Written questions by Hayes.

For what purposes Defence Equipment and Support has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Working with the Defence Science and Technology group, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) has continued to develop approaches for using AI to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our work. DE&S has launched a number of secure services, which provide access to Large Language Models (these are AI systems capable of understanding and generating natural language by processing large amounts of text data) and has successfully employed the use of AI techniques to improve the exploitation of large, unstructured and semi-structured datasets. This has provided opportunities that were not previously viable or cost effective through traditional data processing practices. All assessments are kept under continuous review.

For what purposes the National Employment Savings Trust Corporation has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.Nest uses Signal AI to monitor media, and has taken part in Microsoft Copilot trials, investigating the role it can play in supporting efficiency and productivity.

What estimate he has made of the number of off-grid properties in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire that will receive the Warm Homes local grant.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant will deliver upgrades to low-income homes both on and off the gas grid. Local Authorities (LAs) in receipt of the Grant will choose which homes to prioritise for upgrades, based on local needs and resident interest. LAs have submitted Expressions of Interest to participate in the Grant, which included non-binding indications of the proportion of off-gas grid properties to be treated. At the time of writing, LAs have not yet been allocated funding. Until allocations have been confirmed, we cannot estimate the number of off-gas grid properties that will benefit from the scheme.

How many closure orders were issued to retail outlets in England for the selling of illegal cigarettes in the last three years.

Where a retailer is found to be engaged in serious criminal behaviour, local authorities can apply to the courts for a closure order, which can close the business for up to three months. The number of closure orders issued against businesses, including those in which the sale of illicit cigarettes is a factor, is not held centrally by the Department. Local authorities and National Trading Standards collate information regarding the enforcement action taken against retailers in relation to illicit tobacco.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a clawback mechanism into proposed changes to (a) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. A “clawback” would mean inheritance tax would only be due if the relevant assets are sold within a specified time period after a death. Introducing this mechanism, as some have suggested, could mean some of the wealthiest estates pay less inheritance tax compared to the proposed reforms. The Government disagrees with suggestions that a clawback would raise the same revenue as the reforms being introduced from 6 April 2026; it would raise much less, which would mean raising taxes elsewhere or lowering public spending. It would also add complexity to the tax system and continue to attract the very wealthiest to tax plan since beneficiaries could hold onto the assets over the specified clawback period just to escape the tax.

What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer diagnosis in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

We have delivered two million extra appointments and are ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care, including those in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency.NHS England is providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer, aiming to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.Additionally, the National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. This includes symptoms of pancreatic cancer.

What steps she is taking to ensure sufficient recruitment of retained firefighters in Lincolnshire.

Whilst the Government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work, it is individual fire and rescue authorities that are responsible for recruitment and decisions around deployment of resources.With the local government finance settlement now agreed, standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5m in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

What recent steps she has taken to help ensure the effective prosecution of wildlife crime in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of wildlife crime in Lincolnshire and across the country.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has fourteen Areas (regional teams) across England and Wales – the CPS East Midlands Area serves the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire including the cities of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester, and the county of Rutland.More broadly, we have announced that the CPS will receive an additional £49m to support victims of crime and transform the services they provide to the public.We are introducing tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, stronger neighbourhood policing, and robust laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers across England and Wales.The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.CPS prosecutors also work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.The CPS also provides legal guidance on wildlife, rural, and heritage crime, which is available to all its prosecutors to assist them in dealing with these cases. It also provides specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials from his Department attended the World Economic Forum 2025.

No Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office officials attended the 2025 World Economic Forum as delegates. The Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, United Nations and other International Organisations attended to accompany Ministers and members of his team based in Geneva provided support to the HMG delegation.

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for care leavers in rural areas.

The department knows that care leavers have some of the worst outcomes in society and we are committed to ensuring that all young people leaving care, irrespective of where they live, have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and are engaged in education, employment and training.While many of the issues that care leavers face will be common to all young people leaving care, the department knows that those who live in rural areas can face additional challenges, such as fewer employment opportunities, limited public transport and increased risk of loneliness and isolation, which can make their transition to independence more difficult.All local authorities are required to publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, which provides information about the statutory support that all care leavers are entitled to, and any discretionary services the local authority provides, to support care leavers in their transition to adulthood. Each local authority’s local offer should reflect the particular circumstances faced by its care leavers, including those that arise due to the fact that they live in a rural location.The department is strengthening the local offer through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to drive forward our manifesto commitments on children’s social care. The Bill will provide ‘Staying close support’ across the country, including in rural areas, for care leavers up to the age of 25. Staying close will increase support for young people leaving residential care through move-on accommodation and ongoing support from a keyworker.The Bill will also require each local authority to publish the arrangements it has in place to support and assist care leavers, particularly around accommodation and joint working between local authority care leaver and housing teams.Local housing authorities owe various duties to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. In certain circumstances local housing authorities have a duty to secure settled accommodation for them, but this is only the case where, in addition to other criteria, the person is not found to have become homeless intentionally. Through the Bill, we are removing intentional homelessness decisions for eligible care leavers to further strengthen support for this vulnerable cohort.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of available sites for biodiversity net gain credits in Lincolnshire.

The national Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) register now lists 46 gain sites, covering over 1300 hectares of area habitats in England. Defra also know that there are many more BNG units available in the private market, which will be added to the register. Defra have funded the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) to support Local Planning Authorities with developing local markets, and there are also a growing number of designated responsible bodies, who are able to enter into legal agreements to enhance land for nature with landowners in England.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of coroners working in Lincolnshire.

Coroner services are locally funded and administered across 77 coroner areas in England and Wales. Statutory responsibility for coroner appointments lies with the funding local authority in each area, and the assessment of resource is based on local caseload and other relevant factors. The Chief Coroner has published guidance and advice to support local authorities in this context.The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is as swift as possible and which puts bereaved families at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems and we will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Cefas has used artificial intelligence for applying computer vision and machine learning tools to automate data collection processes. This technology enables us to analyse very large quantities of images and videos that would be impossible to achieve manually. Specific applications include: Analysing real-time images of zooplankton and phytoplankton to assess the state of the marine environment.Assessing drone-captured images of beaches to determine the scale and nature of plastic pollution.Supporting fisheries stock assessments through Remote Electronic Monitoring by analysing industry-captured images of catch.Analysing video footage to identify and count Sea Pen stocks to inform their management.

How many officials from his Department attended the World Economic Forum 2025.

Five officials from the Department for Business and Trade attended the World Economic Forum 2025, accompanying two ministers. This is inclusive of one special advisor.

How many officials from her Department attended the World Economic Forum 2025.

It is commonplace for key officials to travel with the Chancellor in order to support her at events and visits.Five officials from HM Treasury accompanied the Chancellor to the 2025 World Economic Forum annual meeting.

What steps she is taking to increase access to banking hubs in rural and remote communities.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities, high streets, and rural areas across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to delivering these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 200 hubs have been announced so far, and over 100 are already open.Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and via the Post Office.Some banks also provide their own community banking services via pop-ups in community centres and libraries or operate mobile banking vans to serve more remote areas, and the Government supports these initiatives.

What steps she is taking to ensure people receiving Universal Credit have adequate support for accessing employment (a) opportunities and (b) training in Lincolnshire.

As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. This new service will transform our ability to support people into work, help those on low pay to increase their earnings, and create a more flexible workforce for a fast changing, higher skilled jobs market. This transformation is expected to contribute to economic growth by addressing local skills gaps and providing tailored support to meet the needs of local labour markets. 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.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to put the Government’s target for 50% of public procurement for food to be locally sourced on a statutory footing.

We are committed to opening up public sector supply chains to a wider range of companies, particularly small and medium-sized (SME) businesses, including farmers. Increasing the diversity of supply will better support local economies, increase resilience, and encourage food producers to innovate. We are considering the policy options available to deliver these aims. Any future policies will be informed by the review of the provenance of food sourced by the public sector, announced recently.

How many full time equivalent civil servants are employed to work on the asylum backlog.

The requested staffing data is published online: Immigration and protection data: Q3 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many officials from his Department attended the World Economic Forum 2025.

No Cabinet Office officials attended the World Economic Forum 2025.