Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each police force area in the United Kingdom, how many people were (1) arrested, (2) charged, (3) cautioned, and (4) convicted, for failing adequately to secure their firearms in (a) 2015, and (b) 2016.
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 the information requested centrally.
The Home Office collects data on the number of arrests by each police force in England and Wales at offence group level (e.g. violence against the person, possession of weapons offences). However, the data cannot be broken down to identify the specific offence under which each arrest was made.
Data on charges are the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Data on cautions and convictions are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. They have informed us they do not hold the information requested centrally.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 9 February (HL Deb, col 1858), which policy measures have been implemented as a result of the new approach to intelligence collection and sharing.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Ballistics Intelligence Service delivers fast-time forensic intelligence as well as tactical and strategic intelligence to help tackle all aspects of firearms related criminality within the UK. They produce quarterly reports on the threat, but their assessment is continuous and key information is shared amongst law enforcement on a real time basis.
Following the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, we have been ensuring we have the right intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities and policies, internationally, at the UK border, and within the UK. We are continuing to choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminals or terrorists. A recent multi-agency operation has enhanced law enforcement’s shared understanding of the illegal firearms market and it is now being developed into an enduring model with a national and international focus. This is consistent with our long-term policy approach and therefore no further measures have been required.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when was the last time the National Ballistics Intelligence Service assessed the volume of illegal firearms in the UK, and how frequently those assessments are made.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Ballistics Intelligence Service delivers fast-time forensic intelligence as well as tactical and strategic intelligence to help tackle all aspects of firearms related criminality within the UK. They produce quarterly reports on the threat, but their assessment is continuous and key information is shared amongst law enforcement on a real time basis.
Following the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, we have been ensuring we have the right intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities and policies, internationally, at the UK border, and within the UK. We are continuing to choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminals or terrorists. A recent multi-agency operation has enhanced law enforcement’s shared understanding of the illegal firearms market and it is now being developed into an enduring model with a national and international focus. This is consistent with our long-term policy approach and therefore no further measures have been required.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the response by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 January (HL Deb, col 209), what specific system developments are being put in place to enhance the security of the digitisation of passports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As previously mentioned in the House, Her Majesty’s Passport Office are implementing facial matching technology and continually improving the verification of claimed identity and the examination processes. For reasons of security, we do not share details of the specific system developments that are being considered.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 12 December, whether they will now answer the question asked; how they define "best"; and which universities they claim to be "best".
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The immigration rules for study migration currently differentiate by types of institution. We will be shortly consulting on how we could differentiate further to support the sector.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 November (HL2633), whether the amount that an international student applying for a visa to study in the UK would need to have available in order to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to cover living expenses has changed since the replacement of maintenance grants with loans for UK home students.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
An international student studying in the UK must demonstrate that they have:
• £1,265 per month for living costs if they are studying in London for the majority of their study (more than 50% of study time);
• £1,015 per month for living costs if they are studying outside London, or anywhere else in the UK, for the majority of their study (more than 50% of study time).
In most cases, an international student will need to show that they have money for their living costs for each month of their course, up to a maximum of nine months. The amount of funds that international students must demonstrate for living costs were raised in November 2015 in line with the combined maximum maintenance loan and grant available to English students living away from home starting courses in September 2015.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much an international student applying for a visa to study in the UK would need to have available in order to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to cover their living expenses if they were applying to study in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
An international student studying in the UK must demonstrate that they have:
• £1,265 per month for living costs if they are studying in London for the majority of their study (more than 50% of study time);
• £1,015 per month for living costs if they are studying outside London, or anywhere else in the UK, for the majority of their study (more than 50% of study time).
In most cases, an international student will need to show that they have money for their living costs for each month of their course, up to a maximum of nine months. The amount of funds that international students must demonstrate for living costs were raised in November 2015 in line with the combined maximum maintenance loan and grant available to English students living away from home starting courses in September 2015.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 November (HL2631), how they define "best"; and which universities they claim to be "best".
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to the study to UK. We are considering what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best universities — and those that stick to the rules — to attract the best talent.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 November (HL3024) about international students applying for a visa to study in the UK, whether they will now answer the last part of the question asked: whether an equality impact assessment has been carried out.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A range of different factors and attributes are taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an international student applying for a visa might pose to the UK border. In considering the entire Tier 4 visa application, an individual’s nationality can be a factor in assessing the level of the risk.
A Policy Equality Statement was undertaken to accompany the new provision under the Immigration Rules from 30 July 2012, for an Entry Clearance Officer to be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student before granting entry clearance under Tier 4.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 November (HL3024), whether they will now answer the first part of the question asked: whether nationality or country of origin is a factor taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an international student applying for a visa might pose.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A range of different factors and attributes are taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an international student applying for a visa might pose to the UK border. In considering the entire Tier 4 visa application, an individual’s nationality can be a factor in assessing the level of the risk.
A Policy Equality Statement was undertaken to accompany the new provision under the Immigration Rules from 30 July 2012, for an Entry Clearance Officer to be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student before granting entry clearance under Tier 4.