Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the report by Professor Alexis Jay The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (HC720), published on 20 October 2022.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is working closely with departments across Government, including the Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Justice, to identify how best to deliver against the recommendations made in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Tackling child sexual abuse is a cross-Government priority. We are committed to confronting this horrific crime whenever and wherever it occurs and using all levers available to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The lessons learned from the Independent Inquiry, based on the input of over 6000 victims and survivors, will provide a fundamental basis for this work.
This government understands the frustration with the delays, and we hope to reset this and get started on this soon.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current UK financial contribution to INTERPOL, in relation to (1) membership subscriptions, and (2) other gifts, grants and subsidies.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number UK citizens permanently employed by INTERPOL. Currently seven UK officials are seconded to INTERPOL, four of which are law enforcement officers.
In the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) acts as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL.
INTERPOL receives statutory contributions from member countries. In 2021, the UK’s financial contribution to INTERPOL was € 2,875,173 Euros
(approximately £2,461,205.59 GBP). Additional contributions to specific projects are agreed between UK Government Departments and INTERPOL on an ad hoc basis. Information on INTERPOL’s funding is published by the INTERPOL General Secretariat (IPSG) and can be accessed on the Interpol.int website.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which body they have appointed to be the National Central Bureau of the UK, as required by Article 32 of the INTERPOL constitution.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number UK citizens permanently employed by INTERPOL. Currently seven UK officials are seconded to INTERPOL, four of which are law enforcement officers.
In the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) acts as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL.
INTERPOL receives statutory contributions from member countries. In 2021, the UK’s financial contribution to INTERPOL was € 2,875,173 Euros
(approximately £2,461,205.59 GBP). Additional contributions to specific projects are agreed between UK Government Departments and INTERPOL on an ad hoc basis. Information on INTERPOL’s funding is published by the INTERPOL General Secretariat (IPSG) and can be accessed on the Interpol.int website.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK citizens are employed by the General Secretariat of INTERPOL; and how many of these are serving police officers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number UK citizens permanently employed by INTERPOL. Currently seven UK officials are seconded to INTERPOL, four of which are law enforcement officers.
In the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) acts as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL.
INTERPOL receives statutory contributions from member countries. In 2021, the UK’s financial contribution to INTERPOL was € 2,875,173 Euros
(approximately £2,461,205.59 GBP). Additional contributions to specific projects are agreed between UK Government Departments and INTERPOL on an ad hoc basis. Information on INTERPOL’s funding is published by the INTERPOL General Secretariat (IPSG) and can be accessed on the Interpol.int website.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they make, if any, of a nation’s adherence to the rule of law in determining who to support in elections held by INTERPOL.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK delegation to the General Assembly of INTERPOL, which will be held in Turkey from 23-25 November, will be led by Stephen Rodhouse, Director General of Operations in the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Proportionate due diligence is undertaken into individuals seeking election to the role of INTERPOL President. The decision on who to support will be based on a thorough assessment of the merits of each candidate.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which candidate, if any, they intend to support at the election for the new President of the General Assembly of INTERPOL on 21 November.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK delegation to the General Assembly of INTERPOL, which will be held in Turkey from 23-25 November, will be led by Stephen Rodhouse, Director General of Operations in the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Proportionate due diligence is undertaken into individuals seeking election to the role of INTERPOL President. The decision on who to support will be based on a thorough assessment of the merits of each candidate.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is the head of the UK delegation to the General Assembly of INTERPOL.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK delegation to the General Assembly of INTERPOL, which will be held in Turkey from 23-25 November, will be led by Stephen Rodhouse, Director General of Operations in the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Proportionate due diligence is undertaken into individuals seeking election to the role of INTERPOL President. The decision on who to support will be based on a thorough assessment of the merits of each candidate.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people who (1) pay a bribe, or (2) use a personal connection, in order to access public services in the UK; and what assessment they have made of comparative numbers in the UK’s main trading partner countries.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK regularly assesses the threat from bribery and corruption, including through intelligence assessments and research.
The most recent published update on implementation of the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy includes comparative global indicators of national data on bribery and corruption threats. The UK also actively participates in reviews of its adherence to international standards, including: the UN Convention against Corruption; the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption.These processes allow the UK to compare its performance and systems with that of other countries.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been subject to an Unexplained Wealth Order since their inception, broken down by nationality; and what are the names of those people.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
15 unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) have been made on 4 cases. There are 3 orders in one case which relates to an Azerbaijan national, Zamira Hajiyeva. The other 3 cases concern a non EEA national,an Englishman and a Northern Irish woman.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been subject to proceedings under the (1) Criminal Finances Act 2017, and (2) Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, on the grounds of gross human rights abuse or violations, up to the latest date for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
There have been no proceedings under the provisions in the Criminal Finances Act 2017 relating to gross human rights abuses.
The Sanctions Act gives the UK powers to impose autonomous sanctions, however secondary legislation is required to establish individual sanctions regimes. Officials are currently working to design secondary legislation for a global human rights sanctions regime, which we have announced an intention to establish once we leave the EU. It is only once the secondary legislation is in force that we can impose sanctions on designated persons and announce those designations.