Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 March (HL13499), what estimate they have made of the number of girls resident in the UK who were married abroad when they were underage and brought back to the UK in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, (3) 2016, (4) 2017, (5) 2018, (6) 2019, and (7) 2020.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is a world-leader in the fight to end the practice of forced marriage, with our dedicated Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad. The FMU provides support and advice for victims, those at risk, and professionals, through its public helpline, and delivers training and awareness raising activities to professionals and others across the country.
The Home Office does not have estimates of the number of girls who are resident in the UK who were married abroad when they were underage and who were brought back to the UK. Information on the cases of actual or potential forced marriage dealt with by the FMU, including age breakdowns, can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics. Statistics for 2020 will be added to this page later this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difference in funding per head for police services in (1) urban, and (2) rural, areas; and what steps they are taking to reduce any such difference.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On the 4th February 2021, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £15.8 billion in 2021/22, an increase of up to £636 million compared to 2020/21. This continued investment shows the Government is committed to supporting the entire policing sector.
The police funding formula remains the most reliable mechanism we have to distribute core grant funding although this Government is alive to the concerns many in the policing sector hold over the current formula and we acknowledge that the current arrangements are out of date. Careful consideration will be given during the upcoming Spending Review and as part of our longer-term vision for policing.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 in dealing with the issue of forced marriage.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is a world-leader in the fight to end the practice of forced marriage, with our dedicated Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad.
The Government made forced marriage a criminal offence under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this practice is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK. That Act also makes it a criminal offence to breach a Forced Marriage Protection Order, and provides anonymity for victims of forced marriage.
Those provisions sit as part of the Government’s wider approach to tackling forced marriage. We are committed to ensuring that professionals understand that forced marriage is a criminal offence and have the training and guidance they need to provide effective advice and support on this issue. The Government has published statutory multi-agency guidance and made available free e-learning to help professionals to recognise the warning signs and ensure that the right action is taken to help protect those at risk. The FMU also provides regular training on forced marriage to police officers and social workers.
In 2019 the FMU provided advice or support in 1,355 cases related to a possible forced marriage. Over 2,600 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have also been issued since they were introduced.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were (1) charged, and (2) convicted, with (a) forcing someone to marry, and (b) breaching a forced marriage protection order, under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2018, (iv) 2019, and (v) 2020.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home office does not hold information on the number of people that were charged with forced marriage offences or breaching a forced marriage protection order.
The number of convictions for forced marriage offences is held by the Ministry of Justice.
The number of convictions for offences relating to forced marriage and breaching forced marriage protection orders for calendar years 2016-2019 can be found in the table below.
Found Guilty | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
36.1 Forced marriage | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
66.6 Breach of a forced marriage protection order | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Data for 2020 is due to be published in May 2021.
The figures given in the table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the potential impact of the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic on the processing of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa applications; and what steps they are taking to address any such impact.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Hong Kong BN(O) Visa route launches from 31 January 2021.
The majority of the case working for the BN(O) Visa route can be completed remotely. A limited number of case workers will need to attend a physical office location and will do so in accordance with Public Health England guidance on social distancing.
We are also working closely with the commercial partner operating our Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Hong Kong regarding overseas applicants should they need to attend an appointment. Social distancing and sanitisation protocols are in place which are aligned with local regulations, and currently the VAC is operating at normal capacity.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many cases the Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support related to possible forced marriage (1) to a person aged under 16, (2) to a person aged between 16 and 18, and (3) to a person aged between 18 and 20, in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017, (e) 2018, and (f) 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Information on Forced Marriage Unit statistics, including age breakdowns, can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics. Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for responses to written parliamentary questions so I have attached the following publication from the Forced Marriage Unit Statistics Unit.
I would also like to correct my response to the Lord Bishop’s question HL16427, from the 2017-19 session. This stated that in 2018 the Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,764 cases via its public helpline and email inbox. The correct figure was 1,507.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conditions for child refugees in Greece; what humanitarian and medical aid they have provided to those refugees; and what plans they have, if any, to allow them to come to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK Government has previously raised concerns about the conditions in the migrant camps with the Greek Government and in light of our strong bilateral relationship will continue to do so when necessary. On 22 April the UK and Greece signed the UK-Greece Migration Action Plan, which aims to improve overall management of irregular migration in the Eastern Mediterranean (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/historic-uk-greece-migration-action-plan-signed).
As part of this ongoing cooperation the UK will continue to provide further practical support when possible – this recently included the provision of over £500,000?for?urgently needed humanitarian goods and in 2019 the?UK helped finance the?Metadrasi?children’s shelter on Samos, which provides a safe place to stay and professional support to the most vulnerable unaccompanied children who arrive on Samos.
Protecting vulnerable children remains a key priority of this Government and we have a proud record of doing so through our asylum system and our resettlement schemes.? The UK remains fully committed to meeting its obligations under the Dublin III Regulation, and unaccompanied children can continue to transfer to the UK from Greece under Dublin.? Despite covid-19 restrictions, the UK is ready to accept transfers under Dublin whenever Member States are in a position to make those arrangements. We recently worked closely with Greece to complete the transfer of vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, on 11 May who were united with family members in the UK.? We continue to liaise with our counterparts in Member States on what actions can be taken during this period and to effect transfers as soon as it is safe and practical to do so
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the National Rural Crime Network Domestic Abuse in Rural Areas, published on 17 July.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 16 July we introduced our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill to parliament, setting out our intention to transform the response to domestic abuse. Our Domestic Abuse Bill and wider action plan will help to ensure that victims have the confidence to come forward and report their experience, safe in the knowledge that the justice system and other agencies will do everything they can both to protect and support them and their children and pursue their abuser.
We will consider the findings of the report. Whether it takes place in our rural communities or cities, we are supporting Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, so they can deploy resources as they best see fit to tackle crime, including domestic abuse.
The new Domestic Abuse Commissioner will play an important role in monitoring the provision of services for victims of domestic abuse, including those in rural communities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 May (HL15521), how many cases were dealt with by the Forced Marriage Unit in 2018.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Statistics on the number of cases dealt with by the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), including a breakdown by region and age, are published annually and available online at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage#statistics-on-forced-marriage
Figures for 2018 were published on 24 May. In 2018, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,764 cases via its public helpline and email inbox.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times in 2018 the Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support on forced marriage to (1) a person aged 15 or under, and (2) a person aged 16 or 17.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage, with our joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) which leads efforts to combat it both at home and abroad. We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK.
The joint Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) operates a public helpline to provide advice and support to victims, those at risk, and professionals. Statistics on the number of cases dealt with by the FMU, including a breakdown by region and age, are published annually and available online at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage#statistics-on-forced-marriage
Figures for 2018 will be published soon.