Written questions by Mitchell.

What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure energy security in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

The Government is strengthening energy security by reducing dependency on volatile global fossil fuel markets and delivering a diverse, secure and clean energy system based on renewables and nuclear, backed up by a strategic reserve of gas supply to be used only when essential, which will benefit the country and the Hon. Member’s constituency. For further detail I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 March to Question UIN 113858.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the level of Official Development Assistance funding on the Global Health Partnerships scheme.

The UK should be proud of the progress made in international development this century. But the world has changed, and so must we. With less money, we must make choices and focus on greater impactThe Global Health Workforce Programme, led by the Department of Health and Social Care and delivered by organisations including Global Health Partnerships, is closing at the end of March 2026.Efforts are being made with delivery partners to ensure the sustainability of projects beyond the programme’s lifetime.We remain committed to international development and will continue to support countries to build resilient, sustainable health systems.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help support the wild bird population in the West Midlands.

We are committed to delivering our statutory biodiversity targets which will support the recovery and conservation of wild bird populations. At a local level Defra Group has supported the West Midlands Combined Authority to prepare their Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which was published in October 2025. It sets nature recovery priorities and maps specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species including wild birds. Nationally, Government actions to restore and create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042, along with projects funded through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, will support the conservation and recovery of a wide range of bird species. Within the farmland environment, Environment Land Management schemes include actions that provide food, shelter, and nesting habitat for a range of bird species. In addition, to support delivery of our statutory species targets, Defra is developing a detailed Threatened Bird Recovery Plan which aims to improve the coordination and drive the delivery of actions to recover our most threatened bird species.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle cyber crime targeting older people in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

The Home Office directly funds a national to local network of specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime and support local communities. This network includes funding, in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner, for a Local Cyber Crime Unit (LCCU) in West Midlands Police force.The LCCU force PROTECT Officers provide localised support and advice to help individuals to improve their cyber security. Their work involves regularly delivering events for community, charity and faith groups with specific engagement with the elderly, including sessions on raising awareness on cyber crime and fraud, such as how to create strong passwords, how to spot phishing emails and fraudulent calls.The Home Office also funds the Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) across England and Wales who are set up tackle cyber crime and the harm it causes citizens in the UK. Officers in the West Midlands RCCU work with local authorities and the NHS to train partners to spot the signs of people who may have been impacted by, or be a victim of, cyber crime.Additionally, the City of London police and the National Cyber Security Centre co-ordinate campaigns that aim to target vulnerable people on how to protect themselves from both cyber crime and fraud, which has included work with AgeUK to help educate and support older people to stay secure online.This government takes cyber crime extremely seriously and will continue to take the necessary steps to protect the public and support victims.

What discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police about increasing officer numbers serving the rail network in the West Midlands.

The British Transport Police has recently been given an increased budget - a 15% rise with an increase of £63 million over the three-year settlement, which will see over 200 additional officers over two years, improving coverage at key hubs across England, Scotland and Wales including the West Midlands. The West Midlands is covered by BTP’s C division, which currently has 700 officers. This will be further bolstered by BTP’s new officer intakes once they’ve completed their initial training.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that eligible women take up breast cancer screening in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

Through our National Health Service screening programmes, we can reduce mortality and morbidity from cancer in the population who appear healthy and have no symptoms, by detecting conditions at an earlier, more treatable stage. Each year, over 15 million people are invited for screening, with over 10 million taking up the invitation.In Birmingham and Solihull, between 2022/23 and 2023/24 there has been an improvement of 4.93% in breast cancer screening uptake in 53 to 70 year old people.In Sutton Coldfield, the breast screening is offered to all eligible cohorts in line with service specifications of the NHS Breast Screening Programme. In this constituency, uptake and coverage are stable and constituents can access screening at both static and mobile facilities. There is a dedicated focus on reducing health inequalities, supporting access, and informing eligible patients to actively take up their screening appointment and offer.The breast screening service in Sutton Coldfield is currently undertaking a targeted text messaging initiative targeting eligible patients that have not attended their screening invitation. This includes the offer to rebook their screening appointment and a link to bilingual breast screening videos to support education and awareness. A follow-up text message survey is also being used to explore barriers to attendance and motivating factors, with insights informing ongoing service development.Other initiatives to increase uptake in the area include:a dedicated general practice toolkit to support and inform health promotion messaging;a breast screening resource pack for care homes to support staff in promoting screening awareness and facilitating uptake amongst eligible residents; anda cancer bus initiative promoting a range of services including breast cancer screening.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he had had with Birmingham City Council on their best value duty.

My department regularly engages with Birmingham City Council as is normal for all Councils under intervention. The Secretary of State receives regular reports from Commissioners outlining the progress made by the Council in complying with the Best Value Duty. The most recent report was the third to be published and it was added to gov.uk on 1 December 2025 alongside a Written Ministerial Statement. Commissioners were appointed on 5 October 2023 following serious financial and governance failings and they are working with Birmingham City Council on its wider improvement journey to ensure the Council complies with the Best Value Duty.

What steps he is taking to help ensure eligible men take up prostate cancer screening in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

There is currently no national prostate cancer screening programme. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and supports implementation. They recently closed a consultation on their draft recommendation to:offer a targeted national prostate cancer screening programme to men with confirmed BRCA1/2 gene variants every two years, from 45 years old to 61 years old;not recommend population screening;not recommend targeted screening of black men;not recommend targeted screening of men with family history; andcollaborate with the Transform trial team to answer outstanding questions on screening effectiveness for black men and men with a family history as soon as the trial data becomes available, and to await the results of the study to develop and trial a more accurate test than the prostate specific antigen test alone, to improve the balance of benefit and harm of screening.The evidence that supports this draft recommendation can be found on the UK NSC prostate cancer recommendation page, at the following link:https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/28/uk-nsc-opens-consultation-on-draft-prostate-cancer-screening-recommendation/

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department will provide £50 million per year, for the next two years, to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The UK is a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. This has enabled GPEI to reduce wild poliovirus cases by over 99 per cent. The UK is also the largest sovereign donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, investing £1.25 billion for 2026 - 2030 that will support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of an essential package of childhood immunisation.2026 Official Development Assistance budget allocations will be set out in the coming months, and we will confirm details of that planned announcement in the normal way in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to work with NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB to reduce the number of patients that are waiting an extended period for a wheelchair.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population.NHS England supports ICBs to reduce variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhse-national-wheelchair-data-collection/q2-2025-26The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people and adult waiting times under the ‘Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment’ line. The Community Health Services Situation Report is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, published October 2025, requires that, from 2026/27, all ICBs and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.Birmingham and Solihull ICB providers are working towards reducing waiting times in line with the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. In Birmingham in December 2025, equipment handovers were completed within the 18-week target for 42.9% of children and 71.9% of adults.

What steps he is taking to support young people to pursue careers in tech start ups in the Midlands.

The Government is taking a range of steps to increase awareness among young people in the Midlands about the diverse and rewarding career opportunities available in the tech sector. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has developed partnerships with local colleges to provide routes into digital content creation, social media, and other in-demand skills. We are working closely with the region’s four main universities through initiatives such as the Graduate Retune and HLSM+, offering tailored employability support, sector workshops and paid placements with local businesses. The East and West Midlands Combined Authorities are two of eight areas delivering Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These Trailblazers are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes specialist digital boot camps delivered by providers such as Generation UK, Althaus and Birmingham Open Media. The Trailblazers will provide learning to inform the role of local areas in delivering the Youth Guarantee in the future. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched TechFirst, an £187 million programme designed to build the tech skills pipeline and drive local growth. TechFirst has also launched TechLocal to address the challenges SMEs and start-ups face in investing in early-stage career roles. By funding innovation in local recruitment, TechLocal will connect young people in the Midlands directly to the region's growing frontier technology sectors. Further details of the grant competition can be found at TechLocal - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 98739 on Biodiversity and Pollution: Sutton Park, what discussions she has had with Birmingham City Council on additional funds to support (a) biodiversity and (b) reducing pollution in Sutton Park since that Council issued a Section 114 notice in September 2023.

Natural England has discussed the following options for funding with Birmingham City Council to support biodiversity and pollution reduction; Severn Trent Water’s 5-year funded Asset Management Programme, future utilisation of agri-environment scheme funding, options for council designed and implemented ‘developer funded’ scheme, and the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC) Programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 98739 on Biodiversity and Pollution: Sutton Park, how many meetings have taken place between Natural England and Birmingham City Council on the decline in the condition of the park’s woodland and heathland habitats since 1 January 2024.

Natural England has had 12 face to face meetings since 1 January 2024 with Birmingham City Council, with ongoing dialogue in between meetings. Natural England would be happy to meet with the Rt Hon Member and discuss.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to question 57617 on Zimbabwe: Commonwealth, what recent steps she has taken to support a further Commonwealth assessment mission.

The timing of any Commonwealth assessment mission is for the Secretary General and the Government of Zimbabwe to agree. Given the time passed since their last reports, we would welcome a Commonwealth assessment mission returning to Zimbabwe to follow up on its recommendations from its last visit and the subsequent election observation report.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve the availability of clinical trials for dementia patients.

Government responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.DHSC is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with dementia, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.DHSC funds research and research infrastructure through the NIHR which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into dementiaAs an example, DHSC, via the NIHR, is investing nearly £50 million into the Dementia Trials Network, a coordinated network of trial sites across the United Kingdom, which will offer people with dementia the opportunity to take part in early phase clinical trials irrespective of where they live. This is complemented by the £20 million Dementia Trials Accelerator, designed to position the United Kingdom as the destination of choice for late phase clinical trials in dementia and neurodegenerative diseases.The NIHR also funds research infrastructure which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including research on dementia. For example, the aim of the University College London Hospitals’ Biomedical Research Centre’s dementia theme is to develop novel treatments through precision medicine.In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Alzheimer Scotland, the NIHR also delivers Join Dementia Research, an online platform which enables the involvement of people with and without a dementia diagnosis, as well as carers, to take part in a range of important research, including studies evaluating potential treatments for dementia.The NIHR also provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies, including those with dementia, and register their interest.The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, with up to £150 million expected to be allocated to, or aligned with it, aims to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia and neurodegenerative conditions by accelerating innovations in biomarkers, clinical trials, and implementation.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of young people entering the building and construction sector in the West Midlands.

The Government has also been working closely with the Mayor of the West Midlands and local authority leaders on a new £75 million construction skills package over the next three years to help meet rising sector demand. Alongside this, the Secretary of State is supporting the continuation of the successful Construction Gateway programme, new activity linked to the Construction Technical Excellence College led by Dudley College and wider skills initiatives delivered through the West Midlands Combined Authority and regional leaders as part of the West Midlands Works programme. In the West Midlands, the DWP is undertaking a wide range of activity to help young people move into the building and construction sector. This includes Crown Rail’s Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) which upskill young people for track‑rail roles that link into construction and infrastructure as well as ongoing collaboration with West Midlands-based construction employers on mentoring circles, work experience, apprenticeships and large‑scale initiatives such as the HS2 Hub and the Sports Quarter development. More generally, this Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Further details of the announcement can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-12-08/hcws1137

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her counterparts in the Commonwealth to help support Zimbabwe rejoin the Commonwealth.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer he received on 23 June 2025 in response to Question 57617. We will update the House if there are any new developments.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 98739 on Biodiversity and Pollution: Sutton Park, whether additional monitoring is in place to ensure that the recommendations from Natural England and the Forestry Commission are being implemented.

Natural England is in regular dialogue with Birmingham City Council, Severn Trent Water and other partners to review progress with the implementation of its recommendations relating to the condition of Sutton Park SSSI. This is in addition to its condition assessment programme, which monitors the status of the site’s habitat features. Natural England officials would be happy to offer a meeting with the Rt Hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield to discuss Sutton Park SSSI, its management, and the pressures affecting its condition in more detail, should that be helpful. The approved woodland management plan for Sutton Park includes the requirement for the author of the plan to review progress against site objectives after five years, including objectives to support the recovery and resilience of the woodlands. In addition, the Forestry Commission operate a risk-based inspection regime of approved management plans, which considers the scale and environmental sensitivity of woodland sites. Under this approach, sites such as Sutton Park are more likely to be selected for inspection.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 98739 on Biodiversity and Pollution: Sutton Park, what housing developments in the vicinity of Sutton Park have been discussed between DEFRA officials and Birmingham City Council.

I am not aware of discussions between Defra officials and Birmingham City Council.

If she will take steps to provide further (a) financial and (b) other support to the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership in the West Midlands.

The department continues to work closely with The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership to ensure rapid and sustained improvement across its schools. This includes weekly meetings focused on stabilising learning and supporting both staff and pupils across the trust. Leadership and governance at the trust have been significantly strengthened, with changes to both its executive team and board, helping to ensure the capability and capacity to drive the necessary improvements. The department will continue to monitor progress closely and provide support to secure financial sustainability and high‑quality education for all pupils within the trust. The government is delivering on its manifesto commitment by legislating to introduce Ofsted inspection of academy trusts, and related intervention powers for the department. Trust inspection will help drive better outcomes for children and provide greater confidence for parents.