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 people are employed by NHS England in roles relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity as of 26 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are 51 staff with equality, diversity, or inclusion in their job title at NHS England, as of 26 February 2024. This covers a wide range of roles both supporting NHS England as an employer, and facing the wider National Health Service system, with some of these roles also covering other areas of NHS policy. NHS England has reduced the number of roles focused on equality, diversity and inclusion as part of its merger with NHS Digital and Health Education England. The roles that remain are essential to helping the NHS meet its legal duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the principles that guide the NHS Constitution. This includes overseeing statutory programmes that are focused on tackling discrimination by some staff which includes disabled staff, as well as roles dealing with the sexual safety of staff and patients in the NHS.
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 (a) doctors and (b) nurses were employed by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent doctors and nurses, the latter of which includes health visitors, employed by the United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust, in December of each of the last five years:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Doctors | 802 | 882 | 922 | 997 | 1,080 |
Nurses | 1,626 | 1,611 | 1,723 | 1,809 | 2,105 |
Source: data is based on the monthly National Health Service workforce statistics published by NHS England, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a driving test was in (a) England and (b) East Midlands as of 25 March 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test in England, in February 2024, was 17.5 weeks.
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test in the East Midlands, in February 2024, was 17.6 weeks.
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 information her Department holds on the number of operations that were (a) cancelled and (b) delayed by more than two months due to the industrial action by junior doctors in 2023.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of operations that were cancelled due to the industrial action by junior doctors in 2023, was 157,570. Data is not held regarding operations delayed by more than two months. The National Health Service is prioritising urgent, emergency, and cancer care, and will continue to do its best to maintain appointments and elective procedures wherever possible. Cancelled appointments that need to be rescheduled, will be done so as a priority. Data on the impact of industrial action is available here:
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Air Force has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force has spent £3,072,249.93 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Air Force has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. However, all Regular RAF personnel are first and foremost aviators and are paid as such. There are a small number of Civil Servants and Full Time Reserve Service personnel within the team who applied specifically for D&I roles. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Navy has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy has spent £2,445,980.00 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion policy roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Navy has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. Service Personnel rotate through postings which can include Diversity and Inclusion roles. Their work is supported by a small number of Civil Servants. Each of these individuals are paid commensurate to their rank and training. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
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 he is taking to improve the quality of water in rivers and streams in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to continue to improving water quality and are delivering the record investment, the stronger regulation and the tougher enforcement to improve our water for our own health, for nature and the economy. For example, on 20 February we announced plans to more than quadruple Environment Agency (EA) water company inspections, strengthening oversight, reducing the reliance on self-monitoring.
The EA is conducting a major investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water and sewerage companies at sewage treatment works and has issued 7 warning letters to Anglian Water this financial year for serious or significant offences.
Through the Asset Management Plan (AMP), Anglian Water have an obligation to improve their water recycling centres to good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. A total of 41 phosphorous and 3 ammonia improvements will be delivered by March 2027. A total of 56 phosphorous, 1 ammonia and 1 BOD improvements are planned between 2030-2035.
In June 2023 Omex were fined £510,190 for their pollution of the River Witham. Omex have spent over £3 million in making good damage caused by their pollution, including river remediation works under the Environmental Damage Regulations.
Finally, the EA also work closely with external partner organisations to deliver projects that have benefits around water quality, with regional examples including Water Friendly Farming and the Limestone Becks restoration.
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 the cost to the public purse was of funding provided to businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency during the covid-19 pandemic through the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, (b) Small Business Grant Fund and (c) Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the government department responsible for the Covid-19 Business Support Grant Programme following the recent machinery of Government changes, and closure of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has published statistics here: all-business-support-covid-grants-by-la, which give details of the following information for Covid-19 Business Support Grant schemes:
(1.) total grant allocation awarded by Government to the Local Authority.
(2.) total number of individual grant awards made by the Local Authority; and
(3.) total value of grant awards made by the Local Authority.
Detail is provided for South Holland District Council as follows:
Local Authority | Allocation (LADGF) | Number of Payments (LADGF) | Value of Payments (LADGF) | Allocation (SBGF & RHLGF) | Number of payments (SBGF & RHLGF) | Value of payments Number of payments (SBGF & RHLGF) |
South Holland District Council | £990,750 | 151 | £990,750 | £19,815,000 | 1,503 | £17,475,000 |
This is the lowest level of geographic detail that DBT holds – if detail at ward level is required then the District Council would have to be approached for this information. Similarly, if a split between the LADGF and RGHLG is required the District Council would have to be approached for this information.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Home Office on tackling the matter of delivery drivers who are in the UK illegally.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT ministers and officials engage with the Home Office on this matter. The Department sits on the cross-government ministerial Taskforce on Immigration Enforcement, which ensures that every available power across government is utilised to support law enforcement activity to identify and reduce illegal migrants in the UK, and ensures only those eligible can work, receive benefits or access public services. The Department and its agencies continue to support the Home Office on the wider issue of illegal working in the UK.
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 steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) South Holland district and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Lincolnshire County Council is participating in the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder, which came out of the department’s children’s social care implementation strategy Stable Homes, Built on Love. The pathfinder aims to rebalance children’s social care away from costly crisis intervention to more meaningful and effective early support.
As part of the pathfinder, the department is working with a select number of local areas to test significant changes to how local areas help children and young people. This includes increasing support at the earlier end of the system, with the aim of keeping children with birth parents or wider family where safe to do so. This will help to reduce the number of children looked after and therefore drive down demand for foster care or other placements.
There is support available from the department where children are unable to stay with their birth families and foster care placements are sought. Lincolnshire County Council are being supported by the Fosterlink support service. Fosterlink provides support for local authorities to improve the way they recruit foster carers by reviewing current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements, as well as creating a national network in which to share best practice.
More broadly, the department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have.
Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.
In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.
The department will also build on this investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.