Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a working relationship between the National Rural Crime Unit and the proposed National Police Service.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Police Service will take on the range of operational functions that currently sit with lead forces, coordinated through the NPCC. The Government will work closely with the NPCC on the transition of these functions.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mandate the fitting of engine immobilisers to off-road vehicles prior to sale, under the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have always been committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and fully support its aims to tackle the theft and resale of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).
The Act gives power for immobilisers to be fit as standard, but significant concerns were raised about the impact on existing Type Approval regulations, which are in place to ensure the safety of new vehicles before sale.
We absolutely cannot compromise vehicle safety and as a result, we will not be including the fitting of immobilisers to new ATVs at this time.
However, we will be introducing secondary legislation in relation to the property marking and the registration of all new ATVs onto a property marking database. Removable GPS units which are particularly vulnerable to theft will also be included within these provisions. This will assist police in identifying the rightful owner if they are recovered and also makes stolen vehicles and equipment harder to sell on, which has a deterrent effect.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty charges have been issued for motorway middle lane offences since the legislation governing those charges came into force.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences each year, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. However, data are not held specifically on motorway middle lane offences. These would be captured under the broader category of careless driving offences, which also includes offences such as tailgating and aggressive driving.
The published data can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had on the creation of standard operating procedures for the conduct of police wildlife crime officers.
Answered by Mike Penning
There are no plans to create specific operating procedures for the conduct of police officers when they are investigating wildlife crimes. Police officers investigating wildlife crimes are subject to the same standards of professional
behaviour that apply to all police officers.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with campaigning charities and organisations about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and covert surveillance.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers and officials have discussions and meetings with a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of Ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had on drafting best practice guidelines on the presence of campaigning charities during police searches and arrests.
Answered by Mike Penning
An important component of the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme is the introduction of lay observation. The Scheme’s guidance makes it clear that forces have discretion to determine the most appropriate arrangements to support this. This allows the public, including interested organisations, to observe stop and search in action.