Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many banks have closed in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in last five years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not hold official data on the number of bank branch closures in individual constituencies or counties. Decisions on opening and closing bank branches are commercial decisions for individual firms. However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers' everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable.
This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers fairly. Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place.
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 he is taking to support increased participation in bowel cancer screening in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Lincolnshire, coverage amongst people aged between 60 and 74 years old is above the national average of 72.9% and currently stands at 75.5%. Nationally, coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years, with a marked increase from 2019 of 12.4% since the faecal immunochemical test was rolled out as the primary test in the screening programme.
Partners are working to increase participation in bowel cancer screening in Lincolnshire through a range of initiatives focused on improving access, awareness, and early diagnosis, including expanding eligibility for bowel cancer screening to include people aged over 50, enabling more residents to be screened, and working in partnership with the University of Lincoln's Lincolnshire Institute of Rural and Coastal Health to better understand barriers to screening participation and to develop evidence-based interventions to increase it.
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 estimate she has made of the number of train delays affecting Spalding railway station in the last 12 months.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Over the last 12-months there were 8,721 station stops at Spalding, of these 6,461 were early or within one minute of the scheduled arrival time, 1,209 were between one and three minutes late and 1,051 were three or more minutes late.
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 she is taking to support wildlife conservation sites in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published its updated protected sites Environment Act target delivery plan on the 16 July to support the improvement of protected sites here.
The Government supports wildlife conservation sites in Lincolnshire through Natural England and its partners. Natural England protects and improves Sites of Special Scientific Interest across Lincolnshire, including developing a Protected Sites Strategy for The Wash. Countryside Stewardship agreements support farmer-led habitat management, while Landscape Recovery Projects including Lincolnshire Wash, Lincoln & Witham, and Boothby Wildlands create connected habitats. Natural England also supports development of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy to guide future conservation investment.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies sanctioned under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 were found to have sponsored visas in the last five years.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
However, sanctions are targeted and specific and do not always prevent a business from continuing to lawfully operate, nor are they necessarily relevant to the purposes for which sponsor licences exist. Continuing to hold a sponsor licence would not necessarily contravene that sanction.
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, if he will act on the recommendations in the Taskforce for Lung Health’s report entitled Breathing Life into the NHS and introduce a respiratory Modern Service Framework.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 July by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Sharon Hodgson MP) in response to Question 17694.
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, whether his Department has appointed staff from outside the civil service other than special advisers since July 2024.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both before and after July 2024, the Department has appointed a number of staff from outside the Civil Service, including appointments made through fair and open competition where external candidates were successful.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has hired external public relations consultants since July 2024.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ministers have not hired external public relations (PR) consultants since July 2024.
The department currently contracts its PR services through agencies. These contracts are procured via commercial routes, with all contracts publicly available and published via Contracts Finder. There have been no new procurements in PR since July 2024.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service other than special advisers since July 2024.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has appointed 19 individuals, excluding Civil Servants and Special Advisers, through the route of regulated public and unregulated public appointments, and direct ministerial appointments.
All appointees made through these routes into the department are published at: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/announcements and https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/direct-ministerial-appointments-announcements.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many agency staff were employed by her Department in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The figures below reflect the number of agency staff, specialist contractors and interim managers (contingent workers) employed by the department in the following financial years: