Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency are on long-term sickness benefits; and how many were on such benefits in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People on ‘long-term sickness benefits’ have been assumed as those in the main phase of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Universal Credit (UC) Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups. The Department regularly publishes Benefit Combination statistics on Stat-Xplore and these were extended inFebruary 2024 to include additional information for those on ESA and the UC Health Journey, so can now be used to provide the information, from quarter ending May 2019 to the end of the latest quarter, August 2023.
The figures can be obtained from the ‘Benefit Combinations - Data from May 2019 for England and Wales’ dataset using the ‘Additional Claim Details’ options. The ‘ESA Phase of Claim’ and ‘UC Health Journey’ options should be used to identify quarterly totals for ESA Support Group (SG), ESA Work-related Activity Group (WRAG), Universal Credit Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups and those on one benefit but not the other using the ‘Not On’ options. The ‘Geography’ option can then be used to filter by the relevant Westminster Parliamentary Constituency.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Using the Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore, the number of people on long-term sickness benefits in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency is provided in the table below:
| Aug 2019 | Aug 2020 | Aug 2021 | Aug 2022 | Aug 2023 |
Total | 2,540 | 2,750 | 2,980 | 3,260 | 3,940 |
Source: Stat-Xplore
Notes:
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in England have been issued puberty blockers since 2019.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have always been clear that children’s safety and well-being is paramount, so we welcomed NHS England’s landmark decision to ban routine use puberty blockers to children experiencing gender dysphoria. This decision was based on the available evidence and expert clinical opinion.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or puberty blockers are used to treat several medical conditions in children and young people. These can include precocious puberty, some forms of cancer, endometriosis, and gender dysphoria.
Information on the clinical indication for which these medications have been prescribed is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of identifiable patients prescribed and dispensed gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for all purposes, in primary and secondary care in England from 2019 to September 2022:
Financial year | Patients identified |
2018/19 | 1,072 |
2019/20 | 1,048 |
2020/21 | 936 |
2021/22 | 864 |
April to September 2022 | 693 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Note: Prescriptions have only been included where a National Health Service number has been identified during processing, and an age has been recorded. The same patients may appear in multiple years.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people of working age in (a) Lincolnshire, (b) East Midlands and (c) England are (i) not working and (ii) not looking for a job.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of translating languages in Job Centres since 2015.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it will incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much reallocated HS2 funding has been given to Lincolnshire County Council for road resurfacing.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Lincolnshire County Council will receive a minimum additional overall uplift of £287.7 million between 2023-24 and 2033-34 as a result of reallocating HS2 funding. £4.9 million of this has already been paid out in the current financial year with a further £4.9 million to follow in 2024/25, and Lincolnshire is receiving around 30% more capital funding for highway maintenance in the current financial year than it did in the previous financial year.
Funding allocations beyond 2024/25 are a matter for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of cash withdrawal facilities in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups.
The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities, on both a national and local basis. The FCA expects to finalise its regulatory rules in the third quarter of this year.
The most recent analysis undertaken by the FCA is available on the FCA website: Access to cash coverage in the UK 2023 Q1
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to research projects based in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the 12 months to start of January 2024, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded:
These figures include a range of investments made via UKRI’s Research Councils and Innovate UK, but the figure excludes formula-based block grants deployed through universities which will also have gone to research projects in this region.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 increase adult social care capacity in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made up to £8.6 billion available in additional funding over this financial year and next, to support adult social care and discharge. This includes nearly £2 billion being made available to local authorities over two years through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, which is specifically designed to support increased adult social care capacity. Local authorities can choose to use the funding to increase fee rates paid to adult social care providers, increase adult social care workforce capacity and retention, and reduce adult social care waiting times. Lincolnshire County Council received a total of just over £13 million through this fund in 2023/24, and are set to receive nearly £15 million in 2024/25. This is in addition to the broader funding that is available to Lincolnshire to spend on adult social care.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what fiscal steps she is taking to support (a) training programmes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) other efforts to promote (i) job creation and (ii) skills development in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies.
The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system that is employer-focused, high quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives; and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this parliament to strengthen higher and further education.
In the 2023/24 academic year, the department is investing nearly £7 billion for education and training places for 16 to 19 year olds, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This funding is allocated to education providers to deliver study programmes and T Levels to young people.
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which totalled £1.34 billion in the 2023/24 Funding Year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes funding going to Boston College, which includes the Spalding Campus in the South Holland and the Deepings Constituency.
The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. Around 400 qualifications are available on the offer, chosen specifically as they offer good wage outcomes and address skills needs in the economy. There have been over 61,000 enrolments since April 2021.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks in priority skills areas, with a guaranteed interview upon completion. The department is expanding Skills Bootcamps through increased national procurement and grant funding to 30 Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas to meet national and local skills needs in the 2024/25 financial year. The department granted Great Lincolnshire LEP, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, £2 million for Skills Bootcamps across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland in 2023, and a further £3 million for courses starting after April 2024.
The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support more high quality apprenticeship opportunities across the country, including in South Holland and the Deepings. There have been over 11,000 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and the Deepings since 2010.
The department has introduced employer-designed T levels, which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country. University Academy Holbeach in South Holland and the Deepings currently offers seven T Levels and is planning to offer three more from September 2024.
Multiply is the government’s programme for improving adult numeracy. Multiply is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is the government’s flagship fund for supporting people and places across the UK. Up to £270 million is directly available for local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy. Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £4.02 million of Multiply funding from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to improve adult numeracy in their area.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help fill job vacancies in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In South Holland and the Deepings, and across the country, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and those in work to progress. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPS), recruitment days and job fairs.
In partnership with Boston College, Net UK and Steadfast Training, we have recently offered SWAPs for local customers to gain skills and enhance their applications for Security, Construction, Fork Lift Driving and Teaching Assistant vacancies. These offers are repeated bi-monthly. We are also working with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Boston College to support recruitment into LGV driving roles via a Skills Boot Camp that has been running since early 2023.
Our local Partnership Manager works alongside the South East Lincolnshire Council Partnership on Shared Prosperity Funding Grant Panels, focussed on people and skills, with procurement of a range of options to support the economically inactive to move closer to the labour market and into work.