Written questions by Gibson.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the abuse of older people in included in the upcoming violence against women and girls strategy.

This Government recognises the devastating impact domestic abuse can have on victims and is committed to tackling abuse in all its forms. We know that whilst anyone can experience domestic abuse, for older victims, abuse may be more hidden or compounded by other age-related issues such as mental or physical ill health. The upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy will reflect the varied experiences and needs of different victim cohorts.We are providing Hourglass, a charity dedicated to addressing the neglect and abuse of older people, with £532,121 in 2025-26. This funding represents a 23% uplift to the previous financial year and will provide helpline and advocacy support for older victims across England and Wales.

What steps she is taking through the criminal justice system to help tackle the abuse of older people.

The Government is clear that violence and abuse towards anybody is unacceptable. Whilst anybody can suffer from domestic abuse, for older victims, we know that abuse may be more disguised or compounded by other age-related factors, such as ill health, or through other forms such as economic abuse.In recognition of this, the Home Office provides funding to Hourglass, a specialist elder abuse charity, and has done so for a number of years, and have increased their funding this year, to enhance their helpline, provide casework support, and train specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. We remain committed to tackling all forms of violence and abuse.

Whether she plans to commemorate UN World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June 2025.

The Government is clear that violence and abuse towards anybody is unacceptable. Whilst anybody can suffer from domestic abuse, for older victims, we know that abuse may be more disguised or compounded by other age-related factors, such as ill health, or through other forms such as economic abuse.In recognition of this, the Home Office provides funding to Hourglass, a specialist elder abuse charity, and has done so for a number of years, and have increased their funding this year, to enhance their helpline, provide casework support, and train specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. We remain committed to tackling all forms of violence and abuse.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the £7 million allocated to Wiltshire Council under the bus service improvement plan 2025–26 in meeting the county's rural transport needs.

The government allocated £6.9 million to Wiltshire Council in 25/26 through the £712 million Local Authority Bus Grant to support and improve bus services. This includes £4 million to support the delivery of Wiltshire’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). The government used a formula to determine BSIP allocations in 25/26 based on need, including population, the distance that buses travel, and the levels of deprivation. Under the formula, Wiltshire Council have seen an increase in BSIP funding compared to 24/25, when they were allocated £2.1 million.This funding can be used whichever way the local transport authority wishes to deliver better bus services for passengers, including supporting bus services in rural areas.

Whether his Department plans to increase the number of British Army personnel.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) on 13 May 2025 to Question 50001.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of potential impact of surface water flooding on communities in Wiltshire; and what funding he has provided to help mitigate flooding risks in Wiltshire since 2015.

Lead local flood authorities are required to manage local flood risks from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. Local flood risks should be identified and managed as part of a local flood risk management strategy. The two lead local flood authorities in Wiltshire are Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. In the area covered by Wiltshire Council, £38,597,000 of Capital Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding was invested between 2015/16 and 2024/25 by the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities on flood related projects. The most significant of these was the Environment Agency led Salisbury River Park Scheme which spent £35,070,000 to better protect 1,062 properties. These totals exclude maintenance spending, property-level protection schemes, and some projects which cross county borders. In the area covered by Swindon Borough Council, £2,615,993 was invested between 2015/16 and 2024/25 by the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities on flood related projects.

What steps her Department takes to monitor the effectiveness of (a) respite and (b) support services for young carers in Wiltshire; and what recent assessment she has made of that effectiveness.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

Whether she has made a comparative assessment of the (a) educational attainment and (b) progression of young carers with their peers in Wiltshire.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

What criteria was used to assess the eligibility of schools for the Schools Rebuilding Progamme; and how many schools in Wilshire have been included since 2020. .

Schools have been prioritised because they met one or more of the following criteria:They had buildings of specific construction types that require replacement.Their buildings had the highest condition need, identified in data collected in the Condition Data Collection and verified through collecting additional condition information, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-programme-information-and-guidance.Their buildings had severe and urgent condition need that meant they were a high priority for replacement.Their buildings had risks that have the potential to cause significant harm to pupils or staff that meant they were a high priority for replacement.More information about how the department prioritised schools can be found in the published methodology notes, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The number of schools in Wiltshire that have been included in the School Rebuilding Programme is 3.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing a legal duty on all Government departments to give due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant in decision-making affecting military families in Wiltshire.

Following guidance from Ministers to “put the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law”, officials are currently developing plans to extend the scope of the Covenant Legal Duty, in line with our manifesto commitment, across a broad range of policy areas. This broad, and maximalist approach will demonstrate and reinforce the Government’s steadfast commitment to improving the lives of the Armed Forces community and renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve. Ministry of Defence officials anticipate that plans for the Duty extension will raise awareness of the Covenant, drive better outcomes for the Armed Forces community, including those in Wiltshire, and help mitigate and tackle disadvantage. Further details will be brought forward in due course.

What the average dispensing time for a prescription in the NHS South West for each month between May 2015 and April 2025.

The Department does not hold data on average dispensing time, and it is not routinely collected. Pharmacies are independent businesses who follow their own individual standard operating procedures in dispensing medicines. How they order, receive, and label medicines will vary according to their business model and will depend on if a medicine is a repeat or an acute prescription.Pharmacies are expected to maintain a reasonable stock holding to meet their legal obligations to dispense all prescriptions with reasonable promptness, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine.

What mechanisms are in place to monitor compliance with (a) licence conditions and (b) restraining orders for early-released offenders in Wiltshire; and what steps she takes to respond to breaches.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.Eligibility under SDS40 is determined by law and we exempted a number of offences from the measure. Unlike the previous Government’s ECSL scheme, we excluded certain offences connected to domestic abuse. SDS40 offence exclusions include specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation. Our exclusions send a very clear message about how seriously domestic abuse is taken by this Government, which was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade. Tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission.However, there is no one offence for domestic abuse, meaning it was not possible to exempt all domestic abusers.To safeguard victims and their families, SDS40 was introduced with an eight-week implementation period, clear offence-based exclusions, and extensive coordination across the Criminal Justice System. Offenders released under SDS40 are subject to strict licence conditions and close supervision by probation services. Any breach of these conditions can result in immediate recall to custody. We will also recruit a further 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 to ensure probation has the right resource to supervise high risk offenders and meet the growing demands of our justice system.We have published SDS40 release data as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.

What his Department's timetable is for publishing (a) a full timeline and (b) funding pathway for achieving the target of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence; and what plans he has for infrastructure upgrades at bases in Wiltshire.

The pathway to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence was set out in the Spring Statement earlier this year and will be reflected in the outcome of the second phase of the Spending Review that is due to be finalised on 11 June 2025.The Defence Housing Strategy, planned for publication later this year, will set out a roadmap to deliver a generational renewal of military accommodation. The main objective is to raise the minimum standard of Armed Forces housing across the MOD estate, including military housing in Wiltshire.

What proportion of young carers in Wiltshire have received a formal assessment of their needs in the last 12 months.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

Whether his Department has reviewed the performance of housing maintenance contracts for military service accommodation in Wiltshire.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation continues to drive for improved performance from the Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation Industry Partners in all regions, including Wiltshire. Performance is monitored on a monthly basis, including oversight at Chief Executive level, to hold Industry Partners to account. The performance of housing maintenance contracts for Service Family Accommodation in Wiltshire has not been specifically reviewed since it is part of the contract covering the wider South West accommodation region.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of early release schemes on the safety of domestic abuse survivors in Wiltshire.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.Eligibility under SDS40 is determined by law and we exempted a number of offences from the measure. Unlike the previous Government’s ECSL scheme, we excluded certain offences connected to domestic abuse. SDS40 offence exclusions include specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation. Our exclusions send a very clear message about how seriously domestic abuse is taken by this Government, which was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade. Tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission.However, there is no one offence for domestic abuse, meaning it was not possible to exempt all domestic abusers.To safeguard victims and their families, SDS40 was introduced with an eight-week implementation period, clear offence-based exclusions, and extensive coordination across the Criminal Justice System. Offenders released under SDS40 are subject to strict licence conditions and close supervision by probation services. Any breach of these conditions can result in immediate recall to custody. We will also recruit a further 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 to ensure probation has the right resource to supervise high risk offenders and meet the growing demands of our justice system.We have published SDS40 release data as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of people who (a) have been convicted of offences related to domestic abuse in Wiltshire and (b) may be eligible for early release; and what steps her Department is taking to safeguard (i) victims and (ii) victims' families when domestic abusers are released early.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.Eligibility under SDS40 is determined by law and we exempted a number of offences from the measure. Unlike the previous Government’s ECSL scheme, we excluded certain offences connected to domestic abuse. SDS40 offence exclusions include specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation. Our exclusions send a very clear message about how seriously domestic abuse is taken by this Government, which was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade. Tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission.However, there is no one offence for domestic abuse, meaning it was not possible to exempt all domestic abusers.To safeguard victims and their families, SDS40 was introduced with an eight-week implementation period, clear offence-based exclusions, and extensive coordination across the Criminal Justice System. Offenders released under SDS40 are subject to strict licence conditions and close supervision by probation services. Any breach of these conditions can result in immediate recall to custody. We will also recruit a further 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 to ensure probation has the right resource to supervise high risk offenders and meet the growing demands of our justice system.We have published SDS40 release data as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.

If he will make it his policy to use a proportion of the additional funding for defence to improve (a) accommodation and (b) facilities for (i) service personnel and (ii) their families in Wiltshire.

The Defence Housing Strategy, planned for publication later this year, will set out a roadmap to deliver a generational renewal of military accommodation. The main objective is to raise the minimum standard of Armed Forces housing across the Ministry of Defence estate, including military housing in Wiltshire.

How much capital funding her Department has provided to schools in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK in each year since 2015.

Since 2015, the department has spent approximately £50 billion on capital investment across England.£19 billion of that total has supported responsible bodies to invest in the condition of the estate. This is in addition to major rebuilding programmes, including the Priority School Building Programme (532 schools across England, including five in Wiltshire) and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) (518 schools, including three in Wiltshire).Since 2010, previous governments have taken capital decisions which have allowed the condition of the school estate to decline significantly. This government is tackling that inheritance, which is why for 2025/26, we have increased condition allocations to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. More information on these allocations can be found on GOV.UK. We have also committed £1.4 billion for 2025/26 to continue the current SRP. The number of schools in the SRP released for delivery will increase to 100 this financial year. This means work on these schools can begin sooner.Local authorities in England have been allocated £10.3 billion of basic need funding between 2015/16 and 2027/28, of which Wiltshire Council has been allocated £62.2 million, to provide mainstream school places.Of the £3.8 billion high needs capital investment since 2018, Wiltshire has been allocated £29 million to create or improve provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.Since 2015, over 450 new free schools have opened (not including studio schools or University Technical Colleges (UTC)), and of those, four schools and one UTC have opened in Wiltshire. The UTC has subsequently closed.From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 is providing updated data on the condition of schools in England. Findings from Condition Data Collection 1 can be accessed here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of capital spending since 2015 on the (a) condition and (b) safety of school buildings in Wiltshire.

Since 2015, the department has spent approximately £50 billion on capital investment across England.£19 billion of that total has supported responsible bodies to invest in the condition of the estate. This is in addition to major rebuilding programmes, including the Priority School Building Programme (532 schools across England, including five in Wiltshire) and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) (518 schools, including three in Wiltshire).Since 2010, previous governments have taken capital decisions which have allowed the condition of the school estate to decline significantly. This government is tackling that inheritance, which is why for 2025/26, we have increased condition allocations to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. More information on these allocations can be found on GOV.UK. We have also committed £1.4 billion for 2025/26 to continue the current SRP. The number of schools in the SRP released for delivery will increase to 100 this financial year. This means work on these schools can begin sooner.Local authorities in England have been allocated £10.3 billion of basic need funding between 2015/16 and 2027/28, of which Wiltshire Council has been allocated £62.2 million, to provide mainstream school places.Of the £3.8 billion high needs capital investment since 2018, Wiltshire has been allocated £29 million to create or improve provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.Since 2015, over 450 new free schools have opened (not including studio schools or University Technical Colleges (UTC)), and of those, four schools and one UTC have opened in Wiltshire. The UTC has subsequently closed.From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 is providing updated data on the condition of schools in England. Findings from Condition Data Collection 1 can be accessed here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.