Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,501–1,520 of 1,767 · this parliament
How much was paid in bonuses to staff in his Department in 2024.
Details of staff bonuses are published on an annual basis for each financial year. The data for 2023/24 is available on gov.uk. Data for 2024/25 will be published later this year, after the end of the financial year.
What steps he is taking to improve the availability of GP appointments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
We are committed to improving capacity and access to local services across the country, including in South Holland and Deepings. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners (GPs) across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, which will benefit thousands of patients that are struggling to care the care they desperately need. This will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.We will bring back the family doctor for those who would benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly, improving continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and fewer A&E attendances.Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract for 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. We are currently consulting the profession on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment.
How many people arriving on small boats died in the English channel in each of the last three years.
A total of 138 people are known to have died since August 2019 as a result of attempting to cross the Channel by small boat.Almost all of these fatalities have occurred in French territorial waters, and the records of these held by the Home Office are primarily from information shared by the French authorities. The numbers of fatalities known to have occurred in the past three calendar years are as follows:2022 – 42023 – 122024 – 78
When Ministers in her Department held meetings on grooming gangs in the last five years; and who the external attendees at those meetings were.
It is not for this Government to comment on meetings held by previous Government ministers, but I would refer the Rt Hon Member to the quarterly publications of transparency data on ministerial meetings available on the Home Office website.Since coming to office in July, current Home Office Ministers have been prioritising engagement with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, child protection organisations, law enforcement partners, members of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and colleagues across Government to further strengthen the response to child sexual abuse and exploitation.Whilst not always published as some are internal meetings, I can assure the Rt Hon Member that I have taken meetings every single week on this subject since my appointment as a Minister. I have also convened the first dedicated cross-Government group to drive forward change in this crucial area.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing patient records of diagnostic results held by charities to be consolidated in a central NHS database.
Patient records in the National Health Service are held in different systems, including general practice IT systems, and electronic patient records held by trusts.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced the intention for there to be a single patient record that both empowers patients by giving them access to their records, and gives professionals access to the information they need to make the best-informed decisions when delivering care and treatment. We have begun engaging with the public to help shape our plans, including what information they would want to see included in a single record.
How many times Ministers across Government have communicated with the President-Elect's transition team since 6 November 2024.
The department does not intend to publish this information, for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2024 to Question 8756 on Polygamy, if she will make it her policy to record data on polygamous marriages in the UK.
I refer the Hon.Member to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question UIN 15076.
How many of the extra 13,000 neighbourhood police will serve in Lincolnshire.
As part of our Safer Streets Mission we will restore neighbourhood policing by putting police back on the beat, with 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales.Every part of the country will benefit from this pledge, including Lincolnshire. Further details will be announced in the normal way in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to make recycling easier for residents in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.
The Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms will ensure that across England, every citizen will be able to recycle the same materials, no longer needing to check what their council will accept for recycling. This policy will make recycling easier and ensure there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This will reduce confusion with recycling to improve recycling rates, ensuring there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and that the UK recycling industry will grow. Every household and non-household municipal premises (such as businesses, schools, and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic; paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). Simpler Recycling will be implemented on a phased timeline, beginning from 31 March 2025 for non-household premises and 31 March 2026 for households.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of vehicles stolen in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last three years.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including motor vehicle theft and shoplifting offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales, at the Police Force Area level and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level. This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not collect information at the Parliamentary Constituency level.
How many (a) reports of and (b) convictions for shoplifting there were in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire in each of the last three years.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including motor vehicle theft and shoplifting offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales, at the Police Force Area level and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level. This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not collect information at the Parliamentary Constituency level.
With reference to her Department's plan to include a named, contactable police officer in each neighbourhood, how her Department defines neighbourhood.
As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, the Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This will set out what communities can expect from neighbourhood policing teams in every local area including intelligence-led and visible patrols.The Home Office is working closely with policing and other key stakeholders to implement the Guarantee, and is clear that everyone, wherever they are in the country, will benefit from it and will have a named officer to contact when things go wrong.
How many solar farm applications he has approved since July 2024.
The Secretary of State has granted a development consent order for four solar farm developments since July 2024: Sunnica, Gate Burton, Mallard Pass and Cottam.
How many of the solar farm applications he has approved since July 2024 include development on high grade agricultural land.
All four solar developments consented since July 2024 included some use of agricultural land classified as ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV). Our assessment of the use of this BMV land and its weighting on the planning balance are detailed in the decision letter for each consent decision.
Media and Sport, how many full-time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion staff are employed by the Charity Commission.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales has no full time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion staff.
What steps she is taking to help prevent people from fraudulently claiming child benefit.
HMRC estimated the 2023-24 Child Benefit Error and Fraud (E&F) rate to be 1.6% (£200m) of total Child Benefit expenditure.Child Benefit has strong pre-award controls. The emphasis of HMRC’s compliance strategy remains on unreported changes in circumstance including improving detection through further data acquisition. As part of this strategy the government announced in Autumn Statement 2024 that it is investing in 180 new counter-fraud staff to increase HMRC’s capabilities to better tackle fraud and error in Child Benefit and Tax-Free Childcare. This is expected to deliver a net saving of £355 million from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the cost of creating a unitary authority in Lincolnshire.
There has not been such an estimate made for the cost of creating a unitary authority in Lincolnshire. That will be for councils to consider when developing their proposals for new unitary councils that are the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
What steps he is taking to (a) record and (b) report the number of miscarriages each year.
The Government recognises that experiencing a miscarriage can be an extremely difficult time. We are determined to make sure all women receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, particularly when things go wrong.While miscarriage hospital stay data is collected, the majority of baby losses occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is rightly the choice of the individual who has experienced the loss to disclose this information to healthcare professionals. It is therefore not possible to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages.The Pregnancy Loss Review was published in July 2023 and recommended policies to improve data around miscarriage. We will ensure that we listen to women and their families, and learn lessons from recent inquiries and investigations, including this report.
Communities and Local Government, how many full-time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion staff are employed by Homes England.
As of 19 December 2024, no staff within Homes England are employed in full-time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion roles.
What information her Department holds on how many high-street branches of (a) banks and (b) building societies have closed in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire in the last 10 years.
The Government does not hold bank branch closure data. However, according to consumer website Which?, South Holland and The Deepings constituency lost just over 60% of its branch network between January 2015 and November 2024, and has six branches remaining. Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable. The Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs, which will provide individuals and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services. The Government also recognises the value that building societies bring to local communities, including through their 28% share of the UK’s branch network.