Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2024 to Question 11912, how many local authority swimming pools have opened in each region in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
245 local authority swimming pools have opened since 2015. The breakdown per region is as follows:
East Midlands: 27
Eastern: 21
London: 36
North East: 15
North West: 29
South East: 44
South West: 20
West Midlands: 28
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority leisure centres have closed by region in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear on the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities. We have also confirmed an additional £60 million support package for swimming pools in 2023/24, which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and helping make facilities sustainable in the long-term.
276 local authority swimming pools have closed since 2015. The breakdown per year is as follows:
2015: 40
2016: 36
2017: 31
2018: 23
2019: 31
2020: 38
2021: 26
2022: 28
2023: 23
These numbers should be considered in the context of facility provision within the local area. Facilities may close for a number of reasons: this can include the rationalisation of multiple older facilities into a modern, better located facility. In the same period from 2015-2023, 245 local authority swimming pools opened.
Data is stored by facility type (e.g. pool, health and fitness gym, or sports hall) rather than “leisure centre.” From 2015, approximately 261 local authority owned sites which had one or more pools, main halls, or health and fitness gyms, closed either fully or partially (where a facility within the site, including a pool or gym, may have closed). By region the figures are as follows:
East Midlands: 26
Eastern: 21
London: 26
North East: 29
North West:41
South East: 43
South West: 21
West Midlands: 29
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
At the same time, new facilities were constructed at 242 comparable sites.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority swimming pools have closed in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear on the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities. We have also confirmed an additional £60 million support package for swimming pools in 2023/24, which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and helping make facilities sustainable in the long-term.
276 local authority swimming pools have closed since 2015. The breakdown per year is as follows:
2015: 40
2016: 36
2017: 31
2018: 23
2019: 31
2020: 38
2021: 26
2022: 28
2023: 23
These numbers should be considered in the context of facility provision within the local area. Facilities may close for a number of reasons: this can include the rationalisation of multiple older facilities into a modern, better located facility. In the same period from 2015-2023, 245 local authority swimming pools opened.
Data is stored by facility type (e.g. pool, health and fitness gym, or sports hall) rather than “leisure centre.” From 2015, approximately 261 local authority owned sites which had one or more pools, main halls, or health and fitness gyms, closed either fully or partially (where a facility within the site, including a pool or gym, may have closed). By region the figures are as follows:
East Midlands: 26
Eastern: 21
London: 26
North East: 29
North West:41
South East: 43
South West: 21
West Midlands: 29
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
At the same time, new facilities were constructed at 242 comparable sites.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth centres have closed in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS does not hold the data requested. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ‘secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people’. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which is almost £60 billion this year (FY 23/24). DCMS has worked with the youth sector and local authorities to update the statutory guidance that underpins the duty to support local authorities in delivering it.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries have closed in each year since 2015.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The libraries basic dataset for 2022 shows the number of static libraries in England (statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022 and includes information on permanent library closures, as well as new library openings. It can be found here.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries have opened in each year since 2015.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The libraries basic dataset for 2022 shows the number of static libraries in England (statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022 and includes information on permanent library closures, as well as new library openings. It can be found here.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of switching off the Public Switched Telephone Network in 2025 on rural areas with poor broadband connectivity.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services (the Public Switched Telephone Network’s replacement) require a minimum stable connection speed of just 0.5Mbps in order to function correctly, and voice-only services will still be available to consumers in the UK who do not wish to purchase a general internet connection. Thus, even in the small number of rural areas with poor broadband connectivity, the migration will not have an impact on most consumers’ ability to use digital landlines.
More importantly, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration does not affect the universal service obligations set in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 which require the designated providers to offer telephony services throughout the UK. BT and KCOM are therefore still required to maintain access to a range of telephony services as well as provide a series of special measures designed for users who have a disability.
As a response to complaints from customers, BT announced this week that it will pause the forced migration of customers until new products are available that provide greater power resilience. For more information you can read the full announcement here.
Whilst the upgrade of UK landlines from the PSTN to VoIP technology is an industry-led initiative, the government and Ofcom are working together to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process.
As of September 2021, 99.6% of premises in the UK were able to access a decent broadband connection from either a fixed or a fixed wireless access broadband connection. Properties without a decent broadband connection may be eligible for a connection under the broadband Universal Service Obligation. The Government is also investing £5bn as part of Project Gigabit to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of switching off the Public Switched Telephone Network on the resilience of the telecare device network to power-cuts.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department is aware of the potential impact that the upgrade of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) could have on telecare devices. Following the migration to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, it is possible some telecare devices may have compatibility issues with the new network and others may need digital adaptors to continue to function correctly.
In order to mitigate this risk, telecoms companies have established test laboratories to enable the manufacturers of telecare devices to test their equipment, ensuring it will work correctly following the transition to VoIP telephony, and to make the necessary arrangements to replace and adapt their technology if required. It is the responsibility of the telecare providers to ensure they have adequately tested their equipment.
Whilst the upgrade is an industry led initiative, DCMS and NHSx have been working together to facilitate communication between telecoms providers and the telecare sector to ensure telecare users are prepared for the upgrades.
Additionally, Ofcom has also issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that their VoIP customers have access to the emergency services during a power outage. This guidance was prepared following consultation with Ofgem and the industry, looking at data on the length and frequency of power outages among other factors.
As a response to complaints from customers, BT announced this week that it will pause the forced migration of customers to improve the awareness and understanding of customers, as well as to continue to develop industry best practice in coordination with the government convened working groups. For more information you can read the full announcement here.