Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to NHS dentistry in Worsley and Eccles constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds information on the cost of two zones (1+2) Manchester Metrolink adult annual travelcards in 2010.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Eccles, (b) Moorside, (c) Patricroft and (d) Swinton to (i) Deansgate, (ii) Manchester Oxford Road, (iii) Manchester Piccadilly, and (iv) Manchester Victoria in 2010.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The price of standard class annual season tickets in 2010 for journeys from the requested stations to these Manchester stations was £741.50.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking steps to help small businesses respond to the payment of delayed invoices by larger businesses.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of delayed invoice payments on (a) self-employed individuals, (b) sole traders and (c) small businesses in the construction industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been waiting over six months to access CAMHS support in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have been accepted by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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:
Month | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
April | 267 | 196 | 287 | 127 | 75 |
May | 325 | 304 | 269 | 171 | 84 |
June | 301 | 386 | 223 | 156 | 101 |
July | 385 | 378 | 158 | 127 | 130 |
August | 194 | 243 | 336 | 78 | 121 |
September | 317 | 243 | 277 | 153 | 175 |
October | 366 | 262 | 295 | 123 | 161 |
November | 343 | 340 | 277 | 107 | 176 |
December | 302 | 246 | 305 | 118 | 117 |
January |
| 283 | 265 | 126 | 107 |
February |
| 269 | 300 | 173 | 106 |
March |
| 316 | 288 | 170 | 169 |
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:
Month | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
April | 125 | 51 | 100 | 44 | 4 |
May | 130 | 111 | 97 | 27 | 5 |
June | 118 | 96 | 87 | 30 | 12 |
July | 79 | 92 | 53 | 41 | 20 |
August | 50 | 45 | 39 | 39 | 23 |
September | 117 | 72 | 62 | 18 | 34 |
October | 166 | 107 | 66 | 34 | 30 |
November | 163 | 118 | 87 | 53 | 28 |
December | 97 | 108 | 46 | 34 | 25 |
January |
| 136 | 82 | 95 | 25 |
February |
| 115 | 63 | 75 | 34 |
March |
| 132 | 91 | 97 | 40 |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average funding per pupil was in mainstream schools in (a) Worsley and Eccles constituency, (b) Salford (c) Wigan (d) the North West and (e) England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
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.
| One Year per-pupil funding | |||
| Salford | Wigan | North West | England |
2021/22 | £ 5,474 | £ 5,069 | £ 5,221 | £ 5,228 |
2022/23 | £ 5,638 | £ 5,199 | £ 5,366 | £ 5,374 |
2023/24 | £ 5,972 | £ 5,472 | £ 5,644 | £ 5,648 |
2024/25 | £ 6,315 | £ 5,776 | £ 5,962 | £ 5,957 |
2025/26 | £ 6,816 | £ 6,266 | £ 6,454 | £ 6,443 |
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many parents or young people have taken (a) Salford and (b) Wigan to appeal at a tribunal against an Education, Care and Health Plan decision in each of the last five years; and what (i) number and (ii) proportion of those appeals were (A) determined in favour of the appellants, (B) determined in favour of the local authority, (C) withdrawn, (D) conceded before the hearing and (E) still awaiting a hearing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
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:
Salford | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
(A) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the appellants | 6 43% | 20 69% | 41 62% | 46 62% | 54 58% |
(B) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the local authority | 2 14% | 0 0% | 2 3% | 2 3% | 1 1% |
(C) Number and proportion of withdrawn appeals | 2 14% | 4 14% | 9 14% | 18 24% | 7 8% |
(D) Number and proportion of appeals conceded before the hearing | 2 14% | 5 17% | 10 15% | 2 3% | 14 15% |
(E) Number and proportion of appeals still awaiting a hearing | 0 0% | 0 0% | 2 3% | 2 3% | 15 16% |
Total number of appeals to the tribunal | 14 | 29 | 66 | 74 | 93 |
Wigan | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
(A) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the appellants | 1 50% | 5 28% | 4 22% | 10 50% | 13 34% |
(B) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the local authority | 1 50% | 1 6% | 0 0% | 1 5% | 0 0% |
(C) Number and proportion of withdrawn appeals | 0 0% | 3 17% | 5 28% | 4 20% | 5 13% |
(D) Number and proportion of appeals conceded before the hearing | 0 0% | 9 50% | 9 50% | 5 25% | 15 39% |
(E) Number and proportion of appeals still awaiting a hearing | 0 0% | 0 0% | 0 0% | 0 0% | 5 13% |
Total number of appeals to the tribunal | 2 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 38 |
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.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time was between (a) referral and (b) first contact for mental health services for people aged 17 years and under in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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:
Salford | Reporting period | Median wait time (days) | Wigan | Reporting Period | Median wait time (days) |
| November 2024 | 6 |
| November 2024 | 1 |
October 2024 | 7 | October 2024 | 1 | ||
September 2024 | 7 | September 2024 | 4 | ||
August 2024 | 5 | August 2024 | 4 | ||
July 2024 | 6 | July 2024 | 3 | ||
June 2024 | 3 | June 2024 | 1 | ||
May 2024 | 5 | May 2024 | 2 | ||
April 2024 | 5 | April 2024 | 3 | ||
March 2024 | 5 | March 2024 | 5 | ||
February 2024 | 5 | February 2024 | 5 | ||
January 2024 | 5 | January 2024 | 3 | ||
December 2023 | 5 | December 2023 | 2 | ||
November 2023 | 4 | November 2023 | 2 | ||
October 2023 | 4 | October 2023 | 1 | ||
September 2023 | 6 | September 2023 | 2 | ||
August 2023 | 6 | August 2023 | 5 |
Source: NHS Futures.