Written questions by Hayes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle environmental harm in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Environment Agency (EA) plays a vital role in protecting the environment by regulating businesses in the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors, and serving as the environmental regulator for water companies. Through water permitting, it balances the needs of public water supply, agriculture, industry, and the environment. The EA enforces environmental laws, prosecutes polluters, and responds to major incidents like pollution and waste fires as a Category 1 Responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. It advises on planning applications within its statutory remit, including in South Holland, South Kesteven, and Lincolnshire County Council areas, ensuring flood risk, climate change, and water quality are considered. The EA also works with Local Planning Authorities to embed environmental priorities in Local Plans. In Lincolnshire, the EA combines flood defence with biodiversity enhancement, tackling invasive species and restoring natural river processes in partnership with Wildlife Trusts, River Trusts, and landowners. In South Holland and The Deepings, the EA has led sustainable initiatives such as controlling Giant Hogweed and American mink, maintaining pollinator-friendly flood banks and hedgerows, and creating fish refuges at Crowland Washes. Sensitive operations at Cowbit Washes have also protected breeding avocets during flood recovery.

What the cost to the public purse was of the Civil Service Muslim Network in the last three years.

The Civil Service Muslim Network (CSMN) is a volunteer collaborative group of Civil Service staff. The majority of staff network time is voluntary. The CSMN network does not hold a budget, but a department can choose to provide support where there is a business case to do so. We are not aware of any such financial support. There has been no centrally funded cost to the public purse of the CSMN network in the last three years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to improve the condition of sites of special scientific interest in Lincolnshire.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) continue to be one of the most effective tools for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and deliver a wide range of health and socio-economic benefits. Natural England has an ongoing programme to assess the condition of SSSI features and implement the actions needed to restore and maintain the condition of SSSIs, such as the Bardney Limewoods SSSI in Lincolnshire. In the autumn budget we also allocated £13 million to Protected Site Strategies which will develop and implement spatial restoration plans for priority sites, such as The Wash, an internationally important coastal and marine protected site. These strategies will put in place action to restore protected sites and manage the impact of environmental harm. The Nature Restoration Fund in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also allow us to take a more strategic approach to the restoration of SSSIs and deliver improved environmental outcomes.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the number of disability-accessible houses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 40122 on 26 March 2025.

How many people have been (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for riding e-scooters on (i) public roads and (i) pavements in each of the last three years.

The data requested is not held centrally.

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

Start-up businesses can contact the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub, which supports SMEs in South Holland and the Deepings and across Greater Lincolnshire.For new entrepreneurs, the Hub offers a comprehensive array of resources and fully funded programmes dedicated to start-ups and SMEs looking to scale-up, accelerate business growth and access new markets in the UK and overseas.Backed by the British Business Bank, the Start Up Loans Company (SUL) helps new and early-stage UK businesses access affordable finance and mentoring support. SMEs can also access services such as the Business Support Service, Help to Grow: Management and the UK Export Academy.

How many hotels her Department has purchased for the temporary accommodation of asylum seekers since January 2025.

None.

How many people absconded while on bail awaiting trial in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of people sentenced for failing to surrender to bail under section 6 of the Bail Act 1976 at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

How many Young Futures Hubs she plans to create in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.To roll out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas and will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located.The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP patient-to-practice ratios in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

As of 30 April 2025, there were 4.3 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and 5.1 FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in Lincolnshire.For comparison, the median number of FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in England was 5.5 in April 2025.Each general practice is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a general practitioner should have assigned, or the ratio of general practitioners or other practice staff to patients.The demands each patient places on their general practice are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only general practitioners but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.

What steps she is taking to help disrupt county lines operations in Lincolnshire.

To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the drug gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation. That is why we are investing £42m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.Between July 2024 and March 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 1,200 deal lines closed, 2,000 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 800 deal line holders) and 2,100 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people. Over 320 children and young people also received dedicated specialist support through the County Lines Programme support service in that time.While the the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which affects all forces. That is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Lincolnshire Police.The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) also regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 25 November to 1 December 2024. During this period, law enforcement activity delivered by Lincolnshire Police resulted in 18 individual arrests, and £10,000 in cash and £33,000 worth of drugs being seized.As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we have introduced a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring children into violent crime. We are also introducing a new criminal offence of ‘coerced internal concealment’ as an amendment to the Bill, which will crack down on the dangerous practice of anyone, including gang leaders, who forces people to hide items inside their bodies to avoid detection often as part of horrendous and exploitative drugs trade.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect local biodiversity in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government is undertaking extensive work to protect and enhance biodiversity across Lincolnshire, including South Holland and the Deepings. Farmers are helping to recover nature through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements and Higher Level Stewardship agreements across the county and we are supporting Landscape Recovery Projects, including the Greater Frampton, Doddington and Boothby Wildlands schemes, to create joined-up habitats that benefit local wildlife and ecosystems. Local Planning Authorities are securing Biodiversity Net Gain in the area through development. There are two sites in Lincolnshire (one in South Holland and the Deepings) on the Natural England Biodiversity Net Gain Register, which together have committed 85ha of land to nature recovery. Private sector investment into these sites will create and enhance a mosaic of habitats including species-rich grassland, woodland, scrub and wetland.

If she will make it her policy to confiscate the assets of people found to be working illegally.

We work to prevent individuals from making financial gains as a result of their criminal activities and will seek to seize such assets where possible; to this end, section 24 of the UK Borders Act 2007 (which came into force on 1 July 2010) gives immigration officers the specific power to seize cash from offenders, bringing them into line with police officers in this respect.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect supported housing in Lincolnshire.

Local authorities are best placed to decide how their funding is spent locally. This Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The £3.4 billion, when taken together with a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept, results in an average overall real terms increase in local authority core spending power of 2.6% per year between 2025-26 and 2028-29.

What steps his Department is taking to increase to support for veterans entering civilian life in Lincolnshire.

Across the country, including within Lincolnshire, a wide range of support is currently available for Armed Forces personnel as they transition into civilian life. For support with employment, the Career Transition Partnership is the initial point of provision for those leaving military Service and Op ASCEND is the employment pathway for veterans. In England Op RESTORE and Op COURAGE provide physical and mental health specialist services. Housing support is available across the United Kingdom via Op FORTITUDE, a single referral pathway connecting veterans with support. We recently announced VALOUR, a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support, which will ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans across the country. A new regional approach, based on a network of VALOUR support centres and regional field officers, will help to ensure that services are designed to meet the needs of their local communities. Further details on VALOUR will be announced in due course and more information can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/valour-information-and-next-steps

If he will make it his policy that newly qualified dentists deliver a minimum amount of NHS work after graduating.

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. The Department consulted on an NHS tie-in for graduate dentists last year, and we are considering the responses. The Government position on this proposal will be set out in due course.

How much funding has been allocated to community safety initiatives in Lincolnshire in the last three years.

As the locally elected representative for policing in their area, it is for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to decide on the allocation of funding to community safety initiatives, based on the priorities set out in their Police and Crime Plans.Lincolnshire Police will receive up to £174.5 million in 2025-26, an increase of up to £10.3 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement. This equates to a 6.2% cash increase and 3.8% real terms increase in funding.

How many deportation orders have been issued to illegal immigrants residing in Lincolnshire in each of the last three years.

The requested information is not available from published statistics and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost. This Government pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this target has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to almost 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed. Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 4,436 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs). This is an increase of 14% compared to the 3,879 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior. Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Whether she plans to continue the Talent Catalogue beyond the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot.

The Home Office’s Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot ended on 1 November 2024. The Talent Catalogue used during the pilot was wholly owned and operated by Talent Beyond Boundaries, the non-profit organisation who were the delivery partner for the pilot.

How many driving test examiners have been hired by the DVSA in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years.

The attached Excel document shows the number of driving examiners that have left and started at driving test centres in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years.