Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households in Lincolnshire were successful in applications from the Disabled Facilities Grant in each of the last three years.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The total Disabled Facilities Grant allocation to Local Housing Authorities in Lincolnshire for the last three years is shown below.

This information is publicly available on the website of Foundations, the National Body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies here: Disabled Facilities Grant Annual Allocations.

It is for local authorities to decide how to spend their allocation and deliver adaptations to eligible disabled and older people. Government does not hold data on how many households have received Disabled Facilities Grant funding.

This Government recognises how important home adaptations are in enabling disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. This is why we boosted Disabled Facilities Grant funding to £711 million for each of 2024-25 and 2025-26, with a further £50 million in year top up this year, bringing total funding for 2025-26 to £761 million.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes recruitment principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.

For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers.

The positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take proportionate action that aims to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and increase participation.

Employers who choose to use positive action can help people who share a particular protected characteristic to overcome certain barriers under the measures. However, employers need to ensure they do this in a way which does not unfairly disadvantage other groups as this could amount to ‘positive discrimination’, which is unlawful.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many staff within his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The Scotland Office has the information that you have requested. However, if a request is made for information and the total figure amounts to five people or fewer, the Scotland Office must consider whether this could lead to the identification of individuals and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and/or the Data Protection Act 2018.

We believe that the release of this information would risk identification of the individual/s concerned. For this reason, the Scotland Office has chosen not to provide the information requested. However, it should not be assumed that the actual figure represented falls at any particular point within this scale; 'five or fewer' is used as a replacement value from which it would be difficult to isolate or extract any individual data.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

The Cabinet Office does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office recruits on the basis of fair and open competition in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, as it did throughout the period of the previous administration. There has been no change to HR recruitment processes since the current Government took office. On the specific question asked by the Rt Hon Member, I refer him to the answer provided on 3 March to Question 114470.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.

For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers.

The positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take proportionate action that aims to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and increase participation. More information on this can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.

For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers.

The positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take proportionate action that aims to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and increase participation. More information on this can be found on gov.uk.

Employers who choose to use positive action can help people who share a particular protected characteristic to overcome certain barriers under the measures. However, employers need to ensure they do this in a way which does not unfairly disadvantage other groups as this could amount to ‘positive discrimination’, which is unlawful.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of how many unregistered Islamic marriages there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of religious-only Islamic marriages that take place in the UK.

The Government is aware of the differential treatment faced by groups that do not have a legally binding religious ceremony under the current law, and that some people, particularly women, can face serious financial problems as a result, if their relationship breaks down.

That is why we have committed to weddings law reform that will make it more straightforward for religious groups to get legally married in accordance with their beliefs. We will be undertaking a consultation on the reform of weddings law in England and Wales, early this year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Appointments are made on merit following fair and open competition. As a Disability Confident employer, interviews are offered to disabled applicants who meet the minimum job criteria and reasonable adjustments are available to address the potential for disadvantage in recruitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The number and cost of special severance payments made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in each financial year are routinely published in the department's annual report and accounts. The most recently published annual report and accounts are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect seabirds from offshore energy infrastructure.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Offshore wind developers must show how they will avoid and mitigate impacts on protected seabirds, and provide compensatory measures where impacts remain. Within this context, the government is delivering the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package to de-risk and accelerate offshore wind consenting whilst protecting marine habitats and species, including seabirds. The package includes developing environmental standards, establishing a Marine Recovery Fund to deliver compensation at a strategic level and a strategic, ecosystem- based monitoring framework to strengthen understanding of environmental impacts on vulnerable bird species.

We have also established a Seabird Conservation Coordination Group, comprising government, experts, environmental NGOs and industry representation. This group is helping to coordinate, monitor and drive delivery of actions for seabirds across our programmes of work in England. We are working with devolved governments on next steps, as they implement their respective seabird conservation strategies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people aged 17 have applied to join the police in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect information on the number of individuals aged 17 years old who have applied to join the police service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of serving police officers by nationality for each of the last ten years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect information on the nationality of police officers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect hare populations in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has supported Lincolnshire in preparing its Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which is expected to be published shortly. This strategy will set nature recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species, such as hares.

Nationally, protection of the brown hare population is provided through hare‑coursing legislation introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Together with improved police tactics, intelligence, and information sharing, it is reasonable to assume that these measures are reducing levels of hare coursing, which will play a part in the recovery of the species.

In addition, the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy contains a commitment to consider introducing a close season on shooting brown hares.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that forced marriages do not take place in Sharia councils in the UK.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), provides support and advice to victims, those at risk, and professionals.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.

For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission. Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in South Holland and the Deepings constituency are in receipt of Pension Credit.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The latest Pension Credit caseload statistics show that as of August 2025, there were 1,698 female recipients of Pension Credit in South Holland and the Deepings. This data is available via: DWP Stat-Xplore.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has held discussions with the Home Office on the increased use of Virtual Private Networks by criminals following the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Making the UK a safer place to be online is a priority for the Government, and the Online Safety Act is central to this. Officials from DSIT and the Home Office meet regularly to discuss the implementation of the Act and wider online safety issues.

While there is currently no evidence that VPNs are being used more by criminals following the introduction of the Act, the Government continues to monitor the impact of circumvention techniques on the online environment. VPNs also have legitimate uses including protecting users’ privacy and supporting secure access to services.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much Innovate UK funding has been awarded to organisations based in Lincolnshire in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Innovate UK’s grant funding database shows that during the most recent three full financial years, Innovate UK offered £26.8 million in grant awards to organisations registered in Lincolnshire. This is broken down by financial year as follows:

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

HM Treasury does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission.

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 ensure that patients released from hospital who need a wheelchair get one as soon as possible.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services. This includes both temporary wheelchair provision to support hospital discharge and National Health Service wheelchair services which support people of all ages with long-term mobility needs.

NHS England supports ICBs to reduce delays and regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. On 9 April 2025, NHS England published the Wheelchair Quality Framework, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets, and aims to tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

In October 2025, we published the NHS medium-term planning framework, requiring all ICBs and community health services to actively manage and reduce waits above 18 weeks and to develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. The community health services situation report will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting-time targets in 2026/27, and it currently monitors waiting times for children, young people and adults under “Wheelchair, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment”. These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits and improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18 weeks and 52 weeks.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled The independent review into the application of sharia law in England and Wales of February 2018, if she will take steps to conduct an assessment into the number of sharia councils operating in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The independent review into the application of sharia law in England and Wales was published under the 2016 to 2018 May Conservative government.

The Government is clear: Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales. Regardless of religious belief, we are all equal before the law. The Government has no intention of changing this position.

Religious communities, including Muslim communities, can operate arbitration councils and boards which seek to resolve disputes. The overriding principle is that they must operate within the rule of law.

The Government doesn’t prevent individuals from seeking to regulate their lives through religious beliefs and nothing in law prevents people abiding by Sharia principles, provided their actions don’t conflict with the law. If they do, rule of law prevails.

The decisions of Sharia councils are not binding in law – they are not part of the court system in this country.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries have (1) closed and (2) opened in Lincolnshire in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As the libraries development agency for England, Arts Council England collects and publishes data on library closures and openings in its annual English Public Libraries Location Dataset. The dataset can be found at the following link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-libraries and will be updated in April 2026 with figures for 2025.

The English Public Libraries Location Dataset 2024 shows the following for Lincolnshire:

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to promote the manufacturing sector in (1) Lincolnshire and (2) the East Midlands.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to supporting manufacturing in Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands. We are backing the sector through targeted investment, skills programmes and support for innovation. The East Midlands Freeport – England’s only inland freeport – is creating new manufacturing opportunities, attracting investment and generating high‑skilled jobs. Through the Local Growth Fund, we are helping local authorities and businesses strengthen supply chains and adopt new technologies. Manufacturers across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands also benefit from wider UK measures, outlined in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

The sector plan sets out how the Industrial Strategy will be delivered for the sector by reforming the business environment to build resilience, removing supply side barriers, developing a digitally literate and highly skilled workforce through the Upskilling and Reskilling programme, and unlocking the economic potential of advanced manufacturing clusters.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regarding trials of puberty blockers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has met with a variety of stakeholders to discuss gender services, including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Given that there are live legal proceedings, we are unable to comment on the details of the PATHWAYS trial of puberty suppressing hormones.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

There are 55 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of specialist Parkinson's nurses working in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold centrally a constituency‑level breakdown of specialist Parkinson’s nurse numbers. Specialist Parkinson’s nursing provision across Lincolnshire is delivered through locally commissioned neurology and community services, with integrated care boards (ICBs) responsible for ensuring that patients can access appropriate Parkinson’s specialist support.

NHS England has advised that the NHS Lincolnshire ICB commissions the Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust to provide this service. There are currently four specialist nurses working with people with Parkinson’s across the county. The nurses work county-wide, which means that the ICB is unable to provide a breakdown for a specific constituency.

The Department continues to work with NHS England to improve access to specialist neurology services, including for people living with Parkinson’s.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people under the age of 18 who requested masculinising and feminising hormones were refused in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is not responsible for making prescribing decisions, as this is for determination by a patient's clinician, in consultation with the patient and family as appropriate.

No specific data is held on the number of different hormone drugs that may have been prescribed through the National Health Service. There are several different medications that can be prescribed for masculinising and feminising effects, some of them are branded medications and some are generic medications.

Regarding masculinising and feminising hormone request refusal, this information is not held centrally. This kind of information will only be found in the medical records of individual patients, reflecting the outcome of a clinical decision made by the individual patient's clinician.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many masculinising and feminising hormones NHS England have prescribed to people aged (a) 16 and (b) 17 in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is not responsible for making prescribing decisions, as this is for determination by a patient's clinician, in consultation with the patient and family as appropriate.

No specific data is held on the number of different hormone drugs that may have been prescribed through the National Health Service. There are several different medications that can be prescribed for masculinising and feminising effects, some of them are branded medications and some are generic medications.

Regarding masculinising and feminising hormone request refusal, this information is not held centrally. This kind of information will only be found in the medical records of individual patients, reflecting the outcome of a clinical decision made by the individual patient's clinician.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to block NHS-backed trials of puberty blockers in gender questioning children.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to supporting research that delivers a more robust, evidence-based understanding of gender incongruence support and treatment, especially for children and young people.

The Cass Review received cross-party support and highlighted remaining significant gaps in clinical evidence. The PATHWAYS study positively responds to the Cass Review’s recommendation that a trial of puberty suppressing hormones should be taken forward urgently as part of a wider programme of research.

Like any clinical trial, the PATHWAYS trial will only proceed subject to research approvals that follow expert ethical, scientific, and clinical advice.

The safety and wellbeing of children and young people have always been the driving consideration in every decision we have made regarding this trial and always will be.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) households and (a) businesses reliant on heating oil in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government understands that many households, particularly in rural and off‑gas‑grid areas, rely on heating oil as their primary source of heat. Unlike gas and electricity, heating oil is bought on the spot market, making it more exposed to short-term volatility in global oil prices, which we recognise is a significant concern for those reliant on it.

The Chancellor has announced £53m for low income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. This funding is allocated as part of the Crisis Resilience fund, and will be distributed by Local Authorities. More information can be found here: Over £50 million to help families struggling with soaring heating oil costs - GOV.UK.

In addition, the measures taken in the Autumn Budget reduce the cost of electricity and therefore benefit all households with a domestic electricity meter, including those not on the gas grid. On 30 January, we also announced the continuation of the Warm Home Discount scheme until 2030/31, providing around 6 million eligible households with the £150 rebate on their energy bills each winter.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, the number of (a) Sharia councils and (b) people associated with roles on Sharia councils have been convicted of offences under the Equality Act 2010 in the last ten years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Sharia Councils are not part of the judicial system; therefore, the Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of sharia councils in operation, and there is no plan to produce such data at this time.

The Ministry of Justice publishes convictions data on a wide range of offences including offences under the Equality Act 2010 in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded at the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risks of remote testing in her Department's English Language Test.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office has carefully considered the risks of a remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.

The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution.

Following rounds of pre-market engagement, the ongoing procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

As per HM Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), the department spent £41,770 on special severance payments in 2023/24 and £206,772 in 2024/25. The figures for 2025/26 are not yet finalised and will be published in the next ARA.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the level of take up of cycling proficiency programmes in schools in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

In 2024/25, schools in the Lincolnshire County Council area booked 6,867 Bikeability training places, of which 6,168 were attended. This included 5,116 children receiving level 2 on-road training; equivalent to 60% of year 6 pupils in that area.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support younger people into agricultural careers in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Young people are essential to the long-term resilience of UK agriculture, and Defra works closely with industry bodies, including the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC), to promote careers in the sector and to understand the challenges facing new entrants.

Defra provides funding to NFYFC, enabling up to £30,000 per year for specific project-based activity. This supports capacity building within the NFYFC membership and helps to engage the next generation of farmers in the development of agricultural policy and resilient land-based businesses.

Through its agricultural reform programme, Defra is investing £2.7 billion a year to support a productive, sustainable farming sector. This includes measures to improve business resilience, productivity and skills development, which help make agriculture a more accessible and attractive career option for young people, including those in Lincolnshire.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) reports Special Severance Payments in its Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with HM Treasury and FREM requirements. For core MOD, the audited figures published in the Annual Report and Accounts are as follows (rounded to the nearest £1,000):

2022–23: £556,000 (14 cases)

2023–24: £1,074,000 (13 cases)

2024–25: £3,418,000 (40 cases)

In addition, the UK Hydrographic Office has reported two Special Severance Payments in 2025, totalling £80,000. UKHO data is not included in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts as UKHO publishes its own accounts separately.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

The Home Office does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years at: GOV.UK

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households were living in temporary accommodation in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each year since 2020.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government collects data on the number of people in temporary accommodation as a quarterly snapshot. To compare the number of the number of people in temporary accommodation in South Holland and Deepings and Lincolnshire year-on-year, you can compare the latest data from 30 September 2025 here with the same day in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not paid for followers on any of its corporate social media accounts.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not publish details of spending on special severance payments separately.

The Home Office does publish overall special payments spending and details of this for the previous three financial years can be found through the links below.

Pages 190-191 (pages 198-199 on the reader)

Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025

Pages 190-191 (pages 194-195 on the reader)

Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024

Pages195-196

Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The department has not paid for followers on its social media platforms.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s first set of accounts were for 2023/24 where the expenditure on special severance payments was £99,390. Expenditure in subsequent years can be found in the relevant annual report and accounts.

Found:

Found: staff engagement meetings Leeds; UK Train Economy/Standard 157.00 N/A N/A 157.00 John Hayes

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Found: Customer Service Dinner No Joanne Bradshaw 2025-11-26 Government Transformation Magazine Dinner No John Hayes

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Found: Return Helen Pickles Nil Return Nil Return Nil Return James Mitton Nil Return Nil Return Nil Return John Hayes