Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a tram network within Heywood and Middleton North constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Between 2022-23 and 2026-27, the government is providing £1.07bn of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funding to Greater Manchester to deliver transformational change to Greater Manchester’s transport infrastructure. Beyond that, we have confirmed a £2.5bn Transport for City Regions settlement for Greater Manchester from 2027-28 to 2031-32. It is for the Mayor of Greater Manchester to prioritise transport projects within that funding. As light rail is devolved in England, this includes considering the potential merits of any future tram proposals in the Heywood and Middleton North constituency.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding allocated for Discretionary Housing Payments to support low-income private renters facing debt, credit reliance, and eviction pressures in Heywood and Middleton North constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Since April 2026, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) have become Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payments in England. They continue to be available to those entitled to a qualifying benefit who require further financial assistance with their housing costs. The allocation of awards is at the discretion of the local authority.
Funding for discretionary housing support for local authorities in England and Wales remains at £100 million for 2026/27. In addition to the central government contribution, local authorities can top up their CRF Housing Payment funding from other funding streams.
Local authorities are required to provide details of their Housing Payment expenditure, which enables officials to closely monitor spend to ensure funding is targeted effectively. Information on the use of DHPs in England up to financial year 2025 to 2026 can be found using this link: Discretionary Housing Payments statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has reviewed the recommendation of the Health and Social Care Committee for the establishment of an independent Mental Health Commissioner; and what alternative mechanisms are in place to ensure independent oversight, accountability and implementation of lessons arising from serious failures in mental health care services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s response to the Health and Select Committee’s fourth report of session 2024 to 2026: community mental health services, published 11 March 2026, specifically regarding recommendation 22, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the additional business rates support available to eligible pubs and live music venues to independent gyms and other leisure businesses, including on the viability of independent gyms and levels of physical activity.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Government recognises the important contribution that independent gyms and other leisure businesses make to local communities and to supporting physical activity. They benefit from the Government's business rates reforms, including permanently lower multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties and the £4.3 billion support package introduced to support those ratepayers facing large increases in bills following the 2026 revaluation.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to prevent dog attacks resulting in the death of other dogs; and what assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of existing laws and enforcement measures in protecting dogs from fatal attacks.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce in 2025 to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce focused on four key areas: improving public education on staying safe around dogs, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement of existing legislation, and improving data on dog attacks. Ministers have recently received its recommendations and will consider these carefully in due course.