Written questions by Hayes.

Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients of funding from the National Citizen Service was in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire since 2010

Following Covid-19 and a strategic review, in 2023 the NCS Trust launched a new delivery model for the NCS programme. The new programme consists of residential, community and digital experiences. NCS Trust provides grant-funding to local organisations acr...

How many people have been waiting more than 12 months for (a) knee and (b) hip replacement surgery in (i) Lincolnshire and (ii) the East Midlands.

In the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, as of 25 August 2024, there were fewer than five patients waiting more than 12 months for knee replacement surgery, and six patients waiting more than 12 months for hip replacement surgery.In the East Midland...

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government is committed to improving mobile coverage across the UK. Ofcom’s most recent coverage data for the constituency of South Holland and The Deepings shows 94% 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators and that 5G is availab...

How many new mobile dental vans he plans to introduce in Lincolnshire by the end of 2024.

The Government will tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and to recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild d...

Innovation and Technology, whether Ministers in his Department met representatives of X in 2024.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of platforms, including X. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on the gov.uk website.

Whether she plans to build new prisons in England and Wales.

We are committed to delivering the remaining new prisons as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate, including through temporary accommodation, as quickly as possible, and to ensure the planning processes for new prisons are not sub...

What steps she is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in town centres.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.​We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and provide residents with a named o...

How many mental health support teams there were in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each year since 2014.

The following table shows the number of mental health support teams in South Holland and the Deepings constituency and Lincolnshire, broken down by district and the year in which they became operational, or are planned to become operational, since 2014:Di...

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

As of 03 September, there are 90 farm businesses with a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement for the South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

How many accidents were recorded on the (a) A16, (b) A17 and (c) A151 in each of the last five years.

The number of reported personal injury road collisions on the A16, A17 and A151 in the last 5 years for which data is available can be found in the table below.Reported road collisions on the A16, A17, A151, 2018 to 2022Road20182019202020212022A1514940453...

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

As of 03 September, there are 63 farm businesses with a Countryside Stewardship Agreement for the South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

How many people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency claimed pension credit in the 2023-24 financial year.

Caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via DWP Stat-xplore. At February 2024, there were 2,340 people claiming Pension Credit in South Holland and the Deepings constituency (2010 Boundries).

What steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) assess provision gaps for open access defibrillators.

The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. The Department appointed Smarter Society to oversee the administration of a £1 million grant, and receives regular reports about the implementation of the grant process, including the distribution of AEDs.We have made a further £500,000 available to fulfil existing applications to the Department’s Community AED Fund, launched in September 2023. The criteria specified for the original grant continue to apply and will go to applications for AEDs in areas where there is the greatest need. This funding will go to those applications for AEDs which are in areas of high footfall, hot spots for cardiac arrest, and in areas that already have low access to AEDs.

If he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on supporting employment opportunities for people with functional neurological disorders.

Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. We know that appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing. We want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions can work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Health and Social Care are committed to supporting disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, including functional neurological disorders (FND), and have a range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.Measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, as well as support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants. We also support the role employers play in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to be part of the workforce, including through increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme. The information service is available at the following link:https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disabilityAs part of our Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on FND state that symptoms of FND include recurrent dizziness, limb or facial weakness, numbness and tingling, difficulties with memory and concentration. Severity of symptoms also fluctuates and increases during times of stress. It is, therefore, important that employers provide appropriate adjustments for people with neurological conditions, including FND, to better support them in the workplace.The two Departments will work together to support people with long-term conditions, including FND, back into work.

Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of removing Value Added Tax for (a) wheelchairs and (b) defibrillators on access to those devices.

The Government currently provides VAT relief on equipment and appliances that have been designed solely for use by disabled people when purchased for their personal or domestic use, such as wheelchairs, as well as VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of defibrillators. For example, when a defibrillator is purchased with funds provided by a charity and then donated to an eligible body no VAT is charged. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations. Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole in the public finances left by the last government. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round.

If she will make an estimate of the number of households that will be affected by the proposed change to the eligibility criteria for winter fuel payments by (a) ethnicity and (b) socio-economic status.

An Equality Analysis was produced by the Department prior to the Government announcing targeting the Winter Fuel Payment from 2024-25 and is available here: GOV.UK. However, the requested information is not recorded on our administrative data systems and is therefore not available.

Communities and Local Government, if she will have discussions with councils on maintaining free public toilets in (a) towns and (b) villages.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 made available up to £64.7 billion, the majority of which is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, including on the important provision of public toilets whether they are operated by local councils directly or through community schemes.

How many and what proportion of the planned new teachers will be allocated to schools in Lincolnshire.

​​High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, but the government must do more to ensure it has the workforce needed to provide the best possible education for every child in all parts of the country, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.​​The department is developing its approach so that it can be clear on its target and held accountable against that target, with a focus on key subjects and in places where it is needed most. The department will share further details in due course.​​The first crucial step towards achieving this is to ensure teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession and teachers get the pay they deserve, which is why the government has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.​​The department is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year to support schools with overall costs. This matches what the department has calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award, and the support staff pay offer in the 2024/25 financial year, after accounting for the overall available headroom in schools’ existing budgets.​​Alongside teacher pay, financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply, and the department is continuing to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £28,000 and scholarships of up to £30,000 in shortage subjects. To help with retention, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing, who are in the first five years of their careers, also receive retention payments if working in disadvantaged schools. In the 2023/24 academic year, 55 schools in the Lincolnshire Local Authority area were eligible for these retention payments.​​To further help teachers stay and thrive in the profession, the department is also addressing teacher workload and wellbeing, and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. The Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools (FWAMS) Programme offers support to schools across every region in England to help implement flexible working. Schools in Lincolnshire that are interested in receiving tailored peer support can contact the Hales Valley Trust, which is the Flexible Working Ambassador for the East Midlands.​​The department has also established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. L.E.A.D Teaching School Hub and DRET Teaching School Hub are centres of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Lincolnshire. ​

What powers he has to change the leadership of the General Dental Council.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. As an independent body, the GDC is responsible for the discharge of its statutory duties and the Government is unable to direct the GDC’s administrative functions or processes.The GDC is accountable for the discharge of its statutory duties through the requirement for it to submit annual reports to the Privy Council; through scrutiny the Health and Care Select Committee may choose to undertake; and through annual performance reviews by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, who can escalate serious or intractable concerns to both Government and Parliament.The Privy Council may make orders which determine the composition of the Council and processes for the appointment of the Chair of the Council, as set out by Schedule 1 of the Dentists Act 1984.

How many orthodontists were paid more than £1 million by the NHS in each of the last five years.

Data is not held centrally on the net pensionable earnings paid by the National Health Service to an orthodontist and how many orthodontists were paid more than £1 million by the NHS. Data is published on dentists earnings and expenses, however this does not differentiate between NHS and private earnings or reference orthodontists specifically. This data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/dental-earnings-and-expenses-estimates/2022-23