Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1,561–1,580 of 2,377 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) local authority officers and (b) local authority elected representatives on the cancellation of local elections in Suffolk; and if she will publish those discussions.
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with these local authorities on the cancellation of local elections.
Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) local authority officers and (b) local authority elected representatives on the cancellation of local elections in Norfolk; and if she will publish those discussions.
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with these local authorities on the cancellation of local elections.
If she will make it her policy that Border Force personnel have the same standard of equipment as police officers.
Border Force staff are provided with all the equipment that is necessary and appropriate to do their job.
If she will make a comparative assessment of paperwork filled in by (a) Border Force officers and (b) equivalent immigration systems.
Border Force’s paperwork is continuously assessed to ensure it is effective and appropriate for its purpose.
How many people were employed by Border Force in each month in 2024.
The total number of people employed by Border Force is routinely published within the annual Home Office annual reports and accounts, available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 27480 on Commonwealth Scholarships Programme, if she will list the (a) subject areas and (b) courses undertaken by those funded through the Commonwealth Scholarship in the last five years.
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK publishes its Annual Reports, which provide information on the subject areas and courses undertaken by scholarship recipients. The most recent report was laid before Parliament on 17 December 2024 and is available on gov.uk. Further details can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/csc-annual-reports
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28401 on Translation Services, what the spend was on interpretation for people contacting his Department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024.
The spend on interpretation for people contacting her department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024 was £6,345,260.60 For clarity and transparency of spend:Spoken Face to Face interpretation in 2024 = £393,690.08 For additional informationTotal British Sign Language Interpreting costs Face to Face = £1,505,061.80Total Additional costs for native UK language interpretation (e.g., Welsh or UK dialect) = £14.40
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 5 (East Midlands), procurement reference CF-0334000D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 9 (South East), procurement reference CF-0334400D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 2 (North East), procurement reference CF-0333500D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Contract for the provision of Language Analysis Services, procurement reference tender_297373/1427482, how many and what proportion of asylum claims have been analysed because the claim of origin was in doubt.
Language analysis reports are not used to determine a claimant’s place of origin as standalone evidence, but they provide expert additional evidence for caseworkers to be considered alongside other decision-making information.Link to the published policy guidance on language analysis can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/language-analysis-instruction.This guidance will be updated shortly to incorporate the new supplier.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 6 (East of England), procurement reference CF-0334100D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of low skilled immigration worker visa grants on job opportunities for low skilled domestic workers.
The Government publishes economic assessments of policy measures implemented. Analysis undertaken to support changes to the immigration system are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-analysis-at-the-home-office.This Government is taking a new approach, linking skills and visa policy to reduce the reliance on overseas recruitment.
With reference to her Department's document entitled Contract for the provision of Language Analysis Services, notice 2022/S 000-009633, how many and what proportion of people who were determined by the supplier under the Contract to have made a false claim of origin were given (a) asylum (b) any other grant of protection or leave.
Language analysis reports are not used to determine a claimant’s place of origin as standalone evidence, but they provide expert additional evidence for caseworkers to be considered alongside other decision-making information.Link to the published policy guidance on language analysis can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/language-analysis-instruction.This guidance will be updated shortly to incorporate the new supplier.
What the total cost of Universal Credit benefits accessed by refugees was in 2024.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department is exploring the feasibility of developing suitable official statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit customers.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Emergency Transport for Staff and Illegal Migrants including Minors, procurement reference CF-0122300D58000000L5A4EAK3, which modes of transport are provided under the contract; what the cost to the public purse is of those modes of transport; and for what purpose they are provided.
Details of the contract including Statement of Requirements, Purpose and mode of transport, is published on Contract Finder at Emergency Transport for Staff and Illegal Migrants including Minors - Contracts FinderObtaining a breakdown of expenditure on the contract at the level of granularity requested is only something that could be done for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the (a) total amount of people who are exempted from paying council tax for religious reasons and (b) estimated total value of council tax exemptions for religious reasons in each local authority in the last financial year.
It is not true to say that individuals can be exempt from council tax for religious reasons. A dwelling may be exempt from council tax where it is unoccupied but is held for the purposes of being occupied by a minister, of any religious denomination, in order for them to perform their duties.Based on the latest available data 1,203 dwellings were in receipt of this exemption in England in 2024. The Government does not collect data on the council tax revenue foregone in providing this exemption.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 4 (West Midlands), procurement reference CF-0333700D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.
If she will publish (a) the contract entitled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility, procurement reference CF-0229300D58000000L5A4EAK1, (b) any additional terms relating to that contract and (c) a breakdown of the services to be provided under that contract.
The Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility Service (AIRE) is a published contract-AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts FinderThe contracts include robust mechanisms to ensure that providers deliver on the contractual requirements.The requirements for the services delivered to asylum seekers under the AIRE contract can be found in Schedule 2 (Statement of Requirements) within the contract documents linked above.
With reference to her Department's contract entitled Refugee Employability Programme - Lot 8 (South West), procurement reference CF-0334500D58000000L5A4EAK, what the total number of service users is, broken down by nationality; and how many service users gained employment through this programme.
It is important that we support refugees to find work so that they can financially support themselves and their families. This programme was designed and implemented under the previous administration.Onboarding ended in December 2024 and the programme is due to close in June 2025. An evaluation will be published alongside recommendations for how we work in the future.