Written questions by Baldwin.

What steps she is taking to support car dealers in Northern Ireland unable to access the UK market for vehicles due to manufacturers choosing not to dual approve under the UK–NI type approval system.

This Government is committed to meeting our obligations under the Windsor Framework relating to the approval of vehicles for the market in Northern Ireland, and to ensuring that dealers and consumers in NI are not restricted in their choice of vehicles. Since the requirements for vehicle approval in Great Britain are derived from the EU's it makes sense to consider amendments made by the EU favourably. This government closely monitors those amendments and takes an explicit presumption in favour of alignment with them.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.

In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy. The Government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible. The Government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains. My Department will continue to support the ongoing negotiations with the US, led by the Department for Business and Trade.

How much of the £209 million of reallocated HS2 Funding for Better Local Transport was allocated to Worcestershire for each of the seven years following the announcement.

The previous government made several unfunded commitments. This government is committed to long-term sustainable funding settlements to support local authorities in building credible delivery plans for local transport improvements. Worcestershire County Council will receive a capital allocation of £66.9m, in addition to the £13.6m capital allocated for 2025/26 through the LTG and Integrated Transport Block. Allocations are published on gov.uk. In addition to the £0.5m resource funding it is receiving in 2025/26, Worcestershire will also receive a share of the £104m LTG resource funding that was announced at Spending Review 2025. Individual allocations will be confirmed in due course. All allocations beyond 2029/30 are subject to future Spending Review processes.

How much Local Transport Grant funding has been allocated to Worcestershire in each year of the Spending Review 2025.

Spending Review 2025 confirmed a £2.3 billion investment in local transport through the Local Transport Grant (LTG) for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, outside London which do not receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) or Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. Capital funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk Worcestershire County Council will receive a total LTG capital allocation of £66.9m between 2026/27 and 2029/30, consisting of £13.8m in 2026/27, £16m in 2027/28, £17.7m in 2028/29 and £19.5m in 2029/30. In addition, Worcestershire will receive a share of the £104m LTG resource funding that was announced at Spending Review 2025. Individual allocations of resource funding will be confirmed in due course.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Department for Transport follows the legislation on Shared Parental Leave, which requires employees to have at least 26 weeks’ qualifying service to be entitled to such leave. The Department exceeds statutory requirements by providing enhanced pay for such leave. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

If she will publish the annual profile of the redirected HS2 funds announced for Worcestershire in October 2023.

The previous Government made a series of funding promises in its Network North plan, the affordability of which this Government has had to re-examine. The Department for Transport will say more on long-term highway maintenance and other funding for Worcestershire and other places after phase 2 of the Spending Review which is due to conclude in the late spring. In the meantime, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in the Budget on 30 October that local highway authorities would benefit from an additional £500 million for local highway maintenance in the 2025/26 financial year. This represents an increase of nearly 50% in comparison to the current financial year. Allocations to individual highway authorities will be announced shortly.

If she publish data on the performance of West Midlands Rail services on the Birmingham to Hereford line in each of the last six reporting periods.

Specific route performance for the West Midlands Railway (WMR) operated Birmingham to Hereford line can be found online for the most recent period (18 August to 14 September) online at: //www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/about-us/train-performance. This data is updated every four weeks. WMR should be contacted for information about further periods.