Written questions by Hayes.

What steps he is taking to help improve access to trials for new dementia treatments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps his department has taken to support the long term resilience of pubs in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps she has taken to support local councils to support timely road repairs in Lincolnshire.

Under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities themselves are responsible for maintaining their networks and for the delivery of maintenance works. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. By confirming funding allocations for the next four-year period, authorities have certainty to plan ahead and shift from short-term fixes to proactive, preventative maintenance. Lincolnshire County Council sits within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). GLCCA are eligible to receiver over £368 million in highways maintenance funding from the Government over the next four years.

What recent steps she has taken to help support people with the cost of living in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Awaiting answer.

How many prison officers were issued with (a) tasers and (b) body armour in 2025.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resources available to Lincolnshire police to tackle rural crime.

This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets named and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.Last financial year (FY25/26) we provided £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.

What recent steps he has taken to help protect prison officers from violence.

Awaiting answer.

Whether it is her policy that police forces in England use facial recognition technology during protests.

The police have a responsibility to monitor a protest if serious disorder is expected and to keep the public safe.Facial recognition must be used in a way that complies with the legal framework which includes human rights, equality and data protection laws, national guidance, a code of practice and forces’ own published policies. This means that all deployments must be for a policing purpose and be necessary, proportionate, and fair.

What fiscal steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of household energy bills for people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Awaiting answer.

If he will list the training programmes used by civil servants in his Department since 2020.

Cabinet Office staff members can access the full range of learning available to all Civil Servants via the centrally managed learning contracts. The Learning Frameworks service gives civil servants access to quality assured training courses through a supply chain of contracted delivery partners. It can be accessed through the Government Campus website: https://prospectus.governmentcampus.co.uk.

What recent steps she has taken to improve rural transport links in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government knows the importance of reliable bus services in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services, particularly in rural areas where buses may be the only form of public transport. We are committed to delivering better bus services and the Bus Services Act 2025 puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England.The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in the Spending Review, confirming over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority will be allocated £60 million of this funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £18.5 million they have received in 2025/26.The formula used to calculate LABG allocations for 2026/27 onwards includes consideration of the rurality of local areas for the first time, acknowledging the challenges of running services in rural areas, in addition to population size, levels of deprivation, and the extent of existing bus services. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, this could include expanding current bus provision.

If NHS England will take steps to routinely offer finger-prick testing for anyone with symptoms of type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recently updated the clinical guidelines on type 1 diabetes in children and young people, which is available at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng18 This sets out that children and young people without a known diagnosis of diabetes can also present with diabetic ketoacidosis which requires urgent diagnosis and management. This includes the measurement of capillary blood glucose, which is usually undertaken through a finger-prick test. NHS England is also exploring improvements that can be made to support clinicians in identifying type 1 diabetes, as well as raising awareness of the signs of type 1 diabetes for the public and clinicians.

What steps she is taking to support economic growth in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps she has taken to tackle sham marriages.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to support the road haulage industry with fuel costs in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of additional teachers funded in Lincolnshire with the proceeds from VAT on school fees.

Awaiting answer.

Whether his Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

Awaiting answer.

If he will publish a list of training programmes used by civil servants in his Department since 2023.

Awaiting answer.

What steps NHS England is taking to support NHS staff to diagnose patients with type 1 diabetes as quickly as possible.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recently updated the clinical guidelines on type 1 diabetes in children and young people, which is available at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng18 This sets out that children and young people without a known diagnosis of diabetes can also present with diabetic ketoacidosis which requires urgent diagnosis and management. This includes the measurement of capillary blood glucose, which is usually undertaken through a finger-prick test. NHS England is also exploring improvements that can be made to support clinicians in identifying type 1 diabetes, as well as raising awareness of the signs of type 1 diabetes for the public and clinicians.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

While no artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being used to draft legislation or policy at present, the Department has conducted exploratory initiatives for AI alongside other digital tools to assist drafters within legislation and policy domains. Defra has investigated AI opportunities to assist with statutory guidance and comparative analysis between the UK and partner jurisdictions. Further work has examined the potential of AI to support briefing and correspondence within technical policy areas. These tools are designed strictly to check and critique drafts, rather than replace expert drafters who maintain full responsibility and oversight. More generally, AI productivity tools have been deployed across Defra to assist in day-to-day tasks. This is supported by cross-government guidance and training for civil servants supporting the safe and responsible use of AI, such as through the AI Knowledge Hub, Data & AI Ethics Framework and Model for Responsible Innovation.