Michael Wheeler

Smart Data Foundry research shows that small businesses, including those in the construction industry were owed on average an estimated £22,000 in late payments in 2022. This represents a significant cash flow challenge for small businesses, undermining opportunities to invest and innovate.

In September 2024 we announced a package of measures to help ensure small businesses and the self-employed are paid promptly to improve the resilience of supply chains and boost economic growth across the UK.

We will soon launch a public consultation on further measures to address late payments and long payment terms, including specific measures to address the construction contractual practice of retention payments.

Source: Smart Data Foundry (2022) – Payment Speed and Timeliness for UK Small & Micro Businesses – https://smartdatafoundry.com/resources/news/payment-speed-and-timeliness-for-uk-small-and-micro-businesses

In September 2024 we announced a package of measures to help ensure small businesses are paid promptly by the large businesses they supply.

This included the newly launched Fair Payment Code by the Small Business Commissioner, and upcoming legislation to require that large companies include payment performance reporting headlines within their annual reports.

We will soon launch a public consultation on further measures to address late payments and long payment terms, including strengthened powers for the Small Business Commissioner.

Local authorities receive their core funding for schools through the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Local authorities are then responsible for designing a local formula, within certain parameters, to distribute the funding that they receive from the department to schools in their area. This local formula is used to determine funding for both the maintained schools and academies in each area.

As the DSG is allocated at local authority level, DSG allocations broken down to the level of individual constituencies are not available. The individual allocations that schools within Worsley and Eccles constituency receive are determined by the local funding formula set each year by Salford and Wigan local authorities.

However, the DSG funding allocations at local authority, regional and national level for each of the last five years are set out below. The per-pupil funding figures include premises funding but exclude growth and falling rolls funding.

Data on Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by Salford and Wigan local authorities, no centres have closed in Salford or Wigan since May 2010. However, Salford local authority has converted 11 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites since May 2010. Wigan local authority has converted 15 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites since May 2010. ‘Children’s centre linked sites’ are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.

The information on children’s centres closed since May 2010 is based on data supplied by the local authorities for Salford and Wigan as at 14 February 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

Apprenticeship starts by Parliamentary constituency between the 2018/19 and 2023/24 academic years are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ac6bc11a-b1ec-45a2-021e-08dd45ba797d.

Under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to four years of full-time tuition. This is currently equal to £38,140 based on the fee rates for the 2025/26 academic year. Returning learners who have previously received government support to undertake higher-level learning will have a reduced entitlement that is dependent on the level of funding they have already received.

For example, a typical graduate who completed a 3-year degree worth £28,605 based on current fees will have a £9,535 residual entitlement (or 1 year of full-time study). This amount will be adjusted should the modern fee limit change.

An additional entitlement above the core four year entitlement will be available for some priority subjects and longer courses, such as medicine. This will ensure that learners can always gain skills in priority areas, regardless of remaining entitlement or previous qualifications.

The government will publish a list of subjects eligible for additional entitlement in 2025. This will include information on degrees longer than 4 years. We will also work with the Student Loans Company and the sector to ensure that learners have access to high-quality information, advice and guidance which supports them to make informed decisions about their entitlement and learning journey.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not have any regulatory powers for flood risk management for the Bridgewater Canal or Manchester Ship Canal which are both privately owned assets. The owners are responsible for operating and maintaining their assets.

The EA responded during the recent incident in Little Bollington, Cheshire, and continues to support this area during the recovery period.

The EA has permissive powers to undertake maintenance on Main Rivers including vegetation clearance and removal of blockages. Within this constituency there are 8 debris screens on Main Rivers that the EA own, maintain, and clear. Debris screens stop debris entering culverts which if blocked can cause flooding. Before and during heavy rainfall the EA clears debris from these screens. The EA also work closely with partners, including Salford CC and United Utilities to have a strategic overview of all sources of flooding.

Within the Worsley Brook area the EA has 4 flood warning areas where they a offer a flood warning service to over 330 properties. There are also a further 4 flood warnings areas within the wider constituency, where a further 315 properties are able to receive a flood warning enabling them to take action when flooding is expected.

Light rail, including the Manchester Metrolink, is devolved in England where local authorities, such as Greater Manchester Combined Authority, own and are responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of their own systems. This includes setting the costs for their own ticketing and annual fares.

As such, the Department does not hold such records information on the cost of two zones (1+2) Manchester Metrolink adult annual travelcards in 2010.

The honourable member may wish to contact Transport for Greater Manchester who are better placed to provide such information.

The price of standard class annual season tickets in 2010 for journeys from the requested stations to these Manchester stations was £741.50.

The table below shows the average waiting time as of January 2025, for driving test centres (DTCs) that serve the Worsley and Eccles constituency.

The Department’s latest estimate is that in Quarter 1 of the financial year 2022/23 there were around 1-1.3 million employees in the UK who earned below the LEL. This figure does not include workers who are self-employed.

Of these employees, (a) 86% were in England, (b) 7% were in Scotland, (c) 4% were in Wales and (d) 3% were in Northern Ireland.

These figures are drawn from the published estimates from the Department’s Statutory Sick Pay Regulatory Impact Assessment: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6715f848386bf0964853d848/Impact_assessment_improve_access_statutory_sick_pay_removing_lower_earnings_limit_removing_waiting_period.pdf

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Worsley and Eccles constituency, this is the NHS Greater Manchester ICB.

ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

A copy of two tables breaking down the number of people waiting over six months to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service support in Salford and Wigan since 2020 is attached.

The following table shows the number of referrals accepted by child and adolescent mental health services in Salford in each month from 2020/21 up to December 2024, the month for which most recent data is available:

Source: NHS England

The following table shows the number of referrals accepted by child and adolescent mental health services in Wigan in each month from 2020/21 up to December 2024, the month for which most recent data is available:

Source: NHS England

The following table shows the median waiting time in days between a referral start date and first contact, within the three-month rolling reporting period, for referrals for children and young people aged under 18 years old who are supported through National Health Service funded mental health services, from August 2023, the earliest date available, to November 2024, for Salford and Wigan:

Source: NHS Futures.

The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent speech and language therapists working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS England North West region in each of the last five years:

Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics

Note: These staff will provide services in a range of settings including in education. However, therapists will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, independent provision and third sector/ charitable organisations for which data is not held centrally.

The Government takes electrical safety very seriously and the Building Regulations require work to homes’ fixed electrical systems to be carried out safely to protect people from fire and injury. Government-backed schemes exist to ensure domestic electricians are qualified and registered and can self-certify their work. This is an essential part of safety protections and is one of several schemes – called the competent person schemes – that oversee the competence of tradespeople in many disciplines by considering their qualifications and experience as well as inspecting samples of their work. There are no plans to replace this model. Government does consider applications from new scheme providers periodically but there are no plans currently to invite new applications.

Information about appeal outcomes to SEND is published at: Tribunals statistics quarterly: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.

Appeal outcomes are not broken down by Local Authority in the published data as requested in this PQ. These data are provided for academic years September to August as follows:

1 - In addition to the categories requested appeals can be struck out. This is included in the total number of appeals.

2 - (B) Is the total of cases where the appellant wins the majority of the appeal (i.e. the appellant may be successful in 2 out of the 3 sections they appeal against).

3 - The information provided has been extracted from local management information.

The majority of cases are decided within 12 months, although some more complicated cases can take significantly longer.

The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Salford**.

The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Wigan**.

*The tables do not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.

**The above tables include all awards where the applicant named Wigan or Salford as the town in their home address in their application.

The table below provides the number of compensation awards paid in each of the last five calendar years to applicants living in Salford, and the value of those awards.

Salford

The table below provides the number of compensation awards paid in each of the last five calendar years to applicants living in Wigan, and the value of those awards.

Wigan

*The tables do not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.

**The above tables include all awards where the applicant named Wigan or Salford as the town in their home address in their application.