Fast Stream Numerical Reasoning

Question 1

A government department's budget was £240 million in 2022/23. It received a 5% increase for 2023/24, but then faced a 3% real-terms cut for 2024/25. What was the department's budget for 2024/25?

Accepted Answer

£244.44 million

Answer

£244.78 million

Answer

£252.00 million

Answer

£247.80 million

Question 2

A Civil Service diversity report shows that 48% of applicants to the Fast Stream were female, and 52% were male. If 12% of female applicants and 10% of male applicants were successful, and there were 25,000 total applicants, what was the total number of successful candidates?

Accepted Answer

2,740

Answer

2,700

Answer

2,500

Answer

2,800

Question 3

A local authority collects council tax from 45,000 households. The average Band D rate is £1,820 per year. If the collection rate is 96.5%, how much council tax revenue does the authority actually collect?

Accepted Answer

£79,033,500

Answer

£81,900,000

Answer

£78,975,000

Answer

£81,000,000

Question 4

A policy team analyses NHS waiting times. In Quarter 1, the average wait was 18 weeks. In Quarter 2 it rose by 15%, and in Quarter 3 it fell by 10% from the Quarter 2 figure. What was the average waiting time in Quarter 3, rounded to one decimal place?

Accepted Answer

18.6 weeks

Answer

18.9 weeks

Answer

18.0 weeks

Answer

18.3 weeks

Question 5

The UK government spent £55.3 billion on education in 2022/23. If this represented 4.2% of GDP, what was the approximate GDP?

Accepted Answer

£1,317 billion

Answer

£1,250 billion

Answer

£1,400 billion

Answer

£1,150 billion

Question 6

A department needs to reduce its headcount by 12% from 8,500 staff over three years, with equal reductions each year. How many staff should remain at the end of Year 1?

Accepted Answer

8,160

Answer

7,480

Answer

8,000

Answer

7,820

A government department's budget was £240 million in 2022/23.It received a 5% increase for 2023/24, but then faced a 3% real-terms cut for 2024/25.What was the department's budget for 2024/25?

A government department's budget was £240 million in 2022/23.
It received a 5% increase for 2023/24, but then faced a 3% real-terms cut for 2024/25.
What was the department's budget for 2024/25?