Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the Social Market Foundation and Police Federation joint report Pay and Morale Survey 2023, published in February, what assessment they have made of current morale within the police service in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government values the vital contribution of police officers across the country who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day. This Government will work collaboratively with policing to address challenges and ensure officers have the right support, resources and recognition they need to tackle crimes and to keep the public safe, as well as improving standards across the board to restore public confidence.
This Government is also committed to supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of all our police and is working closely with police leaders and staff associations, including the Police Federation, to support this.
On 29 July, the Government announced that it had accepted the Police Remuneration Review Body’s recommendation to award officers in the federated and superintending ranks a consolidated pay award of 4.75%, with effect from 1 September 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support forces to minimise the number of police officers posted in back office or business support functions where their warranted powers are not required.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing as part of our Safer Streets Mission. This is a vital part of restoring confidence in policing, and getting thousands of officers back on the beat in our communities.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need. While we expect that police officers will be used in tackling crime and protecting the public, it is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience, including how best to allocate resources.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent they are prioritising work to connect civil and family courts' databases and IT systems with police databases and IT systems to inform policing vetting procedures.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Work is ongoing between the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to ensure a system is in place for the information transfer of protective orders from the courts to policing.
The government is also working with the NPCC to develop a Continuous Integrity System to enable relevant information on officers and staff to be captured and assessed in quick time as part of a wider integrity programme to enhance the vetting regime.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to amend police regulations in relation to allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse or violence against women and girls.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto included the mission to halve VAWG over the next decade.
In her statement to Parliament on 23 October on police accountability, the Home Secretary reiterated the Government’s commitment to strengthen police misconduct and vetting systems. Those who commit heinous acts such as VAWG have no place in policing and our measures will ensure that there is a statutory underpinning for national vetting standards and strengthen requirements relating to the suspension of officers under investigation for domestic abuse or sexual offences.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the Home Office is taking in response to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s briefing Shifting the Scales of Justice, published in September, particularly in relation to the call for the immediate institution of a data-sharing firewall between the police and immigration enforcement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We look forward to seeing the final ‘Shifting the Scales of Justice’ report when it is laid in Parliament. The Government will respond in full to the report’s recommendations within 56 days, as per the Domestic Abuse Act of 2021.
With regards to data-sharing between police and immigration enforcement, we are committed to finding a solution that will encourage migrant victims and give them confidence to come forward.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the behavioural changes of travellers as a result of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping for international visitors.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government’s assessment of the anticipated behavioural changes as a result of tax-free shopping (covering the VAT Retail Export Scheme and the airside scheme) was set out in the original policy costing note which can be found in the Policy costings document from November 2020 p42-43. The government followed the same methodology when calculating costings for the 2022 Growth Plan, which can be found in the Growth Plan documents paragraph 4.19 and Table 4.2 from September 2022.
Whilst there are no current plans to re-introduce tax-free shopping for international visitors, the government keeps all tax policy under review, and we are very grateful to industry for their contribution to our invitation to provide evidence on this matter.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in the easing of the documentary requirements for school groups travelling to France as committed to in the UK–France Joint Leaders’ Declaration of 10 March.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that police forces in England and Wales can collaborate with EU counterparts on missing children and trafficking investigations when a child has been trafficked from the UK to Europe.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Tackling modern slavery, including child trafficking, is a priority for this Government and we are committed to continuing to work closely with EU partners to address this heinous crime.
The UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) delivers a comprehensive package of capabilities that ensures we can work with counterparts across Europe to tackle serious crime. This includes enabling our law enforcement agencies to continue to share information on investigations, including those related to child trafficking, with EU counterparts.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 February 2016 (HL6037), whether the Crown Prosecution Service's IT systems can undertake electronic searches of relevant records by character string; and if not, whether a system update is planned.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton
There is no planned update or change to Crown Prosecutions Service’s existing IT systems to undertake electronic searches of relevant records by character string.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are (1) collaborating with international partners, and (2) leveraging foreign aid, to prevent (a) human trafficking in general, and (b) human trafficking that involves sexual exploitation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The government is fully committed to the eradication of human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery by 2030, as unanimously adopted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UK continues to be a champion within the international system, building on the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking which we launched in 2017, which 92 countries have now endorsed. In October 2019 we appointed the UK's first International Modern Slavery and Migration Envoy to help drive forward our efforts on this agenda. The UK is working with bilateral and multilateral partners, as well as civil society, businesses and partners from academia to catalyse action on Target 8.7 of the SDGs. Examples include our support for international coalitions and UN forums such as Alliance 8.7, the Inter Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) and engagement with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
The government remains committed to using UK aid to help tackle modern slavery, address the root causes and reduce vulnerability. Funding will be focused on supporting the most vulnerable - particularly children, and women and girls. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programming also includes up to £20m to tackle issues including the commercial sexual exploitation of children and up to £13m for programmes in Bangladesh, India and Nepal which assist women and girls who are vulnerable to trafficking.