Written questions by Tice.

What plans he has for the future of Torbay Hospital.

My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out a credible and deliverable plan for the new hospital schemes in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) on 20 January 2025, following the conclusion of the review of the NHP. The Plan for Implementation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementationAs confirmed in this publication, the scheme for Torbay Hospital is now part of Wave 2 of the NHP. Pre-construction activity, namely business case development and critical enabling works, is expected to continue from 2030, and construction of the main hospital build to commence between 2032 and 2034.

What the costs to the Child Maintenance Service are of the (a) supervision and (b) processing of (i) Direct Pay and (ii) Collect and Pay arrangements.

The cost of running the Child Maintenance Service is not separated between a) supervision and (b) processing of (i) Direct Pay and (ii) Collect and Pay arrangements, therefore, the information requested is not held.

How many former armed forces personnel have been subject to enforcement proceedings by the Child Maintenance Service since 2021.

The information requested is not available, as the Child Maintenance Service do not maintain a historical record of employers for each paying parent.

How many paying parents party to a child maintenance agreement are assessed to have an income of less than £12,570 per year; how many paying parents are in receipt of universal credit; and how many paying parents are estimated to be earning less than the receiving parent.

At the end of September 2024, there were 289,000 Paying Parents using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) with a recorded income of less than £12,570 per year. This is 43% of all Paying Parents for whom we held income information. Information on the number of Paying Parents claiming Universal Credit is published quarterly on StatXplore, as part of the ‘CMS Paying Parents’ dataset. Information on Universal Credit claims is generally not available for the latest published quarter, therefore the most recent information available relates to the end of June 2024 (rather than September 2024, as for most other information in this dataset). At this time, 199,000 Paying Parents claimed Universal Credit. This is 29% of all 675,000 Paying Parents who were using CMS at this time. The income of the Receiving Parent does not factor into the CMS maintenance calculation, and so this information is not collected by CMS. Therefore, the information requested in the third part of your question is not readily available (and to produce it would incur disproportionate cost). However, you may be interested in the latest Separated Families Statistics, which contain some information, derived from survey data, of the position of ‘non-resident parent’ and ‘parent with care’ households within the Great Britain income distribution. See in particular section 6 of the release document. These statistics include all separated families and are not specific to CMS users.

What private sector companies the Child Maintenance Service has contracted to implement enforcement proceedings; what the value of each contract is; whether funds paid by parents are paid to such companies; and what accountability mechanisms are in place.

DWP holds a number of contracts to support Child Maintenance Service enforcement proceedings. Qualco UK Ltd – Managed Enforcement Agency Services – contract award forecast value £686,750. Shakespeare Martineau LLP - Orders for Sale Litigation Services – contract award forecast value £566,171. A further contract is in place for Arrest Warrant Services for the Child Maintenance Service, details of which are due to be published by 5 February 2025. Harper MacLeod LLP – Scottish Legal Services – contract award forecast value £4,982,547. Contract held by Office for Advocate General and accessed by DWP for services. The suppliers collect funds on behalf of the Child Maintenance Service with the exception of contract for Scottish Legal Services which is in place to enable CMS to recover debt under Scottish Law. All contracts are based on government contracting and industry good practice to support the delivery of services for DWP. This includes meeting standards and regularly reviewed performance alongside compliance against relevant legislation.

How many separated families applied to the Child Maintenance Service for advice on creating a family-based arrangement from 2021 to 2024; and how many parents who approached the Service did not proceed with a (a) Direct Pay and (b)Collect and Pay agreement in each of those years.

The information requested is not available. However, the Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance (GHACM) service opened on 18 November 2021 and provides individuals with information about options available for paying or getting support for a child, this includes how to make a private arrangement or how to apply to the Child Maintenance Service, if they choose to do so. There were 34,796 users who accessed GHACM and elected to pursue a private family-based arrangement. This accounted for 11% of GHACM users between 18 November 2021 and 31 December 2024.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who received grants for heat source pumps under (a) the Green Homes Grant and (b) similar schemes are supported when systems prove unfit for purpose and the installation company goes into liquidation.

The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme required that consumers seek advice from a suitably qualified TrustMark registered installer before they applied for a voucher. It also required that installations meet Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 2035. If a homeowner believes that any installation work carried out in their home under a Government scheme is faulty, they should first contact the installer. Where the installer has failed to adequately resolve the issue or have ceased trading, they may refer to TrustMark’s website which contains further guidance on steps consumers can take if things go wrong and the dispute resolution process: (https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/support/complaints-process).

If he will make an estimate of the annual cost of regulatory compliance for businesses in each of the last five years; and if she will make a comparative estimate of the cost of regulatory compliance (a) in the UK and (b) across the G7.

The Business Impact Target, which was repealed by the previous government through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act, was the principal mechanism through which government made an estimate of the total annual cost of regulation to business. In its place, the reformed Better Regulation Framework encourages an earlier and more thorough assessment of impacts of individual regulatory proposals. This government will use the framework to ensure that new regulations achieve their objectives, with the lowest possible cost to businesses and households.

What the annual subsidy is for renewable energy projects; and what the average increase in consumer energy bills was in each of the last five years.

This data is published by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility and Ofgem. Renewables provide energy security by reducing our exposure to gas price volatility, as well as providing significant savings for those households and businesses directly benefitting from small-scale renewable measures, such as solar panels.

How many and what proportion of migrants that have been granted (a) asylum and (b) leave to remain in the last five years are receiving Universal Credit; and what estimate she has made of the projected expenditure for these claimants over the next five years.

The Department is exploring the feasibility of developing suitable Official Statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK/ Irish Universal Credit customers. The Department will ensure that this work is done in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Department has not made a projection of Universal Credit spend on the migrant groups requested. The Department’s published forecast of Universal Credit expenditure at Autumn Budget 2024 can be found here.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone signal coverage in rural areas of Boston and Skegness constituency; and what plans he has to ensure that (a) residents and (b) businesses in those areas receive reliable mobile connectivity.

I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 99% of the Boston and Skegness constituency has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, and that 5G is available from at least one operator outside 99% of all premises.The Government wants all areas of the UK, including Boston and Skegness constituency, to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.We work closely with the mobile industry and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market

If she will increase police funding in Boston and Skegness constituency.

In December 2024 the Government published the 2025-26 provisional police funding settlement, which proposed funding of up to £19.5 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1 billion when compared to 2024-25 and equates to a 3% real terms increase in funding.In 2025-26, Lincolnshire Police will receive up to £173.2 million, an increase of up to £9.0 million compared to 2024-25.

How much his Department has spent on measures to achieve net zero targets in the last five years.

The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.” Spending Review 2021 set out £26 billion of public capital investment in net zero over four years across Government.

How much his Department has spent on measures to achieve net zero targets in the last five years.

In the last five years, the Department has not provided ringfenced capital for the National Health Service’s Net Zero targets.Direct investment in the decarbonisation of NHS buildings and operations is primarily supported by external grant funding. For example, NHS trusts have secured over £1.2 billion for heat-decarbonisation projects under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme since 2020.The Department works with NHS England to ensure that NHS national programmes and day-to-day capital budgets support decarbonisation objectives where appropriate.We have also previously provided capital to improve trusts’ energy efficiency, with associated benefits for carbon reduction. For instance, in 2023/24 we worked with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to invest £40 million in NHS light emitting diode lighting and solar projects through the NHS National Energy Efficiency Fund. The substantial savings from such investments can be directed into frontline services.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure asylum seekers are no longer housed in hotels in Boston and Skegness constituency.

This government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Home Office has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. But this is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was just a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed.It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in charge.Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What the total expenditure was on achieving net zero targets in each year since 2015 by sector; and what the corresponding estimated total reduction in global emissions was in the same period.

The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of excluding people on Personal Independence Payment from eligibility for the winter fuel payment on their ability to meet energy costs.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80. The Government also offers an array of support with energy costs for low-income groups in the winter months. This includes direct financial help to low-income pensioners through Pension Credit, Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Home Discount (in England & Wales). The Warm Home Discount scheme provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their winter energy bill. This winter, we expect over 3 million households, to benefit under the scheme. People struggling with the cost of living should contact their local council to see what support may be available to them, as they may be able to receive support from the Household Support Fund, Council Tax Reduction, or through energy support programmes such as the Homes Upgrade Grant and Energy Company Obligation. The Home Upgrade Grant phase 2 provides energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating measures to low-income households living in the worst performing, off gas grid homes in England to tackle fuel poverty. For those with long-term health conditions or disabilities, the “extra costs” disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment, provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid in addition to any other benefits received. These benefits also give rise to a disability addition in Pension Credit and other income-related benefits.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle crimes committed by individuals who have entered the country illegally.

The police deal with all criminals without fear or favour, irrespective of their nationality or immigration status.Foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in our country should also be in no doubt that where practical and lawful, we will pursue their deportation.

How much his Department has spent on measures to achieve net zero targets in the last five years.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is fully committed to contributing to the UK achieving its legal commitment to be Net Zero by 2050. Between Financial Year 1209-20 and Financial Year 2023-24, the MOD has reduced its overall emissions from 3,650,000 tCO2e to 3,012,000 tCO2e. Defence spending is investing in building our warfighting capability and to enhance operational advantage and resilience to protect our values and interests. Benefits of decarbonisation are a positive spillover and are not differentiated from this investment. For example, trials integrating alternative fuel sources and renewable energy technology can further unlock an ability to operate for longer periods without resupply and at greater reach across a dispersed battlefield. A more detailed breakdown of Defence energy use and associated carbon emissions can be found in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts Annex D.

How many and what proportion of migrants who entered in the UK in the last 5 years are in receipt of state benefits.

The Department does not hold the information to produce the requested calculation. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish customers. The Department will ensure that this work is done in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.