Written questions by Hayes.

What criteria will be used to determine how the new growth and skills levy may be spent; and whether a criteria will be published.

This government’s first mission is to kickstart economic growth. We know that skills gaps are holding back business growth and that we need to support employers to invest in skills training. Our new levy-funded growth and skills offer will introduce greater flexibility to employers and learners in England, creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries, aligned with the government’s industrial strategy.The new training offer will include shorter duration apprenticeships. From August 2025, subject to the legislative timetable, the minimum duration of an apprenticeship will be reduced to eight months. This change means apprentices will be able to achieve occupational competence more quickly, where appropriate.The department will also introduce foundation apprenticeships for young people, a work-based offer providing high-quality progression pathways into further work-based training and employment, including occupationally specific apprenticeships.In response to feedback from employers and learners, the department has already introduced flexibilities for employers to the English and mathematics requirements for adult apprentices.These are the first steps in expanding the apprenticeships offer into a wider levy-funded growth and skills offer that works better for employers, individuals and the wider economy. The government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps across all sectors and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs. This will include advising on priorities for the new growth and skills offer.

Whether the Industrial Strategy Council has met.

The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council was launched on 17 December 2024 with their first official meeting. They met in person for a second time on 13 February. In addition the Council has held virtual check in meetings and a number of workstream meetings in smaller groups.

What criteria he used to appoint members of the Industrial Strategy Council.

Appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council were made through direct ministerial appointment by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Council’s membership includes a diverse group of the UK’s top business leaders, policy experts and trade union leaders. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity and the Council will help to ensure our Industrial Strategy is informed by a broad and high-quality evidence base, and a diverse range of perspectives.

What steps she is taking to prevent blank guns being converted to weapons which can fire live rounds.

The Government keeps firearms legislation under close review to ensure that the law responds to threats to public safety posed by firearms including converted blank firing firearms.Blank firing guns are, generally speaking, regarded as imitation firearms under firearms legislation. They are categorised by how the discharge, or vent, fumes or gases when fired: either at the top of the gun known as Top Venting Blank Firers, or from the front of the gun known as Forward Venting Blank Firers. In particular, realistic imitation firearms are subject to controls under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, while readily convertible imitation firearms, which are those blank firing firearms that can be converted to fire live ammunition without any special skill and using tools or equipment that are generally available are, by virtue of the Firearms Act 1982, controlled under the Firearms Act 1968.In response to concern about specific types of Top Venting blank firing firearms being converted into lethal firearms and used in crime, the Government has worked closely with the National Crime Agency and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead on illegal firearms, and it has taken action against specific types of Top Venting blank firing firearms. Following testing in 2024, these blank firing firearms had been found to be readily convertible and therefore contrary to firearms legislation. The specific features of these blank firing firearms also means they fall within the prohibited categories of firearms provided for by section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. An amnesty was organised by the NPCC lead in which anyone in possession of the specific types of Top Venting blank firing firearms was able to hand them into a local police station. The amnesty started on 3 February 2025 and ran for four weeks.

Whether her Department has banned the use of DeepSeek.

The Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT, and by our staff. We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies. The AI Playbook for the UK Government outlines that only corporately assured Generative AI tools should be used to process HMG information. Everyone who works in government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting protected geographical status for Lincolnshire sausages.

This would require an application and would be subject to the normal process.

What her planned timetable is for establishing Skills England on a statutory basis.

Skills England is already operational in shadow form and the government intends for it to be established as an executive agency soon. This model of arm’s length body provides a strong fit for Skills England as it can be operationalised quickly and provides independence, while ensuring sufficient proximity to the department, so that Skills England can inform decisions on skills policy and delivery.

How many cryptoassets were seized from criminals in the last year.

The Government does not currently publish the amount of cryptocurrency restrained/recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.The Home office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on Crypto assets as part of future bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.

If she will make an estimate of the amount of money lost by people in the UK to cryptocurrency fraud since 2019.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s most recent consumer research publication provides indications of the levels of cryptoasset related fraud in the UK. This research is available online at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research-notes/cryptoasset-consumer-research-2024-wave-5.pdf. The Government take these fraud risks very seriously, and that is why it is proceeding with proposals to introduce a comprehensive UK financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to require drivers to stop and report accidents involving cats.

There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats. Although there is no obligation to report all collisions with animals on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation. Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats with their keepers.

How much was raised by fines from the clandestine entrant civil penalty scheme in the last ten years.

The table below shows the number of CECP penalties issued each year for the last 10 years, with the value of how much has been paid against those penalties.Years.32Value of penalties paids.31AValue of penalties paid20152611£2,769,153.5800.0020163029£3,326,748.3600.0020171700£2,269,684.7300.0020181584£1,891,368.3500.0020196136£7,124,350.9700.0020208002£8,524,296.9500.0020213961£6,306,986.5800.0020223618£4,835,220.4600.0020231939£3,989,365.87761£1,601,920.4020242164£2,652,440.053257£2,892,122.46

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has banned the use of DeepSeek.

The Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT, and by our staff. We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies. The AI Playbook for the UK Government outlines that only corporately assured Generative AI tools should be used to process HMG information. Everyone who works in Government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle cryptocurrency fraud.

Fraud is the most common crime in the UK and the Government takes this issue very seriously. That is why we are committed to updating and expanding the UK fraud strategy to tackle the full range of threats. We are working with law enforcement and industry to reduce fraud and better protect the public and businesses from this devastating crime. Further, the Financial Conduct Authority commenced enforcement of the cryptoassets financial promotion regime in October 2023. This requires firms to ensure that promotions for cryptoasset products and services are fair, clear and not misleading; meaning cryptoasset promotions are now held to the same standards financial services products with similar risk. The Government is also proceeding to introduce a comprehensive UK financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, and intends to bring forward legislation for this as soon as possible this year.

What steps his Department is taking to improve care pathways for young people with ADHD in Lincolnshire.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer.In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning. NHS England has also captured examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services and is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.The Lincolnshire ICB advises that it has undertaken a clinical review of its ADHD and autism pathways to address increased demand for children and young people’s (CYP) neurodevelopment assessments. The ICB further advises that implementation of a number of the review’s recommendations has resulted in significantly reduced waiting times for CYP transitioning into adult services. The Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals Group has also invested in additional sleep support capacity as part of the post diagnostic support offer, and is developing proposals for increased specialist ADHD nursing capacity to be introduced in 2026.

If she will make it her policy to ban the use of DeepSeek by her Department.

The Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT, and by our staff.We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies.The UK Government only uses corporately assured Generative AI tools to process HMG information. Everyone who works in government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.

How many people were fined under the clandestine entrant civil penalty scheme in each of the last ten years.

The table below shows the number of CECP penalties issued each year for the last 10 years, with the value of how much has been paid against those penalties.Years.32Value of penalties paids.31AValue of penalties paid20152611£2,769,153.5800.0020163029£3,326,748.3600.0020171700£2,269,684.7300.0020181584£1,891,368.3500.0020196136£7,124,350.9700.0020208002£8,524,296.9500.0020213961£6,306,986.5800.0020223618£4,835,220.4600.0020231939£3,989,365.87761£1,601,920.4020242164£2,652,440.053257£2,892,122.46

What proportion of Enterprise Investment Scheme funding was provided to companies in Lincolnshire in each of the last ten years.

% of EIS Investment2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/230.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%0.2% It is not possible to provide this information for the last 10 years as administrative data is not available.

How many businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency applied to use the Enterprise Investment Scheme in each of the last ten years.

The information cannot be provided as it could lead to a breach of taxpayer’s confidentiality.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of school uniform costs on families in Lincolnshire.

I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38113.

Whether his Department has banned the use of DeepSeek.

The Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT, and by our staff.We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies.The Government's Generative AI framework outlines that only corporately assured Generative AI tools should be used to process HMG information. Everyone who works in government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.