Written questions by Hayes.

What recent steps his department has taken to support the long term resilience of pubs in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to support access to Post Offices in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria, including a requirement for Post Office to maintain a network where at least 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office branch.To support delivery of these criteria, the Government provides funding to the Post Office through the Network Subsidy. Over the next three financial years (2026/27 to 2028/29), the Government will provide up to £180 million to help protect access to vital Post Office services and sustain the national network.

If he will publish a list of training programmes used by civil servants in his Department since 2020.

Over this period, the majority of the training has been delivered via the Government Campus’ Learning Framework. The listed training includes e-learning, in-person training, live virtual training, and structured programmes involving various sessions. Some sessions have been run on a closed basis, just for DIT/DBT staff and others have involved an individual member of staff going taking a place on a cross-government course.The attached document sets out a list of the training programmes undertaken via the framework in this period for DBT staff and for staff in DIT prior to the formal creation of DBT in Feb 2023. We do not have access to pre-DBT data from the former BEIS.If an application is made to Government Campus and they agree that the specific learning need cannot be met via the Learning Framework, alternative training can be procured, subject to commercial rules. There is no central record of what training has been undertaken by DBT civil servants under this provision as a significant amount of learning is organised and funded at the level of individual teams.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regional distribution of energy cost support for businesses in Lincolnshire.

The Department for Business and Trade manages two energy cost support schemes, the British Industry Supercharger and the Energy-Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme, to support eligible energy-intensive industries with the indirect costs of emissions levies and electricity policy and network costs. These schemes provide support to around 550 businesses across the whole of Great Britain, including some of the most electricity and trade-intensive businesses in Lincolnshire.From April 2027 the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is expected to support over 10,000 additional manufacturing businesses across the whole of Great Britain with an additional payment in 2027 to cover the 2026/27 period.

Whether their Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the past 12 months.

DBT has used and continues to use artificial intelligence tools like Copilot and DBT Assist to support colleagues in their work, for example to help produce initial drafts, summaries, or research. The Department’s policy states that ‘human review/approval of AI tool output is mandatory’ and that ‘individuals are accountable for ensuing the accuracy of work where AI tools have been used’.

How many reports of suspected price gouging for the price of heating oil have been made to the Competition and Markets Authority since 28 February 2026.

The Government does not hold figures on individual reports made to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). However, the CMA has recently announced that it has stepped up monitoring of fuel markets across the UK in response to the economic impacts of the conflict in Iran. Where the CMA identifies concerning behaviour, it has committed to reporting on this publicly and taking further action as appropriate. The Chancellor and I met with regulators including the CMA on 26 March and confirmed that we will not hesitate to empower regulators if necessary to tackle exploitation of the Iran conflict.

Whether his Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

The Department has not paid for followers on the social media platforms it uses.

How much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

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.

What steps he is taking to promote the manufacturing sector in (1) Lincolnshire and (2) the East Midlands.

The Government is committed to supporting manufacturing in Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands. We are backing the sector through targeted investment, skills programmes and support for innovation. The East Midlands Freeport – England’s only inland freeport – is creating new manufacturing opportunities, attracting investment and generating high‑skilled jobs. Through the Local Growth Fund, we are helping local authorities and businesses strengthen supply chains and adopt new technologies. Manufacturers across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands also benefit from wider UK measures, outlined in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.The sector plan sets out how the Industrial Strategy will be delivered for the sector by reforming the business environment to build resilience, removing supply side barriers, developing a digitally literate and highly skilled workforce through the Upskilling and Reskilling programme, and unlocking the economic potential of advanced manufacturing clusters.

Whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.The Department for Business and Trade does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission.

How many staff within his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

What steps his Department is taking to help support (a) start-ups and (b) scale-ups in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

Through the Industrial Strategy, Small Business Plan and Budget 2025, the government is backing scale-ups to scale and stay in the UK.The Department for Business and Trade has integrated its support for businesses in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service. UK businesses, including those in Lincolnshire, can access our wide range of support via business.gov.uk. We're engaging more closely with founders and scaling firms, providing support to unblock barriers and help scale-ups realise their full potential.We are also supporting the Greater Lincolnshire Growth Hub to provide support to businesses, including start-ups and scale-ups.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve access to export support services for SMEs in Lincolnshire.

The Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub is part of the Business Growth Service, which helps UK businesses access export support including the Business Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and support from International Trade Advisers. The Department continues to engage with the Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Strategic Authority on the development of its Local Growth Plan. This will set out a ten-year plan to grow the region’s economy, including identifying growth driving sectors and investment and trade strengths and opportunities.

What recent steps his Department has taken to help support independent high street businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

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.

How many trading standards inspections of high street shops took place in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each of the last three years.

The department does not hold this information.Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales operate independently from central government. Local authorities are responsible for determining their enforcement activity across a wide range of enforcement responsibilities in accordance with the needs of the local electorate and local resourcing priorities.

How many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025Consultants are not civil servants and therefore, the response is nil.

How many full time equivalent staff in his Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

How much the Insolvency Service has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

In the last 5 years the Insolvency Service has committed the following expenditure to translation and interpretation services:Financial yearSpend (£)20/211,66521/222,94022/239,43923/246,81124/259,731

How much Companies House has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

Since the 2020/2021 financial year, Companies House spent the following amounts on external translation and interpretation services: 2025/262024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21£18,896£8,925£0£0£0£13,924

How much the Competition and Markets Authority has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

The total spend by the CMA on translation and interpretation services for the past five financial years is as follows:Financial Year Net Total Spend by Invoice Payment Date per Financial Year (£s)2020/2110,860.582021/228,677.072022/2310,085.182023/2419,012.282024/2513,218.41Total61,853.52