Written questions by Gibson.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications have been received under the 2025 round of animal health and welfare grants; and what proportion of these applications have been approved in Wiltshire.

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF 25) opened for applications on the 29 May this year and will close at midday on 10 July 2025. The application process is ongoing; therefore, applications have not been approved at this stage.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to launch a public consultation on the future use of farrowing crates in the UK.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield, PQ 41698.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of using degree classification as an eligibility criterion for teacher training bursaries in shortage subjects.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of long-term water supply resilience in (a) the South West of England and (b) Wiltshire.

South West Water recently received permission from Defra to publish and implement its Water Resources Management plan. Wessex Water and Bristol Water published their plans in 2024. Key to achieving sustainable water resources, will be the development of a range of Strategic Resource Options, and improved water demand management. The plans covering the South West region show companies are planning to build new reservoirs, including new reservoirs at Cheddar and East Mendips. South West Water is currently building a new desalination plant in Cornwall. For Wiltshire, the most significant of these involves the development of a new reservoir in the Mendips, providing confidence in supplies well into the future. Improved investment is allowing water companies to improve drought resilience, and they will be able to cope with a 1:500 year drought by 2040, ensuring a high level of resilience.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the regional distribution of ineligible applicants for teacher training bursaries based on degree classification; and how many ineligible applicants there were in Wiltshire in each of the last five years.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

Whether the completion of a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course is considered as part of the eligibility criteria for postgraduate teacher training bursaries.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure timely reporting of suspected animal cruelty incidents to the Animal and Plant Health Agency; and whether guidance is issued to (a) industry and (b) the public on how and when to report.

There is newly published guidance on what and how to report animal welfare concerns in England (Report farm animal welfare concerns - GOV.UK); additional contact details are available at the top of the APHA contact list on GOV.UK. For England and Wales, there is a telephone number which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Scotland, people can call their local APHA field service office. People should contact APHA immediately with concerns about farm animals being neglected, abused or mistreated. If the concern about the welfare of farm animals is not urgent, they can email APHA at customeradvice@apha.gov.uk. APHA leads on responding to animal welfare concerns in livestock. For concerns about wild animals or pets, people can contact their local council, private veterinary surgeon or wildlife rescue centre.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the average time taken is between suspected incidents of animal cruelty and the receipt of those reports by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in the last 12 months.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is not keeping records of time between suspected incidents of animal cruelty and the receipt of those reports by the Agency; consequently, this information is not held by Defra. However, over the last 12 months there have been instances where activist groups have been collecting evidence over long periods of time and APHA has not been informed until the exposés were made public. This information is not held by Defra. We urge anyone having concerns of farm animals being neglected, abused, or mistreated to contact APHA immediately and – in all circumstances- without undue delays. For England and Wales, there is a telephone number which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Scotland, people can call their local APHA field service office. Guidance on how to report animal welfare concerns in England is available on Gov.uk Report farm animal welfare concerns - GOV.UK; the full list of contact details including Wales and Scotland is available on the following page Contact APHA - GOV.UK.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the minimum unit of dental activity value to £35; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on incentivising dentists to stay in the NHS while a new dental contract is being developed.

From 1 April 2024, the Department raised the minimum Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) rate to £28 to support practices with historically low UDA rates, benefitting 876 contracts. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have the flexibility to influence the UDA rate locally, which may help to support local interventions, and there are differential UDA rates across England. Differential UDA rates allow providers to use differing pay rates to reflect the local market rates.More broadly, the Government is committed to reforming the dental contract and will not wait to make improvements to the current system where these can increase access and incentivise the workforce to deliver more National Health Service care.

What steps he plans to take to increase the number of radiologists.

We are committed to training the staff we need, including radiologists, to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where the need is greatest.To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

With reference to the publication entitled Skills England: Sector evidence on the growth and skills offer, published in June 2025, what steps her Department is taking to ensure vocational pathways are presented to young people on an equal basis to university routes.

The publication referred to sets out Skills England‘s findings from its analysis and engagement with sectors on the growth and skills offer, supported by its assessments of skills needs. Skills England and the department will work together to ensure the offer meets the needs of employers across the country. Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life. The department is investing in, and promoting, a wide range of non-academic routes to support young people into employment, including: T Levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them work. Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focused level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers. Skills Bootcamps, which give learners the chance to build sector-specific skills and include with a job interview on completion. Free Courses for Jobs, giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications. There is also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve the academic outcomes of students with learning difficulties in Wiltshire.

For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department and NHS England have been supporting local areas to improve their SEND service delivery for a number of years. This includes a monitoring, support and challenge relationship following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Where a local authority does not meet its duties, we can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement.Wiltshire’s Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND inspection, carried out in October 2024, identified positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.The report, which was published on 6 December 2024, included no Areas for Priority Action and highlighted that children and young people with SEND typically benefit from personalised provision delivered by dedicated staff from across education, health and social care, and when children and young people transition into school practitioners have a shared vision and commitment to inclusion.Officials from the department and NHS England meet regularly with partners from the local area, including health, education, agencies, parent/carer, children and young people representatives, to review and reflect on the SEND services.

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for SMEs to take on apprentices.

I refer the hon. Member for Chippenham to the answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37179.

Whether he plans to increase the (a) physical and (b) workforce capacity of radiology departments for (i) CT and (ii) MRI scanners.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, £1.65 billion of capital will be investment in 2025/26 to support NHS performance across secondary and emergency care, including funding for new diagnostic scanners.The Government is continuing to invest in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to expand diagnostic capacity, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. 169 CDCs are currently operational, and have delivered nearly 14 million additional diagnostic tests since July 2021, as per latest published data, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/cdc-management-information/Our Elective Reform Plan committed to building up to five new CDCs, as well as expanding existing CDCs and increasing opening hours.In addition, the Government is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26, enabling systems to allocate funding to local priorities such as replacement diagnostic and radiotherapy equipment.We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. This will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills, including in radiology departments, to deliver the care patients need when they need it.As of February 2025, there are 5,859 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of clinical radiology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 223, or 4.0%, more than in 2024 and 1,244, or 26.9%, more than in 2020. There are also 22,599 FTE therapeutic and diagnostic radiographers working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England in February 2025. This is 1,140, or 5.3%, more than in 2024 and 4,606, or 25.6%, more than in 2020. Data on the NHS workforce is published by NHS England monthly, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics

With reference to the workforce census reports by the Royal College of Radiologists, published on 5 June 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the age at which clinical (a) oncologists and (b) radiologists are leaving the NHS workforce.

The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, to ensure the retention of our hardworking and dedicated staff, including oncologists and radiologists.The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention, including supporting staff wellbeing, focusing on improving organisational culture, and promoting flexible working opportunities. Partial retirement is now also available as an alternative to full retirement, enabling NHS staff, with the agreement of their employer, to draw down some or all their pension whilst continuing to work and build up further pension, subject to a reduction in pensionable pay.

Whether he plans to take steps to reduce the number of clinical (a) radiologists and (b) oncologists who leave the workforce below the age of 50.

The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, to ensure the retention of our hardworking and dedicated staff, including oncologists and radiologists.The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention, including supporting staff wellbeing, focusing on improving organisational culture, and promoting flexible working opportunities. Partial retirement is now also available as an alternative to full retirement, enabling NHS staff, with the agreement of their employer, to draw down some or all their pension whilst continuing to work and build up further pension, subject to a reduction in pensionable pay.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of allocating marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar in non-English GCSE subjects on students with dyslexia.

I refer the hon. Member for Chippenham to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57812.

Whether he plans to take steps to help support (a) integrated care boards and (b) cancer alliances to develop (i) local and (ii) regional long-term workforce plans.

We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places to deliver the care patients need, transforming the health service and making it fit for the future.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Earlier this year, NHS England completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake to provide a national overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed widely recognised challenges, as well as significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, including general practitioners in Wiltshire, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. Sessions one and two of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288The third session is currently being finalised and will be launched later in 2025.The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.We are developing a final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish in due course. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease in Wiltshire and throughout England.

What support his Department provides to GPs to help improve the (a) early recognition and (b) management of ME in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) areas in Wiltshire with limited specialist services.

Earlier this year, NHS England completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake to provide a national overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed widely recognised challenges, as well as significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, including general practitioners in Wiltshire, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. Sessions one and two of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288The third session is currently being finalised and will be launched later in 2025.The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.We are developing a final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish in due course. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease in Wiltshire and throughout England.