Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the (a) Plastic Packaging Tax rate and (b) recycled content requirement to promote domestic recycling.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Plastic Packaging Tax was introduced in April 2022 under the previous government and provides a price incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging – thereby stimulating the collection and recycling of plastic waste.
All tax rates and thresholds are reviewed at fiscal events.
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, what steps he is taking to support trusts to reduce bed occupancy to below 80% ahead of winter 2025-26.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is already preparing for winter this year with the development and testing of winter plans. This includes the surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services.
The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 focuses on improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance this winter, including working to reduce bed occupancy by avoiding unnecessary admissions and reducing delays to discharge.
To help avoid unnecessary admissions, the NHS is expanding Same Day Emergency Care, virtual wards, and urgent community response services so patients can receive timely care closer to home.
Where people are admitted to hospital, trusts are asked to reduce the average length of stay for patients requiring an overnight emergency admission by at least 0.4 days. This includes reducing discharge delays, working with local authorities and integrated care boards to progressively eliminate the longest and most unacceptable discharge delays, starting with the 0.7% of patients who wait more than 21 days beyond their discharge ready date, and eliminating any internal delays to discharge of more than 48 hours.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of improved energy efficiency in buildings on (a) energy security, (b) consumer bills and (c) carbon budgets.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Decarbonising buildings is the only certain way to permanently lower bills, protect the UK against price shocks, reduce demands and preserve energy security by helping the UK become energy independent.
Government schemes are already delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF), the new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and the continuation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supporting thousands of households to upgrade their heating systems and reduce carbon emissions.
The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will publish more details soon.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers to delivery of (a) the Wotton, Charfield and Kingswood Greenway and (b) other paths on disused railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is part of National Highway's role to maintain safety on the Historical Railway Estate whilst seeking to transfer assets to other third parties if appropriate. It is for those third parties to assess the viability of potential greenways routes and National Highways will work with those organisations to support those ambitions where possible.
No assessment of the Wotton, Charfield and Kingswood Greenway has been made by the Department. It would be for the local authorities and other local stakeholders involved to continue to develop proposals and assess the viability of the greenway. Active Travel England is developing Rural Design Guidance which will include guidance on greenway delivery and the conversion of old railway paths.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that her Department does not engage in cooperation over migration control with security forces in (a) Libya and (b) other countries involved in (i) human rights abuses and (ii) violations of international law.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are clear on the need to respect international law and human rights when it comes to managing migration. The UK is working with Libya and other countries on migration and provides support to the most vulnerable migrants, working in partnership with international partners and institutions.
In line with UK Government policy (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a81781be5274a2e87dbdcc0/OSJA_Guidance_2017.pdf) the Government carries out Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments for activity overseas to ensure the UK meets its human rights obligations and values.
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 make it easier for (a) communities and (b) charities to receive planning permission for infrastructure projects.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. It makes clear that local authorities should have policies that set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places; that they should make sufficient provision for infrastructure including energy; and that applications which could affect drainage on or around the site should incorporate sustainable drainage systems.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
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, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the European Commission and (b) her Italian counterpart on the attack on the Ocean Viking Rescue Ship.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No.
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, if he will consider amending statutory planning guidance for listed buildings to permit the use of reproduction stone slates on Grade 1 listed churches.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Each listed building is different, and the government believes that decisions on which materials should be used should be a matter for the decision maker depending on the particular circumstances of each case. We therefore have no plans to issue statutory planning guidance in respect of the matter at this time.
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, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for the Op Courage service.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the individual services, to ensure that they are meeting the needs of veterans. They are undertaking a comprehensive review which includes the time that veterans wait for assessment and treatment. Any recommendations from the review will be implemented from April 2026.
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, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for neurology health services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered 5.2 million more appointments across elective care services. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.
Between August 2024 and 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by almost 10,000, or 4.3%, from 236,621 to 226,432, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.7 to 15.4 weeks. 56.1% of patients referred were seen within 18 weeks, up from 53.1% at the same point last year. This is still lower than the national average and we are continuing efforts to improve this, recognising this is a challenged specialty.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, commits to reform outpatient services, including by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors to work better together to ensure referrals are used when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance. There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including the UK-wide Neuro Forum, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time programme for neurology.