Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect intellectual property rights in the training of AI models.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As a government, we are determined to back both our world-class creative sectors and our technology sector. Both are essential to our plan for growth.
We recognise the potential impact of AI technology on intellectual property rights, including patents, trade marks, designs, and copyright. A balanced IP system can also support AI development.
We know we need to strike the right balance on this and we are engaging with creatives, tech companies and parliamentarians to ensure we get that right.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent fighting in el-Fasher, Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians on 30 October.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of enriched cages on laying hens.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The impact of enriched cages on laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests have been booked in Wiltshire in 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows how many car practical driving tests have been booked for test centres serving Wiltshire in 2025.
Driving Test Centre | Tests Booked (Net Demand) |
Chippenham | 7,737 |
Salisbury | 4,432 |
Swindon | 8,694 |
Trowbridge | 1,323 |
Total | 22,186 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Information on the number of approved driving instructors by postcode, including for Wiltshire is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-instructor-and-motorcycle-instructor-register-data
The table below shows the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times for a practical car driving test for test centres serving Wiltshire over the last ten years.
Driving Test Centre | Average Waiting time (weeks) | Longest Waiting time (weeks) |
Chippenham | 12.6 | 24 |
Salisbury | 10.7 | 24 |
Swindon | 13.2 | 24 |
Trowbridge | 14.5 | 24 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of approved driving instructors there are in Wiltshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows how many car practical driving tests have been booked for test centres serving Wiltshire in 2025.
Driving Test Centre | Tests Booked (Net Demand) |
Chippenham | 7,737 |
Salisbury | 4,432 |
Swindon | 8,694 |
Trowbridge | 1,323 |
Total | 22,186 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Information on the number of approved driving instructors by postcode, including for Wiltshire is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-instructor-and-motorcycle-instructor-register-data
The table below shows the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times for a practical car driving test for test centres serving Wiltshire over the last ten years.
Driving Test Centre | Average Waiting time (weeks) | Longest Waiting time (weeks) |
Chippenham | 12.6 | 24 |
Salisbury | 10.7 | 24 |
Swindon | 13.2 | 24 |
Trowbridge | 14.5 | 24 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times for a practical driving test in Wiltshire were in the last 10 years, by driving test centre.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows how many car practical driving tests have been booked for test centres serving Wiltshire in 2025.
Driving Test Centre | Tests Booked (Net Demand) |
Chippenham | 7,737 |
Salisbury | 4,432 |
Swindon | 8,694 |
Trowbridge | 1,323 |
Total | 22,186 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Information on the number of approved driving instructors by postcode, including for Wiltshire is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-instructor-and-motorcycle-instructor-register-data
The table below shows the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times for a practical car driving test for test centres serving Wiltshire over the last ten years.
Driving Test Centre | Average Waiting time (weeks) | Longest Waiting time (weeks) |
Chippenham | 12.6 | 24 |
Salisbury | 10.7 | 24 |
Swindon | 13.2 | 24 |
Trowbridge | 14.5 | 24 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place at HM Courts and Tribunals Service Probate Registries to ensure that when a later will is lodged and an objection is submitted prior to the granting of probate on an earlier will, the later will is considered before any grant is issued.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS has an established process in place for when a later will is lodged, which requires HMCTS staff to submit the later Will and earlier Will to a Registrar for their directions on how to proceed.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) prison and (b) probation staff.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
By the nature of their roles, HMPPS staff can come into contact with some of the most challenging and dangerous people in our society. We want to ensure all staff, whether they are based in prisons or probation, feel proud to work for HMPPS and feel supported to carry out their challenging roles.
By the end of September, mandatory Protective Body Armour will be rolled out for use in Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres, and Segregation Units in the Long-Term High Security Estate. These units hold some of the most dangerous and challenging prisoners. We are trialling the use of Conductive Energy Devices, known as “tasers”, by specialist staff to assist them in dealing with the most serious incidents in adult male prisons
Within prisons, the Enable Programme aims to transform prisons over the medium term, through a series of workforce and regime changes that will change how HMPPS trains, develops, leads and supports prison staff to ensure that they feel safe, supported, valued and confident in their skills and their ability to make a difference.
We continue to invest in probation, and plan to onboard 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 in addition to the 1,057 already onboarded last year. We are committed to ensuring that workloads for probation staff are sustainable and ensure protection of the public. That is why we have commissioned the ‘Our Future Probation Service’ Programme to deploy new technologies, reform processes, and ensure prioritisation of probation staff time.
Within HMPPS, we provide extensive mental health support, including a 24-hour helpline, confidential counselling, and online wellbeing services. Our Trauma Risk Management practitioners and Care Teams provide further support following any incidents while on duty. The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers confidential 24/7 telephone helpline for counselling and provides a range of wellbeing and health promotion workshops. Critical incident support is available to staff onsite within two hours of the incident taking place. EAP also delivers reflective sessions which are a proactive mental ill health preventative intervention. The sessions focus on the impact of traumatic events at work, helping employees to develop coping strategies and preventing an adverse impact on their professional and private life.
A new well-being support model has been established across HMPPS, with staff support and wellbeing leads for both prison and probation. Their role includes promoting and coordinating wellbeing services, reviewing Peer Support Services, and liaising with HR and other key stakeholders. Area wellbeing plans are in place, concentrating on workplace wellbeing interventions. HMPPS is retendering Occupational Health (OH) and EAP contracts, prompting a full review of staff support services. There is current provision of comprehensive OH and EAP services to proactively and reactively address the impact of work on health.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve rail services in rural areas of the South West.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is committed to improving rural rail services in the South-West, and public ownership and the creation of Great British Railways will help to deliver this.
We are striving to enhance connectivity and increase service frequency across underserved communities to the benefit of passengers provided it is affordable for the UK taxpayer.
Wiltshire local authority is receiving £18.6 million of capital Local Transport Grant and over £1.3million in revenue funding from the Local Transport Grant over this Spending Review period which will help to improve transport in their local area.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team on the (a) prevalence of conditional selling practices by estate agents and (b) the effectiveness of that Agency's enforcement of the Estate Agents Act (1979) in relation to conditional selling.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is unacceptable for estate agents to withhold offers from sellers because the potential buyer declines to use their additional services. Where there is evidence of such practices, agents can face sanctions including a ban.
The government is committed to protecting people from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents and to improving estate agent standards more generally.
The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team (NTSEAT) is the lead estate agent enforcement authority. Alongside local authority Trading Standards teams, they are responsible for ensuring estate agents comply with the Estate Agents Act 1979 and other relevant legislation. NTSEAT have powers to issue warnings and banning orders against rogue agents. In cases of conditional selling, it is essential that any misconduct or manipulation in the offer process is reported to help build a clearer picture of the problem and support potential investigations.
My Department engages regularly with NTSEAT to discuss how best to address specific issues, including conditional selling, and continue to look at options to improve standards across the estate agent sector.