Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis the Home Secretary has associated the phenomenon of grooming gangs with ethnicity rather than with religion.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. The vast majority of British-Pakistanis are law-abiding, upstanding citizens and the Home Secretary's comments relate to the findings of local reviews into child sexual exploitation cases in Rotherham, Telford and Rochdale, which described the perpetrators in those cases as overwhelmingly British-Pakistani men.
The 2020 Home Office report on Group based Child Sexual Exploitation set out the best evidence on ethnicity, age, offender networks, the context in which these crimes are committed and implications for national and local policy. As noted within the report, beyond those specific high-profile cases, the academic literature highlights significant limitations to what can be said about links between ethnicity and group-based child sexual exploitation.
It is essential for police and local authorities to have a good understanding of offender characteristics and the drivers of child sexual exploitation in their areas, so that they can uncover and tackle offending effectively. That is why the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced a number of steps to improve our data on, and our response to, group-based child sexual exploitation, including a new Taskforce, regional analysts in every police region, a new Complex and Organised Child Abuse Database hosted by the Taskforce and the roll out of the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme, which brings together force-level, regional, and national data and intelligence.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 27 July 2021 (HL1972), whether the Batley Grammar School teacher and his family are still receiving police protection following him showing a picture of the Prophet Mohammed to a class of school children; if so, how much longer they expect to need to provide that protection; how many arrests have been made in connection with the threats received by that individual and his family; and what were the consequences of those arrests.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government remains steadfast in our commitment to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society and must always stand up to those who seek to undermine our fundamental values.
The Home Office does not hold information on police protection, or number of arrests made by West Yorkshire Police in relation to this case. This is a matter for West Yorkshire Police, which is operationally independent of Government.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the arrest of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce by police in Birmingham in December; and what steps they intend to take to ensure that the rights of (1) freedom of religion, and (2) freedom of thought, are upheld.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government supports Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that provides everyone with a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The imposition of Public Space Prevention Orders is a matter for the local authorities who are required to consider European Convention rights, including Article 8 that provides a right to respect private and family life. Operational matters and charging are matters for the police.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the religious affiliation of immigrants upon arrival to the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office do not collect data on the religious affiliation of immigrants upon arrival to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Muslims entering the UK for permanent settlement face the same (1) security, and (2) language, tests, as those of other faiths.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Where an individual is subject to immigration control, the system for applying for permanent settlement to the UK does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s faith. All individuals applying for permanent settlement are required to undertake standard security checks and are subject to English Language requirements irrespective of their religion.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the religious affiliation of civil servants in the Home Office.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office collect, on a self-declaration basis, religion and belief data of members of Home Office staff. The latest published data can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the apology from the Metropolitan Police to the Christian preacher Ms Hatun Tash on 29 September for her wrongful arrest, whether they will instruct police forces to uphold freedom of speech in instances where they receive complaints that offence has been caused.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to upholding freedom of expression and legislation is in place to protect this fundamental right.
However, we do not comment on individual cases, and decisions on arrests are a matter for the police.
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 - Shadow Chief Whip (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 - Shadow Chief Whip (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 - Shadow Chief Whip (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