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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total cost to the public purse was for the creation of the Greater Lincolnshire combined county authority.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The costs of establishing and running Mayoral Combined (County) Authorities are managed by its constituent councils and the Authority itself once established. Government provides support to help with these costs. For Greater Lincolnshire the government provided £500k Mayoral Capacity Funding in 2024-25.

There are considerable benefits for Greater Lincolnshire from the devolution agreement, which include £24 million a year investment funding for 30 years, and the transport and adult skills budgets that were previously controlled from Whitehall.

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 help support healthcare services to (a) recruit and (b) retain speech therapists in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

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

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of providing an exemption from National Insurance contributions for Indian nationals through the UK-India trade agreement.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The OBR will certify the impact of the trade deal including the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event, once the deal is finalised and ratified. The agreement to negotiate a Double Contributions Convention was made in the context of the wider deal, which will bring billions into the economy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much amphetamine by (a) volume and (b) value has been seized in the UK over the last 12 months.

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

The Home Office latest published data on amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures made by the police and Border Force for England and Wales covers the period April 2023-March 2024 and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024

The Home Office does not publish the monetary (£) value of drugs seized. In the year ending March 2024, the latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force seized:

• 2,337 amphetamine seizures, totalling 285 kg
• 2,252 ketamine seizures, totalling 855 kg
• 1,919 MDMA seizures, totalling 1.6 tonnes

Border Force also publish quarterly transparency data which includes amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures, and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q4-2024

Please find below the relevant statistics from the Q4 Border Force transparency data publication.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much MDMA by (a) volume and (b) value has been seized in the UK over the last 12 months.

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

The Home Office latest published data on amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures made by the police and Border Force for England and Wales covers the period April 2023-March 2024 and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024

The Home Office does not publish the monetary (£) value of drugs seized. In the year ending March 2024, the latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force seized:

• 2,337 amphetamine seizures, totalling 285 kg
• 2,252 ketamine seizures, totalling 855 kg
• 1,919 MDMA seizures, totalling 1.6 tonnes

Border Force also publish quarterly transparency data which includes amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures, and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q4-2024

Please find below the relevant statistics from the Q4 Border Force transparency data publication.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much ketamine by (a) volume and (b) value has been seized in the UK over the last 12 months.

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

The Home Office latest published data on amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures made by the police and Border Force for England and Wales covers the period April 2023-March 2024 and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024

The Home Office does not publish the monetary (£) value of drugs seized. In the year ending March 2024, the latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force seized:

• 2,337 amphetamine seizures, totalling 285 kg
• 2,252 ketamine seizures, totalling 855 kg
• 1,919 MDMA seizures, totalling 1.6 tonnes

Border Force also publish quarterly transparency data which includes amphetamine, ketamine and MDMA seizures, and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q4-2024

Please find below the relevant statistics from the Q4 Border Force transparency data publication.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to special educational needs assessments in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.

Through a graduated approach, teachers are responsible for monitoring the progress of all pupils and putting support in place where needed. Where a child who has special educational needs (SEN) needs more support than their school can usually provide, schools, parents or carers can ask the local authority to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.

Local authorities must conduct EHC needs assessment if a child or young person has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made in accordance with an EHC plan.

The department recognises the critical role of educational psychologists within the SEND system, including their statutory contribution to EHC assessments. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024, building on the £10 million currently being invested in a cohort of over 200 trainees who began their training in 2023. Trainees will join the workforce to support the capacity of local authority educational psychology services, including in delivering assessments.

A joint local area SEND inspection of Lincolnshire Local Area Partnership (LAP) was undertaken by Ofsted/CQC in February 2025, and the report is expected to be published imminently. Following publication, the LAP will be required to update their strategic plan, and the department’s regional team will put in place systems to track outcomes against any areas for improvement identified by inspectors, and the progress made by children and young people with SEND.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people seen by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 did not identify as female.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information is not held centrally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of which nationalities are most likely to overstay their visa.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders, and published a white paper on Immigration on 12^th May setting out our proposed reforms in a range of areas, including overstaying of visas.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an illicit tobacco taskforce.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In the illicit tobacco strategy titled ‘Stubbing out the problem’, the Government committed to establishing a multi-agency illicit tobacco taskforce to co-ordinate enforcement activity, involving staff from HMRC, Border Force and Trading Standards and working closely with other law enforcement and intelligence partners.

This team is now in place and contributing to efforts to tackle illicit tobacco across all relevant departments.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As of January 2025, 6.9% of staff in the department are currently on an apprenticeship, which is above our target of 5%. To maintain and build on this, we continue to take the following steps:

• All Administrative Officer (AO) and Executive Officer (EO) recruitment is considered for a Level 4 Business Administration apprenticeship, ensuring that new entrants have the opportunity to develop their skills through apprenticeship routes.
• We participate annually in the Government Economic Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme (GESDAP) and actively advertise this opportunity across the department to encourage uptake.
• We continue to offer a wide variety of apprenticeships in areas such as finance, management, and data science, ensuring a broad range of opportunities for staff to develop their skills and progress their careers.
• Subject to a new approach to Apprenticeships which we anticipate from Skills England, we plan to review our current offering to focus on how we use a range of Apprenticeships to attract candidates and develop the skills of the future.

Through these measures, the department remains committed to supporting staff development and increasing apprenticeship opportunities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity.

A new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions has been supporting Cabinet Office with the development of this new scheme, sharing learning from our own school leaver Social Mobility Apprenticeship pilot, which has run successfully for the last two years, with our first cohort of school leavers all securing permanent employment within the Department.

In addition, in the Department for Work and Pensions we are developing an internal apprenticeship strategy, which will utilise the flexibility provided by the new Growth and Skills Levy to develop skills and support the future needs of the Department. Expansion of opportunities to recruit new apprentices are being explored, including continued use of our Social Mobility Apprenticeship schemes and direct recruitment of apprentices into entry level roles. We have recently run a campaign for 50 new Level 3 apprentices in Counter Fraud and Compliance, with a further 40 roles due to go live next month.

We are committed to Getting Britain Working, driving growth through employment. Our plan includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who have commenced phased delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper from May 2025. The Department is committed to offering high quality apprenticeships for all and working with professions to identify opportunities to fulfil business needs.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

Apprenticeships are available to new and existing Wales Office staff and my Department promotes these opportunities through Ministry of Justice (MoJ) intranet bulletins and Wales Office staff newsletters. When vacancies arise, the Department also considers if posts may be advertised as apprenticeships.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across the civil service to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes initiatives like supporting the Government’s commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, there is a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), which will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of school buildings in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

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

The department supports local authorities, academy trusts, and voluntary-aided school bodies responsible for the school estate by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

We have increased funding to improve the condition of the estate to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion last year. Allocations are published on GOV.UK and are partly informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate collected by the department, reflecting the relative need of schools. This is in addition to our continued investment in the school rebuilding programme, including five schools in Lincolnshire, of which two are in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency.

From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This data is providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding policy and programmes. Information on the condition of schools, as assessed by Condition Data Collection 1, can be found here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/files.

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 glaucoma monitoring services are available to patients in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the important role eye care services play in maintaining good eye health. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services in their areas to meet patient needs. This will include glaucoma services.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all Government Departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the 'Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship' (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

Moreover, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are working on aligning our apprenticeship approach with our capability framework. For example, we are exploring new apprenticeship opportunities to scale our approach and build internal capability on Data and AI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

In DSIT, we are also taking active steps to increase apprenticeship starts through our Apprenticeship Blueprint, which focuses on four key areas: digital, cyber security, line manager capability, and science & engineering. The department is also expanding its offer to include skills in policy, systems thinking, and profession-specific apprenticeship programmes.

DSIT will also be embedding apprenticeships into recruitment processes, giving managers the option to fill vacancies with apprentices.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are on the SEND waiting list in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not hold information on the number of children waiting to be assessed for an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The department collects information from local authorities on the number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments carried out, and the number of EHC plans issued within the statutory 20 week timeframe. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to reduce fraudulent claims for student loans.

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

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has asked the Public Sector Fraud Authority to coordinate action against the threat of the student funding system being exploited. The department will act on its findings and take quick decisions on whether we need to make more fundamental changes to the system.

There is a programme of investigations underway between the department and the Office for Students. Where investigations find abuse of the student finance system there will be serious consequences. The department will always take steps to recover student funding that has been paid in respect of students who have, for example, not been attending their courses. Depending on the precise circumstances, recovery will be pursued either from the institution or the student.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) is responsible for processing student funding loan applications and delivering student funding in line with student support regulations.

The SLC continues to monitor student funding applications for suspicious activity and will investigate where there are any concerns around individual applications or a collection of funding applications. Where fraudulent claims are identified, the SLC follows its published sanctions model which can result in individuals being ‘unfitted’ for support, and/or report to Cifas, a fraud prevention service in the United Kingdom.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

In addition, in DBT we are also committed to providing all employees with varied opportunities for learning and development, apprenticeships are a core part of this offer. As of End Quarter 4 2024/2025 3.8% of DBT’s domestic workforce were on an apprenticeship. We are taking active steps to continue to build on this by offering all new Executive Officer (EO) vacancies as apprenticeships, encouraging those at the start of their careers to consider an apprenticeship route as default. DBT are committed to support the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) Programme. As the Department for Business and Trade we understand the importance of skills to drive growth and of providing good quality roles which support fulfilling and long-term careers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total value of contracts awarded to Clearsprings Ready Homes in relation to housing asylum seekers since 2019.

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

The Contract Values for the AASC contracts, awarded by the previous government, to Clearsprings Ready Homes are £334,000,000 (Wales) and £662,000,000 (South).

These values and further details are available publicly on Contracts Finder:

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts Finder

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts Finder

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

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

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will shortly launch a Talent Strategy in which apprenticeships play a central role in building the delivery capability DESNZ needs to be a mission-focused department. The department has a well-established apprenticeship offer, with around 84 apprentices currently in post.

As part of the Talent Strategy, we will increase the range and number of apprenticeships we offer by:

• launching a social mobility apprenticeship programme, focused on supporting actively unemployed individuals into employment through apprenticeships

• increasing opportunities for school leavers, including participating in the new Careers Launch Apprenticeship programme
• expanding the apprenticeship offer by procuring new contracts in priority capability areas

The Department has a core apprenticeship offer available to all staff and continues to onboard apprentices through centralised programmes run by the Civil Service Apprenticeship Unit and other initiatives. DESNZ is committed to creating early career opportunities for both current and new apprentices.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish membership of the Labour Market Evidence Group ahead of its establishment.

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

The Labour Market Evidence (LME) Group will be comprised of:

• The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, who are encouraged to focus on domestic recruitment and training;

• The Department for Work and Pensions, tasked with reducing economic inactivity and increasing workforce participation;

• Skills England and equivalent organisations in the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will target training needs; and

• The Migration Advisory Committee which will guide immigration policy.

The LME Group will be set up in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Labour Market Evidence Group will be set up.

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

The Labour Market Evidence (LME) Group will be comprised of:

• The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, who are encouraged to focus on domestic recruitment and training;

• The Department for Work and Pensions, tasked with reducing economic inactivity and increasing workforce participation;

• Skills England and equivalent organisations in the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will target training needs; and

• The Migration Advisory Committee which will guide immigration policy.

The LME Group will be set up in due course.

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 the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is increasing apprenticeship starts through targeted external recruitment and we are commencing a pilot ‘social mobility program’ utilising the Cabinet Office ‘Going Forward In Employment’ apprenticeships. DCMS will also be involved with the ‘Civil Service Career Launch apprenticeship’, exploring Levy transfer options and broadening its internal apprenticeship offer in professions such as Digital.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's definition is of a graduate level job which students must acquire in order to remain in the UK after their studies.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed 10 year residence criteria for migrants will include time spent in the person's country of origin on extended leave.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an annual statement to Parliament on the progress on her plan to reduce immigration.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to cap the number of family visas annually.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed ten year residence criteria for migrants will include time spent in a third country.

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

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reforms in relation to Family visas, graduate rules, settlement criteria, and a range of other areas.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support (a) South Holland District Council and (b) South Kesteven District Council in reducing fly tipping incidents.

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

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping. These include prosecution, which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment, and powers to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. They can also issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers and £600 to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier, the income from which is kept by councils and must be spent on enforcement or cleaning up fly-tipping.

We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and we are currently taking steps to develop statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

Following the introduction of Skills England and a recent review of DfT’s Talent & Apprenticeship Strategy, we have refined our focus on providing apprenticeships within priority skills areas that are better aligned to Government Missions and the skills we are looking to grow within the department.

HR are working to provide a wider range of apprenticeships in our Department in key fields, particularly STEM, Digital, Data, and AI, where demand is highest and in using apprenticeships as a route for individuals to obtain essential learning such as HR and Finance qualifications.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the big four supermarkets on animal welfare standards on pig farms.

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

Defra regularly engages with supermarkets about a range of issues, but has not had any recent discussions on pig welfare standards.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office remains committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government’s commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

As a department, the Northern Ireland Office annually recruits a Communication Apprentice through the Government Communications Service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

In addition, in the Home Department we have recently launched a new Apprenticeship Strategy designed to accelerate progress in embedding apprenticeships across the department. This strategy is aimed at significantly expanding access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities across all areas of our workforce, with a ‘think apprenticeship first’ approach.

As part of this strategy, we have set an ambitious target: at least 5% of our staff will be undertaking an apprenticeship at any given time. This target reflects our strong commitment to developing talent, supporting career progression, and addressing skills gaps within the Department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Within the Cabinet Office, we are looking at every opportunity to increase apprenticeships. For example, last week we announced that this summer we will launch a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration. The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. In its first year, the CLA will offer roles in three city locations: Birmingham, London, and Manchester. By expanding into Birmingham and Manchester, the Civil Service is strengthening its presence in these growth areas, while still providing opportunities in London to meet workforce needs and priorities.

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 diagnosis time for young people with cancer in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, including children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England, including Lincolnshire.

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 improve stroke care in Lincolnshire.

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

The Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is participating in a national improvement initiative called Clinically-Led workforcE and Activity Redesign (CLEAR), which focuses on using quality improvement methods to enhance all aspects of stroke care. CLEAR is a nationally funded project supported by regional and national stroke teams, as well as the regional Medical Director. Additional backing comes from the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. The initiative is examining stroke staffing models and care pathways throughout the entire patient journey. Its goal is to improve stroke services in Lincolnshire and to develop a toolkit and clinical model that can be adopted across the country. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2025.

Lincolnshire is also actively addressing the key risk factors for stroke, with a strong focus on early detection and targeted intervention. The region is performing above both regional and national averages in identifying hypertension, the leading risk factor for stroke, and is recognised as an exemplar in this area. This success is driven by strong clinical engagement, the promotion of best practices, collaboration with Public Health England on the Know Your Numbers campaign, and more recently, participation in the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme, which aims to reduce health inequalities in detection and treatment. A similar proactive approach is being applied to cholesterol management. In the past year, two outreach nurses have been introduced dedicated to treating patients at the highest risk due to elevated lipid levels.

Recent Quality and Outcomes Framework data for 2023/24 highlights Lincolnshire’s strong performance in atrial fibrillation (AF) detection and management. With a prevalence rate of 2.9%, Lincolnshire ranks sixth out of 42 ICBs, well above the national average of 2.18%. This reflects significant efforts in identifying and diagnosing AF, which is an essential step in enabling timely treatment and effective management. In terms of treatment, 91.99% of clinically indicated patients in Lincolnshire received appropriate care, compared to the national average of 89.76%, placing the region fourth among all ICBs. These achievements have been made despite a significant prevalence, meaning a high number of patients need to be followed up with a review each year.

For patients who have suffered a stroke, there is the offer of a comprehensive range of rehabilitation services to support recovery and long-term care. The stroke unit at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust provides a community-based neuro-rehabilitation outreach team, delivering specialist, interdisciplinary assessments for adults with long-term neurological conditions or complex rehabilitation needs following major trauma. In addition, the NHS Lincolnshire ICB commissions a dedicated community stroke service, offering post-stroke support including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy. These services are continuously reviewed and developed to ensure they meet the evolving needs of patients.

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 apprenticeship starts in his Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all Government departments, to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030, to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, via the Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers across various departments, starting from January 2026.

In addition, in the Department we are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeship starts by working closely with our professions, promoting insight sessions, and sharing testimonials from current apprentices to highlight how apprenticeships support staff development. This promotes the value of apprenticeships, and how they support personal development and capability, to encourage uptake across the Department.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits have Ministers in his Department made to farms in Lincolnshire since the announcement of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief on 30 October 2024.

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

Defra ministers regularly visit farms in a range of counties and meet with farmers and the wider industry nearly every week.

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 increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

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

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.”

Since 2023, the Ministry of Housing, Community, and Local Government has increased the proportion of its staff on apprenticeships from 2% to 5.1%. We are currently exploring how additional entry level programmes in digital, data and AI, including the TechTrack Level 4 Business Analyst apprenticeship, can be used to build the department’s capability in this vital area.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025, whether her Department plans to amend its policy on the use of women only spaces in its buildings by transgender women.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Providers should note and follow the ruling.

It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need, but in keeping with the ruling.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is developing its updated statutory Code of Practice to support service providers. Ministers will consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it following further work in light of this ruling.

The Government is considering the implications of the Court’s judgment, including what this means for Government buildings.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed 10-year pathway to settlement on people nearing their five-year eligibility.

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

We will reform our settlement and citizenship rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years. Individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement and citizenship based on contributions to the UK economy and society.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at the time.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed 10-year pathway to settlement will apply retrospectively to migrants already legally residing in the UK.

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

We will reform our settlement and citizenship rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years. Individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement and citizenship based on contributions to the UK economy and society.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at the time.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which scientific methods will be used to strengthen the age verification process of asylum applicants.

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

The Government is committed to strengthening the age assessment process and continues to review all options for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the age assessment system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that people on (a) family and (b) student visas do not claim asylum when there has not been a material change in circumstances in their country of origin.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the announcements made in this area in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May 2025, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which countries her Department has had discussions with on temporarily taking failed asylum seekers from the UK.

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

We do not provide a running commentary on discussions with our overseas partners.

Christian persecution in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: 2025 Annex: Public Bill Committee The Committee consisted of the following Members: Sir John Hayes

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor Valerie Vaz Maya Ellis Mary Glindon David Baines Sir John Hayes

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Alex Sobel Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor Valerie Vaz Maya Ellis Mary Glindon David Baines Sir John Hayes

Found: Harriett Baldwin Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor Valerie Vaz Maya Ellis Mary Glindon David Baines Sir John Hayes

Found: Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor Valerie Vaz Maya Ellis Mary Glindon David Baines Sir John Hayes

Found: Harriett Baldwin Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Danny Kruger Mark Garnier Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Carolyn Harris Dame Harriett Baldwin Afzal Khan Rosie Duffield Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir John Hayes

Found: Chairs: Sir John Hayes and Valerie Vaz Clerks: Kevin Maddison and Aaron Kulakiewicz 14 May 2025