Written questions by Hayes.

What assessment has she made of the potential implications for her policies of the availability of crossbows through online purchases.

The Government is actively considering the introduction of further controls around crossbows. This follows a call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds, which ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024, and tested ideas for whether there should be some form of licensing regime that would provide further controls on the use, ownership and supply of crossbows including whether sellers should be licensed in some way. We will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence shortly, which will include what action we intend to take.Crossbows are age restricted items and it is an offence, under the Crossbows Act 1987, for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow or parts of a crossbow. The Government is taking action to strengthen the law on age verification for the online sale and delivery of crossbows through measures currently in the Crime and Policing Bill.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase spending on research and development in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

DSIT will invest a record £58.5 billion in R&D from 2026/27 to 2029/30, part of the £86 billion announced by the Chancellor—the largest government R&D investment ever.UKRI investment in Lincolnshire increased by 43% between 2022/23 and 2023/24. Investment in the East Midlands also rose by 19%, reaching £596 million.Lincolnshire and the East Midlands can bid for up to £20 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, to grow their high-potential innovation clusters. The fund empowers partnerships across the UK to target local R&D investment and aims to generate at least £1 billion of private co-investment across the programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to encourage public bodies to prioritise the purchase of produce from (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

This Government has set a clear ambition for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards within legal constraints. The Government is undertaking work to ensure we can deliver on this ambition, including to improve our understanding of what food the public sector currently buys and where it comes from. The Government has already published a new national procurement policy statement which sets expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to higher environmental standards. The Government believes that high-quality British producers, including those based in South Holland and the Deepings constituency and Lincolnshire, will be well-placed to meet these standards.

How many and what proportion of immigrants detained following their arrival in the UK by small boats have been searched for drugs in each of the past five years.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to questions 71052, 71053 and 71054 on 4th September.

If she will make it her policy to reduce rail fares after taking franchises into public ownership.

Decisions on fare changes are taken annually and agreed across government. We will always seek to strike a fair balance between passengers and taxpayers as we seek to return the railway to financial sustainability. In November, the Secretary of State confirmed that regulated rail fares will be frozen for one year from March 2026, saving passengers money as we rebuild a railway that Britain can rely on and be proud of. Looking forward, we are moving away from the outdated, privatisation-era view of rail fares. Instead, GBR will have commercial flexibility to manage its fares revenue in a more agile and efficient manner, allowing it to create a national fares policy which makes more sense to passengers – so that they can more easily understand what fare they should be paying and why. The Secretary of State will retain a role, in order to influence and manage the overall level of fares, balancing the interests of passengers and taxpayers.

What steps he is taking to ensure that people in Lincolnshire can access competitive fuel prices through the Fuel Finder scheme.

The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025 were debated in the House of Commons on 4 November 2025 and the House of Lords on 4 December 2025. The Regulations should be in place from 18 December 2025. Once launched, our analysis suggests that households who own a car could save an average of around £40 a year.

How many new cars were registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

e do not readily hold new vehicle registration figures at the requested geographic levels. Information on licensed vehicles broken down by Upper and lower tier local authorities and lower super output areas (LSOA) are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tables

What data her Department holds on the number of electric vehicles registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

At the end of June 2025, the number of licensed vehicles that were battery electric was 10,789 in Lincolnshire. We do not readily hold the respective figure for South Holland and the Deepings constituency. It is important to note, vehicles are allocated to geographic location according to the postcode of the registered keeper. The address does not necessarily reflect where the vehicle is located. This is especially true for large fleets kept by companies involved with vehicle management, leasing or rentals.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce energy bills for (a) households and (b) businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The affordability crisis is the biggest issue facing this country. That is why the Autumn Budget acted to take £150 of costs off people’s energy bills. This support comes on top of the £150 off energy bills provided for around 6 million families under the Warm Home Discount this winter, cutting fuel poverty. We’re also driving forward with home upgrades, with £1.5 billion increased capital in this Budget for our Warm Homes Plan. This Government is tackling energy costs at every avenue, to drive growth. This builds on our Modern Industrial Strategy, which is slashing industrial energy bills by up to £420million for electricity-intensive businesses and will cut costs for 7,000 more businesses in 2027. We are repairing a broken energy system. Funding more of the investment we need from public spending is the right and progressive thing to do and takes pressure off bills.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce water bills for (a) households and (b) businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Bill payers are understandably concerned that bills have risen. For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Over the next four years, water companies will deliver substantial and enduring improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector. This investment will accelerate improvements in infrastructure to meet these challenges, secure our water supply, and to meet new environmental requirements. We are working to ensure that both business and household consumers can reduce their bills through decreasing their usage, including by pursuing a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label, smart meter rollout acceleration and a review of water efficiency standards in the Building Regulations. All companies have measures in place for customers struggling to pay for water and wastewater services, and the Government expects industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure customers across the country are supported. It is important that support is targeted at the most vulnerable. We have therefore acted decisively by consulting on reforms to WaterSure, which caps bills for low-income households in England with higher essential water use due to a medical condition or a large family. The Government also doubled compensation payments paid to consumers for service failures through the Guaranteed Standards Scheme.

How many asylum claims (a) approved and (b) rejected since July 2024 involved interviews over video calls.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

How many asylum claims (a) approved and (b) rejected since July 2024 involved face-to-face interviews.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders to improve tennis facilities in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis, along with representatives from other other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association which will receive up to £14.5 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

If she will publish the nationalities of people detained for removal caught working illegally as delivery drivers.

The Home Office takes the issue of illegal working seriously and continues to take robust enforcement action against those who breach immigration laws.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

What steps she is taking to prevent immigration rules abuse where people on tourist visas claim asylum.

All visitors must be able to demonstrate that they are genuine and will leave the UK at the end of their visit. The Visitor route is not intended to facilitate individuals travelling to the UK with the intention of claiming asylum. Visitor visa applications are rigorously assessed against the Immigration Rules. We are committed to further strengthening the integrity of visa decision making by continuing to apply greater scrutiny to those where there is evidence to demonstrate a greater risk of an asylum claim once in the UK — ensuring that visas are only issued to genuine visitors. This government has also taken decisive action to address instances of individuals using visa-free travel to reach the UK and claim asylum. As a result, we have introduced visa requirements for Jordan, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Botswana. Where we have data available (the requirement for Botswana was only introduced on 14 October 2025) this action has been extremely effective: asylum seekers from Jordan, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago have fallen by 93% and asylum seekers at port have fallen by 99% from their peak prior to the introduction of a visa requirement compared to Q3 2025. Where countries are not cooperating on the return of their nationals who have no right to be in the UK, including failed asylum seekers, we will not hesitate to use the visa system (particularly visit visas) to bring about better cooperation. As announced on 17 November, we have told Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Namibia that if they do not comply with international rules and norms, we will impose visa penalties on them.Unless other countries heed this lesson, further sanctions will follow. Any asylum claim that is then subsequently lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, is given full and careful consideration. Our approach is to promptly consider asylum claims, with a rapid appeals process, so that claims from genuine asylum seekers can be accepted, and those that are not, can be rejected. The Government’s recently published Asylum Policy Statement sets out significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and illegal migration system. The Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the system.

How many and what proportion of cameras used in facial recognition technology are made in the UK.

The information requested is not held by the Home Office. Decisions on the procurement of cameras used in facial recognition technology are for individual police forces and other relevant authorities. Procurement decisions by police forces must comply with UK procurement law, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and relevant Cabinet Office guidance on supply chain risk. They are also expected to follow the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. In addition, forces have been advised to consider supply chain security and have received guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Cabinet Office on the use of Chinese-manufactured surveillance equipment.

If he will publish all document titles from the Merlin database that have been declassified by the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

All document titles from the Merlin database that have been declassified will be published. Over 4,700 records from the Merlin database are currently listed and accessible on The National Archives (TNA) website. Records are being regularly transferred from AWE to TNA who will make them available at the earliest opportunity. Guidance on accessing these records can be found at: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/records-of-veterans-of-nuclear-testing-the-contents-of-the-merlin-database/

Innovation and Technology, how many firms have been fined for not complying with age verification rules in the Online Safety Act 2023.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.On 4 December, Ofcom announced its largest online safety fine to date, a penalty of £1 million issued to a pornography provider for failing to have robust age verification checks in place. Further details on enforcement action are available on Ofcom’s website.

How many schools in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire are able to offer swimming lessons to pupils.

It is a requirement of the PE national curriculum that schools must provide swimming and water safety lessons to pupils in either key stage 1 or 2. Whilst academies are not required to follow the national curriculum, they must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The department is processing information gathered on swimming and water safety through the Digital Expenditure Reporting Return and will publish a summary of quality assured data in the new year.

How many people resident in the UK are recorded on the National DNA Database.

As of 30 September 2025, a total of 7,490,730 subject samples were retained on the National DNA Database. It is estimated that these samples correspond to 6,210,328 individuals.The Home Office is unable to confirm how many of these records pertain specifically to individual’s resident in the United Kingdom as the National DNA Database does not hold address details.