Written questions by Gibson.

When she plans to publish details on how (a) disabled people and (b) representative organisations can contribute to the Timms Review of the PIP assessment.

We published the Terms of Reference for the review (the Timms Review) on 30 June 2025, and will be updating them shortly.As set out in the Terms of Reference, we are committed to co-producing the review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, experts, clinicians, MPs, and other stakeholders. We will engage widely over the summer to design the process for the work of the review and consider how it can best be co-produced to ensure that expertise from a range of different perspectives is drawn upon.We will work on how to embed disabled people in the leadership of the group, ensuring that we include those with relevant lived and professional experience. We will also set up arrangements to involve disabled people much more broadly.

If her Department will publish a timetable for stakeholder engagement in the Timms Review.

We published the Terms of Reference for the review (the Timms Review) on 30 June 2025, and will be updating them shortly.As set out in the Terms of Reference, we are committed to co-producing the review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, experts, clinicians, MPs, and other stakeholders. We will engage widely over the summer to design the process for the work of the review and consider how it can best be co-produced to ensure that expertise from a range of different perspectives is drawn upon.We will work on how to embed disabled people in the leadership of the group, ensuring that we include those with relevant lived and professional experience. We will also set up arrangements to involve disabled people much more broadly.

Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms exist for residents to report breaches of the fit and proper person requirements (a) anonymously and (b) safely; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that those mechanisms are effective.

The fit and proper person test, which applies to a site owner or the person appointed to manage a park homes site, is aimed at ensuring that those managing park home sites are competent to do so. Local authorities are responsible for assessing this test and enforcing against breaches of the legislation. Anyone who has concerns about a site owner’s conduct or capability should contact the local authority. Concerns can be shared anonymously in writing or by phone, however it is for each authority to decide how they treat anonymous reports. If, after a person has been included in the register, new evidence relevant to the person's inclusion in the register becomes available, the local authority may decide to remove them from the register or impose additional conditions that must be met to retain their entry on the register. Where properly applied by local authorities, the fit and proper person legislation has been shown to be effective. We will continue to monitor its operation and consider whether any changes are required.

If he will revise the Eatwell Guide to include explicit guidance on (a) limiting ultra-processed food and (b) promoting whole and minimally processed foods.

United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). In 2023, the SACN reviewed the scientific basis of UK recommendations in its report Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years.The SACN also reviewed the evidence on processed foods and health in its 2023 and 2025 position statements, as well as non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) in a position statement published in 2025.The SACN has made a number of recommendations for children in relation to the consumption of processed foods and drinks, for instance:formula milks are not required by children aged one to five years old;foods, including snacks, that are energy dense and high in saturated fat, salt, or sugars should be limited in children aged one to five years old, in line with current UK dietary recommendations;commercially manufactured foods and drinks marketed specifically for infants and young children are not needed to meet nutrition requirements; andgiving children drinks and food sweetened with sugar or NSS should be avoided, and they should instead be given unsweetened food.The SACN has concluded that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods which are high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and which are and low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and concerns raised in relation to health.The SACN’s recommendations align with our existing policies for supporting healthier diets and our advice to consumers. The SACN will continue to keep the topic under review.Government dietary advice, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide, already shows that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and processed foods and drinks high in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and salt. For most people, following this advice would lead to a reduced consumption of UPFs.The terms ‘whole’ and ‘minimally processed’ are not used in Government dietary recommendations because they are difficult to define and could be interpreted as including foods that we advise to eat less often and/or in small amounts, such as butter.Further research is required to determine whether the processing itself, rather than the poor nutrient content of foods, has an impact on health, before any significant updates are made to the Eatwell Guide.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of dentists moving from NHS to private practice in (a) Wiltshire and (b) other (i) rural and (ii) semi-rural areas.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.Integrated care boards have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.Training a dentist costs the taxpayer up to £200,000. Having consulted on the principle of requiring all dentists to work in the NHS for a minimum period, we will now make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. We intend this minimum period to be at least three years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments, and better oral health.As a first step to reforming the dental contract, we are consulting on a package of changes to improve access to, and improve the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver improved care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reformsThe consultation was launched on 8 July 2025 and will close on 19 August 2025.

How many frontline NHS staff have completed both parts of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism as of July 2025; and what steps are being taken to ensure full compliance across all trusts.

Data on completion of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver’s Training) is held locally and is reported to NHS England by integrated care boards. This data does not differentiate between completion by frontline staff and other National Health Service and social care staff, and is instead focussed on overall completion of Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 of Oliver’s Training is for those that require general awareness for their role, and Tier 2 is for those who may provide direct care for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The first part of both tiers of training is a co-produced e-learning module which has had over three million completions across all audiences. The most recently validated data on completion of both parts held by NHS England is up to March 2025, when it was reported that 85,718 staff had completed Tier 1 training and 113,003 had completed Tier 2 training.NHS England is supporting the roll out of the training on a Payment by Results basis, co-coordinated by integrated care boards, and continues to monitor training uptake.

What estimate he has made of the number of full-time equivalent NHS dentists practising in Wiltshire in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2013-14.

The latest year in which workforce data is available is 2023/24. There were 440 dentists who undertook some level of National Health Service activity in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).Due to changes in how data is collected, the Department cannot make a direct comparison to the number of dentists in 2013/14.However, in that year there were 238 dentists who undertook some level of NHS activity in the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group area. Please note that this area covers a smaller geographic area than the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB.

Whether he plans to reform the units of dental activity system before the proposed full contract reform in 2026-27.

There are no current plans to fully reform the units of dental activity (UDA) system before 2026/27. As a first step to reforming the dental contract, we are consulting on a package of changes to improve access to, and improve the quality of, National Health Service dentistry, which will deliver improved care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The reforms include new payment proposals for some treatments, which would be converted to UDAs for the purposes of reconciliation. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reformsThe consultation was launched on 8 July 2025 and will close on 19 August 2025.We are committed to more fundamental contract reform, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. We want a contract that matches resources to needs, improves access, promotes prevention, and rewards dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. There are no perfect payment models, and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver genuine improvements for patients and the profession.

How many (a) stillbirths and (b) neonatal deaths were recorded in maternity units serving Wiltshire in each of the last five years.

The maternity units serving Wiltshire are provided by the Great Western Hospitals Trust, the Royal United Hospitals Bath Trust, and the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s perinatal mortality surveillance data provides the figures for stillbirths and neonatal deaths for these trusts, in each of the last five years that the data was available. This data is available at the following link:https://timms.le.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk-perinatal-mortality/data-viewer/

How many (a) midwives, (b) obstetricians and (c) maternity support workers were employed in NHS Trusts serving Wiltshire as of the most recent date for which data is available.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This covers staff working for hospital trusts and in integrated care in England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. Data is collected by the employing body and as such we have supplied information for the three main acute hospital trusts which would cover the Wiltshire region. The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologist, as data is not held for obstetricians alone, and maternity support workers employed by NHS trusts and core organisations within the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, and the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, as of April 2025: Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustRoyal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation TrustSalisbury NHS Foundation TrustMidwifes152186100Obstetricians and gynaecologists of all grades403625Obstetricians and gynaecologists - consultants171610Maternity support workers515826Source: NHS workforce statistics, available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics Maternity support staff have been defined as all support staff that work in a ‘maternity services’ and ‘neonatal nursing’ care setting. This includes nursing associates, nursing assistant practitioners, nursery nurses, nursing assistants/auxiliaries, healthcare assistants, and support workers.

How much capital funding her Department has provided for maternity units serving Wiltshire in each of the last five financial years.

Over the 2020/21 to 2024/25 period, £5.9 million of capital funding was invested in maternity services across the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire Integrated Care System. This funding covered a range of schemes, comprising technology, equipment, and maternity service units. The capital schemes will include cyclical equipment replacement and renewal schemes. As the integrated care board holds unified records covering the whole area of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire, we are unable to provide a disaggregated response for the Wiltshire area only.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent incorrect reductions in benefits due to automatic system sweeps that apply data errors without prior human verification; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of long delays in refunding these incorrect deductions on claimants’ financial security.

A claimant who thinks an incorrect assessment has been made can have the assessment reviewed. The number of data errors is very small. Fewer than 1% of Real Time Information (RTI) disputes processed are upheld in the customer’s favour. Where system changes result in overpayments, there are safeguards in place which would mean any overpayment would not be actioned until an agent has considered the case and checked for vulnerabilities, prior to the claimant being notified.

How many serious incidents involving maternity care were reported by NHS Trusts covering Wiltshire in each of the last five years.

Across the last five years, there have been a total of 116 serious incidents involving maternity care reported by National Health Service trusts covering Wiltshire. The following table shows the number of incidents per year against the trusts in Wiltshire, from 2020/21 to 2024/25:YearRoyal United Hospitals, BathSalisbury Foundation TrustGreat Western HospitalTotal2020/2110511262021/2216512332022/231683272023/247616292024/251 1Total502442

How many women in Wiltshire accessed perinatal mental health services in each of the last five years; and what the average waiting time was for an initial assessment in each year.

Information on the number of women accessing perinatal mental health services in Wiltshire, provided by the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, and Wiltshire Health and Care over the last five years to May 2025, is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-services-monthly-statistics NHS England has advised that the average time between referral and assessment for patients using the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire specialist community perinatal mental health team was as follows:12 days in 2021/22;12 days in 2022/23;eight days in 2023/24;nine days in 2024/25; andseven days in 2025/26, from April to June.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Invest 2035 on rural economies; and what steps he plans to use to monitor its impact on rural inclusion.

Invest 2035 was published in October last year, seeking views on the UK’s Industrial Strategy. The Modern Industrial Strategy was published on 23 June, setting out a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). The Strategy focuses efforts on the city regions and clusters where the IS-8 concentrate. There are clusters across the country, including in rural areas, and the policy package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by businesses in the IS-8 sectors. The Government supports a robust and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the Industrial Strategy. We have chosen six economic indicators that reflect a range of desirable objectives for the IS-8 and the economy as a whole, which will be tracked at a sector and place level. Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy will be overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council who will take a data-led approach to assess progress on the overall Industrial Strategy.

With reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support the development of clean energy infrastructure and (b) introduce targeted support for green jobs in rural areas.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has set out clear plans to support the development of clean energy infrastructure via the Clean Power Action Plan and the Spending Review. For example, we are making deployment easier, including the Planning & Infrastructure Bill, introduced on 11 March 2025, which is streamlining the planning process to fast-track critical projects. Additionally, we're transforming the electricity grid, its biggest overhaul since the 1960s, by building new capacity ahead of need and reforming outdated connection processes. The Government is also seizing the growth opportunities of the clean energy transition—central to the Modern Industrial Strategy and the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan. This sets out the frontier industries where the UK has the greatest potential to boost manufacturing, innovation, and associated services. This will create good jobs across the country, including in our industrial heartlands and rural areas. The Department will also publish a Clean Energy Workforce Strategy in 2025 to ensure high-quality, long-term jobs across the UK. Through Office for Clean Energy Jobs, we are delivering Regional Skills Pilots in clean energy hubs like Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire, helping local partners grow the skilled workforce needed for the transition.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential impact of agri-tech on economic growth in rural areas.

Ministers and officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) worked closely with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to develop the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, such as on the inclusion of agri-tech to support growth of the agri-tech sector and its impact in rural areas. Ministers and officials within Defra will continue to liaise on implementation of commitments within the plan, and more broadly on agri-tech. Agri-tech sector growth will help to diversify rural economies, reduce regional inequalities and support food security. Agri-tech businesses are located across the country and growth will also enable new high skilled jobs to be created in rural areas.

With reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, if he will publish a clean energy investment plan for non-urban areas.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has set out clear plans to support the development of clean energy infrastructure via the Clean Power Action Plan and the Spending Review. For example, we are making deployment easier, including the Planning & Infrastructure Bill, introduced on 11 March 2025, which is streamlining the planning process to fast-track critical projects. Additionally, we're transforming the electricity grid, its biggest overhaul since the 1960s, by building new capacity ahead of need and reforming outdated connection processes. The Government is also seizing the growth opportunities of the clean energy transition—central to the Modern Industrial Strategy and the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan. This sets out the frontier industries where the UK has the greatest potential to boost manufacturing, innovation, and associated services. This will create good jobs across the country, including in our industrial heartlands and rural areas. The Department will also publish a Clean Energy Workforce Strategy in 2025 to ensure high-quality, long-term jobs across the UK. Through Office for Clean Energy Jobs, we are delivering Regional Skills Pilots in clean energy hubs like Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire, helping local partners grow the skilled workforce needed for the transition.

With reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps her Department is taking to support further education colleges in rural areas to deliver training in (a) AI, (b) clean energy and (c) advanced manufacturing.

The department is making additional investment of over £1 billion per year in skills for young people by 2028/29. This is additional to the over £400 million extra funding already planned for 16-19 education in the 2025/26 financial year, as well as £155 million to support schools, colleges and local authorities with increased national insurance contributions. Taken together this investment demonstrates this government’s commitment to support further education, including in rural areas.We are introducing Technical Excellence Colleges to specialise in training skilled workforces for priority sectors. Further information on locations will be published in due course.The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy published on 23 June 2025 confirmed £200 million capital investment to tackle sector specific shortages. This is in addition to £375 million of capital investment to support post-16 capacity to accommodate additional learners entering the system and £1.7 billion from 2026/27 to 2029/30 to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate.Local Skills Improvement Plans are collaborations with local employers and providers across the country, including in rural areas, which set out priorities to better meet local skills needs. They must consider the skills needed to meet net zero, climate adaptation, and wider environmental goals.

With reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to provide (a) targeted apprenticeship and (b) reskilling opportunities to people living in rural areas.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will give greater flexibility to employers and learners and increase access to talent across the eight industrial strategy sectors.The department will continue to rollout shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships to give more people across the country the opportunity to learn and earn in industrial strategy sectors. The first seven foundation apprenticeships will be available from August 2025, supporting young people into careers such as digital, engineering and manufacturing.The department will also introduce short courses, funded through the growth and skills levy. These will also support industrial strategy sectors starting from April 2026.The department will work with Skills England to identify the short courses which will be prioritised for the initial and subsequent rollouts and how these sit alongside apprenticeships and other training routes. We will set out further information in due course.