devolution Deal which provides more funding, a single departmental-style budget, and new powers over transport, skills, and housing. This approach gives the mayor and local leaders more control to invest in local priorities and deliver economic growth and regeneration as set out in the recently publish West Midlands Plan for Growth. In addition, in 2024 the Government introduced High Street Rental Auctions, giving local authorities the power to bring long-vacant commercial properties back into use. Councils can auction rental rights for properties empty for at least 366 days within two years, aiming to revitalise high streets. Landlords have eight weeks to secure a tenant after notice; if unsuccessful, the property can be auctioned, with the new tenant restricted to the “high street use” set by the authority.

Communities and Local Government, how the Infrastructure Levy will operate in metropolitan boroughs; and what the projected levy income for the West Midlands is over the next five years.

The government has made clear that it does not intend to commence the Infrastructure Levy provisions from the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of rail freight crime; and what steps her department is taking to reduce those levels.

The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales. The BTP work proactively with Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) to identify trends, advise on crime prevention and work to identify and arrest any offenders when crime is reported. BTP hold a 4-weekly Freight Working Group which is open to all freight operators. For 2025/26 year to date, BTP recorded 48 crimes across all FOCs, the majority of which relate to graffiti.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that nutrition objectives are systematically integrated within women and girls’ programmes.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 November to Question 89032.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Mali following reports of Jamat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin encircling Bamako and imposing a fuel blockade; and what steps she is taking to ensure the safety and departure of British nationals to leave the country.

The continued terrorist fuel blockade is deeply concerning for Mali, and for the wider region, and we condemn its impact on civilians. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Diop on 6 November, and the Minister for International Development and Africa spoke to him on 10 November, encouraging him to cooperate closely with all West African partners to address this shared challenge.The UK works with Malian institutions and society to address fragility and support regional stability. Last year, we invested over £35 million in Mali through our regional overseas development assistance programmes. This year, we plan to spend £170 million in the Sahel region, to address the drivers of conflict and provide humanitarian support.On 30 October, we advised British nationals to leave Mali urgently by commercial means. No British nationals have requested support during this period, but our consular assistance remains available around the clock, and we continue to update Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Travel Advice as necessary.

What steps he is taking to help prevent industrial action in the NHS.

In May, we accepted the independent pay review bodies’ headline pay recommendations, giving doctors and Agenda for Change staff, including nurses, an above inflation pay rise for the second year in a row.As well as awarding resident doctors in England a pay rise of 28.9% over the last three years, we have listened to their concerns about the state of their training and employment for resident doctors and made proposals to tackle this. We have been clear that we cannot go further on pay but we remain committed to finding a way to end their dispute.We continue to work in partnership with stakeholders, including trade unions and employers, to implement a suite of non-pay measures to improve working conditions such as tackling violence against National Health Service staff, improving career progression for nurses, and improving the process for exception reporting for resident doctors.Our 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will deliver change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, and more fulfilling roles.

What recent discussions she has had with West Midlands Rail Executive on improving rail connectivity between Walsall and Birmingham; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of restoring previous services levels.

The service between Walsall and Birmingham is operating with four trains per hour, which means that the previous service levels operating before Covid-19 have already been restored. These services operate with newly introduced Class 730 trains. The Department is working with West Midlands Rail Executive, Walsall Council and the railway industry regarding rail services in the wider Walsall Council area serving the new stations at Willenhall and Darlaston from next year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support global reform of multilateral health organisations referred to in Written Statement HCWS1043, made on 11 November 2025, including improving coordination between Gavi, the Global Fund and other global health institutions.

The UK is working with partners to drive reform of the multilateral system in line with the Lusaka Agenda, supporting countries to move along the path to self-sufficiency.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) support the work that the Global Fund and Gavi leadership are undertaking to drive greater impact, efficiencies and effectiveness at country level and to explore more structural options for collaboration in future.

What steps she is taking to support bus operators in the West Midlands to maintain service frequency on key local routes, including those serving Aldridge and surrounding communities.

The Government knows that reliable and frequent bus services are vital to providing access to services and keeping communities connected. The Government’s Bus Services Act 2025 puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England. As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 2025/26 and keep fares affordable. This includes £243 million for operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and BSOGPlus, and £712 million for local authorities. The BSOG helps operators to keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. Of the £712 million for local authorities, the West Midlands Combined Authority has been allocated £50 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including expanding services and improving frequency. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the Government confirmed additional funding per year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial resilience of metropolitan local authorities; and what steps his Department is taking to support councils implementing section 114 recovery plans.

The government is delivering a fairer system and realigning funding with need and deprivation through the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in a decade. These changes will not fix the challenges facing local government overnight. Reform will take time and we recognise the potential for continued instability as we work to fix the foundations of local government, but these proposals are a fundamental step to improving the sustainability of the sector in the years to come and will allow councils to focus on service delivery and transformation. Issuing a Section 114 notice is a local decision and one that government has no formal role in. However, the government has now confirmed in the policy statement published on 20 November that there will continue to be a framework in place to support local authorities in the most difficult financial positions and remains committed to working collaboratively with them to work towards financial sustainability.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of highways maintenance funding allocated to the West Midlands for 2025–26.

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is in receipt of £1.05bn of devolved City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27, and has been allocated £2.4bn of Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding for the period up until 2031/32. These funding settlements are for investment in the West Midlands local transport network including local highways maintenance. For 2025/26, the Department has allocated £1.6 billion in capital funding for local highways maintenance nationally, including a £500 million uplift compared to the previous year. 25% of this uplift is contingent on local authorities adhering to reporting requirements and demonstrating that they are following best practice in highways maintenance. WMCA are eligible to receive an additional £8.6 million from this additional funding. Decisions on how this funding is spent across the city region rests with the combined authority in line with local priorities.