Written questions by Hayes.

Innovation and Technology, how much his Department has spent on equipment to enable civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

It is not possible to answer this question without incurring a disproportionate cost to accurately refine contract spend for equipment to enable civil servants to work from home by departmental cost centre.The Department has a 40-60% minimum office attendance policy.

How much her Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

HMT only has the ability to track and report the following totals for each of the last 3 financial years on WFH IT kits (screens, headsets, keyboard and mouse); (i) 2024/25 - £ 218,486(ii) 2023/24 - £ 87,024(iii) 2022/23 - £ 36,222 The 24/25 WFH kits shown above were a value for money expenditure where kits were bought in bulk to reduce expenditure in future years. No further purchases have been made in the current financial year.

How much her Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

Obtaining this data would require manually reviewing and reclassifying purchases made across multiple systems and procurement channels. Given the broad range of equipment types and purposes — particularly across a large and complex estate such as the Ministry of Justice — this process would be highly resource-intensive and result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

DCMS has spent the below on the provision of equipment for use at home relating to a workplace adjustment in the last 3 years:22/23: £023/24: £2,490.4624/25: £882.37

Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

As was the case under the last government, the intended use of equipment purchased by civil servants is not recorded at the point of a purchase requisition being raised. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, although the new Government is looking for ways to tighten up any potential waste in this area. Although that will of course not be sufficient in the long-term, it is still treats public money with more respect than previous Conservative administrations did. Additionally, since the change of Government, Defra has agreed that a 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.

How much his Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

DBT’s default approach is Hybrid Working. This combines the benefits of face-to-face working with the flexibility of working from home or another location. Contractual homeworking is a type of flexible working arrangement where an employee and the department agree to change the employee’s designated place of work to their home address. The Civil Service position on contractual home working agreements is that these are not routinely approved other than for a very small number of relevant roles, or where a workplace adjustment is agreed in respect of a disability under the Equality Act or occasionally as a redundancy mitigation. Civil servants are expected to spend at least 60 per cent of their time in the office or on official business, which can include conducting site visits or meeting stakeholders.DBT is required by The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 to ensure that workstation users, including those who work from home, perform a suitable and sufficient analysis of their workstation. Before purchasing equipment, users must complete mandatory health and safety training, a homeworking checklist, a Display Screen Equipment self-assessment, and obtain line manager approval.DBT has spent a total of £318,148 from April 2022 to March 2025.

How much his Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service, as was the case under the previous administration.

How much her Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

The department does not hold a complete central record of all spending on equipment to support home working. Information is only centrally recorded where the individual costs exceed £500.The department spent the following over the last three years on equipment which exceeded £500:Financial year Total spend on equipment exceeding £5002022/23£28,103.732023/24£53,675.592024/25£46,576To obtain comprehensive data which included spend on equipment below £500 for each of the last three years, it would be necessary to contact individual teams across the department, which would not be possible within the timeframe for responding to a Written Parliamentary Question, and would incur a disproportionate cost.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions on the defence industry.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Neil Hudson) to Question 38688 on 20 March 2025.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of how many and what proportion of solar panels installed in the UK in the last five years were made (a) in the UK and (b) in China.

The Department does not hold this information. HMRC publishes the value and mass of solar panels imported, by country, on its data portal at www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that employers provide the support disabled people need to stay in work in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.

We are delivering the biggest investment in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in at least a generation. We announced in the recent Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work. As announced in the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statement on Welfare Reform, on 30 June, we are investing an additional £300m over the next 3 years. This means, our ‘Pathways to Work Guarantee’ is now backed by an investment of £2.2 billion by 2030. This brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024, will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In recognition of the key role employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie will deliver his final report in the autumn. Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.In Lincolnshire, our Jobcentre Employer and Partnership Teams work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally. An example of this includes working closely with South and East Lincolnshire Council on the commissioning of skills and employment support programmes using Shared Prosperity Funding.

What estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of providing free prescriptions for people with cystic fibrosis.

No estimate has been made on the cost of providing free prescriptions for people with cystic fibrosis.Almost 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in England and there are arrangements in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension. Those with cystic fibrosis or another long-term condition may therefore meet the eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and be in receipt of free prescriptions.To support those who do not qualify for an exemption of prescription charges, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

What steps he is taking to support neuro diverse children in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including support services for neurodiverse children.NHS England has established an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce, bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected later in summer 2025.The Government is also supporting inclusive environments and earlier intervention for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through the ‘Early Language Support for Every Child’ and ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools’ programmes. The Government will invest in support for pupils with SEND more widely, enabling transformation of the SEND system to make mainstream schools more inclusive and improve outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure the enforcement of laws prohibiting piglet thumping on pig farms.

There are strict rules to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing. Due to serious concerns about the welfare consequences of a manual percussive blow to the head, piglet thumping is not a permitted method for stunning or killing piglets. Potential breaches of animal health and welfare legislation, such as the use of manual blunt force trauma on piglets, are taken very seriously. Any allegations of poor animal welfare are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and appropriate action is taken. The local authority, as the appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.

How many non-crime hate incidents have been investigated by police forces in England and Wales in each of the last two years.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 18 February 2025 to his Question UIN 30042.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of homes in Lincolnshire that are below EPC band C.

The information requested is not held by the Department.

How many and what proportion of patients at (a) Pilgrim Hospital Boston and (b) Peterborough City Hospital were discharged to social care in each of the last three years.

NHS England publishes data on the number of patients discharged by discharge pathway, at a trust level, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays/acute-discharge-situation-report/Pathway 1 is discharges home or to a usual place of residence with new or additional health and/or social care needs. Pathway 3 is discharges to a new residential or nursing home setting, for people who are considered likely to need long-term residential or nursing home care.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of banking hubs in Lincolnshire.

We understand the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets and are committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority.Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 170 hubs have already been opened and around 60 more have been recommended.The location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK – the industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments. I will ask the Post Office to share the honourable member's interest. The honourable member may also wish to engage directly with LINK to discuss Lincolnshire’s access to cash needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the size of the hedgehog population in each of the last ten years.

As hedgehogs are widespread but scarce, there are practical challenges in estimating their number nationally. In the last 10 years, only one estimate, updated in 2024, has been made which indicated a population size estimate of 597,000 hedgehogs in England. However, confidence in the accuracy of this estimate is low. Natural England is supporting the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, in partnership with the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, to provide a more robust national estimate of Britain’s hedgehog population. The pilot is due to be completed in May 2026.

What steps is she taking to help reduce the number of GPS thefts from tractors on farms.

This Government is committed to tackling rural crime, safeguarding rural areas through stronger measures to prevent equipment theft and strengthened neighbourhood policing. We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting. We hope to introduce the necessary secondary legislation later this year. This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit, a national policing unit which help forces tackle rural crime priorities and is a great example of farmers and police working together at national and local level including tackling equipment theft. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and where it has not been reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.