Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the possible regulatory failures identified in the Review of the Regulation of BetIndex Limited: final report, published on 22 September 2021, in the context of providing compensation to individuals who incurred financial losses as a result of the collapse of Football Index.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer I gave on 8 January 2025 to Question UIN 21381.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether (a) his Department, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is taking steps to support the (i) research and (ii) development of (A) advanced nuclear technologies and (B) sustainable closed fuel cycle systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The DESNZ Advanced Nuclear Fund (ANF) is currently funding research and development of high temperature gas reactors (as part of the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development & Demonstration Programme), coated particle fuels (as part of the Coated Particle Fuels Programme). DESNZ is also supporting the development of small modular reactor technology through the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund and the Low-Cost Nuclear Challenge, which is delivered in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is also funding R&D in development of advanced fuel cycles work, such as research on the properties of high temperature materials, graphite and advanced fuels.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many applications were made to and (b) what the expenditure was from the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund in 2024-25.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the 2024/25 financial year, the adoption and special guardianship support fund received 20,085 applications and all were approved. The expenditure was £60,355,181.91, comprising therapeutic services and administration of the fund.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment recipients are in work in (a) Worsley and Eccles constituency, (b) Salford, (c) Wigan, (d) Greater Manchester City Region and (e) England and Wales.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who are in work by different geographic breakdowns, please see table 1 below.
Table 1: the percentage of PIP claimants who are in work by different geographic breakdowns
Geography | Percentage of PIP claimants in work |
Worsley and Eccles | 20 |
Salford | 13 |
Wigan | 19 |
Greater Manchester City Region | 18 |
England and Wales | 20 |
Source(s): PIP Administrative Data and HMRC data
Notes:
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve links between grassroots sports clubs and schools, in the context of efforts to (a) improve physical education and (b) support participation in sport.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government-funded School Games Organisers (SGOs) play a vital role in ensuring all children have access to local and inclusive sport and physical activity. With over 450 SGOs nationwide, they support schools in providing physical activity both during and outside school hours, while fostering connections with clubs and community initiatives. These organisers also facilitate professional development for school staff, enhancing the quality of physical education lessons and extracurricular activities.
An ongoing review of the SGO network is currently assessing the impact and value for money of various school sport models. This review will also explore and evaluate different delivery models for a future school sport network.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure existing sports facilities are not detrimentally impacted by changes to the planning system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields and formal play spaces, should not be built on unless there is clear evidence it is no longer required, equivalent or better provision is secured in a suitable location, or development of the site is for alternative sports and recreational provision, the benefits of which clearly outweigh the loss of the current or former use. Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities and opportunities for new provision, which plans should then seek to accommodate.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage grassroots sports clubs to share their facilities with local communities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that sports facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active.
Sport England, our arm’s length body that is responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, invests over £250 million a year into grassroots sport and physical activity. A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing organisations together at a local level including the health and sports sectors. This includes their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities.
The Government-funded School Games Organisers are essential in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity. There are over 450 SGOs across the country who support schools in their local areas to provide physical activity both inside and outside of school, with many facilitating links to wider club and community engagement.
We are considering how we can best make all of this work for local communities as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to develop strategies to bring (a) schools, (b) grassroots sports clubs and (c) other relevant organisations together to promote participation in sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that sports facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active.
Sport England, our arm’s length body that is responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, invests over £250 million a year into grassroots sport and physical activity. A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing organisations together at a local level including the health and sports sectors. This includes their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities.
The Government-funded School Games Organisers are essential in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity. There are over 450 SGOs across the country who support schools in their local areas to provide physical activity both inside and outside of school, with many facilitating links to wider club and community engagement.
We are considering how we can best make all of this work for local communities as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of grassroots sports clubs to providing (a) training, (b) experience and (c) other employment related skills as part of the Youth Guarantee Scheme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Sports, arts and culture play a vital role in our society and economy. They create hundreds of thousands of jobs, drive economic growth, and bring joy to millions. That is why we formed our initial Youth Guarantee partnerships with the Premier League, Channel 4, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Across the country, many national and local organisations already do inspiring work with disadvantaged young people – helping them to build skills, grow in confidence, and access meaningful experiences, qualifications, and employment. DWP already works with organisations such as the English Football League, Rugby Football League, CoachCore and SportsWorks.
We are now exploring opportunities to expand initial Youth Guarantee partnerships by bringing additional organisations from the sports, arts, and culture sectors into national partnerships. For example, in the North West there is a network of grassroots sports organisations that we refer young people to for holistic support through the platform of sport.
In the North West they have found that referring to organisations such as Street League gives our young people access to mentoring, career advice, daily sport and fitness activities, and the opportunity to acquire recognised sports qualifications to pursue careers in the industry.
We continue to build relationships with grassroots and league clubs across the country to expand our network of options. Following insight with young people, we continue to work with organisations to identify gaps in their existing offers and how we can tailor programmes to better suit their needs.
These partnerships will connect young people across the country and offer a wide range of development opportunities – such as apprenticeships, work experience, training courses, and employability programmes. By engaging young people in a shared effort to enter and progress in the workforce, we aim to set them on a path to long-term success.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of grassroots sports clubs in preventative healthcare.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport and physical activity including grassroots sports clubs play a vital role in preventing, and helping to treat and manage, a wide range of health conditions and in delivering the Government’s Health Mission.
Latest evidence provided by Sport England shows that physical activity directly prevents 3.2 million cases of long term health conditions per year, including 1.3 million cases of depression and 600,000 cases of diabetes, worth over £10 billion in healthcare savings each year.