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 2,361–2,380 of 2,388 · this parliament
How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for individuals contacting her Department in each of the last five years.
Translation CostInterpretation Costs2019/20£ 472,539£ 2,219,6132020/21£ 398,270£ 3,537,8722021/22£ 518,927£ 6,823,1402022/23£ 641,747£ 5,668,8222023/24£ 677,614£ 6,195,053
How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation in the NHS in each of the last five years.
The Department does not hold this information. This information will be held by integrated care boards.
Media and Sport, how many people were prosecuted for the non-payment of a TV licence fee in each of the last three years.
The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the annual number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for non-payment of the TV licence fee as part of their criminal justice quarterly publications. The publications can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly
How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for people contacting her Department in each of the last five years.
Such information is not centrally recorded or collated in the form requested.
How many spousal visas were rejected in each of the last five years by nationality.
The Home Office publishes information on Family-related visas in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), direct link to the Entry clearance (family-related) visa data tables. The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas for family reasons, and can be broken down by nationality. Information on how many partner visas were rejected in each of the last five years, by nationality is available from Table Vis_D02, which can be found within the entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed dataset. The latest data relates to year ending June 2024 (Q2 2024).
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 6949 on Social Security Benefits: Foreign Nationals, if she will make it her policy to collect data on the nationality of those claiming benefits.
There are no plans to start consistently collecting nationality data across all DWP benefit lines. This is because DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific nationality does not play a role in this. The Department checks immigration status when assessing eligibility for benefits, but this information is not collated centrally across all benefit lines and hence is not readily available. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish customers.
What steps he plans to take to support homeless military veterans in Great Yarmouth constituency.
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government to ensure veterans across the UK have access to the support they need on housing, as well as health, employment and other areas. The Government will develop a new cross-Government strategy, working with Mayors and Councils across the country, to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness. The Ministry of Defence will support that work to take a long term approach and to tackle the root causes of homelessness. Veterans in need of housing support can contact Op FORTITUDE, a single referral pathway to connect veterans with help and support at this link: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-veterans/op-fortitude. This system provides housing guidance and assistance to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness across the UK. As of October 2024, over 2,600 referrals have been made and over 700 veterans have been supported into housing.
What steps she is taking to ensure that foreign nationals do not stay in the UK beyond their visa expiry date.
It is the responsibility of foreign nationals to ensure they are compliant with the terms of their visa. However, we have a range of measures in place to ensure that those who do not comply with their visa conditions are unable to access benefits and services in the UK. We will enforce the return of foreign nationals who overstay their visa. A person who overstays their permission to stay in the UK is liable to be removed under section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 if they do not depart voluntarily.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of irregular migrants in the UK.
By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the irregular migrant population. In June 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a note on ‘measuring illegal migration’.The Home Office does publish statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK as part of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ quarterly statistics release.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will arrange a meeting between the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth and the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs.
My Defra private office handles all meeting requests. Please contact them directly to request a meeting.
Whether she has made an assessment of the (a) costs and (b) benefits of smart motorways.
National Highways publish reviews on major road schemes which measure their impact against anticipated benefits.National Highways also report on safety data annually, with the latest published data showing, overall, all three types of smart motorway are safer than conventional motorways for those safety metrics which consider the most significant impacts, such as deaths or serious injuries. However, we recognise that the risk of a collision between a moving and a stopped vehicle is greater on smart motorways without a permanent hard shoulder. We will not be rolling out any new smart motorways.
What measures he plans to take to help improve access to NHS dentistry in Great Yarmouth constituency.
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment. For the Great Yarmouth constituency, this is the NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB.
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.
Between January to December 2021, a total of 686 applications were made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. Between January and December 2022, 2,828 applications were made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and between January and December 2023, 5,611 applications were made.From January to December 2021, 574 applications, or 84%, made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme were unsuccessful. From January to December 2022, 2,587 applications, or 91%, were unsuccessful, and from January to December 2023, 4,361 applications, or 78%, were unsuccessful. For the purpose of this reply, unsuccessful applications refer to applications which have been rejected following a completed medical assessment, and applications deemed invalid to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
What data his Department holds on (a) the number of equality, diversity and inclusion champions and (b) the salary bands of those staff in each NHS trust.
The Department does not hold this information centrally. The National Health Service is one of the most diverse organisations in this country and we hugely value the contribution that all staff make to delivering care and supporting patients. We are committed to creating a more inclusive and compassionate culture across the NHS and support the equality, diversity, and inclusion commitments that are in place.It is the responsibility of NHS organisations to determine the number of equality, diversity, and inclusion roles based on need.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will commission a review of the (a) effectiveness of development aid and (b) proportion of such aid that does not reach its intended destination.
This Government is committed to development effectiveness, transparency and scrutiny. Across the FCDO, robust systems and frameworks help ensure we achieve value for money, spend British taxpayers' money well, and that development assistance reaches its intended recipients.The FCDO's high standards of programme delivery and risk management requires investigating any possible fraud, bribery and corruption, maintaining financial oversight of aid programmes, and formally reviewing aid programmes. The FCDO ensures our delivery partners have robust fraud policies in place and our due diligence assessments cover their ability to manage downstream partners.The Development Review will propose how to maximise the impact of the FCDO's integrated development and diplomacy model and how we can improve assurance over our delivery of development aid.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) review and (b) implement changes to the funding structure for Internal Drainage Boards to reduce the financial impact on local councils.
Defra has committed to work with the internal drainage board (IDB) sector and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to review IDBs’ current funding and costs. This will include examination of whether any changes are needed to their funding model and will consider the findings carefully. IDBs are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work. This includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Those beneficiaries are represented on the boards of IDBs, where decisions are made on the forthcoming programme of work and the annual drainage rates and special levies.
How much her Department spent on the Flexible Support Fund for (a) laptops and (b) mobile phones in the last financial year.
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
How much was spent on translation in Jobcentres in the last financial year.
The total spend for jobcentres in 23/24 was £3,420,480.
What steps he is taking to reduce the costs associated with the covid-19 inquiry.
It is important that lessons are learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic and the response to it. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is independent of government and it is right that we allow the Chair to continue her important work. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work, and she has been clear in her intention to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What steps her Department has taken to prevent illegal immigrants claiming benefits.
All benefits claimants have to verify their identity before they can receive payments. For any claimants who aren’t British or Irish, we verify that they have a valid UK immigration status. Illegal immigrants cannot access taxpayer-funded benefits (publicly funded benefits), including Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment. In order to receive such benefits, an individual must either be a British or Irish citizen or hold an immigration status that allows them to access such benefits. Whether someone holds a valid immigration status or is a British or Irish citizen is tested through DWP residency tests and verified through information from the Home Office. For DWP benefits that do not require a valid immigration status (contributory benefits), such as New-Style Jobseeker’s Allowance and Statutory Sick Pay, claimants will need to satisfy other eligibility criteria, such as having employment periods and paid sufficient national insurance contributions. To have been employed to meet the contributory benefits criteria, a valid. National Insurance number is required, meaning the identity and immigration status of the claimant has been verified.