Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department issues to local licensing authorities on minimum English language proficiency requirements for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers; and whether her Department has collected or reviewed any evidence or audits in the last five years on the ability of non‑native English‑speaking drivers to communicate effectively in English with passengers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department recognises the importance of proficiency in English language. That’s why its existing statutory guidance recommends that all licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to demonstrate written and oral English language proficiency. Licensing authorities are responsible for deciding how English language proficiency is demonstrated. As of 1 April 2024, 81% of licensing authorities in England reported that they required the taxi drivers they license to demonstrate English language proficiency and 82% of licensing authorities in England reported that they required the private hire vehicle drivers they license to demonstrate English language proficiency.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of disparities in rates of males and females not being in education, employment or training on boys and young men.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for (a) Education and (b) Business and Trade to reduce the number of young men not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that boys and young men receive targeted support to improve education, employment and training outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers in England and Wales; and whether her Department, or any relevant inspectorate, has undertaken audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non-native English-speaking officers to communicate effectively in English with members of the public.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to ensuring consistent, high standards for entry into the police.
In respect of police officers, regulations currently require chief officers to satisfy themselves that all new recruits are competent in written and spoken English.
In respect of Police Community Support Officers, PCSO’s will typically have at least a Level 2 qualification or equivalent (e.g. GCSE grade A-C) in English prior to joining.
We continue to work closely with the College of Policing to ensure standards are regularly reviewed to ensure they meet operational requirements. The College is currently consulting on a new national standard for English and Maths to ensure a consistent approach across all forces.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full‑time equivalent GPs were practising in the Great Yarmouth constituency in each of the last five years, and how many patients these GPs were responsible for in each of those years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice and patients per FTE doctor in general practice in the Great Yarmouth constituency, from December 2021 to December 2025:
Date | Total FTE doctors in general practice | Median patients per FTE doctor in general practice |
December 2021 | 61.9 | 1,539 |
December 2022 | 58.9 | 1,779 |
December 2023 | 66.4 | 1,441 |
December 2024 | 70.8 | 1,568 |
December 2025 | 66.4 | 1,966 |
Notes:
The national median number of patients per FTE doctor in general practice in December 2025 was 1,805.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to publish gender‑disaggregated monitoring data on the potential impact of the 200,000‑job employment and apprenticeship programme announced on 16 March 2026 on the number of men not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employment and apprenticeship reforms announced on 16 March 2026 include measures to reduce the number of young men not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to frontline adult social care workers in England; and whether his Department, or any relevant regulator, has conducted audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non‑native English‑speaking staff in those roles to communicate effectively in English with service users and carers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are required to deploy enough suitably qualified, competent, and experienced staff and only employ 'fit and proper' staff who are able to provide care and treatment appropriate to their role, as per Regulations 18 and 19 of the Health and Social Care 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 respectively.
It is the responsibility of a care provider to ensure that everyone involved in the delivery of services has the required level of English language competence to enable them to communicate effectively with people who use services and colleagues.
The CQC can assess providers’ compliance with these regulations through assessment and monitoring activity. Where an assessment of a service has been carried out, individual reports will be published to the CQC’s website. Where a breach or non-compliance of regulation is identified, the CQC can take regulatory action as set out in the CQC’s published enforcement policy, which is available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/enforcement/enforcement-policy
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the potential cost to the public purse of (a) maintaining, (b) reviewing and (c) administering the Alternative Student Finance model, including advisory services, system maintenance, compliance monitoring and equivalence assurance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.