Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many energy-saving home improvement projects have been completed through the Green Deal in South Holland and the Deepings constituency as of 3 April 2024.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department estimates that in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, eight projects are live (all measures installed but not yet paid off) and 12 projects have been completed (all measures installed and paid off).

Data covers the period from May 2013 to March 2024.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help increase business investment in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)

The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting business investment across the UK including through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds. This includes the £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, supporting growing businesses across the Midlands.

Our Growth Hub network is also supporting businesses of all sizes and sectors across England. The Department for Business and Trade is working across the UK, including in Greater Lincolnshire to showcase strong, commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow. The Government has also agreed a £720 million mayoral devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire to support growth and business investment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the transparency data entitled School rebuilding programme: schools in the programme, how much funding her Department has (a) allocated and (b) disbursed to each school selected in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

There are two schools selected for the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) in South Holland and The Deepings constituency. These are University Academy Long Sutton and Tulip Academy.

The SRP is a centrally delivered programme. Therefore, no funding is allocated or distributed directly to schools. Once contracts are awarded for building works, they are published on the Contracts Finder within 30 calendar days. The Contracts Finder can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many grants her Department has made to (a) leisure centres and (b) swimming pools in (i) Lincolnshire and (ii) the East Midlands since 2010; and what the total value was of those grants.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a core life skill and a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million to Local Authorities in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund (£60 million Exchequer, £20 million of Sport England National Lottery funding) will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025.

As part of the Swimming Pool Support Fund:

• Over £3 million has been awarded to 11 individual facilities (21 individual pools) across 7 Local Authorities in Lincolnshire. Included in the £3 million awarded across Lincolnshire are two facilities that received Sport England National Lottery funding - Wragby Swimming Pool and Jubilee Park Woodhall Spa LTD.
• Over £9.5 million has been awarded to 47 individual facilities (84 individual pools) across 33 Local Authorities in the East Midlands region by March 2025.

Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:

• https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloat
• https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/swimming-pool-support-fund-helps-facilities-prepare-future

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Between 2009 - 2023, in addition to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, Sport England provided over £2.1 million of funding to Lincolnshire and over £15 million to the East Midlands to support leisure centres and swimming pools. Across the East Midlands, just over £7 million of this is related to the Sport England Covid-19 Leisure Recovery Fund. There is more detail on Sport England’s website at: https://www.sportengland.org/about-us.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many births took place in the Maternity Unit at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston in each year since 2000.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Department does not hold information on the number of births between 2000 and 2004 in the maternity unit at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston. The following table shows the number of births for each year since 2004 in the maternity unit at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston:

Note: due to a change in reporting systems, the years up to 2015 were recorded as calendar years, with 2015 onward being recorded as financial years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has provided to the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each year since 2015.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department allocates resource funding to NHS England who then use that to fund a series of local budgets, managed by integrated care boards (ICBs) and national budgets, managed by NHS England themselves.

ICBs then use those agreed budgets to fund the purchase of healthcare services for their local population, mostly from NHS providers.

The Department does not hold a breakdown of the sources of income received by individual trusts, but for the years requested the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust reported the following total income for its services in their year-end accounts:

Source: The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust published annual report and accounts, 2014/15 to 2022/23.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households have taken part in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in South Holland and the Deepings constituency since January 2022.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened to applications in May 2022. Up to the end of February 2024, there were 65 grants paid for installations in properties in the constituency of South Holland and the Deepings.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help increase childcare provision in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In the government’s Spring Budget, the Chancellor of Exchequer announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs.

A commitment has been made to ensure that 30 hours of funded childcare is available for every child over the age of nine months with working parents by September 2025.

More parents are going to be able to return to work while balancing childcare commitments, thanks to the government’s £4 billion per year expansion of childcare in England. This is the largest expansion of funded childcare ever and will remove barriers to work for nearly half a million parents with a child under three in England.

South Holland and the Deepings constituency is within the area covered by Lincolnshire County Council.

Local authorities have received £12 million of local authority delivery support funding for this financial year to support with meeting programme and delivery costs associated with rolling out the expanded early year entitlements, from which Lincolnshire County Council received £125,423.

Local authorities have also received a £100 million allocation for local areas to use to make sure childcare settings in their areas have enough physical space, which is anticipated to add thousands of new childcare places across the country. Lincolnshire County Council received £1,461,094 from this fund.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.

If Lincolnshire County Council report any sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues, and where needed, supports them with any specific requirements through its childcare sufficiency support contract.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the number of asylum seekers presenting as homeless.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Asylum seekers are not eligible for statutory homelessness assistance. The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with sports governing bodies on banning transgender athletes participating in women’s sporting competitions.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport recently hosted a roundtable with a group of national governing bodies to stress the Government’s position that competitive fairness and safety for women and girls cannot come at the expense of the inclusion of transgender athletes, and to understand how various governing bodies have developed their policies on this issue.

We will continue to engage with sports on this issue to understand what work national governing bodies are doing to protect women’s sport.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has given to Stonewall since 2019.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Our financial records show a total sum of £6,000 paid to Stonewall between the years 2019 to 2020, as part of the Diversity Champions annual membership. This is broken down into £3,000 between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019, and £3,000 between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. As of February 2021, the Department’s membership with Stonewall lapsed, with no further payments made from 2021 to date.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reverse biodiversity loss in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In England we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. These targets will drive actions to support biodiversity in Lincolnshire and every other area across England.

We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023. Here we link the different objectives, plans and mechanisms for recovering nature.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are being prepared across the whole of England to support the delivery of these targets. The 48 strategies are bringing together local partners to agree priorities and propose practical actions in areas where they would have the most benefit for nature recovery and the wider environment. Preparation of the Greater Lincolnshire LNRS is being led by Lincolnshire County Council, with support from local planning authorities in the area and Natural England.

The Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve (NNR) was declared in September 2023. The newly expanded NNR will enhance the nature and biodiversity of the Greater Lincolnshire coast making it a bigger, better and more joined up area for wildlife, through bringing together the Donna Nook and Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes Nature Reserves and adding a further 2350 hectares of land managed for nature conservation. The reserve supports many breeding and over-wintering birds, natterjack toads, special plants and insects.

Additionally, the Environment Agency is working with partners to deliver the Upper Witham River and floodplain restoration projects (currently shortlisted for the River Restoration Centre award). Over the last 10 years, habitat along 19.4 km of river has been enhanced with 19 projects: from urban habitat improvement in Grantham, to large scale river and wetland restoration in rural areas.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2023 to Question 4035 on Veterans: Radiation Exposure, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the preparation of an instrument under the terms of section 3 of the Public Records Act 1958 to permanently retain the (a) ES and (b) AB series of files that were withdrawn from the National Archives in 2018.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Instruments under the terms of section 3 of the Public Records Act 1958 do not permit the permanent retention of records that have been selected for transfer to The National Archives. Instead, retained records must be reviewed by the Department after a maximum period of 10 years.

The review of the AB and ES files relating to the UK’s historic nuclear weapons programme is ongoing. The Ministry of Defence published an update on its review in January 2024, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-nuclear-archive-records/review-of-nuclear-archive-records-update-january-2024

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department has allocated to the farming sector in South Holland and the Deepings constituency since 2022 by (a) funding type and (b) recipient.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Rual Payment Agency has supported the farming and rural sector through payments under a range of schemes.

Since January 2022, the RPA has released 954 payments to farmers, worth around £21.3m, in South Holland and the Deepings constituency broken down as follows.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) BT and (b) Ofcom on the adequacy of provision of public phone boxes in rural areas.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom, the UK’s independent telecommunications regulator, is responsible for the regulation of public call boxes (PCBs). Under the telephony universal service obligation (USO), providers such as BT, are required to provide telephony services throughout the UK, including PCBs. BT is required to ensure the adequate provision, repair and maintenance of PCBs. Ofcom’s rules and regulations regarding PCBs can be found on Ofcom’s website.

As Ofcom is responsible for monitoring this requirement of telecoms companies, DSIT has not had recent discussions on this matter.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to stop private clinics prescribing puberty-blockers to children.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Following the publication of Dr Cass’ Final Report, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made a commitment to look closely at what can be done to curtail any loopholes in prescribing practices for children with gender dysphoria, including legislative options.

The Care Quality Commission will expect registered providers to take into account the recommendations of the Cass Review. If a private organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission fails to meet the conditions of its registration, then the regulator can take enforcement action.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require drivers to report collisions with cats to the police.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any accident involving an animal to the police. If possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation. I recognise the very deep upset that losing a beloved pet can cause – but, given challenges around enforcement – there are no current plans to strengthen that requirement.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how much the Crown Prosecution Service has spent on external consultants in the last five years.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how much the Serious Fraud Office has spent on external consultancies in the last five years.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department have met Stonewall to discuss puberty blockers in the last five years.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Ministers have not met Stonewall to discuss puberty blockers. Information on how many times officials have met with Stonewall is not available, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to protect (a) children and (b) young people from gambling harm.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect those, particularly young people, who are at risk of experiencing gambling harm.

In April 2023 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. The White Paper outlined a series of measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and to ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new, frictionless financial risk checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to customer-led tools, and tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing. These measures will be complemented by strengthened messaging about the risks associated with gambling. The White Paper also contained a commitment to introduce a new statutory levy paid by operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment. In July 2023 the Gambling Commission also published a vulnerability statement, outlining its approach to identifying, supporting, and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations.

We are working with the Gambling Commission and others to bring the measures from the White Paper into force as quickly as possible, and have already published consultations on a number of important proposals so that we can finalise details ahead of their implementation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with police forces on the effectiveness of the commitment that the police attend the scene of every home burglary.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows a 56% fall in domestic burglaries when comparing the year ending September 2023 with year ending March 2010. This is clearly good news; however, we recognise the impact domestic burglary can have on individuals and communities and we are committed to tackling and preventing this crime.

The public rightly expects that the police will visit them when a home burglary has been committed, which is why we welcome the announcement made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on 8 June 2023 that all 43 police forces in England and Wales have been implementing this attendance policy since March 2023: https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-now-attending-scene-of-every-home-burglary.

The police commitment to attend home burglaries is supported by specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary.

We are continuing to regularly engage with the NPCC and the police on tackling burglary through an array of forums, including the Residential Burglary Taskforce and the National Policing Board, as well as working with police leaders to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total value was of grant funding awarded from the Heritage High Street Fund to projects in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands since 2019.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government-funded High Streets Heritage Action Zones programme ran from 2019 to 2024. It was administered by Historic England. The programme has funded the transformation and restoration of over 60 high streets, creating economic growth and improving quality of life in these areas.

The total grant funding awarded for programmes in Lincolnshire from 2019 to 2023 was £2,616,859. There were two programmes in Lincolnshire – in Lincoln (£1,971,279) and Grantham (£645,580).

The total grant funding for the East Midlands (excluding Lincolnshire) from 2019 to 2023 was £5,727,564. There were five programmes across the East Midlands – in Buxton (£943,972), Hinkley (£577,868), Leicester (£1,909,237), Kettering (£2,124,417), and Newark (£172,070).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of people who started teacher training courses did not finish the course in each of the last five years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Trainees not awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) includes those who ended their training during the year and either left the course before the end (excluding those who left the course within 90 days of the start) or did not meet the teacher standards.

These statistics refer to the academic year in which trainees finished or withdrew from their initial teacher training (ITT) courses, rather than the year in which they began their courses. At this time, statistics on ITT trainee outcomes based on the year of entry are not available.

Source: DfE ITT Performance Profiles statistical publications

Footnote: Academic year refers to the year in which the trainee had a course outcome.

The ITT Performance Profiles publication is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles/2021-22#releaseHeadlines-tables.

Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner

The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.

The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities. The Diocese of Lincoln benefits from the Lowest Income Communities Fund, which is directly supporting the stipendiary ministry of clergy in many areas such as Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Boston.

The Diocese of Lincoln has recently launched ‘Time to Change Together’, which is its shared vision for the future of the diocese and its presence in Greater Lincolnshire. You can find out more about the project here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/parish-support/a-time-to-change-together/ The Diocese bid for and received a grant from the Strategic Development Fund for a project called 'Resourcing the Urban Church' designed to revitalise churches of all traditions across the urban centres in the diocese.

Lincolnshire has one of the highest ratios of churches per head of the population in England, and the Diocese is committed to the stewardship of its historic churches and to supporting new worshipping communities. A new giving scheme has been developed to encourage congregations to support the flourishing of mission and ministry in the Diocese, and plans are being developed for an ‘Open Churches Trust’ to support smaller churches with maintenance and insurance advice.

The Diocese is developing new strategies to support clergy well-being. Preventing long-term vacancies and illness is a priority alongside finding sustainable solutions for parishes.

For further information about the work underway in Lincolnshire, please contact the area bishop The Rt Revd Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, Bishop of Grantham, whose details are here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/contact/directory/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support unpaid carers in rural areas.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Care Act (2014) requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers. Local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carer who appears to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer.

Through the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), we are investing £42.6 million for innovative local projects focused on transforming the care sector. The purpose of the ARF is to support two or more projects in each area, with at least one of those having a particular focus on unpaid carers. More than half of the projects, and at least one in each integrated care system area, are focused on identifying, recognising, and supporting unpaid carers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full time staff work in the Environment Agency Economic Crime Unit.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Fifteen full-time staff worked for the Environment Agency Economic Crime Unit on 22 April 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many road traffic accidents are caused by (a) potholes and (b) poor road conditions each year.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department publishes road casualty statistics based on personal injury road collisions reported to the police via the STATS19 reporting system.

STATS19 does not identify the cause of collisions, but reporting police officers can identify up to 6 factors which in their opinion may have contributed to the collision.

In 2022 (the most recent year for which data is available) there were 477 personal injury road collisions in which the ‘poor or defective road surface’ contributory factor was assigned.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of inmates in prisons were drug tested at least once in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. Our drug testing contract also enables us to deliver key commitments in the Cross-Government Drug Strategy such as: testing of offenders who receive a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, the pilot of Intensive Supervision Courts and increased flexibility to test for a broader range of drugs. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.

Our £100 million Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, supplying full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, drug detection machines and metal detection archways. Furthermore, we are taking steps to support individuals with substance misuse issues in prison. We have dramatically increased the number of incentivised substance-free living units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to living drug-free with incentives and regular testing. 80 prisons now have an ISFL, up from 25 in summer 2022.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much Ofgem has spent on external consultancies in the last five years.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Ofgem is an independent regulator and accountable directly to Parliament. While DESNZ has close links to Ofgem we do not regulate or fund them. However, information on payments to suppliers, including consultancies, can be found at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/about-us/corporate-publications/expenses-and-contracts-data?sort=publication_date and Ofgem’s annual report and accounts is at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-2023

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the growth of creative industries in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and support another 1 million jobs by 2030. This was set out in June 2023 in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which was accompanied by £77 million of new funding to support the sector’s growth. This is on top of a range of tax reliefs introduced or expanded since 2010 covering film, television, animation, video games, orchestras, theatres and more.

Creative Industries GVA grew at more than twice the rate of UK GVA between 2010 and 2022 (50.3% vs 21.5%), and helped support more than a million new jobs since 2010.

Measures in the Sector Vision include the £28.4 million Create Growth Programme (CGP) to support high-growth creative businesses in twelve English regions outside London to scale up and become investment ready. The CGP is being delivered in twelve local area partnerships, including Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership in the East Midlands.

It also includes £950k for the Creative Careers Programme, which raises young people’s awareness of creative careers and pathways by providing specialist advice and information through a range of industry-led engagement. It is delivered in regions around England, including the East Midlands (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Leicester and Leicestershire and Greater Lincolnshire).

It includes £50 million announced for the second wave of the Creative Clusters Programme, designed to deliver innovation and R&D funding across the UK. This builds on the original £56 million programme initiated in 2018.

The Arts Council England 2023-2026 Investment Programme is also investing £444 million each year into arts and culture in England and is providing around £22 million per year to cultural organisations in the East Midlands, including Lincolnshire.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on external consultancies in the last five years.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC spend on consultancy is reported in HMRC Annual Report and Accounts published on GOV.UK. Consultancy spend for the last 5 five years can be accessed from these links:

HMRC annual report and accounts: 2018 to 2019 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2018 to 2019 (Print). Page 128.

HMRC annual report and accounts: 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2019 to 2020 (Print). Page 140.

HMRC annual report and accounts: 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2020 to 2021 (Print). Page 171.

HMRC annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2021 to 2022 (Print). Page 139.

HMRC annual report and accounts: 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2018 to 2019 (Print). Page 140.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the police on the potential merits of incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.

The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces.

The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity. In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.

Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development during their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.

We have not recently held discussions with policing on the potential merit to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework and there are currently no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.

The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces.

The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity. In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.

Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development during their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.

We have not recently held discussions with policing on the potential merit to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework and there are currently no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase specialist knowledge of cerebral palsy across the (a) health and (b) social care workforce.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The standards of training for health care professionals are the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies, including the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Health and Care Professions Council. These have the general function of promoting high standards of education, and co-ordinating all stages of education, to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice, including knowledge of cerebral palsy.

The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training is set by the relevant royal college, and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they do emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also published a range of guidance on care and support for children and young people, and adults with cerebral palsy, to support health care professionals and commissioners. The guidance outlines the kind of specialist care that children, young people, and adults with cerebral palsy may need from health and social care professionals. The guidance document for children and young people with cerebral palsy, and the guidance document for adults with cerebral palsy, are available respectively at the following links:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng62

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng119

NHS England has also produced an e-learning course on the prevention of cerebral palsy in preterm labour, which is available at the following link:

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/prevention-of-cerebral-palsy-in-preterm-labour/

NHS England has established the Getting It Right First Time (GRIFT) national programme, which is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth clinically led review of specialties, to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved. The GRIFT National Speciality Report on Neurology makes recommendations on the diagnosis and management of a range of neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy, and will support the National Health Service in delivering care more equitably across the country, and improving services nationally.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by £2.4 billion, sets out the steps needed to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The plan will double medical school training places by 2031, and sets out that the NHS will focus on expanding the number of clinicians who train to take up enhanced and advanced roles and work as part of multidisciplinary teams. We expect that this will increase the number of health care professionals in the speciality of neurology, and those that have specialist knowledge of cerebral palsy.

Found: The then-Transport Minister John Hayes MP assured us that these measures would allow us to operate

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John

Found: Cates Eddie Hughes Mrs Flick Drummond Maggie Throup Derek Thomas Mr Philip Hollobone Sir John