Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
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.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
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.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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/
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
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.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 Trust | Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust | |
Midwifes | 152 | 186 | 100 |
Obstetricians and gynaecologists of all grades | 40 | 36 | 25 |
Obstetricians and gynaecologists - consultants | 17 | 16 | 10 |
Maternity support workers | 51 | 58 | 26 |
Source: 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.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) UK Research and Innovation and (b) National Institute for Health and Care Research funding for biomedical research into (i) myalgic encephalomyelitis and (ii) chronic fatigue syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
We have assessed the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research portfolio funded through the NIHR and the MRC and acknowledge that this is an under-funded area. The level of funding awarded is directly related to the number and quality of applications received and we have historically received a small number of applications for funding in this area. Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, the NIHR committed approximately £3.7 million to research projects and programmes on ME/CFS. In the same period, the MRC committed approximately £2.9 million to research into ME/CFS. We welcome funding applications for research into ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
We aim to publish the final delivery plan for ME/CFS shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating condition. Following the publication of the final delivery plan, we will monitor the progress across all actions in the delivery plan, with project management arrangements in place to ensure timely implementation and periodical reports to stakeholders as appropriate.
Together with the MRC, we are actively exploring next steps for research in ME/CFS, and we will outline in the delivery plan further research actions and the additional support we will offer to the research community to increase the volume and quality of applications. This includes a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical inventions for post-acute infection syndromes and associated conditions, including ME/CFS. This funding opportunity is a key component of our response to the need for further research-based evidence related to the diagnosis, management, and treatment of post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS. We are also planning an NIHR and MRC hosted showcase event for post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS and long COVID, research later this year to stimulate further research in this field.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor progress on the delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
We have assessed the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research portfolio funded through the NIHR and the MRC and acknowledge that this is an under-funded area. The level of funding awarded is directly related to the number and quality of applications received and we have historically received a small number of applications for funding in this area. Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, the NIHR committed approximately £3.7 million to research projects and programmes on ME/CFS. In the same period, the MRC committed approximately £2.9 million to research into ME/CFS. We welcome funding applications for research into ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
We aim to publish the final delivery plan for ME/CFS shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating condition. Following the publication of the final delivery plan, we will monitor the progress across all actions in the delivery plan, with project management arrangements in place to ensure timely implementation and periodical reports to stakeholders as appropriate.
Together with the MRC, we are actively exploring next steps for research in ME/CFS, and we will outline in the delivery plan further research actions and the additional support we will offer to the research community to increase the volume and quality of applications. This includes a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical inventions for post-acute infection syndromes and associated conditions, including ME/CFS. This funding opportunity is a key component of our response to the need for further research-based evidence related to the diagnosis, management, and treatment of post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS. We are also planning an NIHR and MRC hosted showcase event for post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS and long COVID, research later this year to stimulate further research in this field.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the delivery plan for ME/CFS will include a strategic framework to support research into treatment development.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
We have assessed the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research portfolio funded through the NIHR and the MRC and acknowledge that this is an under-funded area. The level of funding awarded is directly related to the number and quality of applications received and we have historically received a small number of applications for funding in this area. Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, the NIHR committed approximately £3.7 million to research projects and programmes on ME/CFS. In the same period, the MRC committed approximately £2.9 million to research into ME/CFS. We welcome funding applications for research into ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
We aim to publish the final delivery plan for ME/CFS shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating condition. Following the publication of the final delivery plan, we will monitor the progress across all actions in the delivery plan, with project management arrangements in place to ensure timely implementation and periodical reports to stakeholders as appropriate.
Together with the MRC, we are actively exploring next steps for research in ME/CFS, and we will outline in the delivery plan further research actions and the additional support we will offer to the research community to increase the volume and quality of applications. This includes a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical inventions for post-acute infection syndromes and associated conditions, including ME/CFS. This funding opportunity is a key component of our response to the need for further research-based evidence related to the diagnosis, management, and treatment of post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS. We are also planning an NIHR and MRC hosted showcase event for post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS and long COVID, research later this year to stimulate further research in this field.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of education, health and care plans for children with cystic fibrosis in Wiltshire; and what steps he is taking to help support local authorities to improve those plans.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring that people living with cystic fibrosis have access to appropriate support and services, so that they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive lives.
NHS England commissions 47 specialised cystic fibrosis centres for adults and children across England. This includes the children’s specialist cystic fibrosis service based at Southampton Children’s Hospital, which serves patients in Wiltshire. Service specifications published by NHS England clearly define the standards of services, care and outcomes that people can expect from these centres. Those service specifications aim to deliver improvements to life expectancy and quality of life for children with cystic fibrosis.
Where a local authority does not meet its duties, the Department for Education can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. The Department for Education works to monitor, support, and challenge local authorities, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners.
For this reason, the Department of Health and Social Care has not specifically made a formal assessment of the adequacy of education, health, and care plans for children with cystic fibrosis in Wiltshire.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP funding relative to the proportion of NHS patient contact delivered in primary care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Carr-Hill formula, which underpins capitation payments to general practices (GPs), is designed to ensure that resources are directed to practices based on an estimate of their patient workload and unavoidable practice costs.
It is a workload-based formula, introduced in 2004, that is designed to ensure that practices are reimbursed for their expected workload. Practices are paid more if their registered patients are expected to use services more based on past usage patterns of patients with similar characteristics. It takes into account factors, such as the sex and age of patients, morbidity and mortality, patient list turnover, and unavoidable costs based on geographical area.
We recognise the importance of ensuring that funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country, and will therefore review the Carr-Hill formula. Details of the review, including timeframes, will be confirmed in due course.
We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding has been allocated to GP practices in Wiltshire in each of the last three years; and how many bids for premises improvement funding were (a) submitted and (b) approved.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will deliver upgrades to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England this year. This includes nine schemes in the Bath, Northeast Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BNSSW ICB), totalling a capital investment of £1.5 million. This is the first dedicated national capital fund for primary care since 2020.
The following table shows the operational capital allocated to the BNSSW ICB for the last three financial years, which was subsequently prioritised at their discretion:
Financial year | Allocation |
2025/26 | £40,800,000 |
2024/25 | £59,300,000 |
2023/24 | £43,400,000 |
This covers maintenance and other capital spend across the BNSSW ICB, and it is at local discretion whether an element is allocated to primary care.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to GPs to help improve the (a) early recognition and (b) management of ME in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) areas in Wiltshire with limited specialist services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Earlier this year, NHS England completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake to provide a national overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed widely recognised challenges, as well as significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.
The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, including general practitioners in Wiltshire, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. Sessions one and two of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288
The third session is currently being finalised and will be launched later in 2025.
The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.
We are developing a final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish in due course. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease in Wiltshire and throughout England.