Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal immigrants were deported in (1) August, (2) September, and (3) October.
Answered by Lord Bates
Deportations are a specific subset of enforced removals which are either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good.
The table below shows the total number of enforced removals including deportations from the UK in August and September 2014
Month Enforced removals
August 2014 918
September 2014 872
Total 1790
The table shows data for August and September only. The Home Office produces data in line with published statistics. Presently held published statistics only go to the end of September 2014.
The latest quarterly statistics covers Q3 of 2014 (July-September). The Q3 data does not cover the month of October 2014 requested in the PQ. Q3 data was published on 27th November 2014 and Q4 data (October-December) is due to be published in late February 2015. The February publication date allows Migration Statistics to quality assure our raw removals/departures data in preparation for publication.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level and effectiveness of the United Kingdom's co-operation with the Irish Republic in tackling cross-border serious and organised crime.
Answered by Lord Bates
Crime, and especially organised crime, does not respect borders. International co-operation is therefore essential. The relationship with the Republic of Ireland is particularly important given its land border with a part of the United Kingdom. The relationships between the law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland, who are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, as well as bodies such as HM Revenue and Customs, Border Force and the National Crime Agency which are UK-wide bodies, and their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland, are very good. A North South cross border organised crime conference was held on 1-2 October involving all the major bodies. This is one example of the desire to develop that co-operation further. There are also plans for a cross border forum on human trafficking and forced labour in January of next year.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on immigration security at United Kingdom airports since January 2013.
Answered by Lord Bates
During the period from January 2013 to September 2014, Border Force estimated spend was £1.066bn to secure the border. Costs are not disaggregated to the level of immigration security as border officers carry out a range of duties across immigration, customs and crime prevention.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to oppose any further moves towards the integration of justice and home affairs within the European Union; and in particular, whether they intend to opt in to the European Arrest Warrant.
Answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
This Government will approach forthcoming EU legislation in the area of justice and home affairs on a case-by-case basis, with a view to maximising our country’s security, protecting Britain’s civil liberties and preserving the integrity of our criminal justice system.
On the specific issue of the European Arrest Warrant, the Government set out its position during debates in the House of Commons on 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 485 as well as in the House of Lords on 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 1585. The House of Lords had the opportunity to discuss the measure further during the debate in that House on 17 July 2014.
The Government intends to seek to rejoin this measure in the national interest.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current legislation in place to prevent the purchase of illegal highs.
Answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The Coalition Government is committed to supporting the police and other UK law enforcement agencies to use the full force of the law to tackle the trade in newpsychoactive substances, so- called ‘legal highs’. Robust powers are alreadyavailable under existing drugs legislation to disrupt the sale of new psychoactivesubstances, including over the internet. So far, the Government has banned over 350 new psychoactive substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In addition so-called ‘legal highs’ are often found to contain substances already banned in the UK. We have published guidance for local authorities and Trading Standards on a range of legislative tools available to tackle the visible trade including in ‘head-shops’. This includes information on the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 which makes it an offence for a person to supply a substance that is not already controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, to a person under the age of 18 if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the substance is likely to be inhaled by that person, for the purpose of causing intoxication. Last year two ‘legal-high’ sellers were successfully prosecuted using this legislation. The Minister for Crime Prevention is currently leading an expert review to look at how the UK’s response to new psychoactive substances can be enhanced to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the best available powers and send out clearest possible message that the trade in these substances is reckless. It is anticipated that the panel will report their recommendations to Home Office Ministers before summer recess.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers are available to prevent people from buying legal highs online.
Answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The Coalition Government is committed to supporting the police and other UK law enforcement agencies to use the full force of the law to tackle the trade in newpsychoactive substances, so- called ‘legal highs’. Robust powers are alreadyavailable under existing drugs legislation to disrupt the sale of new psychoactivesubstances, including over the internet. So far, the Government has banned over 350 new psychoactive substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In addition so-called ‘legal highs’ are often found to contain substances already banned in the UK. We have published guidance for local authorities and Trading Standards on a range of legislative tools available to tackle the visible trade including in ‘head-shops’. This includes information on the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 which makes it an offence for a person to supply a substance that is not already controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, to a person under the age of 18 if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the substance is likely to be inhaled by that person, for the purpose of causing intoxication. Last year two ‘legal-high’ sellers were successfully prosecuted using this legislation. The Minister for Crime Prevention is currently leading an expert review to look at how the UK’s response to new psychoactive substances can be enhanced to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the best available powers and send out clearest possible message that the trade in these substances is reckless. It is anticipated that the panel will report their recommendations to Home Office Ministers before summer recess.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in relation to the introduction of Clare's law in Northern Ireland in line with the situation in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
This matter is devolved in Northern Ireland, and is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.