Rupert Lowe MP: written questions 2025
1378 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Genetics: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83597More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any NHS Trusts (a) employ specialist staff or (b) operate dedicated services to address genetic disorders associated with consanguinity.
Answer: The National Health Service in England supports patients with a variety of conditions related to genetics. NHS England is piloting and evaluating new models of care to improve the equity of access to genetic services for the small proportion of couples at...
Answered 22 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRitual SlaughterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83596More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of animals were slaughtered without being stunned for the production of Halal meat in the UK in each year since 2005.
Answer: UK data regarding the number or proportion of animals slaughtered using the halal method without prior stunning is not collected. The Food Standards Agency carries out a periodic slaughter sector survey in England and Wales, which started in 2011. The lat...
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming Universal Credit by their preferred language.
Answer: The information is not held. Universal Credit claims can only be made in English and Welsh.
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHome Office: SercoHome OfficeTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83175More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid to Serco in each of the last ten years.
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 15558.
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: StaffDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83174More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS staff were non-patient facing in each of the last ten years.
Answer: The following table shows the number and percentage of the full time equivalent (FTE) workforce employed by National Health Service trusts and other core NHS organisations in England that are in NHS infrastructure support roles, which represents a proxy f...
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordYellow Card SchemeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83173More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many yellow card reports there have been on covid-19 vaccines.
Answer: The number of Yellow Card reports received by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for COVID-19 vaccines can be found in the Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles on the Yellow Card website, which is available at the following link:...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: Habitual Residence TestDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83172More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many habitual residence tests related to Universal Credit assessments have been granted in each of the last five years.
Answer: The table below gives the number of Universal Credit (UC) Habitual Residence Test (HRT) assessments that resulted in a ‘pass’ decision in the past five years. Date Decision Entered on Admin SystemNumber of UC HRT 'Pass' DecisionsApril 2020 to March 202191...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: FoodDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83171More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of food served in his Department that is British.
Answer: The Government, in line with manifesto commitments, is considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. In order to u...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83170More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Personal Independence Payment helpline was in the last year.
Answer: The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Personal Independence Payment lines for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / Year...
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83169More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Universal Credit helpline was in the last year.
Answer: The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Universal Credit for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / YearDirectorateAverage T...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83168More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for her Department was in each of the last five years.
Answer: The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling DWP for the last 5 business years, with 2025 to 2026 being to 12th Oct’ 2025* only, that being the last ...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFood: ProductionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.
Answer: The food production to supply ratio compares all domestic food production to supply, including food that the UK exports instead of consuming. In 2024, the production to supply ratio was 65%. When food exports are taken into account, Defra estimates that i...
Answered 30 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordStudents: LoansDepartment for EducationTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value was of student loans that were written off in the last year; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans, by nationality.
Answer: The requested information can be found in the Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, updated in July each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2024 to 2025’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/st...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordJobcentres: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83165More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.
Answer: We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: Telephone ServicesTreasuryTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83164More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for HMRC was in the last year.
Answer: HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a regular basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates The definition of ‘average sp...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordJobcentres: Translation ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83163More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on translation and interpretation in Jobcentres in the last financial year.
Answer: The Department carefully monitors the provision of translation and interpretation services for customers. It has not been possible to disaggregate expenditure on services for Jobcentres alone.
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordVaccine Damage Payment SchemeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83162More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications were made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in each of the last three years; and how many and what proportion of those applications were unsuccessful.
Answer: The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) regularly publishes data on the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme to improve transparency. Information related to COVID-19 vaccine claim volumes and outcomes up to June 2025 is available at the following link:http...
Answered 2 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners' Release: ReoffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83161More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of reoffending rates for prisoners released under the early release scheme.
Answer: This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.Whilst this change provided the intended medium-term relief, it was only ever a temporary chan...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUndocumented Migrants: Great YarmouthHome OfficeTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83160More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants are housed in the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area; what accommodation is used to house those migrants; and what the cost is of housing those migrants.
Answer: Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in different areas is routinely published by the Government in table ASY D_11 here:Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)The Home Office does not publish asylum support dat...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: Foreign NationalsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83159More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what amount of charges were issued by NHS trusts for treatment to non-UK residents not entitled to free secondary healthcare in each of the last three financial years; how much of that amount was s
Answer: We have taken ‘non-UK residents’ to mean chargeable overseas visitors. The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The ...
Answered 11 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: Translation ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83158More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) cost for translation of and (b) percentage of communications in each language in e-RS communication letters was so far this year.
Answer: NHS England only incurs costs for changes to templates or when new languages are added. Therefore, the primary cost is associated with template updates, not per-letter translation. No changes have been made to templates in 2025, nor have additional langua...
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordIncome Tax: Tax Rates and BandsTreasuryTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82838More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish a breakdown of her Department's August 2024 individual level analysis of Income Tax brackets by (a) ethnicity and (b) nationality.
Answer: HMRC do not publish individual level analysis of Income Tax brackets by (a) ethnicity or (b) nationality.
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Translation ServicesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82837More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to local authorities of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services.
Answer: Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their ...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: English LanguageMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82836More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to require local authorities to ensure staff in customer-facing roles are fluent in English.
Answer: Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their ...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: English LanguageMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82835More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the levels of English language proficiency of staff working in local authority (a) housing and (b) social services.
Answer: Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their ...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament record
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