Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether police forces in England or Wales first respond by (1) text, (2) email, (3) phone-call, or (4) home visit, following any assessment of a complaint of burglary.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
How police forces respond to particular crimes is an operational decision for the police. We have put policing back in the hands of the public through directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners and given Chief Constables greater operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities. Funding for the police will increase by over £1 billion in 2019/20, including council tax, extra funding for pensions costs, and a £100 million serious violence fund.
In April, the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service chaired the first meeting of a new Burglary Taskforce which brings together the police, industry, charities and others to look at what more can be done to tackle this crime.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek evidence from each police force in England and Wales about any changes those forces may have made to operating decisions on their method of first response to complaints of (1) domestic burglary, (2) theft from the person, and (3) criminal damage.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
How police forces respond to particular crimes is an operational decision for the police. We have put policing back in the hands of the public through directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners and given Chief Constables greater operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities. Funding for the police will increase by over £1 billion in 2019/20, including council tax, extra funding for pensions costs, and a £100 million serious violence fund.
In April, the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service chaired the first meeting of a new Burglary Taskforce which brings together the police, industry, charities and others to look at what more can be done to tackle this crime.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of every police force in England and Wales to investigate historic allegations of child sexual abuse.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We recognise that demand on the police is changing and more complex. That is why the 2019/20 police funding settlement provides the biggest increase in police funding since 2010. Police funding has increased by over £1billion.
We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, one of six such threats in the Strategic Policing Requirement. This will facilitate prioritisation of capabilities to tackle this appalling crime.
For 2018/19, the Home Office provided Special Grant Funding of over £12.5 million to child sexual abuse operations, including: Norfolk Police for Operation Hydrant, South Yorkshire Police for Operation Stovewood, North Wales Police for Operation Pallial, Cleveland Police for Operation Pandect and West Yorkshire Police covering a number of non-recent child sexual abuse investigations in the region.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the UK's departure from the EU, there will be any limit on the right of association football clubs in the UK to hire overseas nationals to work for them in circumstances where there is an adequate number of UK nationals seeking such employment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As the Government set out in the Home Office White Paper, published on 19 December 2018, our future immigration system will continue to make provision for international quality sportspersons.
As now, we will continue to work with our sports governing bodies to ensure we strike the right balance between enabling top level international sportspeople to come to the UK and protecting opportunities for resident sportspeople.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, whether they will appoint an independent commissioner to oversee the working of the administrative procedures under Article 18 for the issuance and administration of documents to persons applying for residence status in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The draft Withdrawal Agreement already provides for an Independent Monitoring Authority to oversee implementation of Part 2 of the Agreement. This will be legislated for in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, when they aim to have application forms available for residency documents under Article 18; and when the deadline will be for submitting such applications.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In line with Article 18 of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the Home Office will introduce the EU Settlement Scheme which will provide a simple, streamlined process for resident EU citizens and their family members to obtain their new UK immigration status.
The EU Settlement Scheme is being implemented on a phased basis and will be fully open by 30 March 2019. Once the scheme is fully open, EU citizens and their family members will be able to apply online, via an app, or by post.
The deadline for applications will be 30 June 2021.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 22 November, how "short-term visits" in relation to visa-free travel will be defined.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The mobility section of the Political Declaration on our Future Framework with the EU sets out our intention to provide for visa-free travel for short term visits.
The detail of how the mobility provisions will apply under the future relationship will be for further negotiation with the EU
Under current UK immigration rules, a visitor is a person who is coming to the UK, usually for up to six months, for a temporary purpose, for example as a tourist, to visit friends or family or to carry out a business activity. Visitors cannot work or study in the UK unless this is allowed by the permitted activities that are set out in the Visitor Rules.
We plan to publish a White Paper setting out the future border and immigration system later this year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compliance with human rights legislation of the requirement in article 10(5) of the draft agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU for a host state to undertake "an extensive examination of the personal circumstances" of a person who has applied for residence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The requirement in Article 10(5) of the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union to undertake “an extensive examination of the personal circumstances” applies to extended family members of EU citizens who have applied for residence in the UK. It is based on an identical requirement in Article 3(2) of the Free Movement Directive (2004/38/EC).
As this requirement is taken directly from existing EU law, we consider it to be compliant with the UK’s human rights obligations as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which apply in all EU Member States.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the definition of a "durable relationship, duly attested" for the purposes of article 10(4) of the draft agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A “durable relationship, duly attested” for the purposes of Article 10(4) of the draft Withdrawal Agreement reflects the provision made by Article 3(2)(b) of the Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC). Its definition is reflected in that of “durable partner” in Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules for the EU Settlement Scheme, under which resident EU citizens and their family members will be able to obtain UK immigration status in line with the agreement.
This requires that the couple have lived together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years (unless there is other significant evidence of the durable relationship), and that the applicant provides the requisite documentary evidence of this.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding has been allocated to the Home Office by way of Brexit transition finance; and how much of this has been allocated to policing.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The allocation from HMT for the preparation work required in 2018-19 was published in Hansard https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-03-13/debates/18031349000006/SpringStatement
No resource from the EU Exit allocation has been allocated to policing