Sarah Gibson MP: written questions 2025
351 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Schools: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68636More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Dedicated Schools Grant per pupil in Wiltshire relative to comparator authorities with similar pupil numbers and demographics.
Answer: Local authorities’ dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations are calculated using the national funding formula (NFF), by reference to their numbers of pupils and schools, and their characteristics. The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the sa...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68633More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to ensure young people in rural areas receive the financial skills needed to support long-term prosperity.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member for Chippenham to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordApprentices: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68632More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to embed financial education and investment literacy in apprenticeship programmes.
Answer: Apprenticeships are jobs that equip learners with the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for a specific occupation. Employers, working in conjunction with Skills England, develop the content of apprenticeship standards according to the needs of th...
Answered 24 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDrinking Water: Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl SubstancesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68492More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of long-term exposure to PFAS in drinking water on public health.
Answer: An evaluation of the evidence on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) toxicity is ongoing through the Committee on Toxicity.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has contributed to an expert advisory group recommendation to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (D...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordNeuroblastoma: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68217More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to (a) GPs and (b) health visitors to aid the early diagnosis of neuroblastoma.
Answer: General practice teams are expected to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Where symptoms are suggestive of neuroblastoma, appropriate referral to a specialist must be made.Health visitors are not responsible for ma...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordRare Cancers: ChildrenDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68216More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what financial support his Department provides for early-phase trials into (a) neuroblastoma and (b) other rare paediatric cancers.
Answer: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, particularly via Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC). In parallel, the Department of Heal...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordProcessed FoodDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67235More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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 ag...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordProcessed Food: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67234More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of diets high in ultra-processed foods on the health of children under five.
Answer: 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 ag...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services and Social Services: DirectorsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67233More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, 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
Answer: 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 a...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPark Homes: SafetyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67232More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate (a) welfare and (b) safeguarding protections for (i) elderly, (ii) vulnerable and (iii) other residents of mobile home site
Answer: Park homes are predominantly for those who can live independently. They are not specifically designated for particular groups or those with specific needs, though the evidence suggests that most park home residents are older adults. Any welfare or safegua...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment: NeurodiversityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67231More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has set any targets for improving employment rates among autistic adults; and what additional support is being provided to employers to create neurodiverse-friendly workplaces.
Answer: In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. We are supporting employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices. In January this ye...
Answered 16 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordAutism and Learning Disability: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67230More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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 comp
Answer: 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 st...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment Assessment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67229More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will publish a timetable for stakeholder engagement in the Timms Review.
Answer: 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 represe...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment Assessment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67228More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Timms Review is co-produced with disabled people; and what steps she is planning to take to evaluate the inclusivity of that engagement process.
Answer: 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 represe...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment Assessment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67227More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to establish (a) accessible formats, (b) alternative communication methods and (c) other formal consultation mechanisms to allow disabled people to contribute to the Timms Revie
Answer: 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 represe...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment Assessment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67226More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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.
Answer: 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 represe...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDental ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67225More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reform the units of dental activity system before the proposed full contract reform in 2026-27.
Answer: 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 Hea...
Answered 4 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67224More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67223More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: MaladministrationDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66408More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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 o
Answer: 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 change...
Answered 18 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMaternity Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66407More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding her Department has provided for maternity units serving Wiltshire in each of the last five financial years.
Answer: 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, ...
Answered 16 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMaternity Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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...
Answered 15 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66405More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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 Wilt...
Answered 4 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordMaternity Services: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66404More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many serious incidents involving maternity care were reported by NHS Trusts covering Wiltshire in each of the last five years.
Answer: 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...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPerinatal Mortality: WiltshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66403More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) stillbirths and (b) neonatal deaths were recorded in maternity units serving Wiltshire in each of the last five years.
Answer: 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 U...
Answered 15 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →