Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools seeking to attain purchasing power agreements for solar panels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Budget 2025 indicated that departments could consider private sources of finance, including Public Private Partnerships, to decarbonise the public sector estate. The department is exploring how this could be applied to schools, including the potential use of Power Purchase Agreements for solar installations. Based on research to date there is an estimated capacity on the school estate in its current roof condition to generate up to 1.9 gigawatts of electricity.
The Great British Energy Solar Partnership for Schools is already investing £100 million to install solar and other energy efficiency interventions on 250 schools and colleges. The department ‘s sustainability website also provides support for all schools on reducing their emissions, including some low-cost approaches.
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, how many individual applicants applied for specialty training places across all 65 medical specialties; and how many training places were available in 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department holds data based on the application process for medical specialty training which allows the identification of unique applicants. This data is part of management information systems summarising information supplied in medical specialty training cycles. Applicants may have chosen to only apply to one specialty programme or may have made multiple applications within the year.
The following table shows the number of unique applicants in rounds one and two of medical specialty training for 2025 and the associated training places available across the United Kingdom:
Round one | Round two | |
Unique applicants | 33,870 | 8,481 |
Training posts | 9,479 | 3,354 |
Source: NHS England Medical Specialty Programme Applications Data.
Round one of the medical specialty application process includes applications to first year specialty training and core training programmes, often referred to as ST1 and CT1 respectively, and some ‘higher’ medical specialty training programmes, usually at year three, often referred to as ST3. Round two is for entry to most ‘higher’ medical specialty training programmes, ST3 or ST4. There will be a limited number of doctors who apply in a year to both rounds one and two.
Information on the number of applications and posts available for individual medical specialty training programmes is published annually by NHS England and can be found at the following link:
The 10-Year Health Plan set out that 1,000 more specialty training places would be created over the next three years.
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee which would have put in place emergency legislation in the new year which would prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. This would have applied for current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that.
The British Medical Association has rejected the Government's offer and the Government will consider its next steps.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish data on school swimming attainment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is processing the information gathered on school swimming attainment, which was received through the physical education and sport premium digital expenditure reporting return. We will publish a summary of quality assured data in due course.
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 holds data on the number of private new-build freehold estates managed via resident-run companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold specific data on the number of private new-build freehold estates managed via resident-run companies.
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 steps he is taking to regulate property management companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.
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 make it his policy to publish an implementation plan to ensure that each Integrated Care Board commissions a Fracture Liaison Service.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture liaison services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
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, 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.