Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Defra publishes organogram data for Senior Civil Servants here: Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Please see below for the number of employees with an annual salary of (a) £100,000 or more and (b) £166,000 or more.Remuneration BandsNo of Employees(a) £100,000 or more109Remuneration BandsNo of Employees(b) £166,000 or more6

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

My Department publishes an Annual Report on GOV.UK which contains salary details for senior officials in the Wales Office.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

We can confirm that in March 2025 there were 292 employees within the Ministry of Justice & HM Prison and Probation Service who were receiving a total salary of £100,000 or more per year inclusive of allowances. Of these, 10 employees were receiving £166,000 or more per year.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

From HR data for paid staff in June 2025, there are 98 staff in total with annual salary of £100k or more, of which 6 staff have an annual salary of £166k or more.

How many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes information on the number of civil servants earning over £100,000 per year, including those earning £166,000 or more, in its Organogram of Staff Roles and Salaries. The latest data is publicly available here: DESNZ Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk

Media and Sport, how many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

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-2024Organograms for Senior Civil Servant roles, including pay details for individuals, are also published by departments on a quarterly basis on data.gov.uk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can confirm that this information is held within our published Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687e39109914d1f63267c5e5/FCDO-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2024-2025.pdf), the relevant Report pages 128 to 133, and the FCDO Organograms of Staff Roles and Salaries (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/73e0260a-0516-44ff-b4eb-ba9fec420c45/fcdo-organograms).

How many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Information on the number of individuals directly employed by the Department who earn £100,000 or more, including those earning £166,000 or more, is published on a quarterly basis in the Department’s organograms. These set out senior civil service pay details for staff employed within the core Department and are available on data.gov.uk.

How many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The Scotland Office has (a) two people who earn £100,000 or more and (b) zero people who earn £166,000 or more per year.

Communities and Local Government, how many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Organogram data is released by all central government departments on a quarterly basis. Names and salaries are also listed for Senior Civil Servants. MHCLG organograms are available on gov.uk.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

This information is available through the quarterly senior organogram published by the department on gov.uk

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The Attorney General’s Office follows Civil Service Commission guidance on recruitment of its staff and remunerates consistent to Cabinet Office rules. All government departments are required to publish the salaries of Senior Civil Servants in their Annual Report and Accounts laid in parliament.I would direct the MP for Great Yarmouth to the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, published on gov.uk.

How many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

As at 31 March 2025, of the 57,501 Civil Servants in the Ministry of Defence (MOD), a total of 401 individuals, representing 0.7 per cent, earn over £100,000. The below table shows the number of MOD Civil Servants earning above £100,000 and £160,000 as at 31 March 2025. Total number of MOD Civil Servants on full/reduced payGross Earnings > £100K and <= £166kGross Earnings over £166k (not included in over £100K figure)57,50138417Source: Analysis Civilian - Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) data Gross salary is adjusted for Full Time Equivalent (FTE). Gross salary is calculated as per Cabinet Office ACSES guidance. This excludes allowances associated with short-term circumstances or duties (e.g. deputising allowances, reimbursements and overtime), salary sacrifices and non-consolidated performance related pay during the year. The population for these figures includes all MOD civil servants on full or reduced pay as at 31-Mar-2025. Civil Servants on other pay arrangements and people that left during the year are excluded. Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data is published by the Cabinet Office on gov.uk at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Organograms for Senior Civil Servant roles provides information on the number of civil servants earning over £100,000 and in other bandings. This data is published by departments on a quarterly basis, the latest information for the Department for Transport can be found here: Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The information requested is available in our published transparency data, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information.

For what reason new claimants from (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories will be exempt from the Habitual Residence Test for Universal Credit.

Given the circumstances in which British nationals and their eligible families have urgently travelled to the UK following the Government’s evacuations, DWP want to ensure that those arriving can access benefits as soon as possible (where they meet all other eligibility requirements). This does not enable DWP to pay benefits to anyone who does not already have an underlying entitlement to benefits. For those who are not British or Irish citizens, they must have a valid immigration status that provides recourse to public funds to access benefits, on top of meeting other benefit-specific eligibility criteria. More detail can be found in the explanatory memorandum for this amendment: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/884/memorandum/contents.

What guidance she has issued to (a) work coaches and (b) case managers on processing claims for new claimants from (i) Israel and (ii) the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Guidance for DWP staff making benefit decisions is available on gov.uk. Specific guidance on new customers arriving in the UK from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories will be published in the usual way.

How much of the funds raised through the apprenticeship levy was allocated directly to apprenticeships; and how much was redirected to general government revenue in each of the last ten financial years.

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017, and is paid by large employers with a total annual pay bill of over £3 million. Their contribution is 0.5% of their total annual pay bill. HMT sets the Department for Education’s budget at each Spending Review. The apprenticeship budget funds all apprenticeship training in England – both existing and new apprenticeships – across all employers. Underspends are returned to HMT as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance. While the Apprenticeship Levy is raised UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to apprenticeship spending in England, with the formula applying in the normal way, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, when the Department for Education’s budgets change. As set out in the Policy, the Barnett formula applies to overall changes in DfE’s settlement at Spending Reviews. This means it is not possible to identify the Barnett consequentials for individual programmes. It is the devolved governments’ responsibility to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes, and they are accountable to the devolved legislatures for those decisions. The table below sets out the apprenticeship budget in relation to Levy receipts once Barnett consequentials are accounted for. This is an indicative profile based on a population-based share, rounded to the nearest £5 million. (£ million)FY 17-18FY 18-19FY 19-20FY 20-21FY 21-22FY 22-23FY 23-24FY 24-25Levy Receipts2,2712,7132,7982,9103,2133,5803,8414,100England Apprenticeship Budget2,0102,2312,4692,4672,4662,5542,5252,771Devolved Governments Funding (notional Barnett allocation beyond 2019-20)425440460460460480500550Difference-16442-131-17287546816779

What information her Department holds on the proportion of local authorities that conduct (a) in-person interviews and (b) English language testing before issuing (i) taxi and (ii) private hire vehicle licences.

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables the Secretary of State for Transport to issue statutory guidance to licensing authorities on exercising their taxi and private hire vehicle licensing functions to protect children and vulnerable adults. Statutory guidance was published in 2020 under these powers. This statutory guidance includes a recommendation that a licensing authority’s test of a driver’s English language proficiency should cover both oral and written English language skills to ensure that drivers have the ability to understand written documents, such as policies and guidance, relating to the protection of children and vulnerable adults and can identify and act on the signs of potential exploitation. As of 1 April 2024, 81% of licensing authorities in England reported that they require the taxi drivers that they license to meet a minimum standard of proficiency for either written, oral or both written and oral English language. As of 1 April 2024, 82% of licensing authorities in England reported that they require the private hire vehicle drivers that they license to meet a minimum standard of proficiency for either written, oral or both written and oral English language. We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance and will hold those who do not follow it to account. The Department does not hold any information about whether licensing authorities conduct in-person interviews for applicants for taxi or private hire vehicle driver licences.