Operation Soteria

Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Lord Stewart of Dirleton

Thursday 13th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

Once again, my noble friend makes an exceptionally important point. Progress on the implementation of Operation Soteria has touched on matters such as the essential aspect of possession and use of a mobile phone. People nowadays are entirely dependent on their phones in all sorts of ways. As the noble Baroness and other noble Lords who have contributed will appreciate, mobile phones are often pivotal in the investigation and accumulation of sufficient evidence with which to bring a charge. We are taking steps, and the Soteria principles set out, so that phones will be away from people for one day at the most.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, Operation Soteria has been widely welcomed and it is positive to see the encouraging outcomes in the pilot areas, as the noble and learned Lord has outlined. But we know that, to improve rape prosecution, there needs to be meaningful action to transform policing culture, in which institutional misogyny, racism and other forms of discrimination are harming survivors. What further action is being taken to tackle this corrosive culture of abuse? Police abuse of power for sexual purposes is now the biggest form of corruption dealt with by the police complaints body, and we need to tackle this.

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

The Government have established a unit in the Home Office which will work in conjunction with police chief constables in order to attempt to shape police responses, attitudes and—for want of a better expression—the general culture within the police force. Beyond that, I hope I can give the noble Baroness some assurance that, from now, all new recruits and first responders will be trained and acquainted with the Soteria principles.

Power of Attorney

Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Lord Stewart of Dirleton

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

I do agree with the noble Baroness, and I can advise her that even very recently OPG carried out engagement with specific groups in society identified as being less likely to avail themselves of the protections offered by LPAs—specifically, people from socioeconomic groups and within ethnic minorities who have been identified as less likely to take up these protections, which, I agree with the noble Baroness, are of enormous importance for the whole of society.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, could I ask the Minister about the increase in predatory marriages, whereby fraudsters target elderly people, usually with dementia, in order to swindle them out of their inheritance, usually by getting into marriage when they do not have the capacity, normally, to make such decisions. Could he say what the Ministry of Justice and his department are doing to put registrars on a statutory training course to ensure that, when they are approached by people who want to get married, they have the capacity to do so according to their own free will?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

I can say, under reference to the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, which concerned lasting powers of attorney, that the OPC has, after certain recent cases, instituted increased training schemes within its number and introduced a buddying scheme so junior members of staff can learn from senior members of staff. As to the specific question the noble Baroness poses on predatory marriages, I regret to say it is not within my department, but I will speak to the Minister in charge, and it may well be, if the noble Baroness is willing to wait, that we will express ourselves in writing.

Rape Trials

Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Lord Stewart of Dirleton

Tuesday 25th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, I can give the noble Lord that assurance. I remind the House that, of course, as the noble Lord is well aware, we are dealing not simply with the role of government but with necessarily independent bodies, upon which our constitution relies—it relies on the independence of the judiciary and of prosecutors—but I can give the noble Lord the assurance that he seeks.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the End Violence Against Women Coalition reported that, as a result of funding cuts in recent years, two-fifths of police forces in England and Wales no longer have a specialist rape and serious sexual offences unit, thereby losing vital expertise in investigating and prosecuting sexual violence. At a time when rape prosecutions remain at their lowest level on record and rape survivors face some of the longest delays to their cases reaching trial of any victims of crime, are the Government serious about prioritising tackling sexual violence against women and girls?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, this Government are indeed serious about addressing the matters that the noble Baroness has placed before the House. I am able to give the noble Baroness some assurances in relation to figures. We are on track to recruit a further 20,000 police officers by the end of this Parliament. Over 100 prosecutors have undertaken induction training on rape and serious sexual offences—RASSO as it is known—while 674 prosecutors have been trained in a suspect-centred approach; that means focusing the investigation on the suspect and shifting away from the idea that it is the function of the police somehow to challenge the complainer’s account of events. Furthermore, by the end of this financial year, 176 prosecutors will have been trained and skilled in the assessment of the impact of trauma on memory. All these measures will enhance the ability of the system to address these extremely serious crimes.

Integrated Communities Strategy

Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Lord Stewart of Dirleton

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con) [V]]

My Lords, sharia law is not part of the legal system of England and Wales, and that has been made clear in the past. In relation to the provision of material via the citizens advice bureaux, to which the noble Lord refers, I will write to him about the availability of that material and how it is being promulgated through these bodies.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD) [V]]

Last month, I attended a nikah ceremony at the impressive Cambridge eco mosque, and I was impressed by the young imam there, who made it perfectly clear that he would refuse to perform a nikah for non-British couples and those who had not already taken part in a legal marriage in this country. Are the Government satisfied that this good practice is happening in all religious ceremonies across the country?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the point raised by the noble Baroness is important. To repeat the terms of a previous answer, that matter is part of the social and educational function, which the Government are exploring.