Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for the commencement of a 24/7 mental health crisis support line for police forces staff.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government takes very seriously the mental health of the police workforce and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. Through the Police Covenant we have made significant progress on our initial priorities, including delivering pre-employment mental health support for the police workforce, launching a family support pack, improving occupational health standards in all forces and appointing a Chief Medical Officer for policing.
We also continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS). The service is helping forces and individuals to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.
The Home Office also provided funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce. The NPWS will introduce the new independent and confidential support line imminently. This will be a dedicated phone line for policing staffed by qualified counsellors who have specialised training in crisis intervention and suicide prevention. The line will initially be available to all police officers and staff within the North East Region, with the view to expanding to all regions in England and Wales in 2025.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mental health support is available to police officers; and how that support is promoted to officers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government takes very seriously the mental health of the police workforce and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. Through the Police Covenant we have made significant progress on our initial priorities, including delivering pre-employment mental health support for the police workforce, launching a family support pack, improving occupational health standards in all forces and appointing a Chief Medical Officer for policing.
We also continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS). The service is helping forces and individuals to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.
The Home Office also provided funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce. The NPWS will introduce the new independent and confidential support line imminently. This will be a dedicated phone line for policing staffed by qualified counsellors who have specialised training in crisis intervention and suicide prevention. The line will initially be available to all police officers and staff within the North East Region, with the view to expanding to all regions in England and Wales in 2025.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) collecting and (b) publishing data on the number and proportion of police officers taking sick leave who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Supporting the wellbeing and mental health of our police officers is a priority for this Government. Through the Police Covenant we are delivering meaningful changes that will support all who work in policing.
The Home Office collects data on the number of officers on long-term sickness absence, including any recognised medical condition, physical or psychological, as reported by the officer or a medical practitioner. The reason for long-term sickness is not collected. We recognise the importance of understanding what mental health or wellbeing challenges members of the police workforce may face. That is why we continue to the fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) to conduct the annual National Police Wellbeing Survey, the findings of which directly inform the ongoing development of the Police Covenant.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on training for police officers in (a) Turks and Caicos Islands, (b) Bermuda and (c) Cayman Islands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the UK works closely with US partners on a number of areas of cooperation, the Secretary of State has not had any conversations with his US counterpart relating to the training of police officers within the Turks and Caicos, Bermuda or Cayman Islands.
The Home Office, through the International Police Assistance Service (IPAS), are currently delivering training to Overseas Territories’ Police in line with identified requirements and funded by the International Security Fund (ISF).
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by his Department were made in Britain.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government Car service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour in (a) Suffolk Coastal constituency and (b) Suffolk.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes funding an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas and, following the success of the pilots, we have extended this approach to every police force in England and Wales from April. Suffolk will receive £1,000,000 for the hotspot programme for 2024/25 tackling areas of high incidents of both anti-social behaviour and serious violence.
We are also strengthening police and local authority powers to tackle anti-social behaviour through a number of measures in the Criminal Justice Bill.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Point of Order by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 21 May 2024 and the report entitled Protecting our Democracy from Coercion, HC 775, published on 21 May 2024, if he will amend page 1 of that report to include the registered interests of the UK Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Lord Walney is the UK Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption.
Lord Walney’s report, published on 21 May and entitled Protecting our Democracy from Coercion, is an independent report. Therefore, the Home Secretary is not able to make any amends to it.
It would be for Lord Walney as the report’s author to consider any necessary alterations.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the amount of money that was returned to victims of gambling-related crimes (a) by the gambling industry, (b) through a proceeding under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and (c) by any other means in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office does not hold the information that you have requested on (a) compensation activity by the gambling industry (b) the value of assets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) from offenders who committed gambling related crimes or (c) amount of money returned to victims of gambling related crimes by other means.
The Home Office holds information on the value of assets recovered under POCA 2002 from offenders who committed other types of offences including fraud and money laundering. This data is included in the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin which is published every year. The latest release was in September 2023, covering the period between financial year 2017 to 2018 and 2022 to 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle Russian covert activity.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Russia is a top national security priority for Government, and we have made huge strides to counter the threat posed by Putin’s regime and to increase our resilience to Russian malign activity. This includes repeatedly exposing the activities of the Russian Intelligence Services and Russia’s malicious cyber activity, expelling Russian intelligence officers, and sanctioning individuals responsible for hostile activity.
The Government actively deters and defends against the full spectrum of threats emanating from Russia, working in partnership with our allies. We recently announced the expulsion of the Russian Defence Attaché and are removing the diplomatic status from several Russian premises as part of a package to tighten defences against malign activity by Russia across the UK and Europe.
This is the toughest package of bilateral measures imposed on Russia since Salisbury and sits alongside the significant powers of the National Security Act 2023, which are already being used to keep us safe from state threats.
Alongside the US and Australia, we have also sanctioned a senior Russia-based leader of LockBit, once one of the world’s most pernicious cybercrime gangs.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the UK.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
His Majesty's Government is unable to comment further on intelligence and security matters. We are committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred within our communities. We have some of the strongest laws in the world to protect our citizens.