Iqbal Mohamed

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We share your ambition to ensure that young people in Dewsbury get the opportunities to benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

We recognise that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country and are acting to support more people to get active wherever they live. On 21 March we announced £100 million funding to be delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, supporting high-quality, inclusive facilities across the UK.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We share your ambition to ensure that young people in Dewsbury get the opportunities to benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

We recognise that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country and are acting to support more people to get active wherever they live. On 21 March we announced £100 million funding to be delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, supporting high-quality, inclusive facilities across the UK.

The department collects information from local authorities on the number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments carried out and the number of EHC plans issued on a calendar year basis. The latest figures we hold relate to the 2023 calendar year. Information for the 2024 calendar year will be published on 26 June.

The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments and the number of EHC plans issued within the statutory timeframe of 20 weeks from the date of the request for EHC needs assessment is given for Kirklees local authority in the table available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2a676326-624e-4d03-96c7-08dd85738b16.

Targeting Winter Fuel Payments was a difficult decision, but the right decision given the challenging public finances. The Government is, however, protecting pensioners on the lowest incomes. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or other qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 or over.

A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality. Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

We are working with colleagues in The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to finalise the publication of algorithmic transparency records for existing tools as well as tools being considered for future deployment in the DWP.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity in to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

We recognise that as a department we come into contact with some claimants who have complex needs or are vulnerable. The department already has processes in place to support and safeguard people who use our services, and we will continue to provide this support as changes are taken forward. We want to go further so that there is a clear and transparent process in place to ensure vulnerable individuals are adequately supported. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we have committed to undertaking a thorough review of our current approach to safeguarding, with the aim of developing and implementing a new departmental wide approach.