Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase access to sport for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts on a range of issues, including young people’s engagement in sport and the barriers around this for those from lower socio-economic groups.
In the 2024/25 Financial Year, Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency received £102,947 from Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, to increase sport and physical activity opportunities for local communities. Sport England also recently announced Gateshead and South Tyneside as two of their new 53 Place Partnerships, which will receive support to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions, including for children and young people.
More widely, the Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable offer for local communities, including children and young people.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to increase access to sport for children from low income households.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts on a range of issues, including young people’s engagement in sport and the barriers around this for those from lower socio-economic groups.
In the 2024/25 Financial Year, Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency received £102,947 from Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, to increase sport and physical activity opportunities for local communities. Sport England also recently announced Gateshead and South Tyneside as two of their new 53 Place Partnerships, which will receive support to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions, including for children and young people.
More widely, the Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable offer for local communities, including children and young people.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department considered the legal opinion by Tom Cross KC and Ruth Kennedy entitled In the Matter of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, published on 28 April 2025, during the development of the document entitled Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: ECHR memorandum, published on 2 May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on his Department’s suicide prevention strategy.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is neutral on the matter of assisted dying and the passage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
The Government remains committed to tackling suicide as one the biggest killers in this country and preventing lives being lost.
The suicide prevention strategy identifies priority areas for action to reduce suicide and we will continue to explore opportunities to go further.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce the (a) number and (b) duration of sewage discharges into waterways in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
The Government remains committed to reducing both the frequency and duration of storm overflow spills, in line with the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP). The SODRP will eliminate ecological harm from all storm sewage discharges by 2050.
The Water (Special Measures) Act is introducing independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill. This will match the pre-existing duty for storm overflows. This will meet the Government commitment to ensure monitoring of every outlet.
Furthermore, the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector. The Independent Water Commission: interim report was released on 03 June 2025. Final recommendations will be published this summer and presented to both the UK and Welsh Governments.
As part of Price Review 2024 (2025-30), Northumbrian Water is investing £1.1 billion to reduce storm overflow spills by 28% by investing in 159 spill reduction schemes. As part of this cycle, 23 investigations and asset improvements are planned across the Newcastle upon Tyne and Wallsend constituency.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support grassroots music venues in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government has announced £2.5m of continued funding for the Arts Council England’s (ACE) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF) for 2025-26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40k to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for fans.
ACE has made a number of SGMF awards within the Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency, including Women Are Mint, a grassroots festival that takes place in Newcastle, along with Brave Exhibitions Festival, The Tyne Bank Brewery and Cobalt Studios.
There are also a number of organisations within the ACE national portfolio that engage people in grassroots music activity within this constituency, including Generator, a creative and cultural talent development agency focused on artist development and skills.
The Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to support grassroots music. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56774 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what diplomatic steps he is taking to call for an (a) immediate and (b) independent investigation into the reports of the killing of Palestinians near aid sites in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents, in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza. Desperate civilians who have endured 20 months of war should never face the risk of death or injury to simply feed themselves and their families. We have raised our concerns directly with the Government of Israel. At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 4 June, we called for an immediate and independent investigation into these events, and for the perpetrators to be held to account.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty on the part of (a) therapists and (b) other mental health professionals to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on child abuse convictions.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.
The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.
The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.
As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.
We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on dissuading offenders unknown to the police from coming forward for psychiatric treatment.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.
The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.
The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.
As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.
We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on levels of trauma in children who are not (a) ready and (b) willing to report such abuses.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.
The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.
The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.
As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.
We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.