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 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 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:
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 recent steps she has taken to help prevent accidents resulting from drug driving.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government takes the dangers of drug driving seriously. In January 2026, we published our Road Safety Strategy, which includes robust enforcement to protect all road users as one of its four core themes.
Alongside the Strategy, we consulted on measures including suspending licences for suspected drink or drug drivers while cases progress, the use of alternative samples in drug-driving forensic analysis, vehicle seizure following arrest, and whether existing disqualification periods remain appropriate. The consultation has now closed and responses are being analysed.
We have also relaunched THINK!’s ‘Don’t Put Drugs in the Driving Seat’ campaign to raise awareness of the risks and consequences of drug driving.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many agency staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The number of agency staff employed in the Scotland Office in each of the last five years is as follows:
Year | Agency Staff |
July 2021 - June 2022 | 3 |
July 2022 - June 2023 | 3 |
July 2023 - June 2024 | 0 |
July 2024 - June 2025 | 0 |
July 2025 - June 2026 | 0 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, other than special advisers if his Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service since July 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since July 2024, my Department has made several appointments of individuals from outside the civil service to public bodies and advisory roles.
Appointments made by the Northern Ireland Office generally fall within three categories: Public Appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Unregulated Public Appointments and Direct Ministerial Appointments.
Regulated appointments follow the strict processes set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments, while Direct Ministerial Appointments are made to provide short-term advisory functions, bringing specialist external expertise directly to Ministers.
In line with our transparency obligations, all such appointments are factually recorded and announced publicly on the Northern Ireland Office GOV.UK page:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/northern-ireland-office
Appointments made since July 2024 are as follows:
Regulated Public Appointments:
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
Nazia Latif was appointed as Commissioner on 1 September 2024.
Geraldine McGahey was reappointed as Chief Commissioner from 1 March 2025.
Maureen Brunt, Siobhan Cullen, Ellen Finlay, Monica Fitzpatrick, John McAllister and Preeti Yellamaty were reappointed as Commissioners and Harry Robinson was appointed as Commissioner, with each to commence from 1 June 2025.
Stephen Matthews and Lisa Caldwell were reappointed as Commissioners from 1 March 2026.
A short term extension to the appointment of Neil Anderson as Deputy Chief Commissioner was announced with effect from 1 March 2026.
Kevin Doherty was appointed as a Commissioner with effect from 5 March 2026.
Colin Kennedy was appointed as a Deputy Chief Commissioner with effect from 1 September 2026.
Kristel Miller was appointed as a Commissioner with effect from 1 September 2026.
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Mairead Holder was appointed as Commissioner on 1 September 2024.
Northern Ireland Office Non-Executive Board Member
Fiona Ross was reappointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Northern Ireland Office on 1 March 2026.
A short term extension to the appointment of Les Philpott as Lead Non-Executive Director to the NIO was announced with effect from 30 September 2026.
Unregulated Public Appointments:
Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland
David MacAnulty and Donald Leeson were appointed as Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland with effect from 1 October 2025.
NI Veterans Commissioner's Office Commissioner Reappointment
David Johnstone was reappointed to a second term with effect from 1 September 2026.
Independent Reporting Commission
John McBurney, Mitchell Reis and Monica McWilliams had their appointments as Commissioners extended with effect from 1 October 2026.
Direct Ministerial Appointments:
Robert Hamill Inquiry
Sir John Evans was appointed as Chair on 7 October 2024.
Intertrade UK
Baroness Arlene Foster was appointed as Chair, and Dr Esmond Birnie, Kirsty McManus, Suzanne Wylie, Roger Pollen and Angela McGowan were appointed as Members on 28 February 2025.
Board of the International Fund for Ireland
Jointly appointed with the Irish Government, Shona McCarthy was appointed as Chair, alongside board members Janet McConkey, Katy Hayward, Angila Chada, and Bill Pauley on 1 March 2025. Anne Conaghan and Anne Carr were also reappointed to the Board on 1 March 2025.
Independent Expert Advisory Panel - Official History of UK Government Policy during the Troubles
Lord Paul Bew, Professor Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, Professor Henry Patterson, Professor Richard Bourke, Professor Helen Parr and Professor Ian McBride were appointed the independent expert advisory panel to make recommendations on key details of this project in April 2025.
Patrick Finucane Inquiry
Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed as Chair and Baroness Nuala O’Loan and Francesca Del Mese were appointed as Assessors on 13 June 2025.
Independent Expert on Paramilitary Group Transition to Disbandment
Fleur Ravensbergen was appointed on 23 September 2025, in a joint appointment with the Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
All appointments listed above have been published on the Northern Ireland Office GOV.UK page. Further details on all public and direct ministerial appointments are regularly published.