Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in shoplifting; and what steps they will take to reduce these offences.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023.
We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many fines or other penalties have been imposed for breaches of road traffic laws by (1) e-bikes, and (2) e-scooters, in each of the past six months.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, the Home Office does not centrally collect data on the type of vehicle involved in the offence.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many privately owned e-scooters have been confiscated in each of the last three months for the offence of being driven in a public area.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on Fixed Penalty Notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the “Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE powers” statistical bulletin. The most recent data, for 2021, are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, data are not collected on the type of vehicle involved in the offence. Additionally, the Home Office does not hold information on the number of e-scooters confiscated.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many penalties have been issued for (1) e-scooters, (2) e-bikes, and (3) bicycles, in each of the past three months for the road traffic offence of riding on a pavement.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on Fixed Penalty Notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the “Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE powers” statistical bulletin. The most recent data, for 2021, are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, data are not collected on the type of vehicle involved in the offence. Additionally, the Home Office does not hold information on the number of e-scooters confiscated.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Youth Mobility Scheme to allow applicants from EU countries.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories including EU Member States. However, each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement and, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Border Force regarding problems encountered by passengers at e-gates with the new UK passports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Passengers may be referred from the e-Gates to an officer at PCP desks for a variety of reasons. There are well defined processes for updating UK border systems when new documents are introduced and the performance of new British passports through UK border controls is being monitored. We are receiving feedback there may be higher levels of referrals with some of these passports and are working to determine root cause.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to resolve the reported failure of new British passports to be read at border e-gates due to glossy coating of the pages, which has led to delays at airports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis, and for what intended purpose, a refugee camp is being planned for the former RAF Station at Linton-on-Ouse; and what assessment they have made about whether the camp would be best suited to housing seasonal workers to pick and process fruit and vegetables grown in the area.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each of the six months from August 2021, how many fines or penalties have been issued for inappropriate use of (1) rental e-scooters, and (2) privately owned e-scooters.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested is not held.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proceeds of crime generated by cyber attacks by hostile states utilising ransom demands; and what steps they are taking to prevent such crime.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
During 2021, ransomware became the most significant cyber threat facing the UK. In response, in June the Home Office launched a cross-government policy sprint to accelerate our response to this growing threat. The sprint has engaged in three pillars of activity aligning to the wider SOC strategy pillars (prepare, prevent, protect and pursue): threat, resilience, and international. Underreporting continues to impact our ability to understand the true cost and scale of cybercrime to the UK, an aspect we are actively trying to improve.
Tackling cyber crime, including ransomware, is at the heart of the UK government’s new National Cyber Security. The strategy was launched in December 2021 and presents the UK’s role as a responsible and democratic cyber power, protecting and promoting UK interests in, and through, cyberspace. The strategy commits £2.6bn of new investment to deliver objectives under five strategic pillars: Ecosystem; Resilience; Technology; International; and Threat.
HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt shared threats emanating from overseas, the most consistent of these from ransomware criminals based in Russia. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative. Further information on the impacts and actions to combat cyber crime can be found in the National Cyber Security Centre Annual Review 2021, on ncsc.gov.uk.