Written questions by Hayes.

How many illegal (a) cigarettes and (b) vapes have been seized from retail outlets in England in (i) 2022, (ii) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

HM Revenue and Customs, Border Force, and Trading Standards are responsible for detaining and seizing illicit tobacco and vapes, including at ports and in-land from retailers. Information about seizures of illicit tobacco and vapes is collated in reports published by HM Revenue and Customs and National Trading Standards.The latest figures show that 1.36 billion cigarettes, with a revenue value of £678.5 million, were seized by HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force in the United Kingdom in 2023/24, and 19.1 million cigarettes, worth £9.5 million, were seized by Trading Standards in England and Wales in 2023/24. 92.4 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco, worth £41.9 million, was seized by HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force in the UK in 2023/24, and 5.2 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco, worth over £2.3 million, was seized by Trading Standards in England and Wales in 2023/24.1.2 million illicit vapes, worth £13.2 million, were seized inland by Trading Standards in England in 2023/24, and 1.1 million illicit vapes, worth £12.4 million, were detained at ports by Trading Standards in England, in the first half of 2024/25

What estimate she has made of the number of children that have moved from independent to state schools as a result of applying VAT to independent schools in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

The department has made no separate estimate of the number of pupils in individual local authority areas who have left the independent school system as a result of VAT on school fees.​The government predicts that, in the long-term steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population.Of the expected 37,000 pupil reduction in the private sector, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. This movement is expected to take place over several years.The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary between authorities. Every year, many pupils move between schools, including between the private and state-funded sectors.Local authorities routinely support parents who need a state-funded school place, including where private schools have closed. Where local authorities are experiencing difficulties in ensuring there are enough school places for children that need them, the department will offer support and advice.​The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools.​Local authorities in the East Midlands region have been allocated a total of £177.1 million, including £23.2 million for Lincolnshire, to support the provision of new mainstream school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.

What assessment she has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) risks of registering births and deaths online.

The General Register Office is considering the options to provide the public with more choice in how they register births and deaths in the future, whether face-to-face, over the telephone or online.Any provision of online services will be subject to established Government Security Standards.

For what purposes the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has not used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

For what purposes the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

In the last 12 months, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has trialled the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot across Microsoft productivity tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams).DVSA’s Digital, Data and Technology colleagues are also trialling GitHub copilot. DVSA is exploring this in conjunction with Government Digital Service Engineering Excellence. The trial is due to complete on 28 February 2025 and DVSA will provide feedback to the government’s Chief Technology Officer Council.DVSA has also used artificial intelligence (AI) for the following purposes:creating theory test questions prior to them being tested in a controlled test environment.calculating the risk rating for MOT Garages to help prioritise enforcement activity.calculating Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) to help prioritise enforcement activity.rapid storyboard generation using generative AI (GenAI). DVSA uses storyboards to help understand service user journeys.assessing the potential to use Amazon Web Services Rekognition software for fraud prevention.

For what purposes the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 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. CICA has not used AI technology for any live or past applications for compensation. It is exploring the use of AI to enable the extraction of key information from large documents to add further efficiency to its decision-making process.

What steps he is taking to improve access to NHS audiology services in rural areas.

Since June 2022, 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England have been responsible for arranging National Health Service healthcare services, including audiology, which meet the needs of their respective populations.ICBs are responsible for developing a joint plan with its members and partner local authorities, arranging the provision of health services in the integrated care system area and managing the NHS budget.

How many serving police officers had their vetting clearance withdrawn in each of the last five years.

This data is not held by the Home Office. The administration of police vetting, including the granting and withdrawal of clearances, is managed at a local level by forces.As announced by the Home Secretary in October, the Government will be bringing forward regulations on police vetting for the first time which will introduce a statutory duty for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance and provide a bespoke route to dismiss officers who are unable to do so.

For what purposes the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 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. Over the last 12 months, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has: Delivered the final year of an ambitious 4-year AI Science and Technology (S&T) Programme which has conducted experimentation across a range of defence use-cases for AI and developed important enabling areas of research such as AI ethics and AI assurance.Provided support to wider defence AI activities through the Defence AI Centre, for example Dstl’s expertise on AI Assurance significantly informed the recent publication of MOD guidance on Dependable AI in Defence, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-936-dependable-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-defence-part-1-directive.Worked with international partners on AI, such as the AUKUS Pillar 2 experimentation on developing Resilient and Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Technologies in order to improve international interoperability for AI-enabled systems.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/aukus-takes-another-step-forward-with-real-time-ai-trials.Worked closely with industry and academic partners on AI, for example via their Agile Delivery Partner which enables joint multi-disciplinary teams and academic research centres to transition civilian AI techniques into Defence applications and help strengthen the UK’s Defence AI Ecosystem.Continued to develop approaches to using AI to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its work, for example piloting secure access to Large Language Models and also trialling the use of AI techniques to improve exploitation of its large database of Defence Science and Technology Reports. Dstl can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. This includes the Generative AI Framework for HMG, which has been superseded by the AI Playbook for the UK Government, as well as JSP936 covering dependable AI in defence.

Whether NHS Resolution has used artificial intelligence to assist with casework in the last 12 months.

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR has advised that it does not currently use artificial intelligence (AI), in the broadest definitions, for casework processing purposes. The only AI in use currently for casework at NHSR is a document search tool which is used to rapidly locate documents.

For what purposes the Government Property Agency 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. The Redbox AI service provided by Cabinet Office is the primary service the GPA has used over the last few months.The Government Property Agency has used artificial intelligence primarily to summarise content such as policy documents and meetings. Subject to Spending Review (SR), the GPA plans to explore how AI can be used to create efficiencies and improvements in how property is managed, such as validation of building design specifications, preventive maintenance, optimising building use and improving energy efficiency.

For what purposes the Pensions Ombudsman 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. The Pensions Ombudsman has not engaged in the use of artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

For what purposes the Office for Nuclear Regulation 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. Over the last 12 months ONR has explored the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support its efficiency and productivity. ONR’s use of AI has been exploratory and is subject to robust oversight from an internal AI governance group. Uses include:Drafting press releases and communications updates; and,Testing the capability of AI to clarify and simplify guidance documents. ONR’s exploration of AI is continuing and includes national and international collaboration on regulating AI. This is in addition to working with the wider nuclear industry to assess potential opportunities.

For what purposes the Submarine Delivery Agency 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. The Submarine Delivery Agency sees the importance and value of using AI, and is actively exploring ways in which it can be used to deliver our outputs in a safe and ethical way. The SDA has appointed a Responsible AI Senior Owner (RAISO) in accordance with Departmental policy and taken part in the Ministry of Defence-wide trial of Microsoft Copilot. The SDA is in the commissioning and discovery phases of several AI projects across a number of office-related processes in line with the Defence AI Strategy, co-ordinated with the Defence AI Centre and in accordance with the Departmental policies.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy in England and Wales.

The Home Office does not hold the requested data. Recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities of measuring numbers in this area. Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

For what purposes the Office of the Public Guardian has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. A small number of staff in Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are trialling the use of Microsoft 365 Co-pilot as part of a Ministry of Justice wide pilot, looking to reduce time spent on repetitive administrative tasks. OPG does not use AI in its decision-making processes. OPG can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Ethics Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

For what purposes the Government Legal Department 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.The Government Legal Department is making limited use of generative AI (“Gen AI”) powered by large language models. Since December 2024, GLD has been running a trial of Microsoft’s M365 Copilot, which now has 100 participants and will shortly increase to 150. GLD’s AI Programme is considering where AI may be used and provide tangible benefits within specific work areas and processes, including proposed testing of online legal research tools with Gen AI-based capabilities.

For what purposes NHS Blood and Transplant 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.Over the last 12 months NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has used AI as part of a number of proof of concepts to explore how AI could benefit NHSBT, however none of these are live. This includes an AI agent to answer online donor questions about donating, models to forecast donor attendance at blood collection sessions, and models to help staff collecting blood answer questions on the policy and standard operating procedures.NHSBT can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage. For example, the AI Playbook for the UK Government, with which NHSBT are aligning work.

How much of the £70 million investment for replacing older radiotherapy machines will be allocated to United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The funding for new radiotherapy machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. Those trusts which have been allocated funding for a new machine from this £70 million central fund will be informed soon.The £70 million of central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and replacement of radiotherapy machines remains the responsibility of local systems.

If she will publish a list of occupations of people arrested for working illegally in the UK.

The Home Office does not hold a comprehensive list of the occupations for which individuals have been arrested for illegal working but the focus of recent enforcement work has included car washes, nail bars, construction sites ad takeaway restaurants.