Written questions by Hayes.

If she will take steps to collect data on the number of applications to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of a sham (a) marriage and (b) civil partnership.

The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously. Family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship. The Home Office focuses its efforts on disrupting facilitators as well as prosecuting individuals involved in sham marriages and civil partnerships.The Home Office will also investigate if, at any point, there are reasonable suspicions of a sham relationship, for example following applications for permission to enter or stay, or where there is supporting intelligence or evidence gathered during operations.The Home Office continues to enhance its reporting capabilities of recorded sham marriage data and is recording the number of sham marriage and civil partnership applications that it detects. However, it is not possible to state how many applications to stay are made on the basis of a sham marriage or civil partnership.

What steps she is taking to improve access to public transport in rural areas within (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the Government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in South Holland and Deepings, Lincolnshire and rural areas right across England. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities. Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £11.8 million.

How many and what proportion of GP surgeries in South Holland and the Deepings constituency are rated as (a) outstanding and (b) good by the Care Quality Commission.

As of 27 November 2024, there are nine general practice surgeries in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency. Of these, one, or 11%, is rated Outstanding, and eight, or 89%, are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission.

If she will make an estimate of the number of hours of police time spent each week on investigating non crime hate incidents.

The Home Office does not currently hold force-level data on the recording of non-crime hate incidents.

What steps she is taking to tackle retail crime in rural communities.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 29% on year up to June 2024, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We won’t stand for this.As part of the Safer Streets Mission, we will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity granted to shop theft of goods under £200, and provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to support the police tackling retail crime.These measures will apply to shop workers and retails in urban and rural communities, and this Government is clear that no matter where you live, when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered, and criminals facing meaningful consequences

If he will take steps to create a memorial in central London to nuclear test veterans.

A memorial commemorating all personnel of the Combined Services Task Force, who served during the UK’s nuclear tests, is located at the National Memorial Arboretum, which is the focal point for commemorating all those who have served in the UK Armed Forces. We are also aware of a number of other local Nuclear Test Memorials across the UK. The Ministry of Defence has no current plans for further memorials to nuclear test veterans. Memorials are typically financed by public subscription and are located with the permission of the relevant local authority.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that active funding programmes focused on supporting farmers and farming communities abroad is value for money.

The FCDO employs robust systems and frameworks to ensure we achieve high standards of value for money and spend British taxpayers' money well. For example, by reviewing programmes annually, assessing how they perform against FCDO priorities and making improvements.The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) scrutinizes the effectiveness and value for money of UK aid. In June 2023, ICAI scored the UK's agriculture portfolio (covering all UK delivery programmes, investments and research funding related to agriculture) Green-Amber, reflecting its substantial achievements and recommending areas for improvement. The Government accepted all of ICAI's recommendations. A follow-up ICAI report in May 2024 commended the strength of FCDO's response to the recommendations.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of farmers who will be affected by changes to business property relief in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced 12250 published on 11th November 2024 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-01/12250. The Chancellor also recently wrote to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee on this issue, and her letter may be of interest: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/.

What steps she is taking to help support victims of domestic abuse in (a) rural and (b) remote areas.

This Government recognises that victims in rural and remote areas face particular barriers to fleeing abuse and accessing support. That is why we continue to fund specialist domestic abuse helplines for victims across England and Wales to enable everyone to access advice and support. We are already driving forward a range of activities which will support rural victims. The Victims and Prisoners Act will require local commissioners to develop joint needs assessments for victims of domestic abuse to identify and address gaps in support. Furthermore, on 24 October, the Home Secretary announced a package of reforms to improve the police response to victims of VAWG related crimes. Our new VAWG strategy to be published next year will lay out our plans for any future initiatives and research, including for victims in rural and remote areas.

What steps he is taking to support hospices in (a) rural and (b) remote areas.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.Due to the way the hospice movement organically grew, hospice locations were largely not planned with a view to providing even access across the country, or to prioritise areas of greatest need based on demographics. Therefore, there are inequalities in access to hospice services, especially for those living in rural or socio-economically deprived areas. NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those in their local population, thereby enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.I have met NHS England to discuss how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.

What criteria her Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of its policy to tackle smuggling gangs involved in illegally trafficking people into the UK.

The Government will make further statements in due course regarding the ways in which progress on its key priorities will be assessed.

How many people started T-levels in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2020.

The department does not currently publish T Level student recruitment data at this level. We have announced that we will start publishing provider level data on T Level students, starting 2023/24 academic year. We are currently finalising plans on our approach to do this and the data will be published in due course. The publication date will be announced as soon as possible in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Statistics.

What the potential cost to the public purse is for hotels that have opened to provide contingency accommodation for people seeking asylum since 5 July 2024.

The Home Office regularly publishes details of the department’s expenditure on asylum, published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in fuel poverty.

The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in 2022 in administrative areas and parliamentary constituencies in England can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty statistics, in Tables 2 and 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions on the logistics sector.

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Government recognises the need to support the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.

What steps he is taking to support food producers from Lincolnshire to increase exports.

DBT provides a wide-ranging package of export support for food and drink businesses in Lincolnshire and the whole of the UK. This includes educational support to upskill food producers via our Export Academy and one to one support from International Trade Advisors and our extensive overseas network, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. Overseas we deliver a comprehensive programme of trade shows, trade missions and events to connect exporters with buyer and new market opportunities. Our UK Export Finance agency helps companies access export finance, with a dedicated finance manager covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.

If she will make a comparative assessment of the testimony given to the High Court during AB and others v. Ministry of Defence (2009) and records released by the Atomic Weapons Establishment relating to nuclear test veterans in May 2024.

Paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May states:“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and it applies to your question.

How many and what proportion of Maternity Allowance claimants were not UK citizens in the last three years.

DWP does not hold data on the number of claimants that were not UK citizens when claiming Maternity Allowance. This is because the qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance are based on a woman's recent employment and earnings, not on their nationality. For the year 2023/24 the caseload for Maternity Allowance was 48,000. For more information on caseloads, please see Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many full time equivalent staff are employed by the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Overall staff figures for the Office for Equality and Opportunity total 133.8 Full Time Equivalents, of which the Race Equality Unit total 6 FTE, the Disability Unit total 19.8 FTE and the Women and Equalities Unit total 36.5 FTE. This excludes any temporary time limited resource from wider Cabinet Office.

If he will make it his policy to support a one-year special tribunal for nuclear test veterans, in the context of their access to (a) medical records and (b) compensation.

The Government is deeply grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise the huge contribution they have made to our national security.I have met with MPs and groups in the nuclear test veteran community to discuss a range of topics relating to their experiences and the challenges they face. These efforts have resulted in us expanding the criteria for the commemorative Nuclear Test Medal. I am committed to looking into unresolved questions regarding medical records and look forward to further engagement with Nuclear Test Veterans and their representatives over the coming months. Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long-standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.