Written questions by Hayes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect Christians from persecution in (a) Rwanda and (b) the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Protection of civilians, promotion of respect between different religious and non-religious groups, and human rights are priorities for the UK. The UK continues to work through UN bodies and other multilateral fora to promote and protect these rights. Recent attacks by IS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on Christian communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are alarming and we are deeply saddened by the loss of life. Ministers and senior officials including our Ambassador in Kinshasa regularly raise the importance of civilian protection with the Government of DRC. The UK continues to remind all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and make clear that all those who have committed human rights violations and abuses must be held accountable.

Whether his Department has banned the use of DeepSeek.

The Ministry of Defence takes security very seriously in order to protect its personnel, information, and systems. We do not comment on specific details.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. The Mobile Device Management policy mandates that any application downloaded onto Government devices must first be approved by security and technology teams. 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 estimate he has made of the potential impact of abolishing NHS England on savings to the public purse.

The abolition of NHS England is expected to bring savings that would amount to hundreds of millions of pounds a year. While there will be some upfront costs, we are confident that the reform to wipe out duplication and drive a smaller centre, based in a single organisation, will generate significant savings in the long run allowing us to divert savings to the front line.

What estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse for abolishing the Payment Systems Regulator.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Government will consult on the detail of this proposal in the summer and legislate as soon as possible. The Payment Systems Regulator is funded by fees levied on industry.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking embodied carbon into account when considering proposals to restore or replace older buildings.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 28035 on 18 February 2025.

What estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse for establishing the Fair Work Agency.

The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivering our plan to Make Work Pay, supporting employers, workers, and unions to get Britain moving forward.Establishing the Fair Work Agency will create a strong, recognisable single brand so individuals know where to go for help and lead to a more effective use of resourcesWe are committed to ensuring that the Fair Work Agency is established on a sound financial footing and operates effectively in fulfilling its mandate. We will set out details about the approach we will take to implementation and annual costs in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support (a) heritage restoration and (b) sustainable retrofitting for the stock of historic buildings.

DCMS and its arms-length bodies offer a range of grants and support to restore heritage assets.The Secretary of State announced in February £15 million of additional funding for Heritage at Risk, building on Historic England's existing Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme - providing grants for repairs and conservation to heritage buildings at risk, focusing on those sites with most need, and a new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund to enable local people to take ownership of heritage they love and bring historic buildings back into use. The National Lottery Heritage Fund also delivers project-based heritage funding. Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has distributed £8.6bn of National Lottery funds to more than 47,000 projects.Historic England has published advice online to help owners of historic buildings to streamline the installation of energy efficiency measures, and works with partners including Government to support the wider retrofit of historic buildings.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse for setting up an independent football regulator.

All relevant costs relating to the creation of the Independent Football Regulator will be recovered from clubs via a levy, ensuring that there is nil cost to the public purse.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers no longer able to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period. Following the announcement that Defra has closed SFI for the submission of new applications, outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome. Funding from the farming budget also supports the provision of advice within the sector. The Farming Advice Service can assist farmers to review what advice and guidance is available to meet their business needs.

How many British citizens gave up their citizenship in each of the last 10 years.

The Home Office publishes information on British Citizenship in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), including annual figures on granted and refused renunciations of British nationality (see Table Cit_05 of the Citizenship data tables).Information is available up to 2023. Data for 2024 is due to be published in May 2025. Details on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

How many British citizens had their citizenship revoked in each of the last 10 years.

The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status only under the circumstances set out at sections 40(2) and 40(3) of the Act. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so.Detail on the numbers of conducive deprivation orders made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, are published in the Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Eight reports have been published to date providing the number of deprivations of citizenship orders made up until the end of 2023 and can be found at the below:YearSource and link2015HM government transparency report 2015: disruptive and investigatory powers2017Disruptive and investigatory powers: HM government transparency report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)2018Disruptive and investigatory powers: transparency report 2018 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)2018/19Transparency report: disruptive 2020Disruptive powers 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)2021Counter-terrorism disruptive powers report 2021 - GOV.UK2022Counter-terrorism disruptive powers report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)2023Counter-terrorism disruptive powers report 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Section 40(3) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, allows for deprivation of citizenship where fraud, false representation or concealment of material facts have been used to obtain British citizenship. Since August 2020 these figures have been published via the Transparency report on asylum data, which can be found using the link below: Immigration and protection data: Q3 2024 - GOV.UK

How many Royal Navy service personnel (a) retired and (b) left the profession for other reasons in each of the last ten years.

The number of Royal Navy service personnel who retired and left the profession for other reasons by Calendar Years 2015 to 2019 can be found in the table below: Calendar YearEnd of EngagementAll Other Outflow201512001500201611501480201711801460201811701450201911601430202011401420202111301410202211201400202311101390202411001380

What information her Department holds on the number of British citizens who hold more than two passports.

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

How many British citizens held dual citizenship in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not hold the requested data.

What recent discussions she has had with East Midlands Railways on the feasibility of increasing the frequency of train services to and from Spalding.

East Midlands Railway’s proposed new regional timetable for December 2025 includes one additional service every weekday and four additional services every Saturday calling at Spalding.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase investment in local swimming facilities in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government recognises that sports facilities, in communities up and down the country, help to support more people to get active wherever they live. The responsibility of providing access to public swimming pools lies at Local Authority level. The Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of increasing the permitted weight of electric HGVs on the construction sector.

The Department keeps vehicle regulations, including maximum permitted weight limits, under review, to determine whether they remain appropriate during the transition towards zero emission HGVs. No assessment which focuses exclusively on vehicles used in the construction sector is planned.

What the average waiting time is for dyslexia assessments in Lincolnshire.

Data on waiting times for dyslexia assessments is not held centrally. Assessments for dyslexia in children are provided by an educational psychologist or an appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher. If a parent thinks their child may be dyslexic, as a first step they should speak to their child’s teacher or their school's special educational needs co-ordinator about their concerns. The school may be able to offer additional support to help the child if necessary. The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education on policies relating to children with Special Educational Needs and Disability.Adults who wish to be assessed for dyslexia are advised to contact a local or national dyslexia association for advice. Further information on dyslexia assessments is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/diagnosis/

How many RAF pilots have (a) retired or (b) left the profession for other reasons in each of the last ten years.

The outflow of Regular Royal Air Force Pilots by Training Indicator and Exit Reason by Calendar Years 2015 to 2019 can be found in the table below: TrainedUntrainedCalendar YearEnd of EngagementAll Other OutflowAll Other Outflow20156092~20164984~20174181~20185457~201963616 Please note the following: Outflow includes outflow to Civil Life, transfers to another Service, transfers to a Reserve population, and movements within the RAF Regular population to different branches/trades.End of Engagement for Officer includes personnel opting to leave at an option point.Figures which are 5 or fewer are represented by ‘~’ due to the risk of individuals being identified. The outflow for Calendar Years 2020 to 2024 has been withheld as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces. This withholding of data for later years reflects the continual review of information suitable for release and considers a variety of factors including the current threat and risk factors.

How many people began RAF pilot training in each of the last 10 years.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that his question engages national security considerations. I can reassure him that the RAF has a plan to recruit and retain pilots and a program is being made against this plan.