Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was in accident and emergency (a) at Bolton Hospital, (b) in each region and (c) in the UK in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes information on accident and emergency waiting times in England, although not at a hospital site or regional level. The following table shows the provisional median total time waited in accident and emergency at the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, and the national figure for England, in February 2025:
Location | Median total time in accident and emergency in minutes |
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust | 194 |
England | 171 |
Source: NHS England’s Provisional Accident and Emergency Quality Indicators for England, February 2025, by provider, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/provisional-accident-and-emergency-quality-indicators-for-england/february-2025-by-provider
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 mitigate against wild fires on the West Pennine Moors.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I was concerned to see there was a wildfire last month in part of the hon. Member’s constituency, at Longworth Road.
Defra encourages landowners and land managers to adopt good quality wildfire management plans and use sustainable methods to manage habitat, such as restoring peatlands. Evidence shows that wetter, healthy-functioning peatlands are more resilient to the impacts of wildfire.
We are currently consulting on proposed changes to The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021, which would extend protections to a broader area of upland peat. The consultation is open until 25 May.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on levels of patient demand at Leigh walk-in centre.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. NHS England publishes official statistics for accident and emergency attendances at a provider, National Health Service trust level. Information for the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust is available at the following link:
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on General Practice coverage per population (a) in Leigh, (b) in each region and (c) in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs), direct patient care staff (DPC), and nurses per 10,000 registered patients in Leigh and in each region of England:
Area | Number of FTE GPs per 10,000 registered patients | Number of FTE DPC staff per 10,000 registered patients | Number of FTE nurses per 10,000 registered patients |
National | 5.82 | 2.70 | 2.57 |
London | 4.97 | 1.71 | 1.31 |
South East | 5.36 | 3.00 | 2.52 |
South West | 6.20 | 3.67 | 3.48 |
Midlands | 6.16 | 2.56 | 2.64 |
North East and Yorkshire | 6.39 | 3.05 | 3.28 |
East of England | 5.46 | 3.21 | 2.71 |
North West | 6.44 | 2.31 | 2.66 |
Leigh and Atherton | 4.97 | 1.32 | 2.06 |
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage peatland restoration on the West Pennine Moors.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as peatlands. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.
Peatland restoration works across England are carried out by local peatland partnerships, such as Lancashire Peat Partnership who are responsible for managing the peatlands in the West Pennine Moors. Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, and going forwards will be primarily funded through Environmental Land Management schemes, such as the Landscape Recovery and Countryside Stewardship schemes.
Private finance will also be vital if we are to meet our peatland restoration ambitions. To support peatland restoration, the Government is implementing a range of policies that will mobilise private investment. These include working with the IUCN to attract investment through the Peatland Code.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the National Literacy Trust's findings that one in seven state primary schools do not have a (a) library or (b) dedicated library space.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bolton West to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 27959.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the escalation of tensions in the Kashmir region following the attack near Pahalgam on 22 April 2025.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
India and Pakistan are both longstanding, important partners of the UK. The UK Government is taking all the steps we can to ensure that recent developments do not lead to uncontrolled escalation. We encourage all to commit to effective channels of engagement to safeguard stability in the region. Alongside international partners, the UK will continue to engage in dialogue in pursuit of long-term regional stability. The Foreign Secretary is in regular dialogue with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts to encourage all parties to take a measured approach. He is also in contact with US Secretary Rubio, French Foreign Minister Barrot, and Gulf Partners to discuss the situation.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 46285 on Ethics and Integrity Commission, when he plans to announce the independent Chair of the Ethics and Integrity Commission.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer he was given to PQ UIN 46285 on 28 April 2025.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of mobile phone signal coverage in Chew Moor; and what steps he is taking to improve mobile phone signal coverage in Bolton West constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom does not publish coverage data at the local level, but their WebChecker indicates that while outdoor 4G coverage is available from all four mobile operators in Chew Moor, large parts of the village have limited 4G indoor coverage. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 99% of the Bolton West constituency has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, while 5G is available from at least one operator outside almost 100% of all premises. I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome their continuing efforts to make improvements.
The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Chew Moor, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.
We work closely with the mobile industry and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using of Empty Dwelling Management Orders to help increase available housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities can use an Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO) to increase available housing by bringing empty homes back into use.
Local authorities can apply for an EDMO when a property has been empty for more than two years. This is subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for the proposal. Local authorities publish local guidance on how they use them.
Local authorities have a range of wider powers and incentives to bring empty homes back into use, which include discretionary powers to charge council tax premiums on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years, and local authorities receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as they would for building a new one through the New Homes Bonus.
The government wants to support local authorities in bringing empty properties back into use and we outlined our intent to strengthen their ability to take over the management of vacant residential properties in the English Devolution White Paper.