Written questions by Hayes.

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

If he will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in his Department since 2017.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities his Department provides in its premises.

Within the Department’s head office, the Old Admiralty Building, London, the Government Property Agency provides 32 male toilets, 39 female toilets and 7 non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). This is in addition to 21 wheelchair accessible toilets.

What recent steps he has taken with local councils to tackle the illegal use of fireworks in Lincolnshire.

Enforcement powers exist for local authorities to take action when fireworks are unsafe, sold illegally or misused. Local authorities and the police also have powers to tackle anti-social behaviour caused by the misuse of fireworks. It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers.

What steps his Department plans to take to ensure that critical services continue to run in the event of a major internet outage.

Government has a robust set of policies in place to ensure there are well-defined and tested incident management processes in place, and to ensure continuity of essential functions in the event of system or service failure. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which will set out a clear approach for the Government and the Wider Public Sector to manage cyber security and resilience incidents.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission on (a) employment and (b) economic growth in Lincolnshire.

The Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, visited China from 10-11 September to co-chair the first UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission since 2018 and the UK-China Industrial Cooperation Dialogue. The visit delivered over £1bn of market access wins over 5 years, across multiple sectors, including the signing of a Pet Food Protocol which will support British businesses with access to the Chinese market. DBT, DEFRA, and the British Embassy in Beijing, continue to work with the Chinese authorities to expand access to the Chinese market for British business.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK's Trade Strategy 2025 on economic growth in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The UK's Trade Strategy takes a balanced approach reflecting sectors and regions. It works in tandem with the Industrial Strategy to benefit the UK’s growth-driving sectors, recognising the importance of both our high-productivity service sectors, but also our manufacturing and agricultural industries, particularly given their different regional impacts across the UK. The trade levers utilised in the Trade Strategy are cross-cutting and create the domestic and international trade frameworks that increase trade by British businesses and sectors across the economy, helping them grow. We have no analysis on the constituency level or that is specific to the Lincolnshire area.

What steps his Department is taking to support people impacted by failures in the Horizon Post Office system in Lincolnshire.

The Government continues to support those affected by the Horizon scandal. This includes launching redress schemes tailored to specific victims’ needs, such as the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals process. We have also committed to provide first offers on receipt of fully completed claims within 40 working days in 90% of cases. As of 30 September 2025, approximately £1,229 million has been paid to more than 9,100 claimants – a fivefold increase since July 2024.

What steps he has taken to ensure the continued availability of in-person post office services in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire since 5 September 2025.

The Government protects the sustainability of the Post Office network – and the rural network in particular – by providing an annual Network Subsidy. This ensures Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the Government-set access criteria. This financial year we are providing £83 million in subsidy, up from £50 million previously, and building on the uplift provided last year. The access criteria ensures that, however the network changes, 99% of the UK population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office.

What steps he is taking to support rural pubs in Lincolnshire.

The Government recognises the significant role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth, employment and community cohesion, especially in rural areas. That is why we are offering targeted support for the sector, such as the Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.In April, we launched a Taskforce to consider ways to create a more balanced premises licensing system that not only safeguards communities but also supports responsible businesses. On 7 October the Government issued a Call for Evidence on Reforming the licensing system - GOV.UK (deadline: midday, 6 November 2025). These reforms are part of the Small Business Strategy, which also tackles late payments, improves access to finance, and cuts red tape. We want planning and licensing systems to work fairly for businesses and residents.Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value and continue to work closely with the sector, including through the Hospitality Sector Council to boost productivity and resilience by working together to address the challenges facing businesses.