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 staff in his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are 70 members of staff in the Department that hold a visa which permits them to work in the United Kingdom.
This figure includes staff on work and other visa routes. It does not include individuals granted pre or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
All staff are required to demonstrate a valid right to work in accordance with Home Office requirements.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his Department's policy that (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers use the disappearing messages function on Whatsapp on Government devices.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice's Information Management Policy explains that non-corporate communication channels such as WhatsApp 'must not be used unless absolutely necessary'. The policy directs staff to the Non-corporate communication channels for government business guidance, which is the primary guidance that ministers and officials should follow. Recordkeeping responsibilities are listed in paragraphs 19 to 24.
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 staff in his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally. Gathering this data would therefore incur disproportionate costs.
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 many staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (central) currently sponsors visas for 33 skilled workers and has an additional 19 employees working on other visa types.
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, how many staff within his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
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 NHS dental appointments have been (a) delivered and (b) cancelled in Lincolnshire in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of National Health Service dental treatments delivered in the first seven months of the 2025/26 financial year, in the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board:
Financial year | Number of NHS dental treatments delivered in the first 7 months of the financial year |
2025/26 | 282,676 (partial year) |
Source: Monthly National Dental Activity data – England July 2023 to October 2025, available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-activity-data-england-july-2023-to-october-2025
In addition, the following table shows the available data for the number of NHS dental treatments delivered in 2023/24 and 2024/25, in the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board:
Financial year | Number of NHS dental treatments delivered |
2024/25 | 434,558 |
2023/24 | 423,868 |
Source: dental statistics for England 2024/25 and 2023/24, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425
Data for dentistry is measured in courses of treatment, not appointments. One course of treatment can be more than one appointment. Data on the number of NHS dental appointments cancelled is not held.
The data for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are not directly comparable with the 2025/26 data due to the 2025/26 data being provisional. Final data for 2025/26 will be published in August 2026. Furthermore, the 2025/26 data covers 7 months of activity, but the 2023/24 and 2024/25 data covers the full 12-month period.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff within his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her Department's policy that (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers use the disappearing messages function on Whatsapp on Government devices.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Cabinet Office guidance on the use of non-corporate communication channels, published under the previous government, on 30 March 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business.
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 staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As of 01 March 2026, the Home Office had 186 employees with a visa type which allows them time limited right to work in the UK.
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 increase (a) skills and (b) employment support for people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in receipt of sickness benefits.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper, published in autumn 2024, and Pathways to Work Green Paper, published in spring 2025, set out the Government’s plan on skills and employment support, including for those in receipt of sickness benefits.
Our Pathways to Work guaranteed offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits is backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Once fully rolled out, we anticipate this will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
In addition, Connect to Work is being made available across all of England and Wales. This is a voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme for individuals that are disabled, have a health condition or experiencing non-health related barriers to work to find and sustain employment. There is no benefit-related requirement for this programme. Lincolnshire County Council is the Lead Authority for the Lincolnshire Delivery Area and we expect them to open their service in spring 2026.
WorkWell is a health and employment support service providing integrated holistic early help for health-related barriers to work. WorkWell is delivered in partnership with health systems and has so far supported approximately 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and re-enter work. Following the success of the pilot, it will continue to be delivered in existing sites and expand across all of England including the Lincolnshire ICB. The expansion is backed by up to £259 million investment over three years.
Through the Adult Skills Fund in the 2025/26 academic year, we are spending £1.4 billion 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. In South Holland and the Deepings, the Adult Skills Fund fully funds learners who are unemployed or earn less than £25,750 (annual gross salary).