Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total cost to the public purse of his visit to China in January 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The total cost of the Chancellor’s visit to China in January 2025 was £60,858.81.
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 improve the water quality of open water in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is improving water quality in Lincolnshire through tougher regulation of the water industry, engagement with the agricultural sector and ongoing environmental monitoring. It regularly monitors rivers, coastal waters and bathing waters, using evidence to target enforcement, support improvements and protect the environment and public health.
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 quantity of illegal dairy produce was seized at UK borders in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Force data on seizures of imported products of animal origin is available on GOV.UK here.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent estimate of the tax lost from the hidden economy in Lincolnshire.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC do not produce a breakdown of the hidden economy tax loss by region.
The overall hidden economy tax loss figure can be found in the tax gap statistics which are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2026 edition: tax gap estimates for 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK
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 and what percentage of small boat crossings have travelled from Belgium in each of the past five years.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
In 2024, we assess that 2 small boats successfully reached the UK after departing from Belgium, making up 0.3% of the total number of small boat crossings that year. In 2026, we assess that there have been 27 small boats that have successfully reached the UK after departing from Belgium, which is 9% of the total number of small boat crossings this year.
We understand that there were zero crossings departing from Belgium that reached the UK in 2025, 2023 and 2022.
While this shows a relatively low number of crossings, we are closely monitoring the situation. We will continue to work with our international partners to disrupt and prevent these dangerous journeys.
We are working closely with Belgium to prevent small boat launches, including through real-time information sharing, strengthened coastal enforcement and joint action to disrupt the organised criminal gangs and supply chains facilitating crossings. We are deepening that cooperation through a new UK-Belgium law enforcement agreement, which will enable faster police-to-police intelligence sharing and strengthen joint investigations and operational activity.
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 much his Department spent on interpreters and related translation services in (1) 2022, (2) 2023 and (3) 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice's expenditure on interpreters and related translation services was:
Year | Contracted Expenditure | Off-Contract Expenditure | Total Expenditure |
2022 | £26,883,747 | £4,856,616 | £31,740,363 |
2023 | £30,374,050 | £6,565,781 | £36,939,831 |
2024 | £31,625,158 | £7,037,731 | £38,662,889 |
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, whether her Department keeps a regularly updated central register of names of asylum seekers temporarily housed in hotels.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office maintains central records of individuals receiving asylum accommodation and support. Accommodation Service Providers also maintain records of individuals accommodated in the properties they manage. Information held by the Home Office and Accommodation Service Providers is regularly updated and cross-checked as part of operational activity.
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, whether his Department has assessed how many prisoners currently serving sentences are in receipt of universal credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Citizens serving a custodial sentence are generally ineligible for Universal Credit (UC) and their claim is usually closed. However, those with eligible housing costs prior to entering prison, may retain that element of UC only, if custody is expected to last no more than six months, helping prevent homelessness on release.
In addition, under regulations laid in parliament on 20 October 2026, serious offenders detained in hospital will no longer receive benefits.
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 her Department is allocating extra resources to enforce fines for loud music, littering and vaping on buses.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is up to Local Transport Authorities to decide whether they want to use the powers in the Bus Services Act to enforce the byelaws against nuisance behaviour on buses.
The Government has confirmed multi-year allocations through the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year from 2026/27-28/29. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including investing in Transport Safety Officers to take enforcement action.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to PQ 10559, which third-party arrangements with external agencies has his department entered into in the past three years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department can confirm that it has entered into three arrangements with external agencies within the last three years.