Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that (a) universal lay terminology is used in the NHS app and (b) there is signposting to Lab Tests Online UK to enable patients to interpret their diagnostic results correctly.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS App aims to use clear, universal lay terminology that is easy for the general public to understand. The content follows the National Health Service content style guide, which mandates writing in plain English to a reading age of nine to 11 years old. As part of the delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS App will provide an improved and personalised experience for users, empowering them to access key elements of their health conditions like test results, and providing patients with advice and guidance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that will help them to understand their health and make informed choices about what to do next.
We regularly test our content with patients to ensure it is clear and effective. This includes working with users who have access needs, low digital literacy, or are from seldom-heard groups.
This work builds on the current test results feature in the NHS App that is successfully used by millions of people each month to access the results of tests they have conducted with their general practitioner.
There is signposting to Lab Tests Online-UK (LTO-UK) to help patients interpret their diagnostic results, though this may depend on how the patient's general practice (GP) has configured its systems. We currently provide links to LTO-UK for approximately 70 of the most common test types. While the NHS App itself primarily displays results along with any accompanying doctor’s comments or actions, GP systems can have embedded links to LTO-UK alongside the test results, providing a direct route for patients to access reliable information at the point of care.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase funding for (a) the pathology (i) workforce, (ii) estates and (iii) IT infrastructure and (b) pathology disciplines involved in the pathways for cancer patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2025 Spending Review prioritised health, with record investment in the health and social care system. The Spending Review announced that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24.
To provide stability and ensure public services and industries have certainty in their funding, the Government has committed to holding a Spending Review every two years. The 2025 Spending Review sets departmental budgets for day-to-day spending up to 2028/29 and for capital for five years, to 2029/30. The envelope for the next Spending Review, due to be held in 2027, will be set in due course.
We will also publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.
As part of the £600 million in capital for diagnostics in 2025/26, announced as part of the Spending Review, the NHS is investing in histopathology automation technology, which will speed up pathology test reporting across England, helping to ensure that patients get their diagnoses faster and supporting reductions in elective waiting lists.
We are funding all pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026. This will reduce unnecessary waits and repeat tests to ensure that patients receive their blood test results sooner. These actions will help improve patient pathways, including for cancer.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to help protect UK citizens from (a) foreign influence and (b) manipulation operations using fake accounts on social media through the forthcoming Elections Bill.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce brings together Whitehall departments, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to monitor and mitigate risks, including foreign interference. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit (JESP) leads cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK.
The Government’s strategy for modern, secure and inclusive elections, published in July, sets out our plan to strengthen oversight of and safeguards against known and emerging threats, including foreign interference through covert political funding. We are introducing tougher rules on political donations to protect UK elections, striking the right balance between safeguarding against foreign interference whilst making sure that legitimate donors can continue to fund electoral campaigns.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of allegations of foreign interference in recent elections in Romania and Germany through social media; and what steps he is taking to help prevent foreign interference in UK elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce brings together Whitehall departments, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to monitor and mitigate risks, including foreign interference. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit (JESP) leads cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK.
The Government’s strategy for modern, secure and inclusive elections, published in July, sets out our plan to strengthen oversight of and safeguards against known and emerging threats, including foreign interference through covert political funding. We are introducing tougher rules on political donations to protect UK elections, striking the right balance between safeguarding against foreign interference whilst making sure that legitimate donors can continue to fund electoral campaigns.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with Ofcom on ensuring that the steps it is taking to implement the Online Safety Act (2023) contribute to the delivery of its target to halve the level of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Reducing online violence against women and girls and fraud are priorities for this government. Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes require platforms to proactively address serious illegal content, much of which disproportionately impacts women and girls. The codes also require platforms to implement strong measures to protect users against fraud.
The Government and Ofcom are actively monitoring changes to platforms' behaviour and the levels of harm experienced online following Ofcom’s codes coming into effect. This work will track the effect of the online safety regime and feed into a statutory Post Implementation Review.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Ofcom's Online Safety Act Illegal Content Codes of Practice on levels of online violence against women and girls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Reducing online violence against women and girls and fraud are priorities for this government. Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes require platforms to proactively address serious illegal content, much of which disproportionately impacts women and girls. The codes also require platforms to implement strong measures to protect users against fraud.
The Government and Ofcom are actively monitoring changes to platforms' behaviour and the levels of harm experienced online following Ofcom’s codes coming into effect. This work will track the effect of the online safety regime and feed into a statutory Post Implementation Review.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Ofcom's Online Safety Act Illegal Content Codes of Practice on levels of fraud against UK consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Reducing online violence against women and girls and fraud are priorities for this government. Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes require platforms to proactively address serious illegal content, much of which disproportionately impacts women and girls. The codes also require platforms to implement strong measures to protect users against fraud.
The Government and Ofcom are actively monitoring changes to platforms' behaviour and the levels of harm experienced online following Ofcom’s codes coming into effect. This work will track the effect of the online safety regime and feed into a statutory Post Implementation Review.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect election candidates from anonymous abuse on social media through the forthcoming Elections Bill.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is clear that all forms of harassment, intimidation and abuse, including online and anonymous abuse, are unacceptable and have no place in our democracy. As set out in the Restoring Trust in our Democracy strategy, we are taking forward several measures through the Elections Bill to strengthen protections for those taking part in elections. This includes the introduction of an aggravating factor to empower courts to give tougher sentences to those who are convicted of intimidatory offences targeted at candidates, campaigners, elected representatives and electoral staff.
My department is also working with the Speaker’s Conference and the Electoral Commission to develop a code of conduct for campaigning, which will promote respectful political debate and set clear expectations for behaviour. This is a complex issue which requires a comprehensive response from all parts of government. We continue to work closely with departments across government and through the Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle unacceptable abuse and better protect candidates.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Education and (b) other Cabinet colleagues on the UK's position on proposals at the UN to negotiate an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to strengthen the right to education.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Education worked together closely to determine the UK's position on the Optional Protocol, as set out in the answer provided on 3 November to Question 84390.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reasons the UK has opposed proposals at the UN to guarantee at least one year of free pre-primary education and free secondary education in international law.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to question 84390 on 3 November.