Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value was of student loans that were written off in the last year; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans, by nationality.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The requested information can be found in the Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, updated in July each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2024 to 2025’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.
The amount that has been cancelled or written off during the 2024/25 financial year, the total amount outstanding at the start of the financial year including interest and loans not yet due for repayment (after adjustments), and the proportion that write offs or cancellations make out of the starting balance can be found at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F684c16b8da3d1b49e6797046%2Fslcsp012025.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.
These statistics are not broken down by borrower nationality. This information is not readily available and cannot be obtained within the timeframe given to respond. Figures for the 2025/26 financial year will be available in the July 2026 publication.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to (a) initiate and (b) publish the findings of an emergency census in 2026.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In July the Government confirmed the next census of England and Wales will take place in 2031.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the (a) age, (b) religion, (c) ethnicity and (d) country of birth of people (i) referred to the Prevent programme and (ii) convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities areWe have provided data for the financial years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Data for the latest financial year 2024/25 will be released 6th November 2025 at Gov.uk.
Information on individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK is published quarterly by the Home Office in the statistical release titled Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation. This includes detailed data tables for Great Britain, covering a range of individual and offence-related characteristics, such as:
Annual and quarterly breakdowns for the last five years and prior and are accessible via Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials in her Department have had (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with (i) the Carbon Trust, (ii) MyEmissions, (iii) Raynor Foods Ltd. and (iv) UK food retailers on the (A) development and (B) testing of (1) carbon scores and (2) carbon ratings on food packaging.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Eco-labels on food are used by some businesses on a voluntary basis to help consumers make more sustainable choices.
Eco-labels based on robust environmental impact data could support informed consumer choices and business competition based on sustainability. Through the Food Data Transparency Partnership, Defra have conducted engagement on eco-labelling across the food and drink sector, including the Carbon Trust and MyEmissions as well as retailers. Minutes of meetings with our industry groups can be found on Food Data Transparency Partnership - GOV.UK.
The feedback helped identify two fundamental data challenges to address. The first challenge is how to accurately quantify product level environmental impacts. The second is the insufficient availability and quality of data used to inform these assessments from product supply chains. Defra-commissioned research has therefore focused on solving these two fundamental data challenges through the LED 4 Food project. We continue to support new and existing industry-led initiatives to develop the evidence base in these areas. There are currently no plans for Government to make eco-labelling mandatory or to develop a Government eco-label.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data the DLVA records on where a driver passed their driving test when exchanging a non-UK licence for a UK licence.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
When a GB driving licence is issued in exchange for a licence issued in a non-GB country, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) add a ‘Code 70’ to the driver’s record to indicate that the driving licence was obtained through an exchange. Also, the driver record and the photocard driving licence display the country in which the exchanged licence was issued, the driving categories that the licence holder is entitled to drive and the start dates for each category.
To be eligible to exchange a foreign licence for a GB equivalent, the applicant would have to have passed their test in a European Union/European Economic Area country or a country designated for driving licence exchange.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how questions were provided to the Prime Minister in advance of Prime Minister's questions since 5 July 2025, broken down by party.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In line with long-standing convention, MPs are responsible for what they say in the chamber.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information the Department holds on the number of Somali citizens living in social housing as a proportion of the Somali population living in the UK for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on the type of housing tenure in which Somali nationals living in the UK reside.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation for services related to social housing in each of the last ten financial years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on the cost of translation and interpretation for services related to social housing.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will assess the potential merits of barring non-UK nationals from (a) being the lead tenant for social housing (b) living in social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19776 on 20 December 2024.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The food production to supply ratio compares all domestic food production to supply, including food that the UK exports instead of consuming. In 2024, the production to supply ratio was 65%. When food exports are taken into account, Defra estimates that in 2024 57% of food consumed in the United Kingdom was domestically produced. Defra publishes both of these figures annually, in its Agriculture in the UK publication.