Written questions by Hayes.

Innovation and Technology, what recent steps she has taken to improve access to full fibre broadband in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural communities.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 82% of premises across Lincolnshire can access a gigabit-capable connection, we aim to get that to 99% by 2032. To extend connectivity further, Quickline is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across Lincolnshire and East Riding, which is currently expected to provide access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection to approximately 30,000 premises within Lincolnshire. A further contract with CityFibre is planned to benefit premises in West Lincolnshire as well as within Nottinghamshire.As of the end of March 2025, over 1.2 million premises in rural and hard to reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes. More than one million further premises have been included within contracts to provide access to gigabit-capable broadband, with funding of over £2.4 billion through Project Gigabit. Almost all of this coverage will be delivered via fibre to the premises.

How many asylum seekers accommodated in (a) hotels or (b) other residences were in that accommodation for longer than 12 months since 2022.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in hotel and other residences can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of social housing was occupied by people born overseas in each of the last five years.

Housing is a devolved matter, with each of the four nations of the UK developing their own policies and data collections to monitor the impact of them. The English Housing Survey published by my Department, which can be found on gov.uk here, shows that households living in social housing in England with a non-UK national lead tenant comprised: 10.6% of all households living in social housing in England in 2023/2410.0% of all households living in social housing in England in 2022/238.4% of all households living in social housing in England in 2021/227.0% of all households living in social housing in England in 2020/218.4% of all households living in social housing in England in 2019/20. It is important to note that such households can contain UK nationals as well as non-UK national lead tenants.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of first-time house buyers in Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

My Department does not collect data on the number of first-time buyers. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on first-time buyer mortgage sales by local authority in the UK. They can be found on its website here. Data covers the period between 2006 and 2024. Data for 2025 has not yet been published.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps has he taken to help tackle council tax fraud.

Council tax is administered by local authorities. It is therefore for them to manage and address any potential cases of fraud in the council tax system. Councils have powers to impose penalties on households which knowingly provide false information as well as a range of powers to recover and enforce unpaid council tax. Our plain English guide to council tax highlights councils’ powers to address fraud. The government will continue to keep these powers under review.

How much money from private providers with contracts to house asylum seekers is owed to her Department in excess profits since 2021.

Excess profits of £45.9m have been returned to the Department in relation to the contract’s profit share provisions.The Home Office is supported by a Commercial Department within which is a dedicated Asylum Support Commercial Contract Management Team. This team prioritise and work on all aspects of commercial contract management, including recouping profits share amounts owed to the Home Office. On financial matters, this team work with other Home Office specialists.

How many full time equivalent civil servants in her Department are working on recouping profits from private providers with contracts to house asylum seekers.

Excess profits of £45.9m have been returned to the Department in relation to the contract’s profit share provisions.The Home Office is supported by a Commercial Department within which is a dedicated Asylum Support Commercial Contract Management Team. This team prioritise and work on all aspects of commercial contract management, including recouping profits share amounts owed to the Home Office. On financial matters, this team work with other Home Office specialists.

What information her Department holds on the proportion of food served in state schools in England that is sourced from British (a) farms and (b) other food producers.

Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. We encourage schools to provide a wide range of foods using fresh, sustainable locally sourced, seasonal ingredients including produce from the school vegetable garden where possible.Alongside this, we encourage schools to follow the Government Buying Standard for food and catering, which includes advice around procurement and sustainable sourcing of produce. We aim to revise the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history and will be consulting publicly in due course. As part of this work, we will review our guidance on sourcing good quality produce.

If he will take steps to compensate British servicemen who took part in sampling missions through Soviet mushroom clouds in 1961 and 1962.

This Government has no current plans to develop a specific compensation scheme for Nuclear Test Veterans or their families, including those who took part in sampling missions through Soviet mushroom clouds in 1961 and 1962. Service personnel and Veterans who believe they were negatively impacted by their service can apply for compensation through the existing War Pensions Scheme (WPS). The WPS is a no-fault scheme for Service personnel disabled or killed due to injury or illness caused or worsened by service before April 6, 2005. There is no time limit for claiming, however if a claim is made more than seven years after termination of service, the claimant is granted the benefit of doubt when there is uncertainty about whether the disablement is linked to or worsened by their service. Factors such as being on operations or in a hazardous environment can support a service-related claim. Historical records, including medical records, will be reviewed to establish a causal link to service for Veterans seeking compensation.

How much funding her Department has provided for the provision of English for Speakers of Other Language courses in each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

What steps she is taking to stop the illegal importation of crossbows.

The Government is actively considering the introduction of further controls around crossbows. This follows a call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds which ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024.The call for evidence paper tested ideas for whether there should be some form of licensing regime that would provide further controls on the use, ownership and supply of crossbows including whether sellers should be licensed in some way. The responses have been reviewed and we will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence shortly, which will include what action we intend to take.It is an offence, under the Crossbows Act 1987, for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow or parts of a crossbow. The Government is taking action to strengthen the law on sales and delivery including from abroad. Measures currently in the Crime and Policing Bill will make it an offence for a delivery business, delivering a crossbow or parts of a crossbow to a residential premises on behalf of a seller outside of the United Kingdom, to hand the package containing the crossbow to someone other than the purchaser and to confirm, through checking an identity document as prescribed and provided by the purchaser, that they are aged 18 or over.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of setting up a licensing regime for the sale of crossbows.

The Government is actively considering the introduction of further controls around crossbows. This follows a call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds which ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024.The call for evidence paper tested ideas for whether there should be some form of licensing regime that would provide further controls on the use, ownership and supply of crossbows including whether sellers should be licensed in some way. The responses have been reviewed and we will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence shortly, which will include what action we intend to take.It is an offence, under the Crossbows Act 1987, for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow or parts of a crossbow. The Government is taking action to strengthen the law on sales and delivery including from abroad. Measures currently in the Crime and Policing Bill will make it an offence for a delivery business, delivering a crossbow or parts of a crossbow to a residential premises on behalf of a seller outside of the United Kingdom, to hand the package containing the crossbow to someone other than the purchaser and to confirm, through checking an identity document as prescribed and provided by the purchaser, that they are aged 18 or over.

What steps is she taking to prevent irregular migrants who have been removed under the UK-France Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, published on 5 August 2025, from returning to the UK.

As of 20 October, 42 returns have taken place under the exchange agreement. Anyone who re-enters illegally may face immediate detention and, where appropriate, we will seek to expedite removal. This will not count as a new removal in the reciprocal scheme. We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the National Fire Chief's Council consultation response to her Department’s policy on (a) wildfires and (b) risks to firefighters.

The National Fire Chiefs Council’s response to Defra’s consultation on heather and grass burning in England is already in the public domain. This can be found on their website here: 250523-Heather-and-Grass-Burning-in-England-Consultation-Response-FINAL.pdf

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support local media in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in South Holland and the Deepings and more broadly across Lincolnshire. The Government understands the important work that local news does across the UK, including outlets such as the Spalding Guardian and the Lincolnshire Echo. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops. DCMS ministers held a roundtable discussion with local news editors in the spring to discuss the planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has since been set up to consider the issues in more detail and has been meeting regularly since June. More will be announced on the Strategy in the coming months.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing levels of funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the number of nurses in training.

I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer to Question 83834.

If she will make it her policy to direct police forces to instruct them to scrap the recording of all non-crime hate incidents.

This Government has been clear that the police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets, and that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).That is why the Home Secretary has asked the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to expedite its review of NCHIs which began earlier this year. The review, which is ongoing, is considering the recording of information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which may still be useful for the purposes of monitoring community tensions and keeping the public safe. It is also considering the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area.The Home Office is working closely with the NPCC and the College as they further develop their findings. We look forward to receiving the final recommendations of this review, and to working with forces to ensure they have the clarity they need to focus on keeping our communities safe whilst protecting free speech.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing funding for palliative care services in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, including the NHS Lincolnshire ICB, which covers the South Holland and The Deepings constituency. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive, to be distributed again via ICBs. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.More widely, the Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

What measures her Department has in place to run critical services in the event of a major internet outage.

The Department has a range of alternative means of communication, including telephony, and manual processes to facilitate business critical work and maintain operational continuity in the event of loss of internet connection over cellular and/or fixed line networks. The citizen and business facing services provided by our executive agencies are available via telephone, mail or via the Post Office.

Communities and Local Government, what measures his Department has in place to run critical services in the event of a major internet outage.

Providing critical services in the event of a major internet outage requires that the department has suitable technology solutions in place, that services are well designed and governed, recovery requirements are assessed and they are aligned with business continuity plans. The department has tested plans in place to keep the department functioning in response to the most serious risks facing the UK, including those that could come about as a result of a significant loss of power, like a major internet outage. As part of wider resilience planning in government, MHCLG works with local partners on resilient communication methods which support contact in the event of a power or internet outage.