EU Borders: Hand and Face Scanning

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Wednesday 17th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

The first thing it will do will be to ease traffic. I imagine that will be of enormous benefit to the people of Dover.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, on something that is in our control, and being very much an optimist, I was delighted just recently when I applied for my new passport. I expected it to take weeks or months and that there would be lots of delays. I was pleasantly surprised that I could do it electronically. I turned up to the Passport Office and got the passport in five minutes. That is a tremendous accolade to the Passport Office. I just want to put that on record.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that. That is a long-overdue compliment to the passport service, which has been operating extraordinarily efficiently now for quite some time. I remember there was a lot of disquiet on Opposition Benches post Covid about how long it took to square off the backlog. I have not heard any commendations for its recent very strong performance.

Windrush Generation

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Tuesday 28th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I do not disagree with the noble Lord at all. What happened in the Windrush scandal and to its victims was an outrage. It should not have happened and unreserved apologies have rightly been made by successive Home Secretaries. I have tried to outline the work being done in a couple of answers. I should also say that there is no cap or time limit on the compensation—it will continue until all claims are met.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend give an update on the documentation scheme and how the Government are working with the relevant local communities to ensure that they can activate this?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Absolutely. Over 21,400 people have applied to the scheme in the UK; so far, as of the third quarter of 2023, 16,700 individuals have been issued with documentation confirming their status or British citizenship. That includes over 8,500 individuals who have been granted citizenship. As I mentioned—I hope this reassures my noble friend—the engagement with the Windrush compensation scheme also talks about documentation and the documentation scheme. People attend these events and they have been engaging extremely extensively around the country.

Black and Minority-ethnic Children: Police Strip-searches

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I am afraid I do not have those details. I will have to write to the noble Baroness.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, I add my voice to those saying that we understand about the review—there will be lessons to be learned from the reviews and rules to be updated. But can my noble friend the Minister say why the Home Secretary could not write to all chief constables now to ensure that PACE rules are being enforced and adhered to very closely?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I reassure my noble friend that there is no reason why the Home Secretary could not write now, but the report was delivered in its final conclusion only on Friday and we are still assessing its recommendations.

Domestic Abuse Victims

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

I know we will have many discussions on the victims Bill and we will certainly take the recommendations of the DA commissioner very seriously. I think we have already accepted some and are working on them.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, I very much welcome the support the Government are putting into this vital area. Will the Minister give an update on the Forced Marriage Unit and on what additional support is being given to those referred to it, particularly young girls and boys?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My noble friend asks a very pertinent question. The Forced Marriage Unit’s work is going very well and referrals to it are increasing. Some victims of forced marriage are probably some of the most vulnerable because they are so scared to leave their situation. I am pleased about the work we have done on it. I have lost my place, so I will write to my noble friend with further information on it.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Wednesday 24th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, it was possibly a year ago, even two years ago, that I stood up and acknowledged that the scheme was not running as swiftly as it could, that people were not getting the compensation that they should and that we needed to do more to reach out. I fully accepted that criticism.

But, as I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, we continue to make improvements to the scheme. The result of this is evidenced in the amount of compensation paid out rising from less than £3 million, which it was at the time, to over £31.6 million, with a further £5.6 million having been offered. We have brought in some new support measures to those claiming on behalf of relatives who have passed away. We have also increased our number of caseworkers to over 80, with another 34 coming online shortly. For those needing more support in applying, we have funded an organisation to provide free independent claimant assistance to individuals.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome my noble friend the Minister’s personal commitment to this issue, which is very recognisable in the answers that she has given. However, only one in 20 people eligible for compensation have received it. The Government need to move faster and at pace because, as the Minister has indicated, people have died, and it would be nice for others to see resolution in their lifetimes.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that. That claim that only 5% of people, or one in 20, have received a payment is actually a bit misleading. When we first set up the scheme, we made an estimate, which I remember saying to the House was quite difficult to make, of the number of people we thought might be eligible. That estimate was originally 15,000 and was then revised down to 11,500. It is now 4,600. Obviously, we will try our best to ensure that anyone who comes forward gets the compensation that they deserve. We now estimate, based on what I have just said to my noble friend, that 29% of people who have submitted a claim have received a payment.

Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, what progress has been made in tackling attacks with acid? Acid attacks cause horrific injuries and have a dreadful impact on people’s lives.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend is absolutely right to raise this issue; it has been quite prevalent in recent months. Back in July, the Government put in place an action plan to tackle the use of acid and other corrosive substances in violent attacks. It was based on four key strands: ensuring effective support for victims, effective policing, ensuring that the relevant legislation is understood and applied, and working to restrict access to acids and other harmful products.

Stalking

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

On expanding the sex offenders register, someone has to be violent and a sex offender to go on to it. A stalker might be neither violent nor a sex offender. However, if someone becomes violent and a menace both to society and to their victim, they would be captured on the sex offenders register.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, some ethnic minority women have got married under the nikah ceremony and have subsequently found themselves in a domestic violence situation, but they have no redress because they have not had their marriage registered by a registry office. Will this be tackled in some sort of register too?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am so glad my noble friend brought up this issue because it is one I have seen evidence of on many occasions: a woman thinks she is married—she may have come from another country to get married in this country—but she is not and her marriage is not recognised in law. If she is a victim of domestic violence she is in a very vulnerable position indeed. I hope my noble friend brings this up in the course of the consultation on the domestic abuse Bill.

Domestic Violence and Abuse

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2017 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Manzoor]

That this House takes note of Her Majesty’s Government’s plans to protect and support victims of domestic violence and abuse.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, throughout my adult life I have tried to do my bit to create a fairer society and one that values and improves the lives of some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our communities. I have tried to do this through my work in the health service, through my work as the Legal Services Ombudsman and Legal Services Complaints Commissioner for England and Wales, as a trustee of the NSPCC, and as a commissioner and deputy chairman of the then Commission for Racial Equality. I have listened to and seen at first hand the harrowing effects that physical, sexual and psychological abuse and violence can have on the lives of individuals and on the lives of their families.

I was very moved by my noble friend Lady Seccombe’s insightful speech last week when she spoke about domestic violence. It made me reflect on the great strides that society has made in bringing this corrosive behaviour and violence to light so it is no longer hidden, mostly, behind closed doors. Attitudes, quite rightly, have changed significantly. However, despite the great strides made, sadly the Office for National Statistics figures, which I make no apology for quoting, show that for the year ending March 2016, of those who said they had experienced domestic abuse, 1.2 million were female and 651,000 were male—of every three victims of violence, two will be female and one will be male. Overall, 27.1% of women and 13.2% of men had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16, equivalent to an estimated 4.5 million female victims and 2.2 million male victims. Around seven women a month are killed by a current or ex-partner in England and Wales. Findings from the British Crime Survey show around 30 women, every day, attempt suicide as a result of experiencing abuse. Every week, three women take their own lives. These are shocking figures.

Like Age UK, I am also concerned that domestic abuse towards older people is a hidden issue. Coercive behaviour and control is the dominant aspect of abuse, and this can make victims even less likely to disclose abuse, and professionals do not always identify indicative patterns. Official police statistics consistently report low levels of abuse and domestic violence against older people, while prevalence surveys suggest that around 340,000—about one in 25—older people living in the community are affected by abuse every year. Health and Social Care Information Centre figures show that the majority of all safeguarding concerns relate to those over 65. Age UK recently found that, at a very conservative estimate, 130,000 people living in the community aged 65 and over have suffered financial abuse. As with younger age groups, the majority of victims are women.

It is also important to note that statistics on domestic abuse are often based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales, CSEW. However, the self-completion module of this survey has historically only been put to respondents aged 16 to 59. Can my noble friend the Minister say what the progress is on plans to totally remove the age limit of CSEW abuse statistics? No loving partner, no loving parent, no loving member of the family or friend should violate those closest to them. Age is irrelevant.

As a society, we must have zero tolerance to domestic violence and abuse. To that end, I would personally like to see the law strengthened so perpetrators of domestic violence serve their full prison term rather than being released after serving only half. Despite domestic violence and abuse affecting both men and women, it is women and girls who bear the brunt of it. It is therefore right that the Government have made stopping violence against women and girls a priority. But no one should live in fear of these crimes, and everyone should have the right to feel safe at home and in their communities.

In that regard, the Government have undertaken some ground-breaking work which should be commended. They have published their Ending Violence against Women and Girls strategy and pledged increased, dedicated funding of £100 million between now and 2020. They have launched a £15 million service transformation fund to boost local provision of services to promote and embed the best of local practice. They have launched a £20 million DCLG domestic abuse accommodation fund, which will support 76 projects, creating 2,200 new bed spaces in refuges and other specialist accommodation. They have rolled out domestic violence protection orders and the domestic violence disclosure scheme, and introduced a specific offence of domestic abuse, which outlaws patterns of controlling or coercive behaviour and carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine or both. They have placed domestic homicide reviews on a statutory basis and driven improvements to the police response time by overseeing delivery of recommendations from HMIC reports. They have also prepared legislation that will give family courts the power to stop abusers from cross-examining victims in person.

Those are all welcome measures, and as a result of the Government’s strategy, the volume of prosecutions and convictions for domestic violence is now at its highest-ever level. That means more victims are coming forward and are seeing justice than ever before. However, although it is important to recognise these improvements, there is still a long way to go, as the statistics I have outlined and the recent joint report by HMIC and HMCPSI, Living in Fear – the police and CPS response to harassment and stalking, show.

I am therefore pleased that the Government intend to build on this important area of law by announcing in the gracious Speech that they will be introducing a new domestic violence and abuse Bill. Currently, there is no definition in law of domestic violence and abuse, and the law in this area is fragmented across different pieces of legislation. I hope that the Government will remedy this in the domestic violence and abuse Bill, as well as defining the law on what is domestic violence and abuse. That would bring greater clarity and guidance to the justice system, as well as better understanding of the law and the role and responsibilities of key professionals working across our public sector. Perhaps my noble friend say whether the definition will consider all forms of domestic abuse—for example, financial abuse, abandonment, including outside the UK by UK nationals living in the UK, and intimate partner violence.

I agree with the Women’s Aid network that the Government should put prevention and early intervention at the core of the new legislation and any regulations relating to it. This will enable domestic abuse to be identified and responded to before it escalates. It needs with clarity to address areas of prevention and early intervention in its strategies in areas such as in the community and at work, and better engagement and co-ordination with professionals in the health service and in the care of the elderly.

I would like the Bill to strengthen work on sanctions for perpetrators of violence and the reporting mechanisms between professionals, such as the NHS and enforcement agencies. Safeguarding issues are important for all vulnerable people, but more so for the young and the elderly. The Government should also consider putting in place mechanisms which enable us better to understand and respond to the devastating and lifelong impact that domestic abuse has on children, who carry the effect into adulthood. Such mechanisms could enable targeted and better planning of services and access to specialist needs-led support—which is vital.

We should not forget the ratification of the Istanbul convention. A Private Member’s Bill relating to this, so ably taken through your Lordships’ house by the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, received government support—no doubt the noble Baroness will have more to say today. The ratification of the Istanbul convention by the Government will put in place an important framework in the UK which will enable the proper monitoring and assessment of progress. It had full cross-party support, and I hope that the Minister will be able to give a timetable for its implementation.

Given the landscape I have outlined, these are all significant areas of policy, and I support the Government’s commitment to and emphasis on further legislation and regulation, which continues to improve and protect the lives of some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our communities.

To conclude, can my noble friend say how the domestic violence and abuse Bill will recognise the harm inflicted on children who witness domestic abuse, and how will the Government support the Bill with practical action and resources? Also, will the Government think carefully and creatively and use the Bill as an opportunity to amend company law in tackling modern slavery and abuse by incorporating or linking Section 54, which relates to supply chains and subcontractors under the Modern Slavery Act, into UK company law? I mentioned last week that the French vigilance law is a good example in relation to human rights and the environment.

I end by congratulating the Government on its domestic violence and abuse strategy and with a quote from Women’s Aid network:

“The Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a step change in the identification of and response to domestic abuse by public sector agencies, and set in motion a cultural shift in the way that our communities recognise and react to survivors”.


I could not agree more. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Manzoor]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have participated in this very important debate for their individual, invaluable and thought-provoking contributions. All noble Lords made very moving contributions—particularly, for me, the noble Baronesses, Lady Royall, Lady Brinton and Lady Newlove—reflecting the importance of what it means for the victims and the society that we live in.

I thank the Minister for taking the trouble to have a meeting with me to discuss modern slavery and domestic violence, and for her response today, which was, as always, sympathetic and informative. I know that she will have listened very carefully to your Lordships and I hope that in her usual accommodating style she will consider how the issues raised today might be captured in the domestic violence and abuse Bill which, as we have heard, will come before your Lordships’ House in the near future.

Across the House we all want the same thing: domestic violence and abuse must end. It should have no place in our homes, communities or society. We need to do everything in our power to eradicate it. As we heard, legislation is a key component but it is not the only one. There are other things that we need to do. Again, I thank noble Lords for taking part. I beg to move.

Motion agreed.

Child Refugees

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Thursday 27th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, as my first Answer explained, we have not closed the Dubs scheme. We have 200 children here and there is potential for another 280 to arrive under the additional numbers. I look forward to the outcome of the court case and would not want to comment on it at this stage.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, France or Europe are not some war-torn country, so I am delighted that refugees are able to get to a place of safety, whether in France or here. My concern is that the most vulnerable children and women are still in Syria and on the borders of Syria. What support have the Government given in that vital work?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am very pleased to be able to do that. My noble friend is absolutely right that the most vulnerable are still in the regions. Last year, the former Prime Minister made an announcement to double the amount of assistance going to the region to £2.4 billion—double the amount that it had been previously. My noble friend makes exactly the right point that we should be sending help to the regions where it is most needed.

Women: Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Monday 13th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the noble Baroness makes a valid point about the demand for services. That is why the Government have taken a whole-picture look at the services for domestic violence—in other words, freeing up spaces within refuges by moving on accommodation, preventive services and of course some of the services within the woman’s own home, such as the domestic violence prevention orders, to try to keep the perpetrators of violence away from the home.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, I recently met a young lawyer who told me she was aware of 36 cases in Pakistan where women had been abandoned by men who were UK residents. What is being done to eradicate this appalling state of affairs?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend highlights a truly terrible state of affairs—in fact one step worse than for some of those women who actually make it to this country, because women in other countries who have no leave to remain and have no rights in that country really are the most vulnerable women in the world. Of course the women who come here and experience domestic violence may also have no leave to remain here and may have their passports taken away from them. This is something that the Government are not just mindful of but doing something about.