Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to assess the potential impact of the extended £2 bus fare cap on residents' access to (a) essential services and (b) employment opportunities in Wiltshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is investing over £150 million to deliver the new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025 to help keep bus fares affordable. Under the plans of the previous administration, the £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain a cap on bus fares beyond this point.
The final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the £2 bus fare cap was published on 12 February. An evaluation of the £3 fare cap is due to be commissioned shortly.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the comparative merits of (a) air-to-air and (b) other heat pump technologies eligible under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not currently support air-to-air heat pumps, as heat pump installations must provide both space heating and hot water heating, using liquid as a medium for delivering that heat. We want to target support at technologies that offer the greatest potential to decarbonise our buildings.
The Government is committed to incentivising moves to cleaner, more affordable heating, and will keep its position on alternative heating technologies under review and make further assessments as the supporting evidence base develops.
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, if he will publish regular updates on the progress of the implementation of NHS dental contract reforms.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists.
There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.
We continue to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.
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 he is planning to take to support community pharmacies in the forthcoming 10-Year NHS Plan in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and community pharmacies will have a big role to play in that shift.
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have been carefully considering policies, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including from the community pharmacy sector.
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 GP practices have closed in Wiltshire in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of general practices in Wiltshire which have closed in each of the last five years:
Year | Number of practice closures |
2020 | 2 |
2021 | 0 |
2022 | 0 |
2023 | 0 |
2024 | 0 |
Practices close for a variety of reasons, including mergers or retirement, and so this does not necessarily indicate a reduction in the quality of care. When a practice does close, patients are informed of the closure and advised to register at another local practice of their choice within their area.
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 full-time equivalent GPs were employed (a) in the latest period for which data is available and (b) five years ago in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice (GP) in Wiltshire was:
GPs employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme are not included as they are employed by primary care networks (PCNs), rather than directly by practices. PCNs’ work may occur across county borders, so it is not possible to say how many PCN employed staff work 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 the average number of patients per GP is in (a) Wiltshire (b) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 March 2025, the median number of full time equivalent doctors in general practice (GP) per 10,000 registered patients was:
GPs employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme are not included as they are employed by primary care networks (PCNs), rather than directly by practices. PCNs’ work may occur across county borders, so it is not possible to say how many PCN employed staff work 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, how many GP practices there (a) are (b) were in 2019 in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of February 2025, there were 45 main practices and 28 branch practices in Wiltshire. This compares to 47 main practices and 27 branch practices in December 2019.