John Hayes Alert Sample


Alert Sample

View the Parallel Parliament page for John Hayes

Information between 30th October 2024 - 9th November 2024

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Division Votes
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 110 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 400 Noes - 122
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 110 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 400 Noes - 120
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 100 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 373 Noes - 110
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 108 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 454 Noes - 124
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 111 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 401 Noes - 120
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 102 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 378 Noes - 116
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 103 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 450 Noes - 120
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 106 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 383 Noes - 184
6 Nov 2024 - Budget Resolutions - View Vote Context
John Hayes voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 108 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 455 Noes - 125


Speeches
John Hayes speeches from: Oral Answers to Questions
John Hayes contributed 1 speech (43 words)
Tuesday 5th November 2024 - Commons Chamber
Ministry of Justice
John Hayes speeches from: Income Tax (Charge)
John Hayes contributed 4 speeches (817 words)
Monday 4th November 2024 - Commons Chamber
Department for Work and Pensions
John Hayes speeches from: Business of the House
John Hayes contributed 2 speeches (125 words)
Thursday 31st October 2024 - Commons Chamber
Leader of the House


Written Answers
Runnymede Trust: Finance
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided funding to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has provided no funding to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

National Grid: Electric Cables
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials have held recent discussions with National Grid on the viability of using an underground cable system instead of pylons as part of the great grid upgrade.

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

The Government’s policy on undergrounding is set out in the energy National Policy Statement for electricity networks (EN-5), which sets a strong starting presumption of overhead lines, except in nationally designated landscapes, where undergrounding is the starting presumption.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK

Industrial Injuries: Agriculture
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to reduce work-related injuries in the agricultural sector.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The safety and health of people at work in agriculture is a concern to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the industry. HSE uses a blend of approaches to influence and improve the health and safety record of the industry, reduce work-related injuries and to drive up industry ownership of the challenge and influence farmer behaviour. HSE produces guidance for farmers which is freely available on its website.

The guidance covers a range of topics including those that cause the most serious and fatal accidents and ill health. Between 2018 and 2024 there was an annual programme of delivering training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection: they also investigate incidents and reports of risks not being managed properly, where duty holders fall below the standards required by health and safety legislation.

HSE take appropriate enforcement action including prosecutions. A recent two-year HSE campaign focused on two of the main causes of fatal and serious injury in farming, namely workplace transport and cattle Work Right Agriculture – “Your Farm, Your Future”. The campaign provided guidance and direction to farmers about their legal duties. The campaign also included well-respected industry voices providing help and advice on how to control risk associated with workplace transport, vehicles, and cattle. The communications campaign reached 8.25m people in 2023/24.

HSE remains committed to working with the agricultural industry and putting its resource to best use to have maximum affect in helping the farming industry to control risk and stay safe and well.

Drugs: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle county lines operations in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

County lines is the most violent and exploitative model of drug distribution nationally, and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.

While the the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response.

The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Lincolnshire Police.

Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals.

Tree Planting: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees were planted in (a) South Holland district and (b) South Kesteven district in the last ten years.

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

The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators . These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.

This Government has not set specific targets for individual districts and the reporting statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.

The England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting, with nearly 16 million trees planted over the past 3 years. We reported 5,529 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland planted in 2023-24. The figures for planting in 2024-25 will be published as part of Official Statistics in June 2025.

Department of Health and Social Care: Mermaids
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Monday 4th November 2024

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ministers in his Department have met representatives of the Mermaids charity since 5 July 2024.

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

Ministers from the Department have not met with representatives of the Mermaids charity since 5 July 2024.

Prisoners' Release: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released under the early release scheme on (a) 10 September 2024 and (b) 22 October 2024 are registered as residing in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Data on SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.

Prisons: Mobile Phones
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 30th October 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many confiscations of mobile phones took place in prisons in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last three years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The number of incidents where mobile phones were found in prisons in England and Wales, over the past three years:

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

England

7,778

7,596

10,351

Wales

210

241

318

Total

7,988

7,837

10,669

We publish the number of incidents where mobile phones were found in prison in England and Wales in the HMPPS Annual Digest. The latest issue covers the 12 month period to March 2024.

It is important to consider, with incidents of mobile phone finds in prisons, that an increase in numbers may be as a result of more effective searching, rather than more items being present in prisons.

Data Sources and Quality

The figures in the table have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

The figures in the table count the number of incidents where a mobile phone was found, rather than the number of mobile phones found. One incident can include multiple phones found.

Secure training centres Rainsbrook and Oakhill report separately as they are contracted establishments and therefore are not included in this dataset.

The figures are on a financial year basis, so the figures for 2023-24 are from 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Breast Cancer: Screening
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 30th October 2024

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve breast cancer screening in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) South Holland and The Deepings constituency.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Nationally, NHS England has developed a national plan in collaboration with key stakeholders, such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake within the breast screening programme. The plan sets out the priorities, interventions, and the required monitoring of the impacts and outcomes to be achieved, to improve uptake through expanding access, data, and analytics, reducing inequalities, contracting, communication, and IT developments.

Locally, the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board was awarded national funding in 2023 to establish an additional mobile screening unit. Additionally, local services are doing focused inequalities work with three practises identified as having lower uptake.

Department for Education: Arden Strategies
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 30th October 2024

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Arden Strategies since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Neither my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, nor Ministers in the department have had any Ministerial meetings with representatives of Arden Strategies since 5 July 2024.

Solar Power: Land Use
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 30th October 2024

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to block applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects which include solar photovoltaic panels on grade 1, 2 and 3a farmland.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government’s ambition is to triple solar capacity by 2030. However, planning policy is clear that where development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be prioritised and there is no intention to reduce this protection.

For planning decisions made through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime, there is a rigorous process designed to scrutinise larger projects and developers must work closely with local authorities and communities before approval is granted.

In our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed raising the thresholds for NSIP solar developments. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.

Hereditary Peers
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 30th October 2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the projected cost to the public purse is of removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.

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

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is not about financial savings but is concerned with removing the outdated and indefensible right of the remaining hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

Radiotherapy: Rural Areas
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with NHS England on improving access to radiotherapy treatments for cancer patients in rural areas.

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

NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring that the healthcare needs of local communities are met. These responsibilities include considering adequate healthcare provision, care, and wider support for local populations, including in remote and rural areas.

For those who may struggle to access treatment, the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme provides financial assistance to patients in England who do not have a medical need for transport, but who require assistance with the costs of travelling to receive certain National Health Services. The NHS Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services provide funded transport where a medical condition means that a patient would struggle to safely attend their treatment independently.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

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 increase the number of radiotherapy treatment machines in England.

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

The Government knows that cancer patients are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. As part of this, we are committed to bringing down waits for cancer appointments with a Fit for the Future fund, providing investment for the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waiting times, thereby saving lives.

The Government will continue to support the provision of radiotherapy machines, however, since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has been with local systems.

Arts: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase funding for arts and culture in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

After 14 years of indifference and cultural vandalism, this government is committed to making sure that arts and cultural activities will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few. We are working with Arts Council England and others to understand what the challenges and opportunities are for our sectors. As part of the Government’s “Creating Growth” plan, DCMS is also undertaking a review documenting current and past funding for the arts, culture, and heritage sectors.

Arts Council England’s open funding programme, National Lottery Project Grants, is accessible to organisations and individuals across the country, including those in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and across Lincolnshire. This programme provides over £100 million of support annually, and is open to new and emerging artists.

Runnymede Trust: Finance
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has provided funding to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has checked all available records which show no funding has been provided to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

Open Prisons: Prisoner Escapes
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have escaped from Category D prisons in the last 10 years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

An escape that does not involve overcoming a physical security restraint or barrier (such as that provided by a wall or fence, locks, bolts or bars, a secure vehicle, handcuffs or the direct supervision of staff) is classified as an abscond. By definition, absconds are only possible from prisons with open conditions (Category D).

Data on absconds are published annually in the HMPPS Annual Digest. The requested information can be found via the following link: Absconds Data.

Public protection is our top priority. When a prisoner absconds, police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender. The majority of absconders are quickly recaptured and returned to custody.

Those who abscond face serious consequences, including being returned to closed prison conditions, where they may serve up to two additional years on conviction.

Prisoners' Release
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 31st October 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish the offences committed by prisoners released under the early release scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

SDS40 applies to standard determinate sentences, but certain offences have been excluded from the SDS change. the following offences are excluded: Sex offences irrespective of sentence length; serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more; specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation); as well as offences concerning national security.

The change will also not apply to sentences subject to release at the discretion of the Parole Board or to offences which currently attract the automatic release from an SDS at the two-thirds point (certain serious sexual and violent offences).

Pupils: Absenteeism
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce school absences in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government recognises school absence as a key barrier to learning. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well-supported teaching and learning is, they will not benefit. Thanks to the sector's efforts, more students are attending school this year compared to last. However, 1.6 million children remain persistently absent, missing 10% or more of lessons.

To address this, the department will roll out funded breakfast clubs to all primary schools so that all children are ready to learn. The department will also introduce new annual Ofsted reviews on safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling. Mental health support is also being expanded, with specialists in every school.

The ’Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance promotes a support first approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families to address attendance barriers. Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance registers with the department, local authorities and trusts. Schools, trusts and councils are able to access this data via an interactive secure data dashboard maintained by the department.

For all schools it is vital that there are opportunities to share best practice on how to improve attendance. Across the nation there is a network of 31 attendance hubs, working with 2000 schools to share to share their strategies and resources for improving attendance.

Drugs: Seized Articles
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total (a) amount and (b) value was of Class A drugs coming into the UK that were seized at the borders in the last five years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The latest transparency data showing the total amount of Class A drugs seized by Border Force across the last five years is available at the following pages:

Seizures of drugs in England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Border Force transparency data: Q1 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Border Force transparency data: Q2 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The statistics below are taken from the Q2 2024 transparency data. These cannot be combined into a single figure due to the different units of measurement, so a breakdown of each drug is provided.

Class A Drugs by Year

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Total

Cocaine (KG

8,886.73

3,757.51

9,475.49

17,096.72

15,222.7

26,692.52

81,131.67

Crack (KG)

0.03

34.8

0.06

0.41

3.42

6.43

45.15

Heroin (KG)

428.46

2,210.62

1,812.28

1,117.22

659.94

327.05

6555.57

LSD (Dose 000s)

52.7

20.76

105.86

30.41

29.55

4.68

243.96

MDMA (Dose 000s)

1,912.11

1,390.22

1,025.98

453.81

1,390.17

1,227.08

6,172.29

Methadone (Dose 000s)

N/A

N/A

0.18

1.28

0.2

0.39

2.05

Morphine (Dose 000s)

0.35

1.07

2.52

0.42

1.13

2.93

8.42

Fentanyl (KG)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

0.02

0.02

Border Force does not estimate, disclose, or publish the value of drugs seized.

Road Traffic: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 7th November 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce congestion on roads in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network so it can serve all road users and is safe. Traffic management of local roads is the responsibility of local traffic authorities who are best placed to understand local circumstances and needs.

Traffic authorities are subject to the statutory network management duty which requires them to manage their roads to secure the ‘expeditious movement’ of all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion, and they have a wide range of tools already available to them to enable this.

Roads: South Holland and the Deepings
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 7th November 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on supporting pothole repairs in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network.

At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the current financial year - exceeding this Government’s manifesto commitment on repairing local roads.

The Government will confirm 2025/26 funding allocations to English local highway authorities, including Lincolnshire County Council, in due course.

Roads: South Holland and the Deepings
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Thursday 7th November 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents there were in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. The number of personal injury road collisions reported to police in each of the areas requested in 2023 are shown in the table below.

Area

All collisions

South Holland and the Deepings constituency

215

Lincolnshire

1,724

Drugs: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce levels of drug offences in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority for this Government and is part of our mission to take back our streets and drive down crime and antisocial behaviour.

An additional £267 million in drug and alcohol treatment is being invested into services this year to improve quality and capacity, which has the potential to reduce crime and reoffending.

As part of the Governments work to reduce drug-related harms and crime, every area in England has a dedicated Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP). In Lincolnshire, the Government has supported the establishment of a Lincolnshire Drug and Alcohol Partnership, to help bring together key local partners to address drug related-crime, drug use and drug deaths, in line with local context and need. Between March 2022 and August 2024 there has been an increase of 248 treatment places in Lincolnshire.

Broader work across the county to reduce drug offences included targeting drug treatment referrals at offenders. As well as continuing work with the National Police Chiefs Council to increase police referrals into drug treatment.

We are committed to reducing drug offences in supply of illicit drugs. Recent police activity on County Lines has resulted in over 5,100 line drug dealing line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. In addition, we are working continuously to disrupt the organised criminal gangs behind the importation and supply of drugs in the UK.

Community Policing: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of neighbourhood policing in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, the Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

This includes getting thousands of neighbourhood police personnel back on the beat, ensuring local people have a named officer who they can turn to when things go wrong, and cracking down on the street crime, shop theft and anti-social behaviour which has made communities feel less safe for far too long.

Home Office: Runnymede Trust
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met the Runnymede Trust charity since July 5 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

All relevant meetings attended by ministers, special advisers and senior officials are declared in the normal way in the department’s quarterly transparency releases.

Nature Reserves: East of England
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 6th November 2024

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the impact of proposed pylons in the Grimsby to Walpole scheme on the Wash National Nature Reserve.

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

Developers of transmission projects and all nationally significant infrastructure projects in England and Wales must assess the impacts of their proposals. This includes conducting assessments of projects’ impacts on the environment and habitats through Environmental Impact Assessments and Habitats Regulations Assessments. Additionally, developers engage with statutory and non-statutory stakeholders through consultations to ensure their feedback is considered and incorporated into project proposals. All of this is considered in the project consenting process.

Courts: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of court cases in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted this question as in reference to the Crown Court outstanding caseload in Lincolnshire. We inherited a record and rising Crown Court backlog from the previous Government and we are committed to tackling it.

We are pursuing a number of measures at a national level that will contribute to the reduction of outstanding cases in Lincolnshire.

The Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System. We have already shown we are committed to bearing down on the caseload and bringing waiting times down.

This Government has increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500, more than in six out of the last seven years. We will soon extend magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months, freeing up 2,000 days in the Crown Court to handle the most serious cases.

Judges have been prioritising rape cases that have been waiting for over two years to go to trial. Despite this, there are some cases in the outstanding caseload which are taking far too long to progress through the system. We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice they deserve. This is why we have committed to fast-tracking rape cases through the courts, to deliver swift and effective justice to some of the most vulnerable victims in the criminal justice system, and will say more on this in due course.

Alongside this, we consistently invest in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions annually alongside continuing to use 18 Nightingale courtrooms across eight venues to hear more cases.

At Lincoln Crown Court specifically, we have expanded physical capacity of the HMCTS estate by creating a permanent fourth Crown Courtroom based in Lincoln Magistrates Court. As a result, we also plan to sit 903 sitting days this financial year at Lincoln Crown Court, this is an increase from 885 sitting days in the last financial year (FY23/24). An uplift in sitting days has taken place across East Midlands in response to growing Crown Court caseload pressures.

Sexual Offences: Sentencing
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Tuesday 5th November 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of those convicted for sexual offences were not given prison sentences in the last five years.

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

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary.

This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls within the decade. To do so, we must improve the justice system’s response to these crimes. We must relentlessly target the most prolific and harmful perpetrators; better support victims and survivors; and ensure timely and effective justice.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including sexual offences in the period requested, via the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.

Shoplifting: Lincolnshire
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 6th November 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken with relevant authorities to reduce shop lifting in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Shoplifting increased at an unacceptable level under the previous government, and we have seen more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200, and introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

England Infected Blood Support Scheme: East Midlands
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Wednesday 6th November 2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many registrations have been made with the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payment Scheme in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

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

As of July 2024, 3,698 interim compensation payments have been paid to living infected persons and bereaved partners. This information is not made available on a regional basis. The process under which estates can apply for interim compensation payments opened on 24th October. We will provide an update on the number of applications in due course.

Driving Licences: Foreign Nationals
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Friday 8th November 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10405 on Driving Licences: Foreign Nationals, if she will hold discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the potential merits of recording statistics on the nationality of newly qualified driving licence holders.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As information on nationality is not required for driving licence purposes, there are no plans for the Driver and Vehicle Agency to record this data for newly qualified drivers.

Empty Property: Shops
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Friday 8th November 2024

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of unoccupied shops in town centres in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Government is committed to supporting our high-street businesses. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it is retaining and reforming the Long-Term Plan for Towns, with Spalding being one of 75 towns to receive up to £20 million in extra support for local growth.

High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA), a new power for English local authorities, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA), will provide local authorities with a tool to tackle vacancy, promote minimum letting standards for commercial units and flexible rents.

More generally, the English Devolution Bill will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help safeguard our high streets. More details will be announced in due course.