Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,541–1,560 of 2,390 · this parliament
With reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 26 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 631, on what his Department plans to spend the increase in defence spending.
Full details will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review to be published in spring 2025.
How many people claiming Universal Credit received fit notes in 2024.
The number of people on Universal Credit in Great Britain who submitted an accepted fit note to the Department from January 2024 to September 2024 is 805,890. Notes:Numbers are rounded to 10.Statistics have been provided to September 2024 in line with latest published statistics on fit notes.Although most will have submitted Statements of Fitness for Work (fit notes), other forms of medical evidence that the Department accepts (e.g. hospital discharge letters) will be included in the totals.Data was taken from Universal Credit analytical systems but results have not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standard.The Department regularly publishes Universal Credit Health Journey caseload statistics on Stat-Xplore including the monthly number of people on UC Health with a current fit-note.
What the (a) value and (b) volume of coal imported into the UK was in 2024.
Coal import data are published by HMRC in the Overseas Trade Data tables. The coal import value and volume for 2024 will be published in table G.2 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics in July 2025.
Media and Sport, how many public pools closed in 2024.
Twelve swimming pools on sites owned by Local Authorities closed in 2024. In the same time period, six swimming pools have opened. Facilities may close for a number of reasons: this can include consolidating multiple older facilities into a modern, better located facility and decisions to close facilities are at the discretion of Local Authorities.
How many foreign national offenders were granted temporary release in 2024.
The number of foreign national offenders Released on Temporary Licence (ROTL) in 2024 is not available; this data forms a subset of ROTL data scheduled for future publication in April 2025. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
How many biological males are currently serving a custodial sentence in a women's prison.
The latest published data on the placement of transgender prisoners (which covers transgender prisoners without gender recognition certificates, and is taken from a snapshot of the prison population on 31 March 2024), there were 2 or fewer transgender women housed within the women’s estate.
If he will make an estimate of the total number of (a) air miles and (b) flights undertaken by his Department's staff in 2024.
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero had a total number of airmiles of 5,234,196 and total number of flights of 1768 in 2024.
What the total number of minutes was by which trains were delayed in 2024.
The ORR publish statistics on delay minutes on their website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ (Table 3184). In the year ending 4 January 2025, a total of 15,897,997 delay minutes (15.9 million) were recorded in Great Britain. For context, there were a total of 7,335,930 (7.3 million) trains planned in the calendar year January 2024 to December 2024 (Table 3123).Of these trains, 85.2% were measured as either arriving within 5 minutes at the scheduled final destination time (for London, South-East, Regional and Scotland operators) or within 10 minutes of the final scheduled destination time (for long distance operators) (Table 3113, Public Performance Measure). Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers, we need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
How many applications were made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in 2024; and how many and what proportion of those applications were unsuccessful.
9,554 applications were submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in 2024. 4,593 of these applications have now concluded, with 4,589, or 99.9% of, claims rejected.
How much was paid to the EU in 2024.
HM Treasury will soon be publishing details of UK payments under the Financial Settlement in 2024 and its latest estimate for outstanding UK liabilities as at 31st December 2024, in the annual European Union Finances Statement. Publication is expected in Spring 2025.
How many and what proportion of prisoners released under the early release scheme have been rearrested.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold any data on arrests or rearrests as that is held by Home Office. Reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics. Prisoners released on SDS40 are subject to licence and liable to recall to prison if they do not comply or are judged a risk to public safety.
How much the NHS paid in compensation in 2024.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 14 November 2024 to Question 12205.The figures for the 2024/25 financial year are not complete at this stage. NHS Resolution will publish the figures for the 2024/25 financial year in its annual report and accounts in the summer.
What costs from the treatment of chargeable overseas visitors (a) are outstanding and (b) have been written off in 2024.
The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England in its Annual Report and Accounts. The consolidated NHS provider accounts published cash payments received, and amounts written-off in-year by the National Health Service from overseas visitors.The following table shows these amounts in 2023/24:Year2023/24Aggregate income identified£123,000,000Cash payments received in-year£42,000,000Amounts written off in-year£44,000,000Source: Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.
How many yellow card reports on covid-19 vaccines there were in 2024.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet the applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions, which includes amending the product information.All COVID-19 vaccines used in the United Kingdom have been authorised by the MHRA after meeting the MHRA’s standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is continuously monitored, and benefits and possible risks remain under review. The MHRA has received a total of 6,912 spontaneous suspected side effects to COVID-19 vaccines in 2024 from over 15 million doses estimated to have been administered across the UK.When considering the above spontaneous data, it is important to be aware that a reported reaction does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the vaccine, medicine, or device, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have been. The fact that the symptoms reported to the Yellow Card scheme occur after the use of a vaccine, medicine, or device does not in itself mean that they are proven to have been caused by it. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, and such events can also be coincidental.It is also important to note that the number of reports received via the Yellow Card scheme does not directly equate to the number of people who suffered adverse reactions, and therefore they cannot be used to determine the incidence of a reaction or compare the safety profile of different vaccines, medicines, or devices. Adverse drug reactions and device incident reporting rates are influenced by the seriousness of the adverse reactions, their ease of recognition, and the extent of use of a particular medicine or device, and may also be stimulated by promotion and publicity. Reporting tends to be highest for newly introduced medicines during the first one to two years on the market, and then falls over time.
What the value was of student loans that were written off in 2024; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans.
The table below shows the amount that has been cancelled or written off during the most recent financial year, (2023/24) and the proportion that write offs or cancellations make out of the starting balance. 2023/24 Financial YearAmount cancelled or written off during the financial year (£ million) 101.1Percentage of those written off out of total amount outstanding 0.05%The reasons for cancelled or written off loans are the following: death of borrower, age of borrower, disability, trivial balances, losses through fraud, including phishing, and other.Write-offs do not include trivial balance write-offs. Trivial balance write-offs occur if there is a +/- balance on an account of £25 or less and no contact can be established with the borrower. Customers can request for this to be reversed. In the context of these figures, these borrowers are considered fully repaid and are therefore not included. Cancellations involve the clearance of the remaining debt in line with the terms of the loan, for example, when reaching a specific age or becoming permanently disabled. Write-offs for bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangement or a trust deed, are no longer allowed against Student Loans balances. Any figures arise from retrospective clear up exercises.These figures have been taken from Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, which is updated in June each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2023 to 2024’ can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2023-to-2024.Information on the 2024/25 financial year will be available in the June 2025 publication.
If she will publish a list of mental health conditions that qualify for the access to work scheme.
There is no list of mental health conditions that qualify for the Access to Work Scheme. Access to Work is available for all disabled people and those with a health condition who require workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
With reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, whether payments to Mauritius for the continued lease of the Diego Garcia military base will be included in the announced increase in defence spending.
The terms of the treaty are still being finalised, once the treaty is finalised it will be put before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual way.
What proportion of interviews for the access to work scheme took place (a) remotely and (b) in person in 2024.
Customers applying for support from Access to Work can submit an online or written application. Interviews are only conducted for those customers requiring an assessment of their needs through one of our Holistic Assessment Providers. Customers are offered the choice of a virtual or face-to-face interview. In 2024, around 16,180 workplace assessments were held remotely and around 2,380 were held in person. Please note:The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 30518 on Department for Work and Pensions: Translation Services, what the spend in social security benefits was on people receiving those interpretation services by language of interpretation.
This information is not collected by DWP, and thus is not available.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the Access to Work scheme.
The Department has not assessed the potential merits of conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the Access to Work scheme and currently does not have plans to do so.