United Front Work Department
Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
I declare my interest that I was on the Intelligence and Security Committee at the time; I was one of the authors of the Russia report that my noble friend mentions. It is extremely important that we examine the issues that he has raised. We know about this matter because the security services notified the Home Secretary in the previous Government that the individual in the news this week following the court case was a person of interest to the security services and that we should designate him accordingly. That is why it is coming to the public domain. The question of tiers and the question of actions are ones that we will consider, and we will make announcements in the interests of the security of the United Kingdom when those matters are ready to be announced. I hope that assists my noble friend.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, we are all aware how complicated it is trying both to maintain our defence and security and to continue to trade. At the same time, there are some profound human rights issues going on. Reports have just emerged that the Chinese Government have demolished an important centre—the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Center—in Urumqi, Xinjiang. What representations have His Majesty’s Government made to support the people there, whom the other place has claimed have been subject to genocide?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
I assure the right reverend Prelate that the UK Government take human rights seriously and will, when necessary, make representations and consider action against a regime, be it China or otherwise, that abuses those rights as a matter of course. That is part of domestic foreign policy, and it will be taken into account in all our dealings. The question raised was predominately around the security interests of the United Kingdom, which we keep under consistent review, and we will take action if information is brought to our attention. I go back to my noble friend Lord Beamish; the security services are across this in every way, shape and form. They have warned about this publicly and are providing information constantly to Ministers about performance on these issues. We will take their advice about when the UK faces a specific threat and take into account human rights issues at the same time.
Domestic Abuse: Victims and Survivors
Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm of Owlpen, for securing this debate and pay tribute to her work in this House. This is such a fundamental, important area for us to address.
I commend the Government on their ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It demonstrates a commitment to tackling this scourge, and we must do all we can to take a stand against gender-based violence. The voices of men and boys are fundamental in this.
I too welcome the recent launch of the pilots of domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders, and hope they will prove effective in providing greater protection for victims and survivors. I note that implementation is the key issue here. Without proper awareness, monitoring and response to breaches of these orders, they will inevitably have just a limited impact.
Of course, as well as enforcement, there is an urgent need for prevention. Upstream prevention is much better than helping victims and survivors down stream. Although men can be victims, as we have noted, it is mainly women who suffer from this. So how can we tackle the misogynistic and sexist views that can lead to these horrific crimes? In particular, I wonder whether the Minister can be tempted to reflect a little on what can be done in our schools and education systems, as others have raised, as we address this issue.
I wonder if more can be done by His Majesty’s Government to work in co-operation with the voluntary sector. A couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to be invited to speak at an open meeting organised by the St Albans branch of the Soroptimists—“Orange the World” was its title. People from all around the community came together to address this and to raise its profile in local media. I also note the work undertaken by the Mothers’ Union. Its RISE UP campaign involves activism against domestic abuse and gender-based violence and goes on throughout the year, not just during the 16 Days of Activism campaign.
Could the Minister tell us whether the Government intend to publish a more detailed strategy of how they intend to reach their target of halving violence against women and girls in a decade and how they intend to measure that target?
Police Officers: Recruitment
Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, I congratulate His Majesty’s Government on the laudable aim of increasing the number of police and others in front-line services. As I travel around Beds and Herts, I hear that there are plans for cuts in policing. This is at a time when in rural areas there is a fear of rural crime, which I do not think will be addressed by what will predominantly be allocation in urban areas. It is very real; there is a lot of fear and huge costs, particularly to our farming community. What can His Majesty’s Government do to build on the success of initiatives such as Operation Ragwort, which worked across counties? It made a significant improvement without huge additional cost.
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
One of the important issues that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced last week was on the College of Policing and others looking at good practice and how we can drive efficiency and crime reduction at the same time. One of the areas where that is being looked at is how we can roll out co-operation between different forces, efficiencies in procurement and making sure that we learn the lessons of good practice, such as the scheme that the right reverend Prelate mentioned. Those are on the agenda. Rural policing is equally important, but again—I hope the House will bear with me—I am not at liberty to talk about the settlement, as that will be announced next week. It is right and proper that it is done in that format.
Rural Crime: NFU Mutual Report
Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of NFU Mutual’s Rural Crime Report 2024, published on 1 August.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)
I begin by thanking the National Farmers’ Union Mutual for its report. Rural crime can have a devastating effect on, and consequences for, countryside communities and the agricultural sector. That is why the Government are committed to reducing crime in rural areas. Under our proposed reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour and strengthen neighbourhood policing, as well as stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
I thank the Minister for his reply. I was pleased, back in April, to see that Sir Keir Starmer, before he became Prime Minister, announced a rural crime strategy. What we now need is implementation. Would the Minister commit, at local area level, to talk to police and crime commissioners and chief constables to set up dedicated rural crime teams, which forces such as Thames Valley have done very successfully and which are making a real impact? At a national level, will the Government commit to having a cross-departmental approach involving the National Crime Agency, Defra and the Home Office to address the scourge of rural crime?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
I am grateful to the right reverend Prelate for his question. I hope he will be aware that there is a National Rural Crime Unit in place, which has been funded for a three-year period, looking at support and co-ordination of police and crime commissioners and rural forces. We want to look at that to see how I can work with that as a Minister. He is right that the right honourable gentleman the Prime Minister has examined the issue of a rural crime strategy. We need to work with partners such as Defra on issues such as sheep worrying, and ensure that we co-ordinate the Government’s approach. I will certainly do that and will be happy to take advice and support from the right reverend Prelate in due course to help develop and inform that strategy.