Written questions by Davies.

How many households in Telford consistency claimed pension credit in November (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

In November 2022, 2,541 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit.In November 2023, 2,509 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit.Data is not yet available for November 2024. The latest available data is for May 2024, in which 2,450 households in the Telford constituency received Pension Credit. This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk in the ‘Pension Credit - Data from May 2018’ dataset. More information on the data included in the ‘Pension Credit’ dataset can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

How many court clerks have worked at Telford Magistrates Court for each year that data is available.

Year No of Legal Advisors 2023/20244 Legal Advisors based at Telford (which includes a Trainee Legal Advisor)2022/20234 Legal Advisors based at Telford (which includes a Trainee Legal Advisor)2021/20224 Legal Advisors based at Telford (including a Trainee Legal Advisor)2020/20214 Legal Advisors based at Telford2019/20204 Legal Advisors based at Telford2018/20194 Legal Advisors based at TelfordHMCTS employs Legal Advisors, rather than clerks, to support magistrates in court and therefore this response is based on the number of Legal Advisors routinely based at Telford Magistrates Court from 2018 to 2024. On the occasions that the Crown Court is listed to sit at the court, a Crown Court clerk will also work there.

What data her Department holds on the number of (a) criminal legal aid firms and (b) duty solicitors contracted to provide legal aid in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford constituency for each year data is available.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales.The commissioning and monitoring of criminal legal aid services are undertaken at a national level.Information about the number of legal aid providers contracted to provide services are published as part of the LAA’s statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8]. These statistics are used by the LAA as management information to monitor the supply of legal aid services over time, in different areas of law and different regions of England Wales.The duty schemes serving the Shropshire and Telford constituency are the Shrewsbury and Telford schemes. There are currently 13 duty solicitors (members) in the Shrewsbury scheme, 8 duty solicitors in the Telford scheme and a total of 7 criminal legal providers across Shropshire.The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of criminal legal aid services in Telford and Shropshire, including under the relevant duty solicitor schemes operating in the area.

Communities and Local Government, if she will include a degradation factor for new builds that applies to loft insulation over time in her Department's proposed Future Homes Standard.

The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024; a government response has not yet been issued.Government fully supports the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation, including those on loft insulation, and will publish the Government response in due course.

What outstanding money was owed by defendants in (a) court fines, (b) prosecution costs, and (c) victim related costs at Telford Magistrates for each year data is available.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Although HMCTS holds data on the total amount of impositions outstanding at an enforcement accounting division level, we do not report on it at an individual court level. To access the court level detail, each account in that division’s database would need to be interrogated to find the cases heard at Telford Magistrates and then the outstanding balances extracted, collated and totalled and this would therefore result in disproportionate cost.

What steps he is taking to improve public (a) awareness of and (b) access to loft insulation protection to improve energy efficiency.

There are several Government schemes offering loft insulation as a measure to improve energy efficiency. The Government’s retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers make their homes greener and cheaper to run. All businesses under Government schemes and initiatives must be TrustMark registered. These businesses must be certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and follow PAS 2035 standards. TrustMark's role under Government schemes is to ensure compliance with the overarching PAS 2035 process, setting clear requirements to protect consumer.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the safety of platform train interfaces at train stations.

Working with the industry, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has developed a comprehensive strategy to improve safety at the platform train interface (PTI) on the mainline railway. The strategy adopts a whole-system, safety by design, risk-based approach; which includes using human factors and data modelling to inform the design of infrastructure and rolling stock, launching safety campaigns such as ‘Respect the Edge’ to influence passenger behaviour and improve awareness of risks, and enhancing the skills and competence of dispatchers and guards by working with operators and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to improve the quality of training and guidance available to staff. This approach has seen PTI incidences decreasing year on year since 2020/2021.

What steps he is taking to roll out loft insulation protection through the Warm Homes Plan.

The Government is committed to protecting homeowners across the UK who have clean heating and energy efficiency products installed. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course. As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to next year.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a permanent Access to Elected Office fund for disabled election candidates.

It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office. The Government has been clear that it will champion disabled people's rights, and work closely with them so that disabled people's voices and views are at the heart of all we do. We know that some disabled people still face additional financial barriers when standing for elected office. We are looking at how we might work with political parties and others to help tackle this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what records his Department holds on whether the Protectorate Treaty ceding Akwamu to the Gold Coast Colony, signed on 27 July 1886, was ratified.

According to our records, the sole treaty signed on this date was the Arrangement between Great Britain and Germany, supplementary to the Arrangement of April-June 1885, relative to the respective Spheres of Action of the two Countries in the Gulf of Guinea, signed at London on 27 July 1886 and 2 August 1886. It is described as having entered into force immediately, which is the later of the dates above, and ratification was not required.

What her planned timetable is for the introduction of Respect Orders.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.This is why we are introducing Respect Orders – tough behavioural orders, issued by the civil courts – to tackle the most persistent adult ASB offenders and ensure that our communities are free from harm.The Respect Order will be introduced in the first session Crime and Policing Bill.

If she will publish the performance of Transport for Wales trains from Aberystwyth to Birmingham International via Telford in both directions; and what steps she plans to take to help improve performance.

Contracting of Transport for Wales services is devolved to the Welsh Government. Performance information from across the rail network in Great Britain is published by the Office for Road and Rail (https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/); further details are available on operators' websites.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory duty on fire and rescue services in England to respond to major flooding events.

Defra is the Lead Government Department for Flooding and are responsible for response and prevention of flooding.Fire & Rescue Services, with continued support from the Home Office, remain ready to respond to flooding. The Home Office supports FRAs in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capability comprising 45 HVPs. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents.Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their general powers in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework.The Home Office is undertaking further work alongside Defra, National Fire Chiefs Council and other relevant stakeholders to understand in more detail if there are gaps in the Fire and Rescue Services flooding response and resilience system.

What assessment she has made of the capacity of fire and rescue services in England to respond to flooding.

Defra is the Lead Government Department for Flooding and are responsible for response and prevention of flooding.Fire & Rescue Services, with continued support from the Home Office, remain ready to respond to flooding. The Home Office supports FRAs in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capability comprising 45 HVPs. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents.Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their general powers in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework.The Home Office is undertaking further work alongside Defra, National Fire Chiefs Council and other relevant stakeholders to understand in more detail if there are gaps in the Fire and Rescue Services flooding response and resilience system.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on improving flood resilience and response in England.

In just five months in Government, we have introduced a series of measures to better protect communities from flooding including: Invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences to protect communities across the country.Set up a new Floods Resilience Taskforce bringing together representatives from central and local government, Local Resilience Forums, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union, among others, to discuss how they will speed up and co-ordinate flooding preparation and resilience.Consultation to review the existing funding formula, ensuring the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately considered.Invested £50 million to Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) to better enable them to manage water levels for agriculture and environmental needs.Supporting farmers impacted by flooding through a £60 million Farming Recovery Fund, which provides grants of up to £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was in before storm damage.

How many foreign nationals have been issued with deportation orders but not deported.

The information requested is not available from published statistics.The Home Office publishes a quarterly paper on statistics on foreign national offenders (FNOs) subject to deportation action, living in the community. These are published in the Immigration Enforcement Data, Year Ending June 2024, which are available at: Immigration Enforcement data: Q2 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Any FNO convicted of a crime who receives a custodial sentence in the UK is referred to the Home Office for deportation consideration following sentencing. We are focusing resources on those cases currently serving custodial sentences and maximising removals directly from prison.We will pursue deportation action against individuals living in the community rigorously, actively monitoring and managing cases through the legal process and negotiating barriers to removal.

What progress his Department has made on reducing waiting times for patients with (a) cancer and (b) respiratory conditions.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet, including for those suffering from cancer and respiratory conditions.We have committed to getting back to the NHS Constitutional standard, that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, or the equivalent to 40,000 per week. We will also increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits. As of August 2024, 62.5% of respiratory medicine patients are seen within this standard, compared to 60.7% in August 2023. This is compared to 58% of the total waiting list for planned procedures.

How many (a) children and (b) adults are waiting for outpatient appointments by (i) their average wait time and (ii) the appointment required in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. The Government will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Outpatients make up most of the waiting list, so transforming outpatient services is a key part of the Government’s approach to cutting waiting times.The overall mean average waiting time for children waiting for an outpatient appointment in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) is 23.3 weeks, with the median being 21.4 weeks, and the overall mean waiting time for adults waiting for an outpatient appointment is 21.2 weeks, while the median is 18.4 weeks.The number of cases where children are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 4,471, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 715. The number of cases where adults are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 45,272, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 12,500.

How many offenders were (a) ordered to be deported at the end of their prison sentence and (b) deported at the end of that sentence in each of the last six years.

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation, and they will be swiftly removed from the country.The Home Office publishes the quarterly statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs) by nationality and year. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending June 2024, which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily.Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.

How many Crown Court judges there were resident at Shrewsbury Crown Court in each of the last six years.

The Crown Court sitting at Shrewsbury is accommodated across two sites, in Shrewsbury Justice Centre and Telford Justice Centre. In total, there are three courtrooms dedicated to Crown Court use.For each of the last six years (i.e. since 2019/20), two Circuit Judges have been based permanently at the venue. Additional judges are and have been deployed to ensure sufficient capacity exists to meet sitting day and listing requirements.On 29 October, it was announced that a new Circuit Judge will be deployed to sit at Shrewsbury from 13 January, succeeding a salaried judge who retired in July and bringing the permanent complement back to two salaried judges.