This question has been interpreted to mean the total number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March and not the number that actually sat on 1 March each year. 1 March 2025 and 1 March 2026 were on a Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March for each of the past 5 years are as follows:

1 March 2022: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 1.9

1 March 2023: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.1

1 March 2024: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.2

1 March 2025: In Post: 4 – Full Time Equivalent: 3.2

1 March 2026: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 3

This Government’s bold vision for the railways will see a unified and simplified rail system that relentlessly focuses on improved services for passengers and better value for taxpayers, ending years of fragmentation and waste.

Great British Railways (GBR) will be the directing mind for the network to provide the best balance between local, regional and national services to deliver a better performing railway for passengers, freight and taxpayers.

GBR will have the ability to plan its future service patterns in accordance with market demand, revenue forecasting, and stakeholder expectations, including train services between Wrexham, Shrewsbury and London.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools, and can work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools. The funding is not ring-fenced, subject to the conditions set out in the published grant determination letter, nor is it time bound, meaning local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities.

Shropshire Council has been allocated just over £4.4 million to support the provision of new school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.

The department engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible.

The department is aware that Shropshire Council are exploring local solutions to address localised secondary sufficiency challenges in Shrewsbury, including the potential for a new setting in the medium term.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

We have interpreted waiting time to refer to the time between the date of sending a case to the Crown Court and the start of the substantive “main” Crown Court hearing.

The average (median) waiting time at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 2023 was 42 days, compared to 40 days nationally.

The Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice system. We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice they deserve, and we are committed to reducing the caseload and bringing waiting times down.

Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the Shrewsbury Colleges Group in my constituency on yet another excellent round of results this summer, with A-level pass rates at over 98% and 210 vocational students achieving a triple distinction? It is a superb institution in our rural area, working to drive up engagement and standards for vocational qualifications, which are the bedrock of our industrial strategy and central to the

Government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. Will she join me in celebrating its success, and assure it that it has parity of esteem with its academic school counterparts, and will she perhaps book a visit?

Further education is front and centre of unlocking opportunity. I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Shrewsbury Colleges Group on its excellent results.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities.

This Government will improve resilience and preparation across central government, local authorities, local communities and emergency services to better protect communities across the UK. We will launch a new Flood Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the delivery of new flood defences, drainage systems and natural flood management schemes, which will ensure we’re prepared for the future and help grow our economy.

We will review the current 6-year capital programme (2021-2027) to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

The programme is currently forecast to invest over £150 million across the English Severn and Wye Catchment, with almost £30 million of this to be invested in Shropshire, better protecting almost 450 homes and businesses there.

The Environment Agency also maintains existing flood risk management assets in Shrewsbury which better protect 154 properties from flooding, and provides a free Flood Warning Service to residents in the constituency.

Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group over many areas, including timetabling decisions.

The Department specifies the train services to be operated by train companies including Avanti West Coast through National Rail Contracts. As part of industry wide efforts to align timetables to changing demand patterns and restore the financial stability of the railway, the Government asked all operators to present cost saving options. Due to very low passenger numbers, the service between Shrewsbury and London is currently operating at a loss of £1.4 million per year. We cannot ask taxpayers to maintain the historically high level of financial support for the industry indefinitely, so the service will be withdrawn from June 2024. West Midlands Railway (WMR) and Transport for Wales provide sufficient capacity for passengers between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and the Department has agreed that WMR will introduce a second hourly Birmingham to Shrewsbury semi-fast service in June 2024 to operate via the Stour Valley and provide quicker journey time between Shropshire towns and Birmingham.

The Department is required to make decisions as part of industry wide efforts to align timetables to changing demand patterns and restore the financial stability of the railway, the Government asked all operators to present cost saving options. Due to very low passenger numbers, the service between Shrewsbury and London is currently operating at a loss of £1.4 million per year. West Midlands Railway (WMR) and Transport for Wales provide sufficient capacity for passengers between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and the Department has agreed that WMR will introduce a second hourly Birmingham to Shrewsbury semi-fast service in June 2024 to operate via the Stour Valley and provide quicker journey time between Shropshire towns and Birmingham.

Government support for the operational railway was almost £12 billion in the last financial year – equivalent to more than £420 per household. The Secretary of State’s decision to withdraw a service operating at a loss estimated at £1.4 million every year, was taken to help reduce public subsidy and restore the financial sustainability of the railway. No public consultation is planned as, given these clear financial constraints, meaningful consultation is not possible, as it would not alter the outcome.

The Department is required to make decisions as part of industry wide efforts to align timetables to changing demand patterns and restore the financial stability of the railway, the Government asked all operators to present cost saving options. Due to very low passenger numbers, the service between Shrewsbury and London is currently operating at a loss of £1.4 million per year. West Midlands Railway (WMR) and Transport for Wales provide sufficient capacity for passengers between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and the Department has agreed that WMR will introduce a second hourly Birmingham to Shrewsbury semi-fast service in June 2024 to operate via the Stour Valley and provide quicker journey time between Shropshire towns and Birmingham.

Government support for the operational railway was almost £12 billion in the last financial year – equivalent to more than £420 per household. The Secretary of State’s decision to withdraw a service operating at a loss estimated at £1.4 million every year, was taken to help reduce public subsidy and restore the financial sustainability of the railway. No public consultation is planned as, given these clear financial constraints, meaningful consultation is not possible, as it would not alter the outcome.

While Avanti will be withdrawing this service due to the very low number of passengers who use it, West Midlands Trains has plans to ramp up the number of trains between Shropshire towns and Birmingham, while Avanti is looking to increase fast services between Birmingham and London. This will bring greater benefits to more passengers in the West Midlands. Furthermore, the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company has applied to operate services between Wrexham General and London Euston, which would include calling at Shrewsbury and other stations in North Wales and the West Midlands. While it is ultimately a decision for the Office of Rail and Road whether to approve this application, the Rail Minister has set out his support.

Better protecting communities from flooding remains a key priority for the Government and significant investment in flood mitigation has taken place in Shrewsbury and the wider Severn Valley.

During the 2024-25 financial year, approximately £5 million investment is planned to fund projects that will seek to further reduce flood risk in Shrewsbury. These projects are initiatives funded as part of the current six-year capital programme (2021-27). This programme aims to invest over £150 million, reducing flood risk and better protecting 3,000 homes and businesses across the English Severn and Wye Catchment. Almost £45 million of this will be in Shropshire, better protecting almost 600 homes and businesses.

There are also existing flood risk management assets in Shrewsbury in the Frankwell and Coleham Head areas which together better protects 154 properties from flooding. The Environment Agency ensures they remain operational and highly effective at alleviating flooding to properties, businesses and infrastructure including through the most recent significant flooding events.