Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the food sector in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT offers extensive support for food and drink businesses in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands. Our export offer includes educational programmes via the Export Academy, advice from International Trade Advisors, and a programme of global trade shows and missions. UK Export Finance provide access to export finance, with dedicated managers in the Midlands. DBT offers support for small businesses, including the Business Support Service, Gov.uk, Growth Hubs, Help to Grow: Management scheme and financial assistance through the British Business Bank.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to reduce the time taken by doctors to issue medical certificates giving the cause of death following a death in hospital.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024, through the Death Certification Strategic Board and a cross-government data strategy group. Since the introduction of the reforms, the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by two days, from seven days to nine days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. Working with the Office for National Statistics, weekly data is now published on the time taken to register a death by region and by setting. This is supporting NHS England and the Welsh Government to offer support and challenge.
The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It is important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.
The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and about improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at centre of the process and the medical examiner office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had to wait longer than 10 days for a death certificate to be issued following the death of a family member since 2019.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Office for National Statistics publishes weekly and annual data sets on death registration which includes the median time taken to register a death.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with local authorities on improving processing times for death certificates.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Home Office Ministers have not recently discussed processing times for death certificates with local authorities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to monitor train service improvements in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department can confirm that subject to the conclusion of the wider industry timetable process, East Midlands Railway (EMR) has identified the potential for service improvements across Lincolnshire to be implemented in the forthcoming December 2025 timetable change. This includes additional services between Lincoln and Peterborough.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has held discussions with representatives of Heathrow Airport on energy infrastructure for the airport in the last three years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will conduct a review into the effectiveness of the Sentencing Council.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The proper role of the Sentencing Council, and the process for making guidelines, must be considered further and in greater depth. The Lord Chancellor has committed to reviewing the role and powers of the Council over the coming months.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were convicted of taking control over the home of another person to use it for criminal activity in each of the last five years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The taking control over the home of another person to use it for criminal activity, often referred to as ‘cuckooing’, is not currently a standalone criminal offence and therefore there is no data on the number of convictions.
However, the Government recognises the harm caused by cuckooing which is why we are introducing a new criminal offence in the Crime and Policing Bill.
This new cuckooing offence will ensure that we are taking strong action against those who prey on vulnerable people and help to ensure that victims are identified and protected from this appalling crime.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Minister in his Department is responsible for providing formal instructions to the Government Legal Department on legal requests for medical records from nuclear veterans and their representatives.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As I stated in my Answer on 12 December 2024 to Question 17507 https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-12-03/17507 I have asked Ministry of Defence officials to undertake a comprehensive exercise to better understand what information the Department holds in relation to the medical testing of Service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests.
MOD officials instruct the Government Legal Department on behalf of MOD Ministers.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to remove funding for level 6 apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Level 6 apprenticeships are a core part of the department’s apprenticeships offer and continue to be funded by government.