Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of rehabilitation staffing for enabling the return of injured service personnel to duty in the event of a large scale conflict in Europe within a) his Department, b) the armed forces and c) the NHS.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
Defence is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces personnel receive the best possible treatment, care and rehabilitation so they are fit to fight and can fight back to fitness. Physiotherapy is a core component of Defence healthcare, directly supporting operational readiness, recovery from injury, and return to duty.
As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), it is critical the national health ecosystem—Defence, the NHS, and the private sector—has the capacity and capability to meet the Nation's needs in peacetime and during conflict.
Defence Medical Command is working closely with the NHS to strengthen medical capability, including rehabilitation and recovery services. Future workforce requirements will be informed by ongoing Defence workforce planning; no decisions have been taken on specific increases to the number of civilian physiotherapists, Regular military physiotherapists, Reserve military physiotherapists, or rehabilitation support staff.
Further, the department is working with Allies, through the NATO Medical Action Plan, focused on addressing priority challenges in workforce; including Allied Health Professionals, such as physiotherapists, and the wider Defence medical workforce.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to increase the numbers of a) civilian physiotherapists, b) regular military physiotherapists, c) reservist military physiotherapists and d) rehabilitation support staff.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
Defence is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces personnel receive the best possible treatment, care and rehabilitation so they are fit to fight and can fight back to fitness. Physiotherapy is a core component of Defence healthcare, directly supporting operational readiness, recovery from injury, and return to duty.
As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), it is critical the national health ecosystem—Defence, the NHS, and the private sector—has the capacity and capability to meet the Nation's needs in peacetime and during conflict.
Defence Medical Command is working closely with the NHS to strengthen medical capability, including rehabilitation and recovery services. Future workforce requirements will be informed by ongoing Defence workforce planning; no decisions have been taken on specific increases to the number of civilian physiotherapists, Regular military physiotherapists, Reserve military physiotherapists, or rehabilitation support staff.
Further, the department is working with Allies, through the NATO Medical Action Plan, focused on addressing priority challenges in workforce; including Allied Health Professionals, such as physiotherapists, and the wider Defence medical workforce.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Bovine TB Control Strategy for England, published in June 2026, what specific criteria her Department intends the proposed framework for determining when the evidence threshold for permitting lethal badger control will apply; who will develop the framework; which body will adjudicate whether the threshold has been met in any given case; and whether the criteria, and each future determination made under them, will be published before any lethal control is authorised.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is currently considering the proposals set out in the recommended bovine TB control strategy for England. As a result, no decisions have yet been taken on the evidence threshold for permitting lethal badger control, including the criteria that might apply or governance arrangements for developing and applying any framework.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 implications for her Department's policies of the policy paper entitled Bovine tuberculosis Godfray evidence review update 2025, updated on 26 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is currently considering the proposals set out in the recommended Bovine TB Control Strategy for England, which drew on the findings of the Godfray evidence review, commissioned by this Government in December 2024. Decisions on bovine TB policy will be taken in light of that process. No separate assessment of the policy implications of the review has therefore been completed.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of greater partnerships between the NHS and medical researchers on developing non-animal methods for scientific testing.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important role that collaboration between the NHS, researchers and industry can play in accelerating the development of life sciences innovations. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are supporting partnerships that bring together expertise, data and human biological samples to develop more human-relevant approaches to research and testing. For example, the new Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub will support the development of models using cells donated by NHS patients, helping researchers better understand how people may respond to new treatments and supporting innovation in medicines development.