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, whether the Mental Health Strategy for England will aim to improve outcomes specific to family carers of those with severe mental illness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 potential impact of the Transformation Programme on WPS claim response times.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The War Pension Scheme (WPS) Transformation Programme has been in place since September 2024, with the aim of improving the accuracy and efficiency of WPS claim processing.
A range of measures have been introduced to improve WPS claim processing times. These include flexible resource management, allowing teams to reallocate staff as needed and training personnel in multiple skillsets to enhance efficiency and resilience.
To accelerate the clearance of outstanding claims, overtime and weekend working have been implemented alongside the additional recruitment of administrative and caseworker staff.
With the operational system delivered, transformation continues via a WPS Recovery Taskforce, established in June 2025 to continue to support service delivery improvements. This taskforce focuses on stabilising the system, monitoring operational performance, and identifying further areas for improvement.
The capacity of the working resource is now considered to be sufficient and effective enough to complete the processing of as many claims as are being received.
Throughout the claims process, all cases are managed in strict date order at every stage to ensure fairness, with priority given to those with a terminal illness and to claimants over the age of 90.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what date he expects the Transformation Programme to be in operation for WPS claims.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The War Pension Scheme (WPS) Transformation Programme has been in place since September 2024, with the aim of improving the accuracy and efficiency of WPS claim processing.
A range of measures have been introduced to improve WPS claim processing times. These include flexible resource management, allowing teams to reallocate staff as needed and training personnel in multiple skillsets to enhance efficiency and resilience.
To accelerate the clearance of outstanding claims, overtime and weekend working have been implemented alongside the additional recruitment of administrative and caseworker staff.
With the operational system delivered, transformation continues via a WPS Recovery Taskforce, established in June 2025 to continue to support service delivery improvements. This taskforce focuses on stabilising the system, monitoring operational performance, and identifying further areas for improvement.
The capacity of the working resource is now considered to be sufficient and effective enough to complete the processing of as many claims as are being received.
Throughout the claims process, all cases are managed in strict date order at every stage to ensure fairness, with priority given to those with a terminal illness and to claimants over the age of 90.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of enforcement resources at main border points of entry to prevent the illegal movement of dogs into the UK.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As outlined in its manifesto, this Government is committed to ending puppy smuggling. This Government operates one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe and keeps resource allocation for these checks under review in close liaison with enforcement agencies.
The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025 gives the Government powers to introduce measures to strengthen current enforcement mechanisms. This Government will continue to work with UK enforcement bodies as it develops these measures, including on resource impacts.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help improve consistency of local authority implementation of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy for England, Defra will continue work with local authorities to ensure that enforcement is consistent and effective.
To improve consistency and encourage best practice, Defra works with the Local Government Animal Welfare Group and National Companion and Exotic Animal Welfare Panel to encourage a coordinated and consistent approach to enforcement across local authorities.
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.