Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 November (HL2748), when they last met with the Muslim Council of Britain specifically to discuss the Prevent strategy and the threat from radicalisation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have seen the devastating impact radicalisation can have on individuals, families and communities. Prevent works best when delivered in partnership with communities, civil society groups and individuals.
We work with a wide range of organisations in this country to prevent people from becoming radicalised; to challenge poisonous extremist narratives and safeguard our young people and our society. These are organisations prepared to show leadership, point to solutions and challenge and confront terrorist and extremist ideologies whatever form they take.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last met with the Muslim Council of Britain to discuss the Prevent strategy.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The threat from radicalisation cannot be tackled by Government alone. We meet regularly and work with a wide range of organisations and charities involved with safeguarding people from radicalisation.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will clarify the situation on whether the UK needs to opt into the new Europol Regulation, which will apply from 1 May 2017, to be able to continue its full participation in Europol.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is actively considering whether to opt-in to the new Europol Regulation. We will inform Parliament of our decision in due course in the usual way.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many xenophobic and racist hate crimes were reported in England and Wales each month in the past year; what percentage rise, if any, there has been in the number of such crimes reported since 24 June; and what is their assessment of the causes of any rise.
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 of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales annually. The most recently published data are for 2014/15 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015
Data for 2015/16 will be published in October 2016. It is planned that this publication will include some information on hate crime following the EU Referendum on the 23 June.
Following increases in the reporting of hate crime and raised community tensions in late June, the National Police Chiefs’ Council requested weekly returns from forces across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These show the number of all monitored hate crime recorded by forces, not just those that were racist or xenophobic.
At its peak, these returns showed a 58 per cent increase in the reporting of hate crime in comparison to 2015. This has since subsided and we have now observed four consecutive weeks of reductions in reporting. The latest returns from 5 to 18 August show 2778 hate crimes and incidents. This is a decrease of 479 offences on the previous fortnight but it is a 14 per cent increase on the equivalent period in 2015. Full information on these statistics can be found here: http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/tackling-hate-crime-remains-a-priority
There is no single factor to which the rise in reporting can be attributed, and there is no current evidence to indicate the rise is due entirely to an increase in occurrence of hate crime. However, multiple factors, including the increased profile of hate crime in the media, greater awareness of hate crime and increased confidence in the police may have had an impact on levels of reporting.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the target length of time for Border Force to process (1) non-European Economic Area passengers, and (2) European Union passengers, at each terminal in Heathrow; and how often that target has been missed in the past six months.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The service level agreement for passengers arriving at Heathrow for Non-EEA nationals is 95% of queue measures to be less than 45 minutes and for EU/EEA nationals this is 95% of queue measures to be less than 25 minutes.
The data on the Border Force performance against the targets at Heathrow can be found at:
www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff are employed by Border Force; whether that number has decreased in the past year; and what assessment they have made of whether Border Force has sufficient immigration officers to operate effectively.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government has always made the integrity of the UK border a priority and we will never compromise on keeping the people of this country safe from terrorism, criminality and illegal immigration.
We have pursued an ambitious programme of reform at the border to keep this country safe. Border Force has transformed its working practises, command and control and leadership. And we have invested in new technology, like e-Gates at airports and heartbeat monitors at freight ports, to improve security and prevent illegal entry to the UK to improve security, benefit passengers and deliver efficiencies.
These reforms are working. Border security has been enhanced. Border Force continues to perform 100 per cent checks on scheduled passengers arriving in the UK.
Deployments are made across a wide range of activities based on levels of demand and intelligence and will take into consideration the requirement for deployment of a flexible seasonal workforce, which is prone to fluctuations depending on seasonal pressures.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a strategy to combat the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prevent Strategy sets out the Government's approach to combatting the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism, focussing on restricting access to terrorist and extremist content online; supporting those who are challenging them online and helping people resist poisonous ideologies.
Through the Home Office's Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) the Government works with a range of civil society groups to counter extremist ideologies online by providing advice and support to deliver their own online campaigns. 26 RICU supported national campaigns have generated over 29.8 million online engagements since January 2014.
The police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation or company terms and conditions to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) for removal. Since February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of more than 190,000 pieces of online terrorist-related content.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Border Force vessels patrol UK territorial waters at any one time; and how many are needed to ensure the required levels of surveillance and security of the UK's coastline.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Border Force is committed to operating three cutters in UK waters at any given time. We currently have a total of four available for use in UK waters, with one rotated into use where required. These figures only include the number of cutters currently deployed in UK territorial waters and do not include the additional military and law enforcement vessels available. Border Force takes a multi-layered approach to maritime security; using a combination of cutters, radar and aerial surveillance to detect efforts to smuggle guns and drugs or facilitate illegal entry into the country. They also work closely with domestic and international partners on an intelligence-led approach, allowing us to tackle the criminals involved before they leave for the UK. Border Force is also investing in a new fleet of rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBS) as part of a new maritime security strategy. The vessels will patrol the UK coast, helping to intercept attempts to smuggle migrants, drugs and dangerous weapons into the country.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal maritime arrivals have reached the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Specific details on numbers or locations of suspected illegal maritime arrivals are not disclosed for security reasons.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations have taken place between the Home Office and other relevant government agencies with reference to the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting communiqué in which "Heads recalled the importance to the people of the Commonwealth for legitimate and temporary reasons in order to benefit from stronger economic, official and cultural cooperation"; and what action, if any, has followed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office regularly consults with other Government departments and agencies about all aspects of the UK immigration system including with regard to those visiting the UK from the Commonwealth.
The UK continues to contribute to the Commonwealth Secretariat led group looking at the movement of Commonwealth citizens and how that can be improved taking due regard to the requirement in the Communiqué that the actions should “not conflict with national legislation and international obligations.”