Rupert Lowe

Cabinet Office does not routinely collate information on specific words within job titles and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

The previous Government spent up to £400 billion on pandemic related interventions and programmes including 11.7 million employees that were furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, at a cost of £70 billion. 2.9m people on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme received grants at a cost of £28bn.

The Chancellor has announced that she will appoint a Covid Corruption Commissioner, fulfilling a manifesto commitment. The main focus of the Commissioner will be pandemic PPE contracts. They will make sure everything that can be done, has been done, to get the public purse what it is owed.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has now been established. As set out in its Terms of Reference, the Inquiry will examine, consider and report on preparations and the response to the pandemic. In doing so, the inquiry will help identify lessons learned. The Inquiry published its Module 1 report, focussing on resilience and preparedness in July 2024. The government will carefully consider the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations, and will respond within six months.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

Businesses have drawn a total of £46.59 billion under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. 12.97% of facilities by volume have been repaid and 59.44% of facilities by volume are on schedule. 19.77% of facilities by volume have been settled under the Government guarantee. The Department publishes performance data on the COVID-19 loan guarantee schemes on a quarterly basis.

The final year-end outturn is recorded in OSCAR II for years 22-23 and prior. The 23-24 data is still pending final updates based on the finalisation of DBT’s accounts for 23-24.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost. Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

The Department is committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion through its diversity networks.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

The National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) works to identify information threats by analysing narratives and trends from publicly available information online, around topics or events where ministers agree there is a high risk to UK audiences. This does not include the monitoring of individuals.

It is not appropriate for me to share details of the NSOIT’s resourcing as this information could give hostile actors insights into UK capabilities.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the department’s annual report & accounts.

The department does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the department’s annual report and accounts.

Defra does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the department's annual report and accounts.

Defra knows the devastating impact flooding and coastal erosion can have on communities, including in Hemsby. That is why we are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. We will establish a new Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.

The Environment Agency is working closely with Great Yarmouth Borough Council as they consider options for flood risk management of the area, taking into account the technical challenges. East Suffolk Council is leading on the Resilient Coasts project, part of the £200 million Flood and Coast Innovation Programme. This project includes Hemsby as a pilot location, and we look forward to hearing how this is progressing.

The Department for Transport does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost. Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

It is estimated that around 19,300 pensioners in Great Yarmouth will be impacted by the decision to amend the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via DWP Stat-xplore and the Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2022 to 2023 which are available via GOV.UK.

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of people claiming Pension Credit in Great Yarmouth from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients in Great Yarmouth. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients who are not claiming Pension Credit pre-policy change, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

Please note that the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up that we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or Local Authorities.

The published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals receiving Pension Credit will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).

In addition, while Pension Credit claimants constitute the majority of those that will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, pensioners who claim other qualifying means-tested benefits will also be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It is not, however, possible to include those on other qualifying means-tested benefits in these figures.

The Department currently has two positions which include either diversity, inclusion, equity, or equality in their job title. The following table shows the roles the title included, the total roles, and the total salaries, from 2020/21 to August of 2024:

Note: the number of roles with diversity and inclusion in the job title have been included under diversity, only to avoid duplication.

We have taken ‘non-UK residents’ to mean chargeable overseas visitors. The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The cash payments received by the National Health Service from overseas visitors are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts. The following table shows the aggregate income identified, and cash payments received by the NHS in England, from overseas visitors over the last three years:

Source: the 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.

FCDO does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

There are currently 3 members of HM Treasury staff who have (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity or (d) equality in their job title. We do not hold this information for previous years.

As the total number of individuals is less than 5, HM Treasury is unable to release salary information as doing so would mean these individuals may be identifiable. This is in line with HM Treasury's data reporting policy.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme was recently evaluated, with reports published in November 2023. These are available on gov.uk.

Data on numbers of businesses with turnover either side of the VAT registration threshold have been published by the Office for Budget Responsibility here: Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2023 - Office for Budget Responsibility (obr.uk), see ‘Supporting Documents’, ‘March 2023 Economic and fiscal outlook – charts and tables: Chapter 3’, Chart 3.C. Data on turnover of businesses since the threshold was increased to £90,000 are not yet available.

At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the joint highest in the OECD. The Government keeps all taxes under review and will take decisions across tax and spending at the Budget.

Home Office does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

The Home Office does not reserve beds for irregular migrants. In accordance with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered. The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes identifying a range of options to reduce the use of hotels over time and ensuring efficiency and value for money across all accommodation arrangements.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

As was the case under the previous government, the Home Office does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates asylum accommodation costs by type. The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to support and accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. It does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates asylum accommodation costs by type, or any broader cost information relating specifically to irregular migrants in the United Kingdom.

The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes identifying a range of options to reduce the use of hotels over time and ensuring efficiency and value for money across all accommodation arrangements.

In accordance with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in different areas is routinely published by the Government in table ASY D_11 here:

Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Home Office does not publish asylum support data disaggregated by method of arrival.

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the department's annual report and accounts.

The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department’s annual report and accounts.

Information on the number of Foreign Nationals in prisons can be found in Table 1_Q_12 here: Source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a1167cce1fd0da7b592c8d/Prison-population-30-June-2024.ods.

We are unable to provide the requested prisoner release figures at this time, as they form a subset of prisoner releases data scheduled for future publication. Numbers of custodial releases for the period covering July 2024 to September 2024 will be published on 30 January 2025, here: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Our best national release estimates were published in the Statutory Instrument to Amend the Standard Determinate Sentence Automatic Release Point Impact Assessment published on 17 July 2024: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2024/117/pdfs/ukia_20240117_en.pdf.

Further statistics will be published in due course.

Prisoners released on SDS40 will be subject to licence and liable to recall to prison if they do not comply or are judged a risk to public safety. Reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

A critical element of reducing reoffending is ensuring offenders leaving prison can access the support they need to resettle effectively into the community. An offender’s resettlement needs are assessed on their arrival into the prison estate, with appropriate provision arranged in advance of release. When the release date is changed, as is the case with SDS40, this provision is realigned to that new release date.

There are clear processes in place to ensure all releases are carefully managed by Prison and Probation staff.

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has not held any positions with (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity, and (d) equality in the job title in each of the last five years.

The Scotland Office has not had any positions that have included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity or (d) equality in their job title in any of the last five years.

No positions in my Department had diversity, inclusion, equity, or equality in their job titles in the last five years, as such there were no related salary costs.