Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff within his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
39 civil servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in the Cabinet Office. Before they can be considered for visa sponsorship, all candidates for Cabinet Office posts must meet the Civil Service nationality rules which operate alongside UK immigration rules.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have his Department taken on internship schemes open only to those with certain protected characteristics in each of the last three years.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In each of the last 3 years Cabinet Office has placed less than 5 people on internship schemes open only to those with certain protected characteristics. The exact number has been redacted to avoid identification of individuals.
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 many staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department currently sponsors 28 individuals on a Skilled Worker visa through a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure access for pre-school children with additional needs to nursery places in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government wants every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms we announced in February will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams. The Best Start Family Hubs will begin rolling out in April 2026.
Alongside this, the department will work with local authorities, including local authority officers in Lincolnshire County Council, to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places, giving parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of funding for low-income oil heating households through the Crisis and Resilience Fund will be allocated to (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In England, £27 million of funding will be delivered via the Crisis and Resilience Fund to support low-income households reliant on oil for heating. This is in addition to £842 million a year that has already been committed through the Crisis and Resilience Fund at Spending Review 2025, which all unitary and upper tier authorities in England will receive to support vulnerable and low-income households facing financial shocks, including rising essential costs such as energy.
Lincolnshire has been allocated £1,825,511 to distribute to households the local authority considers most in need. This represents 7% of the £27 million of funding available in England. Allocations have been published on gov.uk (Crisis and Resilience fund to support low-income heating oil households).
Local authorities have flexibility to apply their own discretion when determining eligibility for their Crisis Payment schemes, including how to best target support towards households in most need of help to pay for heating oil. The amount of funding that will be spent in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency is therefore at the discretion of the local authority.
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 her Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department has not paid for followers on its social media platforms.
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 her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.
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, whether his Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has not paid for followers on the social media platforms it uses.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle online content encouraging people to pursue fraudulent benefits claims.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The unscrupulous people who actively try to promote, encourage, or assist in fraud must not be tolerated and these people must face consequences. Offences under the Fraud Act 2006 can carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. This includes offences such as making or supplying articles for use in fraud, including electronic materials where the person knows or intends that the information will be used to commit fraud – for example, the deliberate sale or distribution of fraud instruction manuals online.
We already work with partners, including Action Fraud, the City of London Police and the National Cyber Security Centre to prevent fraudulent activity online and DWP monitor social media platforms regularly. Additionally, Ofcom’s first Online Safety Codes of Practice sets out an expectation that large services at medium or high risk of fraud provide DWP with access to a dedicated channel for reporting fraud. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, social media companies now have a legal duty to remove illegal content, including fraudulent material.
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 paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The department has not paid for followers on any of the social media platforms it uses.