Simon Opher MP: written questions
226 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Education: MathmaticsDepartment for EducationTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64586More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) dyscalculic learners and(b) learners with maths learning difficulties.
Answer: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including dyscalculia, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department funds t...
Answered 16 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPension Credit: Take-upDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64136More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to raise awareness of the availability of Pension Credit this winter.
Answer: The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are entitled. That is why since Autumn 2024 we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign. The Department’s campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit has cont...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordArmy: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64120More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review the criteria for which applications to join the British Army are rejected on medical grounds.
Answer: This Government inherited a recruitment crisis, with targets being missed every year for the past 14 years, and is taking decisive action to get recruitment back on track. This has included the largest pay rise to personnel in decades and scrapping 100 ou...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: FamiliesHome OfficeTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64118More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason there are currently no service standards in place for Family route visa applications.
Answer: Family visa applications have a service standard of 12 weeks. Further information on our Family visa service standards can be found here: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK.
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordOrdnance Survey: SubscriptionsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information his Department holds on the amount of income generated by the Ordnance Survey from public subscriptions in the last five years.
Answer: Since 2022-23, Ordnance Survey has published the revenue from paying subscribers to the OS Maps platform and app in its Annual Report and Accounts, and these are set out below.2022/23: £8.4m2023/24: £9.5mThe Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-25 will be ...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordOrdnance Survey: SoftwareDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with Ordance Survey on the potential merits of making the Ordnance Survey Maps Premium (a) service and (b) app available to the public for free.
Answer: Ordnance Survey is a public corporation, operating on a commercial basis. Ministers meet regularly with the leadership of Ordnance Survey to discuss how the company can support the Government’s priorities.Ordnance Survey makes its authoritative geospatial...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung People: Politics and GovernmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62724More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase political engagement amongst young people.
Answer: The government, in its manifesto, committed to increasing the engagement of young people in our democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections. The government believes that enabling 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in all UK e...
Answered 30 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFood: AdvertisingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62383More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban advertising of unhealthy foods at sports events.
Answer: The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on televisi...
Answered 30 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFood: AdvertisingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62382More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban sponsorship of sports events by unhealthy food brands.
Answer: The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on televisi...
Answered 30 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordEpilepsy: DeathDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 61340More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.
Answer: At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, including the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transfor...
Answered 25 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordEpilepsy: DeathDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 61331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the occurrences of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.
Answer: At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, including the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transfor...
Answered 25 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordTransport: Bristol and StroudDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 60120More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve transport links between Bristol and Stroud.
Answer: Funding has been allocated to local authorities to improve bus services in the regions, which includes £8 million of funding for Gloucestershire County Council. Rail journeys between Bristol and Stroud require passengers to change at Gloucester or Swindo...
Answered 23 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordBoarding Schools: GuardianshipDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 58295More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the provision of (a) clear and (b) consistent statutory guidance on educational guardianship.
Answer: All independent and state boarding schools must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance and must meet the national minimum standards for boarding schools. Section 22 of those standards sets out the requirements of schools in relat...
Answered 16 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSchool Meals: StandardsDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 58294More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered including water-only policies in updated school food standards.
Answer: The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. Schedule 1 of the school food standards outlines the permitted drinks. These in...
Answered 16 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterans: Radiation ExposureMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a compensation scheme for veterans who have experienced ill health as a result of exposure to radiation while on active service.
Answer: Veterans, including those who may have been exposed to radiation while on active service, who believe they have suffered ill health due to Service already have the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme or the Armed Forces ...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterans: Radiation ExposureMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help support (a) veterans and (b) their families who have experienced ill health as a result of exposure to radiation while on active service.
Answer: This Government is deeply grateful to all those who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise their Service and the huge contribution they have made to the UK's security. Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: EmploymentHome OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56395More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 8506 on Asylum: Employment, whether she plans to reduce the waiting time from 12 to six months for asylum seekers to apply for permission to work.
Answer: The Home Office’s priority remains to ensure that employers and employees who play by the rules are not undercut by people working illegally, or by unscrupulous employers exploiting their labour.We have repeatedly resisted calls to relax our policy positi...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SewageDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49473More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce environmental pollution caused by the spreading of sewage sludge on agricultural land.
Answer: The Government recognises that wastewater treatment practices have changed in recent years and new risks may be emerging from the spread of treated sewage sludge to agricultural land. The Government has been working with water companies on the Chemical In...
Answered 9 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies: DirectorsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49078More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 to ensure company directors’ align the interests of (a) people and (b) planet with prof
Answer: Section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard to the interests of the company’s employees and the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment. Since 2019, directors of large companies have b...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies: DirectorsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49077More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that company directors align the interests of (a) workers, (b) the environment and (c) wider society with shareholder returns.
Answer: Section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard to the interests of the company’s employees and the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment. Since 2019, directors of large companies have b...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of self-care on demand on NHS services; and whether this will be reflected in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answer: Support for self-care is an essential service that all pharmacies must provide, and can include provision of advice, information, and where appropriate, the sale of over-the counter-medicines to patients, carers, and the general public, to support their s...
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament recordNigeria: ChristianityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48196More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Nigeria on support for Christians that country.
Answer: The UK Government regularly advocates for the protections of all vulnerable communities, including religious minorities, through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) bilaterally wit...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPost OfficeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48195More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his planned timetable is for consulting on the long term future of the Post Office.
Answer: We will publish a Green Paper later this year which will set out proposals for discussion on the future direction of the Post Office.
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSoil: CurriculumDepartment for EducationTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to incorporate soil health education into the National Curriculum.
Answer: The national curriculum provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own curricula. Soil health can be taught within both the geography and science curricula.The government has established an indepen...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSoil: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to implement a national soil health monitoring programme.
Answer: Yes, national soil monitoring began in October 2023 under the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme. This 5-year survey will deliver a baseline of soil health in England, with Analysis Ready Data from earlier years of the sample being release...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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