Written questions by Thomas.

What steps he is taking to secure a trade deal with the United States.

The UK-US trading relationship is already worth around £300 billion, supporting over a million jobs and representing 17% of total UK trade. This government's priority is economic growth and increasing trade with international partners is a major part of that. The Prime Minister had a warm call with President Trump on 26 January where they discussed trade and the economy and agreed to meet soon for further discussions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) his Department, (b) himself and (c) his ministerial team have not yet received a substantive response in each month since August 2024.

The total number and proportion of parliamentarian correspondence received by the FCDO (including the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the ministerial team) each month since August 2024 that has not yet received a substantive response:FCDO Ministerial Correspondence from ParliamentariansAug-24Sep-24Oct-24Nov-24Dec-24Jan-25Total Volume Received381691796468465501Total Volume Not Yet responded to04102769*256% of Total Not Yet Responded To0%1%1%6%15%*51%**Please note that January total includes correspondence received up to and including 31st January 2025

Communities and Local Government, by what date her Department plans to commence structural reform in Worcestershire.

I wrote to all councils in Worcestershire on 5 February to formally invite unitary proposals. We have published these letters here. This letter set out the timelines and next steps for local government re-organisation.

How many asylum seekers have been granted the right to remain in Bromsgrove constituency since July 2024.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the initial decision of asylum claims (including grants), is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data is not broken down by constituency. The Home Office does not track the addresses of those granted refugee status, and refugees are free to move around the UK or leave.Data on asylum seekers on support by local authority is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority detailed datasets’. This data does not include information about the decisions made on the asylum claims of these individuals.The latest data relates to the year ending September 2024. Data for October to December 2024 will be published on 27 February 2025.

Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) her Department, (b) herself and (c) her ministerial team have not yet received a substantive response in each month since August 2024 .

An annual correspondence report, across all departments, will be published in due course.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will use a digital veteran card.

Based on census data and other sources, there are currently around two million Veterans, all of whom will be able to apply for a Virtual Veterans Card. The Veterans Data Dashboard is publicly available at the following link:https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/office.for.veterans.affairs/viz/2024-07-29VeteransDataDashboardv2final/Story1

Whether she has plans to increase funding for SEND provision in Bromsgrove constituency.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Following the 2024 Autumn Budget, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Worcestershire County Council is being allocated over £97 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £7.5 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.3% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on the equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG), and funding in respect of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions in 2025/26. This CSBG continues the separate grants payable this year, which are to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases, as well as the costs of pay increases for other members of staff. Individual local authorities’ allocations for both grants for the 2025/26 financial year will be published in due course.

How much (a) her Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies has spent on external public relations since 5 July 2024; and which firms that funding went to.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

What estimate his Department has made of the level of population growth in Bromsgrove constituency in the next five years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 5th February is attached.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) disruption to and (b) interference with interconnectors on the UK's energy (i) security and (ii) resilience.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero is working across Whitehall and with energy owners, operators, and regulators to ensure that interconnectors are proportionately protected against hazards and malicious threats. Great Britain has a highly resilient and diverse energy network, and we are confident that the gas and electricity system operators have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios. This includes ensuring robust plans are in place to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption as far as possible, in the event that they occur.

If she will make an estimate of the number of eligible pensioners who were not claiming Pension Credit in Bromsgrove constituency on 31 January 2025.

In published DWP Pension Credit Take-up statistics, it is estimated that up to 760,000 households who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK Latest caseload statistics show that at May 2024, there were 1,354,446 people in receipt of Pension Credit in Great Britain, of which 1,443 were in Bromsgrove constituency. This data is available via DWP Stat-xplore.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of mandating the flying of the Union Flag on all (a) schools and (b) public buildings.

Flag flying guidance is issued each year for Government buildings. However we currently have no further plans to consider the requirement for schools or other public buildings to fly the Union Flag.

How many and what proportion of armed forces personnel are serving in military bands; and what funding his Department has made available to military bands.

The Government is proud of those who serve in our military bands. They not only support all year-round engagements but also serve secondary roles supporting defence. Armed Forces personnel who serve in military bands have a secondary specialisation in support of operations; for example those in the Army support deployed medicine; Naval personnel can form part of a medical team on board a casualty-receiving facility, and Royal Air Force Musicians are also trained in the Counter-CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear) role of establishing and running a Casualty Decontamination Area, a declared NATO capability. The number and proportion of Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM) and Royal Air Force (RAF) Full-Time Trained Strength (FTTS) and Army Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS) Personnel serving in Military Bands as at 1 April 2024 was: ServiceTotalOfficersOther RanksStrength of Military Bands1,190 551,135Proportion of FTTS/FTTTS0.9%0.2%1.1%RN/RM 345 15 330Proportion of RN/RM FTTS1.2%0.2%1.5%Army 692 36 656Proportion of Army FTTTS1.0%0.3%1.1%RAF 153 4 149Proportion of RAF FTTS0.5%0.1%0.5%Source: Analysis (Tri-Service) In the most recent Financial Year (FY, 2023-24), expenditure on all band activity was as follows: ServiceExpenditure in FY 2023-24 (£Million)RN/RM1.650Army7.334Royal Air Force0.648

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether financial payments made as part of the proposed agreement between the UK and Mauritius agreement on the British Indian Ocean Territory would be subject to an inflationary escalator.

As made clear in the 3 October joint political declaration, the UK will make an indexed annual payment to Mauritius as part of its package of financial support.

How many staff are employed in (a) clinical, (b) executive and (c) managerial positions across the NHS; and whether he has made an estimate of the number of surplus (i) managerial and (ii) executive roles.

NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and integrated care systems but excludes staff working for other providers such as in general practice or social care. There is also quarterly data published on staff working in central bodies such as NHS England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), the Human Resources system for the National Health Service. Data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsThese statistics show that as of November 2024, there are 736,140 full-time equivalent (FTE) professionally qualified clinical staff employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England. These work alongside a further 412,036 FTE patient facing support staff. There are also 26,751 FTE managers and 13,472 FTE senior managers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reasons the Government started negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

Negotiations were started by the previous Conservative Government.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a strategic industry register to document key industries and companies of national significance.

The modern Industrial Strategy focuses on eight growth-driving sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defense, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services.For each, an ambitious sector plan will be designed in partnership with business, devolved governments, regions and other stakeholders, through bespoke arrangements tailored to each sector. The industrial strategy, alongside sector plans for the growth-driving sectors, will be published in spring 2025, aligned with the multi-year spending review.

How many civil servants across Government are compressed hours workers on a four day week.

This information is not held centrally. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment, including flexible working, are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and the nature of the role.

Innovation and Technology, what his Department's research and development budget was in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year.

DSIT’s closing R&D budget for 2023-24 was £12,300m. This reflects the position post-Machinery of Government changes, comprising elements of the R&D budgets of DSIT’s predecessor departments.DSIT’s R&D budget for 2024-25, updated at Autumn Budget 2024 is £12,500m*.* Rounded to nearest £100m

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of smartphone usage in school on recent trends in youth mental health.

​The government’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.​Research suggests excessive screentime can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing. The Online Safety Act aims to protects children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to ensure that technology companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.