Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1,581–1,600 of 1,752 · this parliament
What criteria her Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of its policy to tackle smuggling gangs involved in illegally trafficking people into the UK.
The Government will make further statements in due course regarding the ways in which progress on its key priorities will be assessed.
How many people started T-levels in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2020.
The department does not currently publish T Level student recruitment data at this level. We have announced that we will start publishing provider level data on T Level students, starting 2023/24 academic year. We are currently finalising plans on our approach to do this and the data will be published in due course. The publication date will be announced as soon as possible in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Statistics.
What recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in fuel poverty.
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in 2022 in administrative areas and parliamentary constituencies in England can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty statistics, in Tables 2 and 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
What the potential cost to the public purse is for hotels that have opened to provide contingency accommodation for people seeking asylum since 5 July 2024.
The Home Office regularly publishes details of the department’s expenditure on asylum, published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
How many and what proportion of Maternity Allowance claimants were not UK citizens in the last three years.
DWP does not hold data on the number of claimants that were not UK citizens when claiming Maternity Allowance. This is because the qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance are based on a woman's recent employment and earnings, not on their nationality. For the year 2023/24 the caseload for Maternity Allowance was 48,000. For more information on caseloads, please see Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions on the logistics sector.
To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Government recognises the need to support the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
What steps he is taking to support food producers from Lincolnshire to increase exports.
DBT provides a wide-ranging package of export support for food and drink businesses in Lincolnshire and the whole of the UK. This includes educational support to upskill food producers via our Export Academy and one to one support from International Trade Advisors and our extensive overseas network, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. Overseas we deliver a comprehensive programme of trade shows, trade missions and events to connect exporters with buyer and new market opportunities. Our UK Export Finance agency helps companies access export finance, with a dedicated finance manager covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.
If she will make a comparative assessment of the testimony given to the High Court during AB and others v. Ministry of Defence (2009) and records released by the Atomic Weapons Establishment relating to nuclear test veterans in May 2024.
Paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May states:“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and it applies to your question.
How many full time equivalent staff are employed by the Office for Equality and Opportunity.
Overall staff figures for the Office for Equality and Opportunity total 133.8 Full Time Equivalents, of which the Race Equality Unit total 6 FTE, the Disability Unit total 19.8 FTE and the Women and Equalities Unit total 36.5 FTE. This excludes any temporary time limited resource from wider Cabinet Office.
How many irregular migrants have received a refund for paying the immigration health surcharge since 2017.
Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataData is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.
If he will make it his policy to support a one-year special tribunal for nuclear test veterans, in the context of their access to (a) medical records and (b) compensation.
The Government is deeply grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise the huge contribution they have made to our national security.I have met with MPs and groups in the nuclear test veteran community to discuss a range of topics relating to their experiences and the challenges they face. These efforts have resulted in us expanding the criteria for the commemorative Nuclear Test Medal. I am committed to looking into unresolved questions regarding medical records and look forward to further engagement with Nuclear Test Veterans and their representatives over the coming months. Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long-standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.
Whether she has had recent discussions with her Vietnamese counterpart on illegal immigration into the UK.
Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.
How many irregular migrants have received a waiver from paying the immigration health surcharge in each year since 2017.
Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataData is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.
Whether British servicemen at UK nuclear weapons tests had their blood counts monitored after the programme had concluded.
Nuclear Test Veterans made a huge contribution to UK security, including helping to establish the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which to this day keeps our country safe. Like all Service personnel, those who were present at the UK nuclear weapon tests may have had medical testing undertaken throughout their career. I have asked Ministry of Defence officials to look at records to fully understand what information the Department holds in relation to the medical testing of Service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests. I will provide an update on this in due course.
Whether she has had recent discussions with her Turkish counterpart on illegal immigration into the UK.
Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.
Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions on the charity sector.
The recent Budget took the tough choices needed to fix the foundations and restore economic stability. DCMS Ministers have spoken to representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and are aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).The government acknowledges that these changes will affect all sectors of the economy, which is why we have put in place mitigations to protect smaller organisations in particular, by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that next year, 865,000 employers (43%) will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of employers will see no change or gain overall from this package.We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Employers will also continue to benefit from employer NICs reliefs including for hiring under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. Our tax regime for charities, including exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.
If he will make an assessment of the impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions on care homes.
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process. This assessment took into account a wide range of factors, including changes to employer National Insurance contributions, and the National Living Wage increases. No specific assessment has been made on the impact of an increase to employer National Insurance contributions on care home providers.In response to the range of pressures facing local authorities, the Government is providing a real-terms uplift to core local government spending power of approximately 3.2%, which includes £1.3 billion of new grant funding in 2025/26.
Whether he plans to publish a review of the potential costs to the NHS of changes to the law on assisted dying.
There is no review of the potential costs to the National Health Service of changes to the law on assisted dying and accordingly, there are no plans to publish a review.
If he will make an assessment of the impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions on hospices.
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance contributions rise will be implemented in April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.
What steps he is taking to support rural households off the gas supply network with the cost of energy.
The Government is committed to ensuring energy bills are affordable for all consumers. The Warm Home Discount provides a £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households. We expect around 3 million households to receive this support this winter. Although standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them. As part of the Warm Homes Plan, we have committed £3.4 billion over the next three years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. This includes £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes, helping over 225,000 households reduce their energy bills by over £200. We will set out the full details of our ambitious Warm Homes Plan next spring.