Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.
Vol/Val | Basic Payment Scheme | Countryside Stewardship Scheme | Environmental Stewardship | Sustainable Farm Incentive | Other Grants | Total |
Volume | 756 | 140 | 5 | 25 | 28 | 954 |
Value (£) | £ 17,960,030.90 | £ 1,863,631.02 | £ 98,297.09 | £ 384,085.30 | £ 963,624.28 | £ 21,269,668.59 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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:
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:
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.
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 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:
Year | Number of births |
2004 | 1,841 |
2005 | 1,918 |
2006 | 1,887 |
2007 | 1,987 |
2008 | 2,208 |
2009 | 2,227 |
2010 | 2,275 |
2011 | 2,184 |
2012 | 2,250 |
2013 | 2,065 |
2014 | 2,076 |
2015/16 | 2,002 |
2016/17 | 1,785 |
2017/18 | 1,941 |
2018/19 | 1,738 |
2019/20 | 1,767 |
2020/21 | 1,619 |
2021/22 | 1,803 |
2022/23 | 1,716 |
2023/24 | 1,657 |
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.
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 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:
Financial Year | Operating income from patient care activities (£000) | Other operating income (£000) |
2022/23 | £708,886 | £48,792 |
2021/22 | £638,695 | £41,499 |
2020/21 | £531,696 | £112,182 |
2019/20 | £475,065 | £64,183 |
2018/19 | £413,754 | £33,738 |
2017/18 | £394,512 | £38,649 |
2016/17 | £392,427 | £44,897 |
2015/16 | £386,840 | £36,588 |
2014/15 | £395,007 | £38,243 |
Source: The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust published annual report and accounts, 2014/15 to 2022/23.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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.