Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has held recent discussions with EU Member States on extending the Youth Mobility Scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether distribution of allocations from the Swimming Pool Support Fund will be at the discretion of local authorities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
The Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) will focus on public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. This could include public swimming facilities who have reduced their hours in order to keep services going. Full details of eligibility requirements for the scheme and the application process will be published by Sport England shortly.
Both immediate support for cost-pressures and investment in energy efficiency measures will be targeted to support facilities which are most in need. Funding will be distributed following a competitive application process and made available in the 2023/24 financial year, with grants being made directly to successful local authorities.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, when those funds will be made available to local authorities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
The Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) will focus on public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. This could include public swimming facilities who have reduced their hours in order to keep services going. Full details of eligibility requirements for the scheme and the application process will be published by Sport England shortly.
Both immediate support for cost-pressures and investment in energy efficiency measures will be targeted to support facilities which are most in need. Funding will be distributed following a competitive application process and made available in the 2023/24 financial year, with grants being made directly to successful local authorities.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, when he plans to publish further guidance and eligibility criteria for that fund.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
The Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) will focus on public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. This could include public swimming facilities who have reduced their hours in order to keep services going. Full details of eligibility requirements for the scheme and the application process will be published by Sport England shortly.
Both immediate support for cost-pressures and investment in energy efficiency measures will be targeted to support facilities which are most in need. Funding will be distributed following a competitive application process and made available in the 2023/24 financial year, with grants being made directly to successful local authorities.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, what estimate he has made of the number of swimming pools he expects that fund to support.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
The Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) will focus on public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. This could include public swimming facilities who have reduced their hours in order to keep services going. Full details of eligibility requirements for the scheme and the application process will be published by Sport England shortly.
Both immediate support for cost-pressures and investment in energy efficiency measures will be targeted to support facilities which are most in need. Funding will be distributed following a competitive application process and made available in the 2023/24 financial year, with grants being made directly to successful local authorities.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether local authorities will be able to apply to the Swimming Pool Support Fund to reopen (a) permanently and (b) temporarily closed swimming pools.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
The Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) will focus on public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. This could include public swimming facilities who have reduced their hours in order to keep services going. Full details of eligibility requirements for the scheme and the application process will be published by Sport England shortly.
Both immediate support for cost-pressures and investment in energy efficiency measures will be targeted to support facilities which are most in need. Funding will be distributed following a competitive application process and made available in the 2023/24 financial year, with grants being made directly to successful local authorities.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed closure of the coking ovens at British Steel's Scunthorpe site on the level of UK demand for coking coal from the proposed Whitehaven mine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The government has not made an assessment as we are not party to any commercial discussions between British Steel and the operator of the proposed Whitehaven mine.
More broadly, the decision of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities regarding the coal mine followed a comprehensive planning inquiry that heard from over 40 different witnesses and considered matters such as the demand for coking coal, climate change and impact on the local economy.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 help reduce waiting times for cancer (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment in Manchester Withington constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To support elective recovery and reduce waiting times, including in cancer care, the Government worked with NHS England to publish the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care in February 2022. To deliver this plan, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
Diagnostics are a crucial part of cancer pathways. The Government awarded £2.3 billion at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. As part of this investment, up to 160 new Community Diagnostic Centres will deliver additional diagnostic capacity in England.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Major Conditions Strategy will tackle waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment in Manchester, Withington constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Major Conditions Strategy will cover the cancer patient pathway from prevention, through treatment, to follow-up care, and set out the standards patients should expect in the short term and over a five year timeframe.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take through the Major Conditions Strategy to help reduce waiting times for cancer (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Major Conditions Strategy will cover the cancer patient pathway from prevention, through treatment, to follow-up care, and set out the standards patients should expect in the short term and over a five year timeframe.