Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will discuss with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council the future of the 50m Grand Central Swimming Pool in Stockport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve.
In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, over the next four years. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage foreign direct investment in the North West region.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department actively promotes foreign direct investment into the North West through the Office for Investment, which works closely with regional stakeholders to identify, shape and market regional opportunities.
The Government has placed the North West at the centre of its Northern Growth Strategy and Industrial Strategy, using large public investments to attract private capital. This includes a multi‑billion‑pound investment in Northern Powerhouse Rail (including a new Liverpool – Manchester line via Manchester Airport and Warrington), as well as targeted investments such as the new Digital Campus in Manchester and the National Cryogenics Facility in Cheshire (Liverpool City Region), positioning the North West as a global quantum technologies hub.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that primary and secondary school pupils in Greater Manchester are provided with nutritious, healthy and minimally processed food in schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We are consulting on proposed updates to the school food standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation will run for nine weeks, closing on 12 June 2026. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.
We have worked with the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health and Social Care and consulted health and academic experts on the issue of ultra-processed foods, to ensure all changes are evidence-based. We know that many products classified as ultra-processed foods are often high in free sugars, saturated fats and/or salt, and it is levels of these which we are trying to reduce, including processed meats, confectionery and savoury snacks.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for UK foreign policy of the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 25 March 2026 recognising the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity and calling for reparatory justice; and for what reasons the United Kingdom abstained in that vote.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment is required, but the Hon Member can find the UK's Explanation of Vote at the following link on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-explanation-of-vote-on-the-declaration-of-the-trafficking-of-enslaved-africans-and-racialised-chattel-enslavement-of-africans-as-the-gravest-crime.