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.
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 estimate he has made of the amount of inland waters that have a statutory right of access for recreational users.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, 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.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, 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.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
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.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on establishing an ethics and integrity commission.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
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 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.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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 ensure that the water sector meets its obligations under the Water and Sewerage (Conservation, Access and Recreation) (Code of Practice) Order 2000.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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, whether his Department plans to extend rights of responsible access to include more inland waters for recreational use.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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, how many (a) investigations have been opened and (b) enforcement action taken under the Water Industries Act 1991, section 3(3)(a).
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.