Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the Connect the Classroom funding will be spent on schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of our Education Estates Strategy, a 10-year plan to transform schools and colleges across England, we will provide targeted support for digital connectivity. As part of this £325 million of funding will be used for the expansion of Connect the Classroom and to support hard to reach schools to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband. New selection criteria will be announced in the summer.
Connect the Classroom is currently supporting schools on the regional improvement for standards and excellence programme, ensuring that poor connectivity isn’t a barrier to school improvement. To date, over £900,000 of Connect the Classroom funding has been spent on schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is his Department policy that (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers use the disappearing messages function on Whatsapp on Government devices.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Ministers, Special Advisers and Civil Service staff are required to follow the Non-Corporate Communication Channels (NCCC) guidance on GOV.UK when using WhatsApp or similar communications tools. This guidance explains ministers’ responsibilities for keeping an accurate official record. Paragraph 24 of this guidance states that ‘disappearing message functions have a role in limiting the build up of messages on devices. You must ensure that any such use does not impact on your recordkeeping or transparency responsibilities’.
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, if she will make it her policy to revoke pensions from police officers convicted of violent crimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
A police officer’s pension may be forfeited where an individual has been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service as a police officer, which the Secretary of State has certified as either gravely injurious to the interests of the State, or liable to lead to a serious loss of confidence.
Decisions on whether to forfeit a police officer’s pension and, if so, to what extent, are a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) of the relevant force. Whilst a PCC cannot forfeit a pension in these circumstances without a certificate from the Secretary of State, the issuance of such a certificate does not oblige them to proceed with forfeiture. Such decisions are made independently of government, and on a case-by-case basis.
It is not possible for the Secretary of State to proactively seek an application for a pension forfeiture certificate, or to issue such a certificate, without an application first being made by the relevant PCC. There are no current plans to amend these regulatory arrangements.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many public sector pensions have been forfeited due to convictions for violent crimes in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury does not administer public sector pension schemes, and does not hold this information.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is her Department's policy that (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers use the disappearing messages function on Whatsapp on Government devices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department’s policy is to follow the Cabinet Office’s published guidance on the use of non-corporate communication channels.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discissions she has had with the signatories of the Pelindaba Treaty on their future adherence to that Treaty, in the context of (a) the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius and (b) potential future UK or US military operations including the stationing or transit of nuclear weapons on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For the reasons explained at length on previous occasions, no such discussions are required or intended. We will continue to operate the base exactly as we have done before.
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 she has taken with local authorities to improve road infrastructure in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Lincolnshire County Council is the local highway authority for South Holland and The Deepings, and it sits within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). GLCCA are eligible to receive £368,646,000 in the next four years and received £73,478,000 million in highways maintenance funding in 2025/26.
The Department also introduced a new traffic light rating system for all local highway authorities in England on 11 January. All authorities are assessed annually and receive a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so use best practice. This system is designed to highlight where authorities need support, as well as to encourage continuous improvement.
Lincolnshire County Council received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing amber for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of digital exclusion in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world – helping families save money, get a better job, and access services like the NHS more easily.
But we know some people face real barriers. Data from 2024/25 shows that 8% of adults in Lincolnshire reported they do not use the internet, with the average across England also at 8%.
That’s why we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and why we’re now delivering the foundations: better connectivity, more devices reaching people who need them, and support to build skills and confidence in communities across the UK.
We also launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, including £25,872 for a community-led digital skills project in Grimsby, helping more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online.
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 help support independent high street businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our Small Business Plan sets out how government will tackle high street decline, retail crime and anti-social behaviour; update our licensing regime; and improve partnership working on the High Street.
High street business will benefit from improved access to finance, strong measures to address late payments and a range of support through the Business Growth Service. Later this year we will publish a new High Streets Strategy, expanding on our £5bn Pride in Place Programme to renew our neighbourhoods and high streets.
Spalding, South Holland, is among 75 places receiving up to £20 million annually for a decade, providing long-term planning certainty.
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 increase research and development on child brain tumours.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.
We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer.
In January 2026, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
The NIHR has also announced a new partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK), with approximately £3 million to co-fund Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence, which includes the Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence. This investment will accelerate the move from foundational research to delivering innovative treatments for patients.
In addition, the NIHR is actively engaged with CRUK alongside the health departments of the devolved administrations, through joint funding of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre network, a United Kingdom-wide consortium of specialist centres dedicated to early phase clinical trials and translational cancer research, including those for brain tumours. They have both an adult and a paediatric network.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including paediatric brain cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.