Rupert Lowe MP: written questions 2024
625 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Asylum: FinanceHome OfficeTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of Aspen cards was to the public purse in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: HemsbyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12005More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 3.82 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if he will provide funding for flood defences in Hemsby.
Answer: To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government f...
Answered 14 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordOffice for Value for MoneyTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12003More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the budget will be for the Office for Value for Money; and how many staff it will have.
Answer: The Office for Value for Money is a time-limited, multidisciplinary team of up to 20 civil servants based in HM Treasury and led by David Goldstone, the independent Chair. Its costs in 2024-25 and 2025-26 will be funded from HM Treasury's RDEL settlements...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCovid Counter-fraud CommissionerTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12002More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the office budget will be for the Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner.
Answer: The Commissioner will be supported by a team of experts from HM Treasury, the Public Sector Fraud Authority, the Government Commercial Function, the Government Debt Management Function and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: Inheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12001More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.54 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, whether her Department has carried out an impact assessment on the proposed changes to agricultural property relief.
Answer: The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief#:~:text=From%206%20April%202026%2C%20the,rather%20than%20the%20standard%2...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployers' Contributions: BusinessTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11999More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the planned rise in employer's national insurance contribut
Answer: Raising the revenue required to fix the public finances and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax, which is why we are asking employers to contribute more. The government will protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Empl...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11998More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recruitment targets there were in each branch of the armed forces in each of the last five years; and how many people were recruited to each branch in the same period.
Answer: The information requested by the hon. Member can be found below. Financial YearRoyal NavyArmyRoyal Air ForceTargetActualTargetActualTargetActual2019-204,1803,67010,1109,5902,9002,6202020-214,4004,0609,4209,3302,4902,2102021-224,3503,7307,3607,2302,6702,32...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: DeploymentMinistry of DefenceTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11997More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trained military personnel were ready to deploy in a combat role in each branch of the armed forces in each of the last five years.
Answer: The below table represents the number of UK Armed Forces personnel with a Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) of Medically Fully Deployable (MFD) and Medically Limited Deployable (MLD), in a combat role, as at 1 July for each year between 2020 and 2024, ...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood SupplyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11996More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.
Answer: In 2023, 58% of domestic consumption came from UK production (based on unprocessed value at farmgate), 24% from the European Union and the remaining 18% from the rest of the world. Data for 2024 will be published in Defra's ‘Agriculture in the United King...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordShoplifting: Great YarmouthMinistry of JusticeTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11955More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many shoplifting convictions there were by the nationality of the offender in Great Yarmouth constituency in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for shoplifting offences by Police Force Area in each of the last five years in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statis...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing parents to take their children out of school during term time for up to five days per year.
Answer: Tackling absence is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well-supported teaching and learning is, they will not benefit. The government recognis...
Answered 7 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: StaffDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11797More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.
Answer: The Department does not have any staff who work outside of the United Kingdom.
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: StaffDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11796More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in their Departmental work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.
Answer: None of the DWP’s employees work outside the UK.
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: StaffDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11795More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where those staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for those staff.
Answer: Information on civil servants employed by Defra working overseas and the median salary for overseas posts are available at the following link: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/data_browser_2024/index.html Information on t...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordTreasury: StaffTreasuryTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11794More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in their Departmental work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.
Answer: a) Total number of HM Treasury employees working overseas as at 30th October 2024. 51 b) Where these staff work. Australian TreasuryBritish Embassy, U.A.E.Canadian Finance MinistryFCDOGerman Finance MinistryInternational Monetary Fund, U.S.International T...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: AviationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11727More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much his Department spent on first class flights in each year since its creation.
Answer: Since its creation on 7 February 2023 and up until 31 March 2024, the Department for Business and Trade has incurred no first-class air travel expenditure as it is not permitted under the travel policy.
Answered 31 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHome Office: StaffHome OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11726More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.
Answer: For security reasons, we do not give out figures of how many operational staff are working at a given time or on a specific operational deployment.
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: AviationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11725More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on first class flights in each of the last five years.
Answer: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. In line with FCDO Travel Policy for all staff, first class air travel is prohibited.
Answered 7 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: Health EducationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11724More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of running a public awareness campaign to remove all COVID signs.
Answer: No assessment of the merits of running a public awareness campaign to remove all COVID-19 signs has been made.
Answered 31 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSenior Civil Servants: PayCabinet OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11723More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants earn (a) over £100,000 and (b) more than the Prime Minister.
Answer: Civil Service Statistics (Table 35) provides information on the number of civil servants earning over £100,000 and in other bandings. The latest information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024 The prev...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPolice: LGBT+ peopleHome OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11722More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent by police forces on celebrating Pride Month in June (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answer: The Home Office does not hold this information.Decisions on how funding and resources are utilised are an operational matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make resourcing decisions within t...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordNHS: LGBT+ PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11721More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent by NHS Trusts on celebrating Pride Month in June (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answer: This information is not collected by NHS England.
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFarmers: FormsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11716More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what forms his Department requires farmers to complete each year; what the length of these forms are; and what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the administration burden o
Answer: The Government does not require the same forms annually, and therefore we cannot provide this information. However, we are committed to improving the services we offer to farmers. Through ongoing service design and research with farmers, we continue to op...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: FoodDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11715More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the percentage of food served in canteens in his Department that is British.
Answer: Catering services at Defra are provided by our facilities management supplier, ISS. In the contract we require ISS to comply with Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering services and ISS is encouraged to meet the best practice criteria of ...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11713More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a review into the food labelling system.
Answer: Defra is in the process of conducting a Post Implementation Review of the Food Information Regulations 2014 and the Country of Origin of Certain Meats Regulations 2015 to assess their success against their origin policy objectives. Furthermore, we plan to...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →