Written questions by Mitchell.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote (a) Sutton Coldfield (b) the West Midlands as destinations for British holidaymakers.

DCMS recognises the contribution of the West Midlands, and the constituency of Sutton Coldfield, to the visitor economy. The region's attractions, from Sutton Park to the Black Country Living Museum, and its reputation in hosting major events, including the upcoming 2026 European Athletics Championships, all contribute to local job creation and economic growth.Screen tourism is also a powerful driver of the West Midlands' visitor economy, with major global hits such as Peaky Blinders providing invaluable global marketing for the destinations. To tap in to screen tourism, and drive more inbound visits across Britain, VisitBritain launched a global screen tourism campaign ‘’Starring Great Britain’’ in January 2025. The campaign uses the country's rich film and television history as a hook to inspire visitors to explore diverse and often rural destinations. The launch was supported by a wider advertising campaign across the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor markets including Australia, the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, France, Germany and the USA.The West Midlands is also represented in the joint industry and Government-led Visitor Economy Advisory Council, through membership of the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company. In this way the views of the West Midlands help to inform and shape Government policy and the forthcoming sector growth plan which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth. I work closely with the Mayor of the West Midlands and recently met with them to discuss tourism.

What support his Department is providing to NHS trusts to increase (a) crisis support services in the local community (b) mental health inpatient beds in the West Midlands.

Local integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning National Health Service mental health crisis services and mental health inpatient beds to meet the needs of people across the West Midlands. Nationally, progress has been achieved in building more robust crisis care pathways across all ages and in all regions, ensuring that people in a mental health crisis can receive the right care. This includes the introduction of the ‘mental health’ option for NHS 111 and the opening of new mental health crisis centres to provide accessible and responsive care for individuals in a mental health crisis. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our ambitions to go further by developing up to 85 dedicated mental health emergency departments so that patients get fast, same-day access to specialist support in an appropriate setting. This expansion builds on a number of early implementer sites that have been established in recent years by local health systems to provide a dedicated therapeutic alternative to emergency departments for individuals in a mental health crisis. The plan also sets out our plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a date has been set for her planned international summit on future of aid; and when she plans to announce her objectives for that summit.

The Government continues to work with our partners overseas and international organisations to support sustainable development across the world. We have set out intentions to host a Conference on the Future of Development in collaboration with partners and will set out details in due course.

What steps she is taking to reduce incidences of gun crime in (a) the Birmingham City Council area and (b) Sutton Coldfield.

The Government recognises the significant and long-lasting impact that incidents of gun crime can have both on victims and within the local community. That is why we are work with the police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to tackle the trafficking and misuse of firearms by criminals to preserve public safety. The recent shooting in Sutton Coldfield is the subject of an ongoing investigation, but we will not hesitate to take further action if found to be necessary.We are committed to delivering the Safer Streets mission to create a safer, fairer country for all. Incidents of gun crime are relatively rare in this country. The number of firearms offences has fallen by 16% in the 12 months to June 2025 to 5,053 offences, which is the lowest since 2015. Working with the police and the NCA, we are committed to ensuring that we have the right laws, intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities to tackle the threat posed by the unlawful possession of firearms.This includes recent and ongoing multi-agency action to target the importation and supply of imitation firearms that can be readily converted by criminals to fire live ammunition, which has seen significant numbers of these guns removed from circulation, helping to ensure the safety of all of our communities, including in the West Midlands.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the retention of (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

This government is committed to re-establishing teaching as an attractive profession, which is why the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September 2025, on top of a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a near 10% pay award since this government came to power.The department also announced targeted retention payments worth up to £6,000, with eligible teachers of chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics in The Royal Sutton School in Sutton Coldfield constituency qualifying for these.To further boost retention, the department worked with the sector to develop the ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, which contains a range of supportive resources for schools to review and reduce workload, and improve staff wellbeing.The education staff wellbeing charter, which sets out commitments from government, schools and colleges to improve staff wellbeing and workload, has over 4,200 signatories, including two schools in Sutton Coldfield.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of nursery availability on parents' ability to return to work in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is an additional £2 billion compared to 2024/25, saving eligible families who use their full entitlement £7,500 a year on average.The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life. The first phase of the programme is creating up to 6,000 new nursery places, with schools reporting over 5,000 have been made available in September 2025.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

What recent steps his Department has taken to support small businesses in the retail sector in the West Midlands.

We’re creating a fairer business rates system that protects small retailers, including introducing permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value. The government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year. Our recently announced Small Business Plan aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to enable small businesses, including retailers, grow and thrive. The West Midlands Growth Hub is where small and medium businesses in the West Midlands can benefit from specialist business advice on how to grow, access new markets and receive government support.

What steps he is taking to improve the health outcomes of veterans in the West Midlands.

As well as being able to access all National Health Services across the United Kingdom, NHS England has introduced several bespoke services to improve the healthcare support available to veterans. These are: Op RESTORE which supports veterans with service-related physical health problems; Op COURAGE which supports veterans with a mental health pathway; and Op NOVA which supports veterans in the justice system.In addition, the veteran-aware trust and the veteran-friendly accreditation schemes raise awareness amongst healthcare professionals of the specific needs of veterans. These schemes provide support to ensure appropriate signposting and referrals to relevant veteran and wider services within the NHS. All trusts in the West Midlands have been accredited as veteran aware and all primary care networks in the West Midlands have at least one accredited practice.In May 2025, a national training and education plan was announced to help veterans benefit from improved and targeted healthcare. NHS staff across England will receive dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds. This will be rolled out across the NHS from November 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to sanction (a) General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and (b) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo; and whether she plans to request that the International Criminal Court issue an international arrest warrant for them.

Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the parties involved in the conflict: five entities linked with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and four entities linked with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). These sanctions were designed to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK also supported the imposition of UN sanctions on two RSF generals for their crimes against civilians in Darfur in November 2024.We do not speculate on future designations as it would undermine their effectiveness. The UK strongly supports the International Criminal Court's (ICC) active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023. The Prosecutor of the ICC is independent, but we welcome the conviction on 6 October of former Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb for war crimes and crimes against humanity, carried out in Darfur between 2003-2004. This is a victory for accountability and shows that justice can be served no matter how many years ago the crimes took place.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made in helping to tackle (a) TB (b) HIV/Aids and (c) Malaria.

The Government remains committed to work to meet Sustainable Development target 3.3, including to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and supports several of the organisations at the forefront of the response including the Global Fund, Gavi, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the Stop TB Partnership, UNAIDS and WHO.For example, in 2024, through our support to the Global Fund - whose Eighth Replenishment we are proud to be co-hosting with South Africa - 25.6 million people are on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, 7.4 million people were treated for TB, and 162 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were distributed.We are also encouraged by the recent steps towards expanding access to lenacapavir as a key HIV prevention tool, thanks to effective coordination across UK-supported partners including the Global Fund, Unitaid and CHAI.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 20 October 2025 to Questions (a) 81257 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty and (b) 81258 on St Helena: British Nationals Abroad, what steps she is taking to implement (i) the commitment that entitled pensioners residing in St Helena receive unfrozen benefits from April and (ii) other provisions in the British Indian Ocean Territory Partnership Agreement, signed in October 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is working together with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to address the complex considerations concerning the unfreezing of pensions for St Helena. I have recently met ministerial colleagues to discuss this issue again, and look forward to meeting the new Chief Minister soon to update them. We will update on progress in the usual way in due course.

What the average length of time is between receiving an expression of interest and receiving a formal application and the start of a training programme for a new recruit in the (a) Army and (b) Army Reserve.

In the 12 months ending 1 July 2025, the average time taken between application and untrained entry for UK/Irish Regular Other Ranks was 249 days. In regard to the average time taken between application and untrained entry for the Army Reserve, this is information is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member with a response. Notes/caveats:The figures are for the Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves.Time of Flight is defined as the time passed in days between the date of application and the date of intake to the untrained strength.Average Time of Flight is expressed as the median number of days. That is, it is the middle value in the dataset when Time of Flight is put in ascending order e.g. half of those that entered the Regular Other Ranks did so in 249 and half took longer.Application data is taken from the Defence Recruitment System and matched to intake data from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system and should reflect time to entry.Army figures differ from Recruiting Group (RG) information reported elsewhere due to differing methodologies. The RG figures are intended to support operational decision-makers monitoring operational and pipeline performance.Applications from non-UK candidates are excluded, with Nationality as declared on JPA. Army figures include applications from Irish personnel but exclude applications from other countries and those applicants without a known nationality.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Minister of Saint Helena on the unfreezing of pension benefits for entitled residents.

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office officials are engaging closely with the new Government of St Helena on the issue of pensions, alongside other issues. I look forward to welcoming the new Chief Minister to the UK-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council in London in November 2025, and discussing our priorities for the partnership between the United Kingdom and St Helena.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the full implementation of the British Indian Ocean Territory Partnership Agreement, signed in October 2024.

Further to the October 2024 Political Agreement, the UK/Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia was signed on 22 May. The UK is working closely with the US and Mauritius on the arrangements to implement this treaty.An implementation Bill - 'The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill', has been introduced and is progressing through Parliament in the usual way.

What discussions she has had with (a) West Midlands Police and (b) Birmingham City Council on the forthcoming Road Safety Strategy.

The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department regularly engages with the police and local authorities. With regards to the West Midlands, my officials have held conversations with Transport for the West Midlands and the West Midlands Road Safety Commissioner. More details on the Road Safety Strategy will be set out in due course.

What assessment she has made of the prevalence of speeding in the West Midlands.

The Department for Transport has not conducted a specific assessment of prevalence of speeding in the West Midlands. The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance on setting local speed limits. This is designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set, whilst allowing for flexibility to deal with local needs and circumstances. The guidance can be viewed at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-local-speed-limits.

What steps her Department is taking to support public awareness campaigns aimed at improving road safety in the West Midlands.

THINK! is the Government’s flagship road safety campaign, which aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads. It targets those most at risk, particularly male drivers aged 17–24, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. Recent campaigns have addressed drink driving and speeding, with paid media activity delivered nationally, including in the West Midlands. The Department also provides toolkits, creative assets, and guidance to help local authorities deliver tailored road safety messaging. This has included working closely with West Mercia Police to extend the reach of the campaign in the region through campaign messaging on ad vans and distribution of posters and beermats to bars and pubs. All departmental campaigns will continue to target the West Midlands as part of national behaviour change efforts.

How much funding has been allocated from the Active Travel England fund to local authorities in the West Midlands.

From 2020/21 to 2025/26, Active Travel England has allocated a total of £101,488,475 to the West Midlands. Funding from 2025/26 for the combined authority has been provided through the Integrated Settlement.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle harm to pollinators in the West Midlands.

Pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production. Following the conclusion of our National Pollinator Strategy in 2024, we will be designing and delivering a refreshed Pollinator Action Plan, that sits underneath our broader Environmental Improvement Plan. This will set out key actions for pollinators across every area in England, including the West Midlands.

What steps she is taking to reduce educational inequalities for secondary school pupils in the West Midlands.

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter where they are from. However, the government knows educational inequalities exist at every phase of education across the country. This is not acceptable in the West Midlands, or nationally.Through our Plan for Change, we are tackling these inequalities and have set a milestone of a 75% of 5 year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028. The department will invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to raise quality, close gaps, and break down barriers to opportunity for every child.We are also rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded primary school, expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit from September 2026 and have delivered record increases to the early years pupil premium.This is alongside our work to drive high and rising standards in every school, including new regional improvement in standards and excellence teams, the Curriculum and Assessment Review and our commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges.