Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1,101–1,120 of 2,378 · this parliament
What information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals who hold (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle licences who have been deported due to criminal convictions in the last decade.
The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of deportations due to criminal convictions.
What information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers that have (i) an overseas criminal conviction and (ii) been granted a licence in each of the last five years.
Licensing authorities may hold this information. As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for all drivers. The statutory guidance issued by the Department for Transport in 2020 to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities recommends that when an individual has spent an extended period (3 or more continuous months) outside the UK, licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas to properly assess risk and support its decision-making process. This enables licensing authorities to make an informed decision when considering if a person is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a taxi or private hire vehicle driver licence.
What information her Department holds on the number of licensed (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who are foreign nationals, broken down by their country of origin.
The Department for Transport does not collect that data. Licensing authorities may hold this information as part of the application processes to prevent illegal working as taxi or private hire vehicle drivers.
What data her Department holds on the convictions of licensed taxi drivers for (a) grooming, (b) sexual exploitation and (c) trafficking offences.
Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statisticsHowever, this data is not broken down by employment status.
what information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who have had their licences revoked due to a criminal conviction in the last 10 years.
All licensing authorities in England have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to be a licensee and that they remain so throughout the duration of the licence. Licensing authorities make decisions based on “the balance of probability”, so when determining whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a licence, a driver should not be given the benefit of doubt. If a licensing authority is only fifty percent certain as to whether a licensee is fit and proper, they should not hold a licence. The threshold used here is lower than for a criminal conviction (that being beyond reasonable doubt). This means that driver licences may be revoked even if any safety concerns do not result in a criminal conviction. Since 27 April 2023, all licensing authorities in England have been required to use a national database to record instances where a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is refused, revoked or suspended because of safeguarding, road safety or equality concerns. The Department has published data about licensing authorities’ use of the database. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 3117 revocations were recorded on the database.
What her Department's process is for sharing intelligence with licensing authorities when a foreign national taxi driver is arrested.
As set out in the Department for Transport’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, all applicants for a taxi or PHV driver’s licence, irrespective of nationality, should undergo an enhanced DBS check including a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists every six months. The enhanced check includes any police information which the chief officer believes to be relevant and ought to be disclosed.In addition, the police may proactively share information using common law police disclosure (CLPD) powers. If there is pressing social need, CLPD allows forces to proactively provide personal data or sensitive personal data to a third party such as licensing authorities using common law powers. It is for chief officers to determine the implementation of CLPD provisions locally, in accordance with guidance published by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council.
What information her Department holds on the number of (a) unlicensed and (b) illegal taxi drivers operating in major cities.
The Department for Transport does not hold this data, as such vehicles are not operating within a legal framework.
What information her Department holds on the number of councils that do not require enhanced DBS checks for (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers.
As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.
What checks her Department carries out to verify the identity documents of migrants applying for taxi licences.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer sent on the 20 May 2025 to UIN 51642.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office combines all Advertising & Publicity costs in its financial reporting system. The information required to delineate between social media promotions, influencer marketing and online advertising is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
The Government develops wide-ranging national and international campaigns which are delivered through tailored communication strategies aimed at reaching target audiences across the UK. Campaigns span owned, earned and paid-for channels to maximise reach, engagement and compliance.The Government remains committed to scrutiny, transparency and best value for taxpayer money.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
No money has been spent by HM Treasury on social media promotions, influencer marketing or online advertising in the last 12 months.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
This detail of information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Over the last 12 months, the Department for Transport has spent £830,731.27 on social media advertising and £1,488,420.01 on online advertising through the THINK! Road safety campaign. This has been done to reach and influence the behaviours of our target audience of 17-24 males, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. Campaigns have tackled priority issues such as drink driving and speeding to reduce casualties and fatalities. All budgets have been scrutinised to ensure value for money, with behaviour change communications often a cost-effective way to support policy interventions, as well as being a core part of the safe-systems approach to road safety. As part of the THINK! campaign to reduce speeding among young men, the department ran a media partnership with youth platform LadBible which involved working with two content creators as part of a wider partnership. However, we are unable to provide a cost breakdown on influencers specifically due to commercial sensitivities which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
Innovation and Technology, how much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.