Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of cross-border transnational repression faced by migrants from Hong Kong and whether the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London has facilitated it; and, if so, what steps they are taking to tackle it.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first duty of any government is to keep the country safe and protect its citizens. The UK does not tolerate attempts by any state to threaten or intimidate UK residents. We continually assess potential risks and take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. This involves taking a proactive approach to countering the most acute forms of state-directed threats to individuals.
We will continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.
Home Office officials work closely with operational partners, the FCDO and other government departments to ensure that UK residents are safe and secure. Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact their local police in the first instance.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the proscription of the Wagner Group, what assessment they have made of the case for proscribing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
The UK Government has long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 350 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.
The Government will continue to hold Iran and the IRGC to account.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that disabled people have unimpeded access to (1) disabled parking bays, and (2) paths and pavements around Westminster and Parliament Square, during protests in the vicinity of Parliament.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.
Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.
In addition, Parliament has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps are being taken to ensure disabled people have unimpeded access to the House of Lords areas of the Parliamentary estate during protests in and around Parliament Square.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.
Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.
In addition, Parliament has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to ensure that concerns about (1) anti-social behaviour, (2) illegal driving, and (3) crime, around Westminster Bridge raised in the Policy Exchange paper A Culture of Impunity: The ongoing erosion of disabled people’s access to Parliament and Westminster, published on 8 June, are addressed.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police have the powers they need within road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation to enforce the law, including in relation to illegal e-scooter use and illegal driving. Decisions on when to use these powers are an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB). This includes Civil Injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).
It is for local authorities, forces and agencies to decide how best to use these powers depending on the specific circumstances as they are best placed to understand what is causing the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The police have powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to collect and consider in each case the evidence available and decide whether there might have been an offence and if so what action to take.
We expect the police to work collaboratively with local authorities to deal with these matters.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Westminster Council about the (1) misuse, and (2) inappropriate parking, of e-bikes and e-scooters within a one-mile radius of the parliamentary estate.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police have the powers they need within road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation to enforce the law, including in relation to illegal e-scooter use and illegal driving. Decisions on when to use these powers are an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB). This includes Civil Injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).
It is for local authorities, forces and agencies to decide how best to use these powers depending on the specific circumstances as they are best placed to understand what is causing the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The police have powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to collect and consider in each case the evidence available and decide whether there might have been an offence and if so what action to take.
We expect the police to work collaboratively with local authorities to deal with these matters.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect disabled people from people riding bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters illegally on the pavement.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police have the powers they need within road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation to enforce the law, including in relation to illegal e-scooter use and illegal driving. Decisions on when to use these powers are an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB). This includes Civil Injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).
It is for local authorities, forces and agencies to decide how best to use these powers depending on the specific circumstances as they are best placed to understand what is causing the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The police have powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to collect and consider in each case the evidence available and decide whether there might have been an offence and if so what action to take.
We expect the police to work collaboratively with local authorities to deal with these matters.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of threat posed by Iran to the Jewish community in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There is no secret that Iranian regime has a long history of targeting Jewish and Israeli interests around the world. Their publicly stated animosity towards Jewish and Israeli interests has manifested in a persistent level of threat and, unfortunately, attacks around the world aimed at the representatives, citizens and symbols of Israel and also Jewish communities.
We take any threat to the UK-based Jewish community extremely seriously. The community should be alert but not alarmed. As I said on 20 February, we are taking significant steps to address the activities of the Iranian regime and its operatives in the UK – whether those activities are threatening the Jewish community or any individuals or organisations in this country.
I have instructed the Home Office to lead work on countering Iranian-state threats, making use of the full breadth and expertise of the government and the police, security, and intelligence agencies. Working with a range of partners, the UK government will continue to use all tools at its disposal to protect individuals in the UK against any threats from the Iranian state.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - 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 (HL15262), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, how many British National (Overseas) passports were issued in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many people have used the new British National (Overseas) visa scheme to come to the UK since it was introduced in January.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The table below provides data up to the end of March on BN(O) passports issued in the last 12 months.
| Volume of BN(O)s |
Apr-20 | 363 |
May-20 | 2,270 |
Jun-20 | 7,719 |
Jul-20 | 24,972 |
Aug-20 | 33,249 |
Sep-20 | 48,081 |
Oct-20 | 60,907 |
Nov-20 | 56,563 |
Dec-20 | 39,689 |
Jan-21 | 13,315 |
Feb-21 | 8,217 |
Mar-21 | 7,032 |
* These figures have been taken from a live operational database. As such, numbers may change as information on that system is updated.
Information on how many visas for the Hong Kong BN(O) route have been granted between 31 January and 31 March was published in the quarterly migration statistics release on 27 May and can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British National (Overseas) passports were issued in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many people have used the new British National (Overseas) visa scheme to come to the UK since it was introduced in January.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.