Written questions by Hayes.

What steps he is taking to fund improved provisions for addiction support services in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidence-based, high-quality treatment.Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet those needs. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing Lincolnshire with £3,382,494 from the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant and £217,783 from the Individual Placement and Support grant to improve drug and alcohol services and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. All funding is provided at the Lincolnshire level, and it is for Lincolnshire County Council to determine how to meet need in South Holland and The Deepings.Alongside the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are increasing our efforts to support smokers to quit and have invested an additional £70 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26 for all local authority commissioned stop smoking services in England. In each financial year, Lincolnshire has been allocated £1.1 million to invest in local stop smoking services, in addition to existing spend on these services from the Public Health Grant. The purpose of this investment is to boost capacity and demand for evidence-based support to quit smoking, and ensure we secure a smoke-free United Kingdom where no one is left behind.In April 2025, a new statutory levy on gambling operators, expected to raise around £100 million per year, was introduced to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. The levy will be distributed across the three workstreams with 50% allocated to NHS England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, to commission the development of effective treatment and support services at national and sub-national levels.

How many and what proportion of people eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of (a) actual bodily harm and (b) grievous bodily harm.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

How many and what proportion of people eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of carrying a knife or blade.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

How many and what proportion of of cancer patients have had their 3 monthly scans (a) delayed and (b) cancelled in the last 12 months.

This data is not held by the Department. Diagnostics waiting times and activity data is published by NHS England and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/The Government commitment to reduce the number of missed and delayed appointments, including scans, is a priority for the National Health Service in England. The recent expansion of the ‘NHS App’ has already stopped 1.5 million hospital appointments being missed and saved 5.7 million staff hours since July 2024.The Department is also supporting NHS England in the implementation of the new ‘Cancer 360 tool’ which brings all the data into one central system, so clinicians can prioritise those most in need and see patients quicker. This technology is set to benefit millions of patients over the next five to 10 years. The real-time tool will help teams to easily track a patient’s progress, avert delays and harness digital innovation to improve patient outcomes.

How many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of rape.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

If she will take steps with the police to review procedures to help ensure that serving officers do not face punitive disciplinary proceedings for raising concerns about operational risks

Police officers have a statutory duty to report any wrongdoing under their Standards of Professional Behaviour and it is vital that they are supported in doing so. There are a number of routes, both internal and external, to raise such concerns, including through the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Reporting Line, which enables police officers and staff to report concerns of wrongdoing that a criminal offence has been committed, or where there is evidence of conduct that would justify disciplinary proceedings.The Code of Ethics, issued by the College of Policing, encourages policing to use the recognised route to report concerns through force confidential reporting lines, and explains that ‘whistleblowers’ will be provided legal protections set out in the Employment Right Act 1996.Crimestoppers have also announced a new phone number to report corruption and abuse within the police, jointly commissioned by the National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police Crime Commissioners, which, in addition to the public, is also available for use by serving police officers and staff

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the overseas aid budget is delivered in the form of direct (a) cash and (b) bank payments to individuals.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has supported cash transfers within its humanitarian and social protection systems work for a number of years because they are a well-evidenced mechanism for reducing extreme hunger and poverty at scale, building resilience to prevent crises, and meeting the lifesaving humanitarian needs of highly vulnerable people, e.g. during droughts and conflict.In 2023, £881 million of bilateral UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) was spent on humanitarian aid, a proportion of which was cash payments. In the same year, £129 million (1.3 per cent of bilateral UK ODA) was spent on social protection, including but not only cash transfers.Cash transfers are increasingly being delivered through electronic payment systems, reducing the administrative cost and making them more secure. The delivery modality varies by context - the FCDO does not collect aggregated data on these modalities for direct cash payments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of overseas aid is distributed via GiveDirectly.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has recently worked on two Give Directly projects, the first to build climate resilience in Malawi, and the second for humanitarian support to majority Sudanese refugees in Uganda.The Minister for International Development confirmed at the International Development Select Committee on 3 June that our funding for GiveDirectly in Malawi is paused.The latest figure for 2024 expenditure is £1.96 million in Malawi and £1.85 million in Uganda, totalling £3.81 million. Details of programmes, including disbursements, are available on DevTracker. Based on published provisional total Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures for 2024, these disbursements represent 0.027 per cent of the total 2024 UK ODA expenditure of £14.066 billion.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how overseas aid intended to alleviate climate change in Malawi is spent.

UK bilateral aid to Malawi in Financial Year 2024/25 was £49 million, of which £11.6 million was invested in alleviating climate change, including through responding to humanitarian disasters, funding policy research and contributing to seasonal humanitarian appeals. The UK's flagship Building Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change (BRACC) programme supported UN agencies to build the resilience to climate shocks of poor households through improving agricultural productivity. Since the programme began in 2018, over 1.75 million people have been supported to cope with the effects of climate change, particularly droughts and floods, and a further 1.46 million people were assisted during humanitarian crises by cash transfers.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, what discussions he has had with the House of Commons authorities on the use of women-only spaces in its buildings by transgender women following the Supreme Court judgement in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers [2025] USCK 16.

The House administration has reviewed its policies, services and provisions and has not found that any immediate changes are required as a consequence of the judgment.These will be further reviewed following publication of the full Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance and, if necessary, amended to ensure the House administration remains in line with the law and the final form of the statutory guidance.

What information her Department holds on the average bus punctuality rates for Lincolnshire in each year since 2015.

The average bus punctuality rates (specifically, the percentage of non-frequent bus services running on time) for Lincolnshire are available for each year between the year ending March 2015 and the year ending March 2024 in the Department’s published Annual Bus Statistics. This data can be found in Table BUS09a: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#bus-reliability-and-punctuality-bus09.More granular (daily, route-level etc.) punctuality data, including data for Lincolnshire, is provided through the Analyse Bus Open Data Service (ABODS). ABODS enables DfT, local transport authorities, and bus operators to view detailed performance metrics, including line-level, stop-level, and individual journey punctuality, as well as on-time, early, and late arrival patterns based on GPS data from buses.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on levels of investment in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

This comprehensive agreement is expected to boost increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run.This deal is expected to make trade between the UK cheaper and easier, which helps encourage more businesses to expand and invest. For example, the high-value manufacturing sector will benefit from reduced Indian import tariffs on many advanced manufacturing goods.We will set out further information on the regional impacts of this agreement in our Impact Assessment.

How much Fentanyl by (a) volume and (b) value has been seized in the UK in the last 12 months.

The Home Office latest published data on Fentanyl seizures made by the police and Border Force for England and Wales covers the period April 2023-March 2024 and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024The Home Office does not publish the monetary (£) value of drugs seized. In the year ending March 2024, the latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force seized:22 Fentanyl seizures, totalling 218 doses and 0.3kg6 Fentanyl analogue seizures, totalling 1 dose and 1.3 kgFentanyl analogues include Carfentanil, Lofentanil, Sufentanil, Alfentanil (Rapifen) and Fentanyl (derivatives of).Border Force also release quarterly transparency data which include Fentanyl seizures. The latest available data are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q4-2024

What steps he is taking to improve fracture liaison services for people aged over 50 in Lincolnshire.

Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are a globally recognised care model, and can reduce the risk of refracture for people at risk of osteoporosis by up to 40%.FLS are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs), which make decisions according to local need. This includes the Lincolnshire ICB. We remain committed to rolling out FLS across every part of the country by 2030.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Grimsby to Walpole pylon project on (a) farm and (b) wild animals on the route.

Developers of the Grimsby to Walpole project, like all nationally significant infrastructure projects in England and Wales, are required to assess the impacts of their proposals. This includes conducting assessments of the project's potential effects on the environment, including farmland and wild animals, through Environmental Impact Assessments and Habitats Regulations Assessments. Developers also engage with statutory and non-statutory stakeholders, including farmers and environmental organisations, through consultations to ensure their feedback is considered and incorporated into project proposals. The government does not make assessments for specific projects until they come to the Secretary of State for a final planning decision.

Whether her Department plans to increase visible policing in areas in Lincolnshire with high rates of road traffic offences.

On 10 April the Government outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including by July, every community will have named, and contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities.At the heart of the Guarantee is ensuring communities have a say in neighbourhood policing in their area, including through regular beat meetings, to help set local priorities, such as tackling high rates of road traffic offences.

How the Infrastructure Strategy will support infrastructure enhancements in Lincolnshire.

The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will reduce uncertainty by bringing together a long-term plan for the social, economic and housing infrastructure across the UKAlongside considering the UK’s economic and social infrastructure needs, the strategy will set out how we are reforming institutions and changing the way we make decisions and deliver infrastructure, maximising the benefits of our strong fiscal and spending frameworks, breaking down regulatory and planning barriers, and resetting our relationship with the private sector.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-US trade agreement on levels of investment in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

The US is our biggest investor and our top investment destination. At the end of 2023, the UK and US had over £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies.On 8th May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK.This Government will continue to act in Britain’s national interest including for workers, businesses and families in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.

Whether she has had recent discussions with her international counterparts on the potential cost to the public purse of proposed agreements with third countries to take failed asylum seekers from the UK.

We do not provide a running commentary on discussions with our overseas partners.

Which countries her Department has had discussions with on temporarily taking failed asylum seekers from the UK.

We do not provide a running commentary on discussions with our overseas partners.