Written questions by Hayes.

How many prison officers have (a) been recruited and (b) left their roles since 2014.

The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of staff in post as well as the number of joiners and leavers, by different grades and structure etc.The number of HMPPS joiners and leavers by grade is publicly available in table 8 of the HMPPS Workforce Statistics publication which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics.Once you have chosen your respective quarterly report, navigate to HMPPS Workforce Statistics Bulletin: **** tables, tab 8 will provide you with table 8 information.

Whether her Department conducted an impact assessment on the proposed change on inheritance tax for agricultural properties.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

How many NHS patients have been treated with Spinraza in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands since 2019.

Use of nusinersen, also known by the brand name Spinraza, is commissioned from specialist centres, and in the East Midlands the service is commissioned from Nottingham University Hospital (NUH). NUH has treated eight patients with nusinersen since 2019. No patients were treated in Lincolnshire hospitals, as there is no specialist centre there.

What progress she has made on supporting pothole repairs in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network.At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the current financial year - exceeding this Government’s manifesto commitment on repairing local roads. The Government will confirm 2025/26 funding allocations to English local highway authorities, including Lincolnshire County Council, in due course.

What steps she is taking to help reduce congestion on roads in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

This Government is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network so it can serve all road users and is safe. Traffic management of local roads is the responsibility of local traffic authorities who are best placed to understand local circumstances and needs. Traffic authorities are subject to the statutory network management duty which requires them to manage their roads to secure the ‘expeditious movement’ of all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion, and they have a wide range of tools already available to them to enable this.

How many road accidents there were in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the most recent period for which data is available.

Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. The number of personal injury road collisions reported to police in each of the areas requested in 2023 are shown in the table below.AreaAll collisionsSouth Holland and the Deepings constituency215Lincolnshire1,724

If he will make an estimate of the waiting times for (a) assessments for and (b) diagnoses of autism in (i) adults and (ii) children in (A) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (B) Lincolnshire.

The information requested is not held centrally, but may be held by individual providers or integrated care boards (ICBs). Some relevant information is available on autism assessment waiting times for the NHS Lincolnshire ICB. In the NHS Lincolnshire ICB in June 2024, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics show that there was a total of 1,455 patients with an open suspected autism referral. 55 of these patients were aged zero to 17 years old, and 1,405 of these patients were aged 18 years old and over. Since each metric is rounded to the nearest five in the published data, the number of adults and children do not add up to the total number of patients.The median waiting time of all patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 232 days for over 18-year-olds. For zero- to 17-year-olds, the median number of days patients waited was not able to be provided, due to a small sample size of the number of children who had their first care contact in the most recent quarter.Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics, since they are experimental rather than official statistics. The majority of children assessed for autism in the United Kingdom are seen in child development services, which are out of the scope of this dataset. This means the published figures will underestimate the volume of referrals or diagnoses and the associated impact on health services. NHS England continues to conduct exploratory analysis into the Community Services Dataset, with a view to including autism waiting times data from that dataset.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10405 on Driving Licences: Foreign Nationals, if she will hold discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the potential merits of recording statistics on the nationality of newly qualified driving licence holders.

As information on nationality is not required for driving licence purposes, there are no plans for the Driver and Vehicle Agency to record this data for newly qualified drivers.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that elections are accessible to (a) blind and (b) partially sighted people.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10319 on 29 October 2024.

If he will set up a cross-departmental working group to discuss how to increase the fertility rate.

We currently have no plans to set up any working groups to discuss how to increase the fertility rate.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for the Spalding Flower Parade.

I think of floristry as one of the great unsung British creative industries, with florists providing imaginative joy for vital family and civic occasions and for private happiness in every constituency in the land. The reinstatement of the Spalding Flower Parade in 2023 ensures that there is once again a great opportunity to celebrate Lincolnshire’s flower industry .As part of DCMS’ restructuring of destination management in England, VisitEngland have recently accredited Destination Lincolnshire as the Local Visitor Economy Partnership with the skills and experience to grow visitor numbers and spend in the region. Destination Lincolnshire would be best placed to make an assessment of the value of the parade to future tourism in the region.

How many police officers are employed in neighbourhood policing in Lincolnshire.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Table F1 of the data tables accompanying the publication provides the number of officers in “Neighbourhood Policing” roles, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024.

What steps her Department is taking to support early speech and language interventions in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The department’s vision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), is the same as it is for all children and young people. We want them to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department is funding support for 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme. The majority of these are schools with the highest levels of disadvantage, as defined by the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals. As of January 2024, we estimate over 211,000 reception age children so far have received this extra support.In partnership with NHS England, we are funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) pathfinder programme, to trial new ways of working to earlier identify and support children with SLCN in early years and primary schools, utilising Therapy Support Assistants and a variation of identification tools across the pathfinders.In further partnership with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care, this department is funding the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. PINS will build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children, including those with SLCN, through whole school interventions.The department funds a range of materials, to which all local areas are signposted, hosted on the Nasen website. This website is an online portal offering education professionals free, easy access to high quality information, resources and training for meeting the needs of children with SEND. It can be accessed here: https://www.wholeschoolsend.org.uk/page/universal-send-services. We have funded the creation of a suite of condition specific videos to provide helpful pointers, techniques and advice on inclusive teaching strategies, which includes materials for schools to use for children and young people with SLCN. These videos can be accessed at: https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/resources?title=condition-specific. We also offer free training on speech language and communication, which is available here: https://www.wholeschoolsend.org.uk/page/online-cpd-units.The department will consider how best to use learnings and insights from these programmes to improve support for children with SLCNs, including consistency of support provided across different geographies.

Whether her Department has provided funding to Hope Not Hate since 5 July 2024.

I refer the Hon Member to my response to PQ 10945.

Communities and Local Government, what external bodies her Department consulted before calculating revised housing targets.

The government’s proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, including the proposed new standard method for assessing housing needs, were informed by engagement with a wide range of stakeholders from across local government, the planning profession, and the development industry.

If she will list which external organisations her Department consulted before the change in policy on inheritance tax for agricultural properties.

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the coastline of the Wash from erosion.

Protecting all communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities and we will work closely with the new Flood Resilience Taskforce to improve resilience and preparation across government and local authorities, providing oversight of UK flood and coastal resilience. The Wash has a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP4) to manage coastal erosion and flood risk sustainably. In January 2025, a new National Coastal Erosion Risk Map will be released. It will guide the Environment Agency and coastal authorities in making investment and planning decisions. We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

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

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of unoccupied shops in town centres in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

This Government is committed to supporting our high-street businesses. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it is retaining and reforming the Long-Term Plan for Towns, with Spalding being one of 75 towns to receive up to £20 million in extra support for local growth.High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA), a new power for English local authorities, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA), will provide local authorities with a tool to tackle vacancy, promote minimum letting standards for commercial units and flexible rents.More generally, the English Devolution Bill will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help safeguard our high streets. More details will be announced in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to improve maternity services in Lincolnshire.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to deliver the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services across England, to make care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women and babies.In Lincolnshire, there have been recent improvements to perinatal pelvic health services, as well as implementation of the updated Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, a package of interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal deaths, and preterm birth.The Midlands Heatmap Data, a tool for assessing maternity and neonatal care safety and quality, has shown a significant improvement, with Lincolnshire being the best performing in the region in August 2024.