Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will initiate an inquiry into the factors that inspired the members of the child sexual exploitation gangs in Rotherham and Telford; and in particular, the extent to which Islamic teachings were a determining factor.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In 2020 the Government published a paper on the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, setting out the best available evidence on offender characteristics. We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. However, political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of uncovering and tackling these devastating crimes, and understanding local community and cultural factors is clearly an important part of this.
That is why the Government is working with policing to drive up the quality of police data on child sexual exploitation. As part of this, the Home Secretary has made it mandatory from March 2022 for police forces to record the ethnicity of those held on suspicion of group-based child sexual exploitation. We are also funding dedicated child sexual abuse and exploitation analysts in every policing region, and we will shortly publish an updated version of our Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit, supporting police and local agencies in working together to better understand and disrupt offending in their areas.
In addition, the Home Secretary has recently commissioned the policing inspectorate to conduct an inspection into how the police respond to group-based child sexual exploitation. This will ensure policing is learning from past mistakes including those highlighted in the local inquiries in Rotherham and Telford, and that the very best practice is now being put in place by forces across the country.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will direct (1) the Home Office, and (2) other government departments, to stop using the terms "Asian men" and "men of Pakistani origin" to describe the members of the child sexual exploitation gangs in Rotherham and Telford.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In 2020 the Government published a paper on the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, setting out the best available evidence on offender characteristics. We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. However, political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of uncovering and tackling these devastating crimes, and understanding local community and cultural factors is clearly an important part of this.
That is why the Government is working with policing to drive up the quality of police data on child sexual exploitation. As part of this, the Home Secretary has made it mandatory from March 2022 for police forces to record the ethnicity of those held on suspicion of group-based child sexual exploitation. We are also funding dedicated child sexual abuse and exploitation analysts in every policing region, and we will shortly publish an updated version of our Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit, supporting police and local agencies in working together to better understand and disrupt offending in their areas.
In addition, the Home Secretary has recently commissioned the policing inspectorate to conduct an inspection into how the police respond to group-based child sexual exploitation. This will ensure policing is learning from past mistakes including those highlighted in the local inquiries in Rotherham and Telford, and that the very best practice is now being put in place by forces across the country.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 13 July (HL1352), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what plans they have, if any, to instigate an inquiry into (1) the arrest of Miss Hatun Tash at Speakers' Corner on 26 June and her subsequent detention, strip search and questioning at 4am on 27 June, and (2) the actions of the police towards other individuals present at Speakers' Corner (a) before, and (b) during, Miss Tash's arrest.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Ministers are unable to intervene in individual cases and complaints against the police.
If an individual is unhappy with the decisions made by the police, they have the option of submitting a complaint to the relevant police force. Police force websites include information about how to complain. A complaint can also be made via an online form available on the website of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) at: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints-and-appeals/make-complaint.
A short guide to the police complaints system is also available on the IOPC’s website and is attached: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/Complaint_forms/IOPC_A_guide_to_complaint_system_2020.pdf
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to instigate an inquiry into (1) the arrest of Miss Hatun Tash at Speakers' Corner on 26 June and her subsequent detention and questioning at 04.30 am on 27 June, and (2) the actions of the police towards other individuals present at Speakers' Corner before and during Miss Tash's arrest.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to demonstrate their views, provided they do so within the law.
The investigation of criminal offences where they are suspected of having occurred is an operational matter for the police. Ministers are unable to intervene in individual cases or in operational decisions made by the police. To do so would undermine the principle that the police are independent of Government.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Barran on 18 January (HL5056 and HL5057), what steps they take to ensure that radical Islamism is not being promoted in mosques in the UK; whether they have any evidence that radical Islamism is being promoted in mosques; and if not, what further steps they intend to take.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Muslims make an enormous contribution to British Society and have done for centuries. Islam is a religion observed peacefully by over a billion people worldwide and we remain clear that Islamist extremism is not true Islam. Whether through Islamism or any other ideology, the Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism.
We assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives.
We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to increase our understanding of new and emerging radicalising threats to society. Any violent threat is assessed and managed by the police and security services based on the threat that it is deemed to pose.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 April (HL15173) and 20 July (HL1825), whether they have assessed any mosques in the UK for evidence of the promotion of violence towards non-Muslims, including the dissemination of literature which encourages such violence; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence, and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. Any violent threat is assessed and managed by the police and security services based on the threat that it is deemed to pose.
Our work to counter radicalisation through Prevent works best when it is delivered in partnership with communities and civil society, including faith institutions.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many racially motivated attacks there have been in the Whalley Range area of Blackburn in the last five years; and how many of these were against white people.
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 publishes information on the number hate crime offences recorded by the police by monitored strand, including racial hate crime, in England and Wales at the Police Force Area level. The latest data, including figures for Lancashire, are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020
The hate crime collection was expanded on April 2021 to include information on the ethnicity of racially motivated offences. These data will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threats to the Batley Grammar School teacher; and what steps they are taking to support the police to pursue those making such threats.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It would not be appropriate to provide information or details in relation to a specific case.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) they, or (2) the police, are paying for the protection of the Batley Grammar School teacher who has received threats on his life; if so, what is the cost of that protection; and if not, what steps they are taking to ensure his safety.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It would not be appropriate to provide information or details in relation to a specific case.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 April (HL15173), what is their estimate of the number of mosques in the UK; and how many have they assessed for evidence of radicalisation through their (1) support, or (2) justification, of violence towards non-Muslims.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. We cannot discuss individual cases and we have made no assessment of the number of mosques in the UK.
We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to increase our understanding of new and emerging radicalising threats to society. Any violent threat is assessed and managed by the police and security services based on the threat that it is deemed to pose.
Our work to counter radicalisation through Prevent works best when it is delivered in partnership with communities and civil society, including faith institutions.