Written questions by Hayes.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

As of January 2025, 6.9% of staff in the department are currently on an apprenticeship, which is above our target of 5%. To maintain and build on this, we continue to take the following steps: All Administrative Officer (AO) and Executive Officer (EO) recruitment is considered for a Level 4 Business Administration apprenticeship, ensuring that new entrants have the opportunity to develop their skills through apprenticeship routes.We participate annually in the Government Economic Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme (GESDAP) and actively advertise this opportunity across the department to encourage uptake.We continue to offer a wide variety of apprenticeships in areas such as finance, management, and data science, ensuring a broad range of opportunities for staff to develop their skills and progress their careers.Subject to a new approach to Apprenticeships which we anticipate from Skills England, we plan to review our current offering to focus on how we use a range of Apprenticeships to attract candidates and develop the skills of the future. Through these measures, the department remains committed to supporting staff development and increasing apprenticeship opportunities.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits have Ministers in his Department made to farms in Lincolnshire since the announcement of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief on 30 October 2024.

Defra ministers regularly visit farms in a range of counties and meet with farmers and the wider industry nearly every week.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services. Within the Cabinet Office, we are looking at every opportunity to increase apprenticeships. For example, last week we announced that this summer we will launch a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration. The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. In its first year, the CLA will offer roles in three city locations: Birmingham, London, and Manchester. By expanding into Birmingham and Manchester, the Civil Service is strengthening its presence in these growth areas, while still providing opportunities in London to meet workforce needs and priorities.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.In addition, in the Home Department we have recently launched a new Apprenticeship Strategy designed to accelerate progress in embedding apprenticeships across the department. This strategy is aimed at significantly expanding access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities across all areas of our workforce, with a ‘think apprenticeship first’ approach.As part of this strategy, we have set an ambitious target: at least 5% of our staff will be undertaking an apprenticeship at any given time. This target reflects our strong commitment to developing talent, supporting career progression, and addressing skills gaps within the Department.

What steps she has taken to increase provision of legal aid in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

This Government recognises that legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It enables those individuals, who need it most, to have access to publicly funded legal assistance in order to uphold their legal rights.We have recently consulted on uplifts to housing and immigration legal aid fees which would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year once implemented.In December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid market. The consultation is now live and closes on 4 July 2025. This funding is in addition to the £24 million increase we announced in November 2024 for criminal solicitors. This latest commitment reflects the vital work that is undertaken by those who provide criminal legal aid. We are committed to continuing to work with the criminal legal aid profession, on further opportunities to support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.The Legal Aid Agency is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach, removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services.There is currently an adequate supply of services in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands across all categories of civil legal aid, and under the relevant criminal duty solicitor schemes serving the area.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will shortly launch a Talent Strategy in which apprenticeships play a central role in building the delivery capability DESNZ needs to be a mission-focused department. The department has a well-established apprenticeship offer, with around 84 apprentices currently in post. As part of the Talent Strategy, we will increase the range and number of apprenticeships we offer by: launching a social mobility apprenticeship programme, focused on supporting actively unemployed individuals into employment through apprenticeshipsincreasing opportunities for school leavers, including participating in the new Careers Launch Apprenticeship programmeexpanding the apprenticeship offer by procuring new contracts in priority capability areas The Department has a core apprenticeship offer available to all staff and continues to onboard apprentices through centralised programmes run by the Civil Service Apprenticeship Unit and other initiatives. DESNZ is committed to creating early career opportunities for both current and new apprentices.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services. Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. Following the introduction of Skills England and a recent review of DfT’s Talent & Apprenticeship Strategy, we have refined our focus on providing apprenticeships within priority skills areas that are better aligned to Government Missions and the skills we are looking to grow within the department.HR are working to provide a wider range of apprenticeships in our Department in key fields, particularly STEM, Digital, Data, and AI, where demand is highest and in using apprenticeships as a route for individuals to obtain essential learning such as HR and Finance qualifications.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services. Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.” Since 2023, the Ministry of Housing, Community, and Local Government has increased the proportion of its staff on apprenticeships from 2% to 5.1%. We are currently exploring how additional entry level programmes in digital, data and AI, including the TechTrack Level 4 Business Analyst apprenticeship, can be used to build the department’s capability in this vital area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support (a) South Holland District Council and (b) South Kesteven District Council in reducing fly tipping incidents.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping. These include prosecution, which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment, and powers to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. They can also issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers and £600 to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier, the income from which is kept by councils and must be spent on enforcement or cleaning up fly-tipping. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and we are currently taking steps to develop statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course. In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all Government departments, to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030, to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services. Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, via the Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers across various departments, starting from January 2026. In addition, in the Department we are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeship starts by working closely with our professions, promoting insight sessions, and sharing testimonials from current apprentices to highlight how apprenticeships support staff development. This promotes the value of apprenticeships, and how they support personal development and capability, to encourage uptake across the Department.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the big four supermarkets on animal welfare standards on pig farms.

Defra regularly engages with supermarkets about a range of issues, but has not had any recent discussions on pig welfare standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all departments as part of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services. Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. In addition, Defra has a group apprenticeship strategy with a clear ambition for year-on-year growth in enrolments. There is a focus on areas where apprenticeships can support organisational priorities, career development for existing staff and addressing key skills gaps. These include:Trailblazer groups related to Asset Management Level 4 and Geoscientist Degree Level 6. Cohorts have been recruited this year, with more planned for 2026.Development of a Soils Scientist Level 7 apprenticeship with first cohorts in 2025.Development of an Environmental Practitioner degree and an Ecology MSc which are recruited to annually. Following a successful pilot of a Data Protection and Information Governance cohort in 2023, plans for recruitment of a second cohort in early 2026 have begun.

If she will make an annual statement to Parliament on the progress on her plan to reduce immigration.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

If she will take steps to cap the number of family visas annually.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

Whether the proposed ten year residence criteria for migrants will include time spent in a third country.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.In addition, in DBT we are also committed to providing all employees with varied opportunities for learning and development, apprenticeships are a core part of this offer. As of End Quarter 4 2024/2025 3.8% of DBT’s domestic workforce were on an apprenticeship. We are taking active steps to continue to build on this by offering all new Executive Officer (EO) vacancies as apprenticeships, encouraging those at the start of their careers to consider an apprenticeship route as default. DBT are committed to support the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) Programme. As the Department for Business and Trade we understand the importance of skills to drive growth and of providing good quality roles which support fulfilling and long-term careers.

What her Department's definition is of a graduate level job which students must acquire in order to remain in the UK after their studies.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. A new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions has been supporting Cabinet Office with the development of this new scheme, sharing learning from our own school leaver Social Mobility Apprenticeship pilot, which has run successfully for the last two years, with our first cohort of school leavers all securing permanent employment within the Department. In addition, in the Department for Work and Pensions we are developing an internal apprenticeship strategy, which will utilise the flexibility provided by the new Growth and Skills Levy to develop skills and support the future needs of the Department. Expansion of opportunities to recruit new apprentices are being explored, including continued use of our Social Mobility Apprenticeship schemes and direct recruitment of apprentices into entry level roles. We have recently run a campaign for 50 new Level 3 apprentices in Counter Fraud and Compliance, with a further 40 roles due to go live next month. We are committed to Getting Britain Working, driving growth through employment. Our plan includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who have commenced phased delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper from May 2025. The Department is committed to offering high quality apprenticeships for all and working with professions to identify opportunities to fulfil business needs.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is increasing apprenticeship starts through targeted external recruitment and we are commencing a pilot ‘social mobility program’ utilising the Cabinet Office ‘Going Forward In Employment’ apprenticeships. DCMS will also be involved with the ‘Civil Service Career Launch apprenticeship’, exploring Levy transfer options and broadening its internal apprenticeship offer in professions such as Digital.

Whether the proposed 10 year residence criteria for migrants will include time spent in the person's country of origin on extended leave.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.