Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 181–200 of 1,751 · this parliament
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years at: GOV.UK
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support younger people into agricultural careers in Lincolnshire.
Young people are essential to the long-term resilience of UK agriculture, and Defra works closely with industry bodies, including the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC), to promote careers in the sector and to understand the challenges facing new entrants. Defra provides funding to NFYFC, enabling up to £30,000 per year for specific project-based activity. This supports capacity building within the NFYFC membership and helps to engage the next generation of farmers in the development of agricultural policy and resilient land-based businesses. Through its agricultural reform programme, Defra is investing £2.7 billion a year to support a productive, sustainable farming sector. This includes measures to improve business resilience, productivity and skills development, which help make agriculture a more accessible and attractive career option for young people, including those in Lincolnshire.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on trends in levels of fly tipping in Lincolnshire.
Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually at: Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK. It covers trends in the number of fly-tipping incidents, with a breakdown by land type, waste type and size. It also covers enforcement and prosecution actions undertaken for fly-tipping incidents. This data is available at local authority, regional and national levels, but not at county level. The Environment Agency (EA) is working with local partners in Lincolnshire to monitor and address trends in fly‑tipping and wider waste crime but does not hold trend data. The EA works through the Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership, established in 2020 and recognised nationally as best practice to prevent, disrupt and investigate waste offences in Lincolnshire. The EA also plays an active role in the Lincolnshire Multi‑Agency Intelligence Network, chaired by Lincolnshire Police, on live fly‑tipping investigations and joint actions to support Local Authority enforcement. The Government welcomes this strong partnership approach and the continued efforts to strengthen it further.
What assessment has he made of trends in the number of year on year changes to hospital handover delays in Lincolnshire.
NHS England and the Department regularly monitor ambulance handovers and provide support to the most challenged trusts. NHS England publishes data on ambulance delays monthly, and the published trust handover data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-management-information/
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments for the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
The number of (a) Sharia councils and (b) people associated with roles on Sharia councils have been convicted of offences under the Equality Act 2010 in the last ten years.
Sharia Councils are not part of the judicial system; therefore, the Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of sharia councils in operation, and there is no plan to produce such data at this time.The Ministry of Justice publishes convictions data on a wide range of offences including offences under the Equality Act 2010 in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded at the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) reports Special Severance Payments in its Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with HM Treasury and FREM requirements. For core MOD, the audited figures published in the Annual Report and Accounts are as follows (rounded to the nearest £1,000): 2022–23: £556,000 (14 cases)2023–24: £1,074,000 (13 cases)2024–25: £3,418,000 (40 cases) In addition, the UK Hydrographic Office has reported two Special Severance Payments in 2025, totalling £80,000. UKHO data is not included in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts as UKHO publishes its own accounts separately.
Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
Innovation and Technology, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s first set of accounts were for 2023/24 where the expenditure on special severance payments was £99,390. Expenditure in subsequent years can be found in the relevant annual report and accounts.
What steps she is taking to ensure access for pre-school children with additional needs to nursery places in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
The government wants every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms we announced in February will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams. The Best Start Family Hubs will begin rolling out in April 2026.Alongside this, the department will work with local authorities, including local authority officers in Lincolnshire County Council, to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places, giving parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.
How much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
How much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
What assessment she has made of the risks of remote testing in her Department's English Language Test.
The Home Office has carefully considered the risks of a remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution.Following rounds of pre-market engagement, the ongoing procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
How much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
The Home Office does not publish details of spending on special severance payments separately.The Home Office does publish overall special payments spending and details of this for the previous three financial years can be found through the links below.Pages 190-191 (pages 198-199 on the reader)Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025Pages 190-191 (pages 194-195 on the reader)Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024Pages195-196Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023
How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Over the three years fewer than five payments have been issued and the total amount spent is under £40,000.Given the minimal number of payments made in the timeframe, we have provided a consolidated rather than annual response to avoid employees becoming identifiable where multiple data sources could be amalgamated.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the availability of post-16 provision in Lincolnshire.
The department works closely with the Lincolnshire councils and local further education (FE) colleges to ensure there is sufficient post-16 provision in Lincolnshire.The department works with local authorities to assess significant change applications from schools for new post-16 provision or to close existing provision to ensure that any closure proposals do not create 16 to 19 sufficiency challenges within an area.In October 2025, we published the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’, setting out reforms to the skills system. This includes the introduction of V Levels to sit alongside A and T Levels, the Further Study pathway, supported by a new Foundation Certificate, to support students to progress onto V, T or A levels and also the Occupational pathway. This is supported by a new Occupational Certificate, assisting students develop skills to go into apprenticeships or employment.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect hare populations in Lincolnshire.
Defra has supported Lincolnshire in preparing its Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which is expected to be published shortly. This strategy will set nature recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species, such as hares. Nationally, protection of the brown hare population is provided through hare‑coursing legislation introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Together with improved police tactics, intelligence, and information sharing, it is reasonable to assume that these measures are reducing levels of hare coursing, which will play a part in the recovery of the species. In addition, the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy contains a commitment to consider introducing a close season on shooting brown hares.