Sarah Coombes MP: written questions
134 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Vehicle Number PlatesDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39168More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the DVLA's Registered Number Plate Suppliers in preventing vehicle crime.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characte...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: FraudHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of vehicle number plate cloning offences in the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of vehicle number plate cloning offences recorded by the police in England and Wales as this is included within the offence sub-code of ‘Fraud and forgery associated with registration and licensing d...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAutomatic Number Plate RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera system.
Answer: ANPR is a valuable tool to help the police tackle crime and keep the road safe.We keep the effectiveness of police and law enforcement use of ANPR under regular review, to ensure it remains a robust tool for identifying vehicles of interest to the police ...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38715More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the DVLA on tackling the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras, also known ghost plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One elemen...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38714More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what number and proportion of vehicle number plates were unreadable by automatic number plate recognition cameras in each of the last three years.
Answer: Data on the readability of ANPR reads is not collected or published.
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: RegistrationHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38713More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices were issued for vehicle registration offences in each of the last three years.
Answer: The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release. The latest data is available here Police powers and pro...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: FraudHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38712More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras on levels of crime.
Answer: The cloning and defacing of number plates is illegal. We are working with the police, the DVLA and other partners to crack down on these crimes.We have begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, which aims to reduce road deaths ...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38711More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras, also known as ghost plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One elemen...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadbandDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress his Department has made on the roll-out of gigabit broadband (a) nationally and (b) in West Bromwich constituency.
Answer: Earlier this month, we announced the signature of four Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach to roll out gigabit-capable broadband to over 130,000 premises in rural and hard-to-reach areas.This announcement marks another significant step towards achiev...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordResident DoctorsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of resident doctor training positions.
Answer: We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Servi...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Shared Prosperity Fund: WalsallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20816More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of funding provided by her Department to Steps to Work in Walsall through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answer: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to evaluating the impacts and effectiveness of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UKSPF evaluation strategy sets out the approach to evaluation. The department has committed to publish...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordIron and Steel: Import DutiesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20319More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the total costs incurred by businesses of steel safeguarding duties since the end of the UK-EU transition period.
Answer: Both the UK and EU separately apply a safeguard measure on certain categories of steel products. A safeguard measure protects domestic producers from injury as a result of unforeseen surges of imports. Both the UK and EU apply a 25% duty where import thre...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordIron and Steel: Antidumping DutiesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20318More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the the Chancellor of the Exchequer on retrospective steel safeguarding charges imposed on businesses.
Answer: Both the UK and EU separately apply a safeguard measure on certain categories of steel products. A safeguard measure protects domestic producers from injury as a result of unforeseen surges of imports. Both the UK and EU apply a 25% duty where import thre...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDangerous Driving: West MidlandsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20316More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many deaths were caused by illegal street racing incidents in the West Midlands in the last ten years.
Answer: Statistics and data on road injury collisions and casualties reported to and recorded by police are collected via the data collection system known as STATS19. While STATS19 collects information on the collision circumstances, vehicles involved and contrib...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDangerous Driving: West BromwichHome OfficeTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20315More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle illegal street racing in West Bromwich constituency.
Answer: Any form of anti-social, dangerous or inconsiderate behaviour involving any vehicle is a serious issue. Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.Excess speed is a major cause of death...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordTruancy: SandwellDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20314More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of above average unauthorised absence rates on educational outcomes in Sandwell local authority area.
Answer: Improving school attendance is central to the government’s Opportunity Mission to drive high and rising standards for every child. The government has inherited an epidemic of school absence which is one of the biggest barriers to opportunity, damaging lea...
Answered 2 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AbsenteeismDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20312More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce persistent absences in primary and secondary schools in West Bromwich constituency.
Answer: This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which lim...
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMotor Insurance: Ethnic GroupsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20311More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the extra cost of car insurance premiums faced by drivers from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Answer: We are committed to tackling the increased costs of motor insurance to deliver on our manifesto commitment, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities. The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce, including the stak...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordIVF: LGBT+ PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20309More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of same-sex female couples are receiving NHS-funded IVF after undertaking six self-funded rounds of Intrauterine insemination as recommended by NICE.
Answer: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that between 2020 and 2022, the years in which they have the most recently data available, 25% of patients in same-sex female couples in the United Kingdom received National Health Service-funde...
Answered 31 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordIVFDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20304More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the eligibility criteria for IVF on access to treatment for (a) single patients and (b) same-sex female couples.
Answer: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that between 2020 and 2022, the years in which they have the most recently data available, 25% of patients in same-sex female couples in the United Kingdom received National Health Service-funde...
Answered 31 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: RentsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19993More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of housing associations in England that are charging tenants for a 53 week rent year.
Answer: The Government does not collect data on whether weekly rent charged by housing associations is collected 52 or 53 times in a year. Government policy on social housing rents stipulates how the maximum weekly rent is to be calculated for any given social ho...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHealth: Working HoursDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13853More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the health of night shift workers in West Bromwich constituency.
Answer: Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE published its 10 year strategy ‘Protecting people and places’ in 2022 and this includes a strategic objective to reduce work-related ill health. HSE w...
Answered 15 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordNight-time Economy: EmploymentDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13618More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support people who work in the night time economy.
Answer: We recognise the important role that the night-time economy plays in supporting local communities. Healthy night-time economy businesses not only support our creative industries, including musicians, DJs and performance artists, but also support tourism a...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordIVF: LGBT+ PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13597More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to help reduce the cost of IVF for female same-sex couples.
Answer: The Government has signed secondary legislation into law on 31 October 2024 to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which removes additional screening costs for female same sex couples undergoing reciprocal in-vitro fertilisation.The Nationa...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: DisadvantagedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9813More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the current NHS resource allocation formula on more deprived areas.
Answer: The National Health Service resource allocation formula is intended to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, taking account of NHS England’s duty to have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities. The formula takes account of factors ...
Answered 24 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →