Written questions by Brickell.

What information his Department holds on levels of patient demand at Leigh walk-in centre.

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:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2024-25/

What information his Department holds on General Practice coverage per population (a) in Leigh, (b) in each region and (c) in England.

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:AreaNumber of FTE GPs per 10,000 registered patientsNumber of FTE DPC staff per 10,000 registered patientsNumber of FTE nurses per 10,000 registered patientsNational5.822.702.57London4.971.711.31South East5.363.002.52South West6.203.673.48Midlands6.162.562.64North East and Yorkshire6.393.053.28East of England5.463.212.71North West6.442.312.66Leigh and Atherton4.971.322.06

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.

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:LocationMedian total time in accident and emergency in minutesBolton NHS Foundation Trust194England171Source: 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

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of applications for Specified Adult Childcare Credits.

HMRC recognises the difficulties that delays can cause customers and are deploying additional resources to process Specified Adult Childcare Credits.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage peatland restoration on the West Pennine Moors.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to mitigate against wild fires on the West Pennine Moors.

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.

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.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer he was given to PQ UIN 46285 on 28 April 2025.

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.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bolton West to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 27959.

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.

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.

What recent progress his Department has made on establishing an ethics and integrity commission.

We are restoring confidence in government and the highest standards in public life and have already taken steps to improve probity and transparency, including through issuing a new Ministerial Code which highlights the importance of the principles of public life, by strengthening the terms of reference for the Independent Adviser, and by introducing a new monthly Register of Gifts and Hospitality.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) investigations have been opened and (b) enforcement action taken under the Water Industries Act 1991, section 3(3)(a).

Section 3(3)(a) of the Water Industry Act 1991 sets a requirement on water companies ‘to have regard to the desirability of preserving for the public any freedom of access to areas of woodland, mountains, moor, heath, down, cliff or foreshore and other places of natural beauty’. The Secretary of State is not currently investigating or undertaking enforcement action under Section 18 of the Water Industry Act in respect of this requirement.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of goods labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders which actually originate from Israeli settlements.

HMRC are responsible for the conduct of origin verification checks on imported goods. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. Data on imports from Israel is available on www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.

Whether his Department is taking steps to implement the findings of the Care Quality Commission Community Mental Health Survey 2024, published on 4 April 2025.

We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s Community Mental Health Survey 2024, and we are carefully considering its findings.Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care that they need. The Government is committed to changing that by improving mental health care across the spectrum of need, from serious mental illness to common mental health conditions.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, create a network of open access community Young Futures hubs, recruit 8,500 mental health workers to ease pressure on busy mental health services, and modernise the Mental Health Act.The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will set out an agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, including moving care from hospitals to the community. NHS England is currently piloting neighbourhood based, open access community mental health centres in six areas to support people experiencing mental ill health.We are committing £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, thereby reducing pressure on busy accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when and where they need it.We have also committed £75 million of capital investment to reduce out-of-area placements.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the compliance of water companies with the Water and Sewerage (Conservation, Access and Recreation) (Code of Practice) Order 2000.

It is water companies’ responsibility to comply with their obligations in respect of the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation. The Secretary of State will take companies’ actual or likely non-compliance with the Code of Practice into account where applicable.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the water sector meets its obligations under the Water and Sewerage (Conservation, Access and Recreation) (Code of Practice) Order 2000.

It is water companies’ responsibility to comply with their obligations in respect of the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation. The Secretary of State will take companies’ actual or likely non-compliance with the Code of Practice into account where applicable.

Whether she has had discussions with Northern Rail on the potential impact of the proposed reduction in (a) Sunday and (b) late evening services between Westhoughton Station and Manchester central stations on local connectivity.

Northern trains have no plans to reduce services on the Manchester-Southport line that serves Westhoughton. Some Sunday services have been temporarily removed from the timetable. This was agreed by Northern leaders as part of Northern’s work to stabilise and then improve services, including to Westhoughton.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of inland waters that have a statutory right of access for recreational users.

Current estimates are that around 4%, or 1,400 miles, of rivers in England and Wales have a public right of navigation. There are around 3,500 miles of canal and river navigations that have a public right of access through the licensing regimes operated by the navigation authorities that own them.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to extend rights of responsible access to include more inland waters for recreational use.

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors, including blue spaces, for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, including onto unregulated inland waterways, working closely with key stakeholders to reduce barriers preventing people from accessing green and blue spaces.