Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what value for money assessment her Department has made of the expenditure of £14 million on the solar panel project in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In the press release issued to mark the launch of British International Investment (BII) by the former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in November 2021, the previous government specifically stated: "[This] builds on the Prime Minister's commitments at COP26 to help developing countries take advantage of clean technology and grow their economies sustainably, with the BII delivering billions in climate financing for projects like solar power, sustainable transport and disaster-resilient infrastructure over the next 5 years."

The investment in question will support delivery of a major new electrification project, led by a BII-owned company, which will provide a profitable return for UK investment, while also helping to prevent large-scale deforestation, reduce carbon emissions, and support stability in a conflict affected region. This is consistent with the UK's wider International Climate Finance strategy, established under the previous government.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria was used to allocate £14 million to the solar panel project in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In the press release issued to mark the launch of British International Investment (BII) by the former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in November 2021, the previous government specifically stated: "[This] builds on the Prime Minister's commitments at COP26 to help developing countries take advantage of clean technology and grow their economies sustainably, with the BII delivering billions in climate financing for projects like solar power, sustainable transport and disaster-resilient infrastructure over the next 5 years."

The investment in question will support delivery of a major new electrification project, led by a BII-owned company, which will provide a profitable return for UK investment, while also helping to prevent large-scale deforestation, reduce carbon emissions, and support stability in a conflict affected region. This is consistent with the UK's wider International Climate Finance strategy, established under the previous government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to update NHS prescribing guidance for menopause, including first-line use of transdermal oestrogen gel and access to testosterone for women with confirmed low blood levels and significant cardiovascular symptoms.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving women’s health outcomes, including through better awareness and support for menopause, and we will continue to work with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to ensure patients and clinicians have access to clear, evidence-based guidance.

NICE guideline on menopause was last updated in November 2024. It provides guidance on best practice that prescribers are expected to take fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.

NICE intends to update its recommendations on starting and stopping hormone replacement therapy, including managing unscheduled bleeding. There are no current plans to update other recommendations at this time, including the use of transdermal oestrogen gel and access to testosterone for women with confirmed low blood levels and significant cardiovascular symptoms. This guideline will be reviewed if there is new evidence that is likely to change the recommendations.

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 the use of biometric data by private contractors such as Yoti in publicly accessible digital identity systems on levels of public safety.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government considered the potential public safety implications of digital identity services, including the use of biometric data, when developing the Digital Verification Services (DVS) trust framework. The trust framework – developed by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), a part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) - sets out requirements governing the provision of digital identity services.

The trust framework sets out rules covering roles, principles, policies, procedures and standards and legislation covering areas such as security, privacy, fraud prevention, governance and reliability. These requirements are intended to support safe and trustworthy provision of digital identity services.

Where a certified service uses biometric technologies, the trust framework includes specific requirements relating to the performance and security of those technologies. Providers are required to test biometric systems against recognised industry standards, to help ensure they are accurate, secure and inclusive.

The trust framework does not replace or supplement existing legal obligations relating to data protection. Service providers are required to comply with the data protection legislation when processing personal data.

Companies who wish to be included in the government’s online register of digital identity and attribute services must have their services independently audited and certified against the trust framework by accredited certification bodies. Yoti has services certified against the trust framework, and recorded on the online register. Certification does not constitute a government endorsement of any particular company or service. However, the trust framework and its certification regime help to provide assurance that certified services meet the government’s standards for security and reliability.

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 implications for her data protection polices of the enforcement action taken by the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos against Yoti in March 2026.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Organisations such as Yoti that process biometric data of UK users, through the provision of digital verification and age assurance services, have to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). As such, the processing must be fair, lawful, transparent and secure. Organisations must have a lawful basis for the processing of personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR. For processing of biometric and other sensitive data, they must also have a specific Article 9 condition, such as a user’s explicit consent.

DSIT monitor developments in this space and supports the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in providing guidance to organisations to help their compliance. The ICO, working with Ofcom, has recently published guidance on age assurance and is engaging with the age assurance industry through a programme of risk reviews.

The ICO can take enforcement action against those organisations that have breached the UK’s data protection legislation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of charges associated with obtaining fit-to-fly certificates during pregnancy on patients.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of charges associated with obtaining fit-to-fly certificates during pregnancy on patients.

There are currently no plans to issue guidance to National Health Service trusts on the provision of fit-to-fly certificates for pregnant women.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to NHS Trusts on the provision of fit-to-fly certificates for pregnant women.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of charges associated with obtaining fit-to-fly certificates during pregnancy on patients.

There are currently no plans to issue guidance to National Health Service trusts on the provision of fit-to-fly certificates for pregnant women.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the timing of the start of the rollout of fracture liaison services on whether there will be full coverage of those services across England by 2030.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - 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.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her department has an estimation of the number of houses in Farnham and Bordon with poor broadband that will be left without a telephone connection following the landline to digital switchover.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the analogue landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

In order to function correctly, VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5 megabytes per second. It is possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a broadband connection.

In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services go beyond the Ofcom’s minimum requirement of one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours, with back-up time for VoIP-only connections likely to be at the higher end of this range as the battery run-time is primarily driven by power consumption.

In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the capacity is of NHS specialist menopause services; and what average waiting times are for women accessing these services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not centrally hold data on the number of patients in England awaiting specialist menopause services, although we do hold data on the broader gynaecology specialism, of which menopause services are a part. As of the end of January 2026, the median average waiting time for specialist gynaecology services is 15.3 weeks, with 56.9% of patient pathways waiting less than 18 weeks, up 1.8% from January 2025.

The Department does not hold detailed information on the capacity of National Health Service specialist menopause services.

The Government acknowledges that women suffering from symptoms of menopause have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact it has on women’s lives, relationships, and participation in the workplace. Menopause and menstrual problems will be among the priorities for the NHS’s new online hospital when it launches next year, providing faster access to specialist care.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a national strategy to discourage littering, particularly on roads and pavements.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Overall policy responsibility for litter sits with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has recently published an updated Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. The Department for Transport supports local authorities and National Highways in tackling litter through a range of existing frameworks and initiatives, including activity focused on encouraging positive behaviour change and the effective use of enforcement powers.