Written questions by Morton.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding from her Department to recruit 13,000 neighbourhood police officers by 2029.

We have made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood personnel.This major investment, alongside £66 million for hotspot policing, supports the commitment to make the country’s streets safer.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 53867 on Innovation: Aldridge-Brownhills, what the names are of the (a) members and (b) local (i) leaders, (ii) research organisations and (iii) industry that comprise the local partnership.

The West Midlands Innovation Board is responsible for developing, coordinating and supporting the delivery of plans for the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator pilot. A full list of the board’s members and observers can be found on the West Midlands Combined Authority website: https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/economy-and-innovation/west-midlands-innovation/west-midlands-innovation-board/. I encourage you to reach out to the West Midlands Combined Authority directly with any further questions about its governance arrangements.

What guidance her Department plans to issue to Local Transport Authorities on (a) identifying and (b) protecting socially necessary bus services under enhanced partnership provisions in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

The Department has been engaging with local transport authorities and other stakeholders to develop the relevant guidance for this measure. This will include information on identifying socially necessary local services and provide examples of the options local transport authorities can consider when implementing it. The guidance will be published once the Bill receives Royal Assent and as part of a wider update to guidance for Enhanced Partnerships.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 56248 on Neighbourhood Policing: Aldridge-Brownhills, on how many occasions she has met the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss local policing numbers.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has met with the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention to discuss local policing numbers and has also attended meetings chaired by the Minister along with other PCCs to discuss delivery on a broader scale.The Government is committed to delivering the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and investing £200 million to kick start the process of putting an extra 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles to ensure policing visibility in every community and deter, prevent and respond to crime.West Midlands Police has been allocated £12,210,903 from the £200 million fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, the projected growth for West Midlands Police over 2025/26 will be 289 police officers (FTE) and 20 Police Community Support Officers (FTE).

What assessment she has made of the capacity of Local Transport Authorities to implement the new bylaw-making and enforcement powers introduced in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

The Department introduced the byelaws measure into the Bus Services (No.2) Bill following engagement with Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and will continue to draw on their expertise to shape subsequent guidance after the Bill receives Royal Assent.The byelaws provisions aim to reduce administrative burdens on LTAs, give them greater flexibility and make it easier for LTAs to prevent behaviours such as vaping, smoking, causing a nuisance, and obstructing services.The Bill aligns powers on buses with those already in place for light and heavy rail, enabling LTAs to authorise their officers to enforce these rules directly.

What support her Department plans to provide to Local Transport Authorities for the delivery of mandatory bus staff training on (a) disability assistance and (b) the management of anti-social behaviour.

The Department is clear that high-quality staff training is essential to providing bus services that are accessible, inclusive, and safe for all passengers. The new statutory training requirements being introduced through the Bus Services (No.2) Bill will place duties on operators and, where relevant terminal managing bodies, so that relevant staff receive training on disability awareness and assistance and on how to recognise and respond appropriately to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour (ASB).Local Transport Authorities (LTAs), working with operators, will have an important role in making sure these requirements are adopted. At the same time, the Department recognises that training needs to meet a consistently high standard and demonstrably improve outcomes for disabled people, women, girls and other passengers.The Department already provides some support through its own REAL (Respect, Empathise, Ask, Listen) disability equality training package, which aims to help make travel inclusive and accessible for everyone using public transport. The training is intended to support staff training within each transport mode, including buses, and remains available.In response to the Transport Select Committee's recent report, Access Denied, the Department committed to reviewing training provision standards. The outcomes of this work will support LTAs and operators to help to establish clear expectations and standards for staff training, so that training translates into real improvements in passenger experience.In relation to ASB, the government will issue statutory guidance setting out what training should cover, for example incidences of violence against women and girls. Such training will have to be undertaken at least every five years.Improvements to staff training and awareness comes on the back of future investment in local services across the country, with confirmation of £712 million for 25/26 allocated to local authorities, including funding to help them implement their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP). The Department’s guidance to LTAs on producing their BSIPs makes clear that these should be designed to help make bus services more accessible and inclusive.

What steps her Department is taking to provide information on vocational pathways to young people in the same way as information on university pathways.

The department has legislated to ensure that young people are supported to develop the knowledge and understanding of all pathways at key transition points. Schools have a legal duty to provide at least six opportunities for all pupils, during school years 8 to 13, to meet providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.A range of digital and in-person support is also available through the Apprenticeship and T Levels Ambassador networks and the Skills for Careers apprenticeships support page. The page can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/apprenticeships.We fund the Careers and Enterprise Company to oversee a national network of 44 careers hubs that bring together schools, colleges and employers to improve the quality of careers programmes for young people. Over 400 leading employers and 3,700 business volunteers inspire young people about a range of exciting career opportunities, including the vocational and academic pathways into their sectors.Careers hubs use data and frontline insight to support conversations about barriers to take up of technical and vocational pathways. Local partners devise solutions to meet local needs.

Whether her Department plans to provide capital or transition funding to Local Transport Authorities to support fleet conversion.

The government is reducing the number of different funding streams paid to Local Trasport Authorities. Major city regions will benefit from the £15.6bn Transport for Cities fund while our smaller cities, towns and rural areas will receive £2.3bn from the Local Transport Grant and over £800m capital funding. Local leaders can use this funding to invest in local prioritises, such as investment in bus priority or investment in new zero emission buses.

What steps she is taking to ensure (a) value for money and (b) public accountability where Local Transport Authorities choose to establish municipally owned bus operators under the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

Repealing the ban on establishing new local authority bus companies (LABCos) will give local leaders the freedom and flexibility to establish a bus company that matches the needs of their passengers, their aims and ambitions for the network, and the available funding.The decision to establish a LABCo should be underpinned by a thorough assessment of value for money, and a rigorous approach to financial and resourcing planning. The responsibility for monitoring investments, expenditure, accounting and auditing lies with the parent authority. There should be ongoing assessment of risks relating to the business, supported by processes to ensure that risks are managed as part of the authority’s overall risk management approach, with appropriate escalation and reporting.Local authorities cannot take on any borrowing unless it is affordable. This is a statutory requirement, and any local authority owned company should be self-financing at a minimum.LABCo operations and financial management are underpinned by statutory guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Detailed guidance on local authority company management and auditing is provided in the Local Authority Company Review Guidance, published by Government, and the Local Authority Good Practice Guide published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 53866 on Knives: Crime, if she will list the (a) names of members and (b) organisations they represent of the coalition to tackle knife crime.

The Coalition brings together a diverse range of stakeholders, including community leaders, campaigners, bereaved families, young people affected by knife crime, and subject matter experts, who contribute to shaping policy in key areas

With reference to the Spending Review 2025, CP 1336, published on 11 June 2025, whether he considered increasing revenue funding for end of life care as part of the Spending Review.

As part of the Spending Review, on 11 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a record investment in the health and social care system. Across the Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, the National Health Service in England will receive a 3% real terms growth in day-to-day spending, the equivalent to a £29 billion real terms increase in annual resource budgets.At this stage, it is still too early to say how much funding will be allocated to palliative care and end of life care, as this will be worked through in the coming weeks.The Government wants a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life, which is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.We are also working to make sure the palliative care and end of life care sector is sustainable in the long term and are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan.

Whether she is taking steps to improve the (a) HR and (b) strategy support provided by her Department to SMEs to help take on apprentices.

This government is continuing to cut red tape and simplify the apprenticeships system so that employers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can focus on supporting apprentices.The government has already introduced a range of system improvements in response to employer and learner needs, including a more streamlined and timely approach to apprenticeship assessment that is being rolled out. The department has also redesigned the digital apprenticeship service to make access to apprenticeships a one-click process. This reduces the time employers have to spend entering information and approving digital apprentice records, removing significant administrative burdens on SMEs.The department is also improving the apprenticeships payments system to reduce the actions required by employers. From August 2025, we will allow training providers to add new apprenticeships on the apprenticeship service. Employers will still have ownership and need to approve all new apprenticeships added.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle barriers to employers engaging with the (a) apprenticeship and (b) training system.

Our Industrial Strategy sets out the interventions we will make to help tackle barriers to employer engagement with the skills system. This includes introducing shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors, the introduction of short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, from April 2026, and three packages targeted at skills needed in multiple Industrial Strategy sectors (digital, engineering, and the defence sector), building on our £625 million construction skills package to train up to 60,000 extra construction workers – crucial for delivering on our pledge to build 1.5 million new homesThis investment will be underpinned by deeper employer partnerships including launching Technical Excellence Colleges to develop pipelines of skilled workers for local businesses.The Chair of Skills England, in partnership with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will explore how employers, individuals and local and central government work together to address national skills needs, to support jobs of the future in the growth-driving sectors, and in particular opportunities for further business engagement and investment into the skills pipeline.

What assessment her Department has made of the readiness of combined authorities to exercise new franchising powers under the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

We recognise the fundamental importance of building the capacity and capability of local transport authorities to drive improvements to bus services and exercise franchising powers if they wish.The Department is working with Local Transport Authorities who are in the process of or are interested in franchising, to understand how the process could be improved and to provide a tailored programme of support.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing government-backed insurance guarantees or reinsurance schemes to enable private insurers to underwrite commercial activity in Ukraine.

As referred to in the previous PQ regarding risk mitigation in the insurance industry, the UK Government has played a leading role in developing solutions that have helped to reopen and rebuild insurance markets in Ukraine. The UK provided a £20 million contribution to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to extend the level of political risk and violence insurance it can provide to investors with projects in Ukraine. Additionally, the UK has also provided £5m to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to develop a complementary initiative that will make war related loss and damage cover available to firms already based in Ukraine. While no formal assessment of the merits has been conducted, introducing government-backed insurance guarantees or reinsurance schemes could facilitate private insurers’ entry into commercial activities. Such initiatives would help identify regulatory barriers that limit market participation and enhance engagement among local businesses, financial institutions, and project sponsors.

What steps his Department is taking to support UK companies unable to secure insurance coverage for business operations in Ukraine.

My department works closely with businesses to understand the needs of UK companies wishing to operate in Ukraine. Support is available on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/support-for-uk-businesses-helping-to-rebuild-ukraine, which references potential options for insurance. UK Export Finance (UKEF) continues to provide risk insurance for UK exporters trading with Ukraine.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with (a) his international allied counterparts and (b) multilateral institutions to facilitate the availability of war-risk insurance for companies operating in Ukraine.

We have been working with the insurance industry, international partners and other government departments to lead international efforts on expanding the provision of insurance against war-related risks in Ukraine. Since the 2023 Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - alongside other international donors - has supported war risk insurance solutions through the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which international companies, including UK firms, can take advantage of.The UK provided £20 million to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) for a Ukraine Recovery focused Trust Fund to provide political risk insurance and trade guarantees for investments into Ukraine. The UK's contribution has galvanised other bilateral donors to contribute funding to scale up of this initiative to now over $115 million.In December 2024 the UK committed £5 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to establish a complementary war risk insurance initiative to cover in-land cargo in partnership with AON and MS Amlin.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 59009 on Railways: Midlands, whether the allocated funding is to support the full delivery of the West Midlands Rail Hub.

The Chancellor’s commitment to progress Midlands Rail Hub West in the 2025 Spending Review follows the release of £123 million last year to commence the design of this first phase of the scheme. Once this design work is completed, as with all schemes funded by the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP), moving to the delivery phase will then be subject to further investment governance and decision making.

What assessment he has made of the ability of (a) ceramics manufacturers and (b) other energy intensive industries to meet the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) participants, including those in energy intensive industries such as the ceramics sector, are provided with free allocations to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage and incentivise emissions reduction. The UK ETS Authority is reviewing Free Allocation policy to ensure it supports sectors most at risk of carbon leakage and has guaranteed current free allocation levels until 2027. The Authority commissioned an independent 2-stage evaluation of the scheme to provide evidence of its effectiveness, early outcomes and long-term impacts. The first findings of the evaluation, which include a preliminary assessment of carbon leakage and emissions reduction across the UK ETS, were published in December 2023.

What his Department's planned timetable is for publishing the outcome of the consultation entitled Extending the UK Emissions Trading Scheme cap beyond 2030, which closed on 9 April 2025.

The UK ETS Authority, the joint governance body comprising of the UK Government, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, is grateful for the range of stakeholder responses to the Extending the UK ETS cap beyond 2030 consultation. The Authority recognises the importance of providing certainty and clarity on the scheme that is a cornerstone of its economy-wide approach to decarbonising the whole of the UK. A response to the consultation, outlining the Authority’s decisions, will be published as soon as possible.