Written questions by Hayes.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the Regulatory Innovation Office.

The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) is the Government’s key tool for advancing regulatory innovation. The RIO draws on from core existing functions like the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) and the Regulators’ Pioneers Fund (RPF). The Government will continue to evaluate timelines, costs, legal considerations, and objectives to ensure the RIO aligns with our transformative goals and delivers effective regulatory solutions.

What estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the Global Clean Power Alliance.

The Global Clean Power Alliance aims to accelerate the delivery of the global clean power transition, bringing together a coalition of countries who share ambition and are ready to take action to overcome the biggest challenges in delivering clean power globally. The initiative is being delivered through existing resources, including by streamlining existing efforts, in collaboration with other countries and international organisations. The running costs of the Global Clean Power Alliance are met within the Department’s resource spending, as set out in the recent Spending Review. The Department accounts for its spending in its annual report and accounts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what additional funding his Department has provided to (a) communities and (b) local authorities affected by recent flooding in Lincolnshire.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, the Government will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. In addition, the Government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce sets out a new approach to preparing for flooding by working cross-Government and with external stakeholders. It plans to meet again in January 2025 and will discuss the recent flooding. During the recent flooding the Environment Agency has focussed on warning and informing communities of risks, liaising with Local Resilience Forum partners and undertaking initial investigations into the causes and impacts of the flooding. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation.

What estimate he has made of the annual running costs of Mission Control.

The running costs of Mission control are met within the Department’s resource spending, as set out in the recent Spending Review. The Department accounts for its spending in its annual report and accounts.

What estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the Solar Taskforce.

There is no dedicated funding stream for the Solar Taskforce, and external Taskforce members participate without financial reimbursement. As a result, the costs of the Solar Taskforce are negligible.

What estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the National Energy System Operator.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO), established on 1 October 2024, is regulated by Ofgem which has responsibility for scrutinising and approving NESO's operational costs. NESO recently launched a consultation on its regulatory Business Plan for Financial Year 2025/26 which sets out forecasted costs of £690m. Note that this includes NESO's set up costs, therefore will be higher than normal.

What estimate she has made of the annual running costs of the Jet Zero Taskforce.

The Jet Zero Taskforce convenes government and stakeholders from across the UK aviation sector to identify, and advise on, unblocking the key barriers in delivering greener aviation. Membership of the Taskforce is on a voluntary basis and there are no paid positions. Administrative running costs are minimal.

What estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the Child Poverty Taskforce.

Due to the cross-cutting nature of the Taskforce's work to develop an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, the Taskforce is funded from existing departmental budgets.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the annual running costs of the New Towns Taskforce.

The New Towns Taskforce is an independent expert advisory panel established in September 2024 to support the government to deliver the next generation of new towns.The Taskforce consists of 10 sector experts in relevant fields such as planning, infrastructure delivery, architecture and urban regeneration. The estimated running costs of the Taskforce, including remuneration, is around £200,000.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of prostate cancer services in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Department is committed to improving the adequacy of all cancer services including for prostate cancer, this includes cancer services in South Holland and The Deepings and Lincolnshire. NHS England has funded 10 clinical audits, including a national prostate cancer audit. Using routine data, collected on patients diagnosed with cancer in a National Health Service setting, the audit is looking at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. This will seek to reduce unwarranted variation in treatment and reduce inequalities across different groups. The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve all cancer services and outcomes for people living with cancer including those with prostate cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new national cancer plan, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer services across England. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be and will provide updates on this in due course.

What plans she has to provide funding for the expansion of electric vehicle chargepoints in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government’s £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities to transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking across England. Lincolnshire County Council, which South Holland and The Deepings sit within, has been allocated £6,380,592 capital and resource funding through the LEVI Fund to expand local public chargepoints.

If he will set targets to reduce memory clinic waiting times in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The national target for dementia diagnosis is 66.7%, with Lincolnshire at 67.8%. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has received funding to introduce a specific pathway for memory assessments, which will help tackle local waiting times for assessment and diagnosis of conditions such as dementia, and work is underway to finalise the model of care and launch towards the end of the financial year.There is a review of current Memory Assessment Service waiting lists to identify referrals from 24-hour care settings that can be targeted via Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate (DiADeM). The trust will train selected staff in DiADeM to undertake assessment of these identified cohorts from waiting lists in the fourth quarter of 2023/24, including staff in primary care, namely Enhanced Health in Care Homes teams.The South Holland and The Deepings constituency is split across two Older People Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT), Stamford and Spalding CMHTs. The average wait to first appointment across the two CMHTs is 10 weeks. From January 2025, there will be two Memory Assessment Practitioners aligned to Spalding and one aligned to Stamford. This allocation is reviewed every eight weeks to ensure areas with the longest waits are targeted.

Innovation and Technology, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the use of artificial intelligence to (a) address safety concerns and (b) ensure its responsible (i) development and (ii) deployment in the UK.

The Government has set out its intention to deliver on the manifesto commitment to introduce new, binding requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models.These proposals will build on the voluntary commitments secured at the Seoul and Bletchley AI Summits and will place the AI Safety Institute on a permanent footing, strengthening its role in advancing AI Safety.The government recognises how important safety and trust is to capture AI opportunities. The AI Opportunities Action Plan recommends supporting AISI, strengthening regulators’ AI capabilities and supporting the AI assurance ecosystem to increase trust in AI.

If she will commission a review into the reasons that teachers have left that profession in the last 10 years.

Driving high and rising standards is central to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, with high-quality teaching the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. This is why we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament to ensure every child has the qualified expert teacher they need. A successful recruitment strategy starts with a retention strategy, and we continuously review what works best in retaining teachers and the barriers to retention. The department collects data on teachers’ and leaders’ intention to leave the profession, and reasons for having left, through the Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders (WLTL) longitudinal study. The department uses the study’s findings to design policies that better support teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders. The study is accessible at the following link: https://www.workinglivesofteachers.com/. The WLTL study findings show that teachers most commonly leave, or consider leaving, the profession due to high workload, followed by stress and/or poor wellbeing. We are committed to working with the sector to address these issues. The department has made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing. The department’s ‘improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, developed alongside school leaders, helps schools to cut unnecessary workload. It can be accessed at: https://improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff.education.gov.uk/. In addition, the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, co-created with the sector, sets out commitments from government, Ofsted, schools, and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. Over 3,900 schools and colleges have signed up to the Charter. The WLTL findings also show that teachers consider leaving, or do leave, due to pressures related to inspection and pupil outcomes. We are introducing a school report card in place of Ofsted single headline grades to deliver more information for parents on the strengths and weaknesses of schools and proportionate accountability for staff. The independent School Teacher Review Body (STRB) suggested that government should consider the removal of performance related pay (PRP) in favour of enabling schools to decide on appropriate forms of appraisal which has been taken forward. Former teachers surveyed cited dissatisfaction with pay as a reason they left the profession. This government has accepted the STRB’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support the retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most. Former teachers also cited a lack of flexible working opportunities as a reason for leaving the profession. The department has published a flexible working toolkit, which includes practical resources to help school leaders implement flexible working and to support school staff to request it. It is accessible here: https://www.flexibleworkingineducation.co.uk/dfe-toolkit. These resources have been produced by school leaders and other sector experts, together with the department. We have also clarified that teachers can undertake their planning, preparation and assessment time at home.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the English Devolution White Paper on the delivery of public services in Lincolnshire.

Subject to the relevant Statutory Instrument being made, Greater Lincolnshire will elect a Mayor in May 2025. The Mayor and Combined County Authority will receive the additional funding and powers associated with the Mayoral Strategic Authority level of devolution as set out in the White Paper, including on adult education and employment support, transport, and planning. As previously agreed, they will also receive a mayoral investment fund of £24 million a year for 30 years. Transferring funding and powers from Westminster will give an elected local leader the tools they need to kick start the local economy and improve vital public services across Lincolnshire.The White Paper also announced a programme of local government reorganisation for two-tier areas. Unitarisation can lead to better outcomes for residents, and save significant money which can be reinvested in public services.

How many and what proportion of people convicted for shoplifting offences reoffended within (a) 12 months and (b) two years in each of the last five years.

The proven reoffending rate for the adult cohort convicted of shoplifting offences between 2017/18 and 2021/22 (the latest year for which reoffending data is available) can be found in the table below, along with the number of offenders and reoffenders included in this cohort. The proven reoffending rate is calculated using a 12-month follow up period.Table 1: Rate of reoffending for adults convicted of shoplifting offences in England and Wales in 12-month follow up period, across the past five years Apr 17 – Mar 18Apr 18 - Mar 19Apr 19 -Mar 20Apr 20 -Mar 21Apr 21 - Mar 22Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)59.058.254.854.060.3Number of offenders in cohort41,22235,15928,79016,03615,358Number of reoffenders24,30520,46315,7748,6619,265The proven reoffending methodology is complex and based on a one-year reoffending rate. Providing this information for a new 2-year reoffending measure would be of disproportionate cost.

If she will introduce an exemption from changes to employer National Insurance contributions for (a) small and (b) local charities.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs. All charities are eligible for the Employment Allowance, even if they are wholly or mainly carrying out functions of a public nature.The UK tax regime for charities, including an exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world with tax reliefs for charities and their donors, worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.

What her Department's definition of gender identity is.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity does not have its own definition of gender identity.

What recent steps she has taken to ensure school uniform is affordable.

The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum. Currently 24% of primary and 71% of secondary schools still require five or more branded items, with some parents saying they were asked to provide 10 or more.This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and physical education kit that schools can require to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the funding gap for district councils in Lincolnshire in the next two years.

The provisional Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The final Settlement will increase further, to incorporate the £515 million of funding announced for National Insurance Contributions.The Department works closely with local government and other government departments to understand specific demand and cost pressures facing local government on an ongoing basis. This involves looking at a range of cost and demand data, as well as regular engagement with local authorities.Future funding for local government and the timings of the Local Government Finance Settlement are bound by the spending review cycle. The government has committed to a multi-year Spending Review in Spring 2025. We are committed to delivering the first multi-year Settlement in 10 years in 2026-27, which will distribute funding based on an updated assessment of need. We are fully consulting with the sector on our funding reform proposals.