Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold a central record of feasibility studies undertaken for projects that subsequently did not proceed. Identifying the total cost over the last five years would require manual review of records across multiple directorates, our partner bodies and programmes, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Where appropriate, feasibility work is undertaken as part of standard business‑case development to inform decisions and ensure value for money.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) manages its projects in accordance with the principles of HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money to ensure the effective and efficient use of public funds.
Following a review of departmental records for the last five years, the Northern Ireland Office has no such costs to report.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were no transactions (subscription costs or otherwise) identified with LinkedIn as a supplier in the 2024/25 financial year.
The total subscription fees identified for the 2024/25 financial year was £832,046.14. This figure excludes membership of the World Health Organisation which is considered a subscription for accountancy purposes.
The response relates to the core department only and does not include information relating to the department’s arm’s-length bodies.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested is not centrally held in an accessible form.
Due to this any response could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the total number of active mobile phone (a) connections (b) contracts/subscriptions in the UK.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom's Telecommunications Market Data Update, published on the 15th of January 2026, shows that the number of active mobile phone subscriptions in the UK was 91 million as of the end of September 2025. This figure represents an increase of 895,000 subscriptions, or a one per cent increase, compared with the previous year. These numbers exclude Machine-to-Machine SIMs.
Ofcom do not hold a figure for the number of active mobile phone connections in the UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office can confirm that the cost over the last five years of conducting feasibility studies is nil.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of hospitality apprenticeship schemes in tackling labour shortages in the pub sector.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Apprenticeships are one of the ways in which employers in the hospitality sector can fill skills gaps and address labour shortages. Employers in the sector have developed a number of apprenticeships including the Level 2 Food and Beverage Team Member, Level 3 Hospitality Supervisor, and Level 4 Hospitality Manager. Published data on apprenticeships, including within the hospitality sector, can be found at: Apprenticeships, Academic year 2024/25 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK.
To support our ambition of 50,000 more young people undertaking apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships, we will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors where young people are traditionally recruited, exploring occupations such as hospitality and retail. Additionally, to support SMEs to access apprenticeships, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year. Smaller employers in all sectors will benefit from this change.
The department and Skills England engage regularly with the hospitality sector, including industry bodies such as UK Hospitality, regarding training for the sector and the government’s plans for skills.
The government has also supported other sector-based initiatives such as the development of a Hospitality Skills Passport and hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contracts her Department currently holds with (i) ClearVoice and (ii) other interpretation providers for asylum and migration services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold any contract with ClearVoice.
The Home Office has a contract above threshold with ‘thebigword’ Group Limited.