Written questions by Mitchell.

What steps he is taking to reduce accident and emergency waiting times in hospitals in the West Midlands.

The Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance has fallen short in recent years and is committed to restoring accident and emergency waiting times to the National Health Service constitutional standard across England, including in the West Midlands.Our Urgent and emergency care plan 2025/26 sets out a fundamental shift in the approach to urgent and emergency care. It will drive collaboration across the system to deliver improvements for patients this year and is backed by nearly £450 million of capital investment.Furthermore, our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will reduce waiting times in accident and emergency by shifting care into the community through new Neighbourhood Health Services, forming a key part of our mission to reform the NHS.

What steps he is taking to improve access to (a) autism and (b) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years, and that people are experiencing severe delays in accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for making appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to ADHD and autism assessments, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce to better understand the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected later in the year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.The NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB is working with regional and local partners, including Parent Carer Forums, to coproduce and redesign pathways of care to focus on addressing the health and social needs that arise in neurodiverse children, young people, and adults. The Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has also launched a 12-month pilot programme working with schools and community care providers to better support children, families, and professionals while they wait for autism assessments.

How many public electric vehicle charging points have been installed in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Sutton Coldfield constituency in the last 12 months.

Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, are sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. These statistics show when charging devices were added to the data source, which is not necessarily when they were installed. Between 1st April 2024 and 1st April 2025: 2,122 public charging devices were added to the network in the West Midlands region18 public charging devices were added to the network in the Sutton Coldfield parliamentary constituency

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with Birmingham City Council on the potential impact of proposed changes to green belt protections on (a) access to green space and (b) biodiversity.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear about the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural and environment Planning policies and decisions should contribute to, and enhance, the natural and local environment by minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures and incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats, and hedgehogs. The revised Framework published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that ‘Golden Rules’ should apply to major development including the provision of housing on land released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt subject to a planning application. These ‘Golden Rules’ include necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure. It is for local planning authorities to apply national policy when preparing local development plans or determining planning applications, including in relation to the Green Belt.

What steps he is taking to encourage business investment in (a) Sutton Coldfield constituency and (b) the West Midlands.

This department is taking significant steps to encourage business investment across the West Midlands, including Sutton Coldfield constituency. For 2025/26, we have committed £490,700 in core funding to Business Growth West Midlands through the West Midlands Combined Authority, providing tailored business support services including access to finance, export opportunities, and innovation support.In addition, UK businesses, including those in the West Midlands, can also access DBT's export support via Great.gov.uk, including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, International Markets network, and International Trade Advisers, to support their business growth.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for endometriosis treatment in the West Midlands.

As of the end of May 2025, the latest available data, the Gynaecology Service waiting list, which includes those waiting for endometriosis treatment, for the West Midlands stood at 64,594, with 52.1% of patient pathways within 18 weeks.As set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for endometriosis treatment, wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including in the West Midlands. We have supported this with additional investment in the Autumn Budget, which has allowed us to exceed our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 4.6 million additional appointments up to the end of April 2025.There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in the West Midlands, to reduce the time patients are waiting for gynaecological care. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts we will undertake to return to the 18-week standard, and to ensure patients have the best possible experience while they wait. This includes increasing the relative funding available to support gynaecology procedures, including for certain endometriosis pathways with the largest waiting lists, and reviewing support options from the independent sector.In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated its guidelines on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis, which will help women receive more timely care. This includes updated recommendations that for women with symptoms of endometriosis, initial pharmacological treatment should take place in primary care, and that this can take place in parallel with additional investigations and referral to secondary care if needed.

How many vacancies for prison officers there were in the West Midlands in the latest period for which figures are available.

In the latest published figures as of 31 March 2025, there were 89 FTE fewer staff in post compared to the target staffing level. This relates to the full-time equivalent, adjusted for different contracted hours, for Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers working in public sector prisons in the West Midlands. These figures are available in HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2025, Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment annex: March 2025 via HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2025.Notes:This figure covers all Band 3 - 5 Officers includes Band 3 - 4 Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 Supervising Officers, and Band 5 Custodial Managers.The figure is a net value and balances out surpluses and deficits between the individual establishments.Prisons included in this analysis cover the West Midlands Prison Group (Birmingham, Brinsford, Featherstone, Hewell, Stafford, Stoke Heath, Sudbury, and Swinfen Hall), supplemented by a Long Term High Security Estate prison, a women’s prison and a Young Offenders Institution in the West Midlands region (Long Lartin, Drake Hall and Werrington).Data only includes Public Sector Prisons. Data does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.The Target Staffing level changes regularly in response to Governors' freedoms and other changes requested by the business.Target Staffing is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training.

How much funding she has allocated to expand (a) vocational and (b) technical training routes in the West Midlands.

This government is making a substantial investment in skills, with £3 billion of additional funding across the Spending Review period, including an additional £1.2 billion a year by 2028/29.This includes continuing to invest in apprenticeships and the growth and skills offer to meet priority skills gaps identified by Skills England and the needs of business.This builds on previous rounds of 16-19 funding agreed for 2025/26 of over £400 million extra funding and making available additional funding of over £190 million in the 2025/26 financial year for the 2025/26 academic year.The department will spend over £1.4 billion through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year. West Midlands Combined Authority’s devolved ASF budget for the 2024/25 academic year was £133.7 million.We have also made £155 million available to support schools, colleges and local authorities with increased National Insurance contributions.The recent Infrastructure Strategy confirmed almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26, to improve the condition of the school and college estate.This increased funding and investment for skills in England will help to boost the provision of vocational and technical education and training in all areas of the country, including the West Midlands.

How many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Sutton Coldfield constituency have access to mental health support teams.

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs) by the end of 2029/30, so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. ​As well as providing targeted, low intensity support directly to young people and their parents or carers, MHSTs work in schools and colleges to reduce barriers to accessing mental health services and support a holistic approach to mental health and emotional wellbeing.In April 2025, around five million pupils and learners were covered by an MHST. We estimate an additional 900,000 pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by April 2026, which is around six million in total, or 60% of all pupils and learners.In Sutton Coldfield, all but one of the seven secondary schools were reported to be receiving support from an MHST in April 2025, with cover representing 39% of all pupils and learners in schools and colleges in the constituency. No primary schools are yet covered by an MHST. Further expansion is underway in the Birmingham and Solihull integrated care system this financial year.

What estimate she has made of the number of community service hours offenders have completed in the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Between July 2021 and December 2024, a total of 1,272,250 hours of unpaid work were worked in the West Midlands.YearUnpaid work hours workedJuly to December 2021143,360January to December 2022352,660January to December 2023371,915January to December 2024404,315Data from April 2022 to December 2024 sourced from the latest published statistics on unpaid work. A link can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/biannual-unpaid-work-management-information.Data from July 2021 to March 2022 sourced from nDelius on 22/07/2025. While these data have been assured as much as practical, as with any large administrative dataset, the data should not be assumed to be accurate to the last value presented.Data from the biannual Unpaid Work publication are rounded to the nearest five hours worked for data suppression purposes. To be consistent with the publication, the hours worked between July 2021 and March 2022 have also been rounded to the nearest five.The next publication is due in Autumn 2025.Data prior to July 2021 is unable to be reported on, due to difficulty in aligning regions pre and post-unification. The unification of Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service in England and Wales took place on 26 June 2021, marking a significant restructuring of the probation system.

What steps he is taking to help improve the capacity of sexual health services in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

Local authorities in England, including Birmingham, which is the upper tier local authority for Sutton Coldfield, are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, open access to most sexual health services (SHSs) funded through the Public Health Grant. In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the Public Health Grant to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending. Individual local authorities are well placed to make funding and commissioning decisions about the SHSs that best meet the needs of their local populations.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) supports local areas to improve SHS delivery through data monitoring and reporting.The Government is committed to ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 and is developing a new HIV Action Plan in collaboration with the UKHSA, NHS England, and a broad range of system partners, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will have the key objective of stabilising and supporting system enablers to further support joined up working across the system.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding from tree planting schemes has been granted to the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

The Government is working towards the statutory target to reach 16.5% tree canopy and woodland cover in England by 2050. Defra and the Forestry Commission are funding a significant package of grants and supporting activity across England to increase tree coverage. Tree-planting is demand-led from applicants from across England and we do not collate this information by area. As part of the tree planting programme Defra provides funding to the National Forest Company and the Community Forests. A breakdown covering the last five years for the amount paid by Defra to the Forest of Mercia (the Community Forest falling within the West Midlands) and the funding provided by Defra to the National Forest Company that has been directed to tree planting schemes in Staffordshire (the only West Midlands county falling within the National Forest) can be found below. YearForest of Mercia (£)National Forest Company – Staffordshire (£) 2020/21163,197118,4182021/22305,010720,1702022/23543,069319,3772023/24607,390548,7012024/25894,722580,943Total2,513,3882,287,608 NB. Total may not match sum of individual years due to rounding to nearest whole number.

What discussions she has had with the police on tackling illegal motorbike driving in public spaces in the West Midlands.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including motorbikes, involved in anti-social behaviour with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially in West Midlands by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

How many times stop and search powers have been used under Serious Violence Reduction Orders in the West Midlands.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.The pilot is being independently evaluated, and the evaluation is considering the use of stop and search powers under SVROs across the four pilot forcesThe final independent evaluation of the pilot, due this summer, will look to understand the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.

What recent discussions she has had with the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands on tackling knife crime.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and I have regular engagement with policing colleagues, including Police and Crime Commissioners, on how we can collectively achieve this ambition.During Knife Crime Awareness Week in May this year, I visited Coventry to observe the proactive measures being implemented by West Midlands Police to tackle knife crime.West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands have also been significant contributors to the Knife-Enabled Robbery (KER) Taskforce, which I established in October 2024 to take urgent action against this rising crime type. As a member of the Taskforce they have helped build the evidence base of ‘what works’ to tackle KER and shared innovative practice with other partners.The West Midlands has recently seen a decline in knife crime, including a sizeable reduction in KER (14% reduction in the YE December 2024 compared with the previous year), with initiatives such as weapon surrender bins, dedicated investigative resource, and preventative work contributing to this progress.These developments underscore the importance of continued collaboration and evidence-based strategies in our mission to make communities safer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help support economic growth in Sutton Coldfield town centre.

Sutton Coldfield is receiving up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade through the Plan for Neighbourhoods. This initiative aims to transform the area by unleashing its full potential, investing in improved community services such as education, health, and employment, and tackling local issues like crime. The transformation will be holistic, long-term, and sustainable, delivering meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people, led by a Neighbourhood Board made up of local people and independently chaired.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that older people can engage in community sports in the West Midlands.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including older people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.Sport and physical activity play a vital role in driving positive public health outcomes by preventing, and helping to treat and manage, a wide range of health conditions as well as providing wider benefits, for example, in tackling loneliness.Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for community sport, are investing up to £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into more than 90 Place Partnerships across England, including Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The programme works in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities to getting people active. Birmingham and Solihull were part of the first local delivery pilot areas the scheme is based on.Sport England also provides support for grassroots sport through the Movement Fund, which offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most, including older people.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the punctuality of (a) Avanti West Coast, (b) CrossCountry and (c) West Midlands Railway.

Punctuality (percentage of station calls made within three minutes of schedule) for these three operators were as follows in the most recent rail period 3 (25 May to 21 June): Avanti West Coast – 60.1 per cent period 3, 59.1 per cent moving annual average; CrossCountry – 66.9 per cent period 3, 69.0 per cent moving annual average, and; West Midlands Trains – 84.1 per cent period 3, 82.9 per cent moving annual average, which includes the West Midlands Railway 86.3 per cent period 3 result. We recognise performance is not where it needs to be for passengers, particularly for Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry which are consistently among the least punctual operators. Officials and Ministers have regular engagement with operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards. We are also working with the rail industry on a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during disruptive events.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of SEND services in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

The constituency of Sutton Coldfield falls under Birmingham City Council.A recent inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the Birmingham Local Area Partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) took place from 23 June 2025 to 27 June 2025. The report is not yet published.The Ofsted and CQC inspection in June 2018 identified 13 areas of weakness. A revisit in May 2021 deemed that sufficient progress had been made in one area of weakness. The department issued a statutory direction in October 2021, requiring the local authority to take specific actions to improve their SEND provision and appointed a SEND commissioner to work with the local area. A SEND advisor has also been deployed to drive improvement.Departmental officials continue to work closely with Birmingham City Council, and the commissioner reports that progress is evident and measurable.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures in place to tackle fly-tipping in the West Midlands.

No specific assessment of the effectiveness of measures to tackle fly-tipping in the West Midlands has been made. However, local authorities are required to report the number of fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, this data is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. This excludes the majority of private-land incidents. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle seizure and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of these powers, and we are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently and effectively exercise their powers.  This government has also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. Defra will continue to work with stakeholders through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, local authorities and police, to promote and disseminate good practice on tackling fly-tipping.