Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the time taken to progress the Transformation Programme.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Reform is the most significant transformation of Defence in over 50 years. Since April 2025, we have made substantial progress in reshaping the organisation including establishing clear accountabilities flowing from the four most senior leaders in Defence which enabled the consolidation of 17 separate organisations into four core areas designed to operate in an integrated way. Building on these foundations we are now practically implementing the Defence Operating Model (DOM) in live operation. By April 2027, we will sufficiently embed the DOM so that it becomes the default way Defence works. Over the course Parliament, we are committed to embedding the changes required to achieve the ambitions set out in the Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the costs to FE colleges of their ineligibility for the VAT refund scheme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
While VAT is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury, the department recognises that the VAT status of further education (FE) providers remains an issue of interest to the sector. Analysis indicates that VAT receipts for FE colleges are around £200 million per annum. The government continues to look into the VAT position of FE colleges, noting my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s commitment to look into this issue when it was raised at the Liaison Committee in December 2025. The government keeps all taxes under review and any changes would be announced at a fiscal event.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of military accommodation in Sir John Moore Barracks and Worthy down that does not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence remains committed to providing Service personnel and their families with high-quality, modern and well-maintained accommodation.
As of 15 June 2026, there are 415 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties serving Sir John Moore Barracks and Worthy Down in Winchester. Of those, four properties (0.96%) have been assessed as falling below the Decent Homes Standard. All four properties are unoccupied (void).
The Armed Forces Bill will establish the new Defence Housing Service as the vehicle to improve the supply and quality of Defence family homes under the Defence Housing Strategy, putting the needs of Forces and their families first, to support defence communities.
Work to improve the estate is being delivered through the ten-year programme set out in Strategy. The Department is in the early stages of this programme and, given the variation in the age and condition of the estate, the scope and cost of works required to bring all homes up to the Decent Homes Standard will differ across properties.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of police officers assigned to Winchester constituency between 2016 and 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data twice a year on the size and composition of the police workforce, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
This data is collected by police force area only; more specific information, such as officer numbers in each parliamentary constituency, is not collected.
Data by police force as at 31 March each year from 2007 to 2025 can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697255b5a1311bdcfa0ed8f3/open-data-table-police-workforce-280126.ods
The latest data on the number of police officers in post is available in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2025’ release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2025.
Data on the police workforce as at 31 March 2026 will be published in July 2026.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of police officers in Hampshire are classed as rural officers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of ‘rural police officers’.
The Home Office collects and publishes data biannually on the size and composition of the police workforce, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information is collected annually on the primary function of each officer, however there is no specific function for ‘rural police officers’ or police officers working in rural crime teams. Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the publication details the functions that are used in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the new planning process laid out entitled ‘Roll out of the new plan-making process’ guidance updated on March 6 with the plan for boundary changes – especially the boundary changes for LPAs – outlined for Hampshire and the Solent in Local Government Reorganisation on March 26.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has made clear that plan-making should commence in the new system in line with the timings laid out in the regulations that came into force on 25 March.
We recognise the challenges posed to plan making by local authority re-organisation and are developing transitional arrangements to address these. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many shifts were recorded as not fully-staffed on England’s maternity units in each of the last five years.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department cannot provide information on how many shifts were recorded as not fully staffed on England’s maternity units in each of the last five years, as this information is held regionally by the National Health Service and by individual NHS trusts.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the launch of the UK antimicrobial subscription model, including (a) the award and (b) commencement of contracts.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
On behalf of all the nations of the United Kingdom, NHS England published an invitation to tender for the UK subscription model for antimicrobials on 24 August 2024. The assessment of each product is being undertaken by a panel convened by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence against the award criteria. Once that process is complete, the results will be communicated to bidders along with an award offer where appropriate.
Following the award offer, it is normal practice for a 10-day standstill period before contracts commence. Further details on timings will be available once the assessment process is complete, however, suppliers involved in the process have already been advised that contract award is likely to be in November, with contracts commencing from quarter one of 2027.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Neighbourhood Health Framework published on 17 March, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the inclusion of infection diagnostics within the plan; and what steps are being taken to ensure access to rapid and point‑of‑care diagnostic tests to support accurate diagnosis, appropriate antimicrobial prescribing, and the reduction of unnecessary antibiotic use in primary care.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Neighbourhood Health Framework focuses on improving access to diagnostic services by bringing them closer to home as part of the wider ambition to shift care from hospital to community settings. In this context, it commits NHS England to reviewing direct access to diagnostics for general practice and undertaking a review of diagnostic services to map existing community diagnostic centre capacity and planned expansion.
Rapid and point‑of‑care infection diagnostics can play an important role in supporting clinical decision-making, antimicrobial stewardship, and more appropriate antibiotic prescribing. The Government’s approach to improving access to these technologies is informed by the UK 2024–2029 National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance, which identifies improved diagnostics and diagnostic stewardship as key priorities in reducing unnecessary antimicrobial use. The UK 2024–2029 National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance is available at the following link:
NHS England and local systems will continue to consider opportunities to improve access to appropriate diagnostic technologies, including rapid and point‑of‑care tests, as part of wider efforts to strengthen community diagnostic pathways. Decisions on the adoption and use of these technologies are guided by evidence on clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and operational feasibility.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority swimming pools have closed in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming and leisure facilities.
Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, monitors facilities stock through their Active Places dataset. As of March 2026, 308 local authority swimming pools have closed since 2015 and 272 have opened. A yearly breakdown of closures is below:
| Swimming Pool (Facility) Count | |||||
Closure Year | Diving | Learner/Teaching | Leisure Pool | Lido | Main/General | Total |
2015 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 40 |
2016 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 36 |
2017 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 31 |
2018 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 23 |
2019 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 31 |
2020 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 40 |
2021 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 28 |
2022 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 29 |
2023 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
2024 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
2025 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
2026 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Total | 23 | 91 | 27 | 5 | 162 | 308 |