Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what date the last premises in North Shropshire was connected to full fibre under Project Gigabit; and the date on which the next connection is planned.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In North Shropshire constituency, the last premises connected by Freedom Fibre’s Project Gigabit contract covering North Shropshire was on the 30 June 2025, whilst the last premises connected under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme was on the 28 July 2025.
We are currently working with Openreach on a proposed contract change to include as many as possible of the remaining premises within the cross-regional contract that covers the rest of Shropshire and other regions. We expect this work to be completed within the next few weeks
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to support educators, supervisors, mentors and trainers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan and work with employers to increase capacity for medical education and training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the 10 Year Workforce Plan will expand the number of medical specialty training places to meet population demand, beyond the 1,000 proposed in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of paid ad spoofing on car insurance premiums.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has made no specific estimate of the impact of paid advert spoofing on car insurance premiums.
However, the Government takes the issue of fraud seriously and recognises the impact this has on motor insurance claims costs and the premiums that motorists pay.
As set out in the final report of the cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce, published in December 2025, the Government, regulators and industry are taking a range of actions to combat insurance fraud. This includes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to identify and remove fraudulent advertising; the Insurance Fraud Bureau and Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department’s work to detect, investigate and deter motor insurance fraud; and collective efforts to deliver on the commitments in the Home Office’s Insurance Fraud Charter.
The Government’s forthcoming Fraud Strategy will introduce further measures designed to protect individuals and businesses from evolving fraud threats.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to publish proposals for increased product safety requirements under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The powers in the Act enable the UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws. As stated in the budget announcement we plan to consult in early 2026 on major reforms to modernise and simplify the UK’s product safety framework, including to rebalance the playing field between online and physical retailers, improve consumer safety and streamline processes for enforcement.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will assess the merits of suspending mandatory border control point checks for consignments of equine semen sent from approved EU centres.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All consignments of equine germinal products imported into GB from the EU and EFTA countries are required to undergo import controls at a designated Border Control Post. A facilitation scheme remains in place to address logistical issues associated with the import of chilled equine germinal products. The SPS agreement, currently being negotiated between GB and the EU, will largely supersede the current import requirements and significantly reduce the burden on GB industry.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the level of overdiagnosis arising from opportunistic PSA testing in England in the latest period for which data is available; and whether this was modelled in the comparator arm of the UK National Screening Committee’s economic analysis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Drawing on the available peer reviewed evidence, the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) has undertaken economic analysis on behalf of the UK National Screening Committee.
In their modelling, in line with best practice and the standard academic approach to assessing a new screening proposal, the SCHARR team has included the best available information on current care and compared this to a number of possible scenarios for a new prostate cancer screening programme. This includes the best estimate of current opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
There is little published data available that can determine between PSAs sought by asymptomatic males at their general practices (GPs), opportunistic PSA testing, and other types of PSAs in use which can include testing for symptomatic males where this could support a diagnosis and for men who are on a range of treatment pathways for known prostate cancer.
A prostate cancer screening programme would be most likely to add to the number of PSA tests because GPs have the right to offer a PSA test in line with their clinical judgement and this would continue outside of any screening programme. This is consistent with other screening programmes including, for example, access to the faecal immunochemical tests outside of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
The risk of overdiagnosis identified in the SCHARR model is in line with other international evidence-based prostate screening models which have been developed by academics in line with standard academic approaches and are underpinned by high quality published evidence.
New data on PSA uptake was published after the completion of the modelling report and will be incorporated into further model iterations before the completion of the consultation period.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK National Screening Committee’s modelling assumes that the introduction of a prostate cancer screening programme would be additional to, or would partially replace, existing opportunistic PSA testing in primary care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Drawing on the available peer reviewed evidence, the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) has undertaken economic analysis on behalf of the UK National Screening Committee.
In their modelling, in line with best practice and the standard academic approach to assessing a new screening proposal, the SCHARR team has included the best available information on current care and compared this to a number of possible scenarios for a new prostate cancer screening programme. This includes the best estimate of current opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
There is little published data available that can determine between PSAs sought by asymptomatic males at their general practices (GPs), opportunistic PSA testing, and other types of PSAs in use which can include testing for symptomatic males where this could support a diagnosis and for men who are on a range of treatment pathways for known prostate cancer.
A prostate cancer screening programme would be most likely to add to the number of PSA tests because GPs have the right to offer a PSA test in line with their clinical judgement and this would continue outside of any screening programme. This is consistent with other screening programmes including, for example, access to the faecal immunochemical tests outside of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
The risk of overdiagnosis identified in the SCHARR model is in line with other international evidence-based prostate screening models which have been developed by academics in line with standard academic approaches and are underpinned by high quality published evidence.
New data on PSA uptake was published after the completion of the modelling report and will be incorporated into further model iterations before the completion of the consultation period.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the levels of paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
It is not possible to identify where prosecutions of fraud are specifically related to paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector, as this would require manual checks at a cost disproportionate to the public interest.
In the 12 months ending June 2025, the CPS prosecuted 7,446 defendants, where Fraud and Forgery was the principal offence. In the same period, the CPS charged 77.3% of all Fraud and Forgery category cases that were referred to it by law enforcement and maintained a consistent conviction rate of 86.5%.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the use of fax machines by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has instructed National Health Service trusts to stop using fax machines for anything other than business continuity. The trust has informed NHS England that they currently only use fax machines for administrative tasks.
NHS England will be meeting with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to work with them on their decommissioning plans. As such, there is currently no date set for when fax machines will be phased out.