Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Eric Ollerenshaw

Monday 2nd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

My Department continues its work to bring forward a modern slavery Bill, which will strengthen our response to that appalling crime. We propose to introduce new legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows, and will publish a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. The Bill will clarify existing legislation and enable the courts to restrict activity that puts others at risk, ensuring that more traffickers are identified, disrupted and brought to justice. We are determined to build on the UK’s strong track record in supporting victims and fighting traffickers.

The House will be aware of Friday’s tragic incident in Glasgow, in which a Police Scotland helicopter crashed into the Clutha pub. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their friends and families. The national police operational co-ordination centre stands ready to assist Police Scotland in any way it can, and the National Police Air Service has also offered air support to Scotland for critical incidents.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

I am sure the whole House joins the Home Secretary in her condolences to those affected by the growing tragedy in Glasgow.

Recently in Fleetwood, a joint operation between Wyre borough council, Fleetwood police, and local pub landlords through Pubwatch targeted the illegal use of drugs. Interestingly, a drug sniffer dog was used among customers, which was totally welcomed by customers and landlords alike—except, perhaps, by the one person arrested. Does the Home Secretary welcome more of those joint and direct operations by police and local councils on the front line to bring back confidence in our communities?

[Mr Speaker]

I thought the hon. Gentleman was applying for an Adjournment debate, but then I realised he has already had it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Eric Ollerenshaw

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We have published a draft Bill on antisocial behaviour, the aim of which is to make it easier to deal at a local level with the issues of antisocial behaviour that sadly blight too many communities across the country. The hon. Lady talks about reductions in officer numbers, but she might also reflect on the fact that in the past year, recorded crime in Nottinghamshire has gone down by 13%.

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

T5. Further to the earlier questions on student visas, and given that Lancaster is home to one of our top universities, is any extra support available when a university needs speedier visas so that overseas academics can come to conferences and seminars that are vital to the university’s international reputation?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Eric Ollerenshaw

Monday 21st May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

1. What steps she is taking to reduce the burden of administration on police. [108027]

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I have made it clear that police should focus on cutting crime and not on doing paperwork. That is why I have already announced a package of policies that will cut police bureaucracy, saving up to 4.5 million police hours per year, the equivalent of putting more than 2,100 officers back on the beat.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the election of police commissioners in six months’ time should allow a much more localised focus on lifting these burdens and enabling more police time to be spent on the front line?

[Mrs May]

I do agree. My hon. Friend makes an important point about the role of police and crime commissioners. They will indeed be the voice of local policing, and I am sure that as such they will want to ensure that police officers are spending as much of their time fighting crime—and not doing paperwork—as they can, and that they will be a powerful force in removing bureaucracy from the police.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Eric Ollerenshaw

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

10. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits of collaboration between police forces.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I welcome the increasing levels of collaboration between police forces and expect more forces to consider how to work together to make improvements and to save money. The Government have estimated that forces could save £350 million per year by collaboration on procurement and from IT. Further substantial savings could be made through collaboration in back-office functions.

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and indeed I am similarly relaxed. In 2009 the current shadow Policing Minister said that he was not only very “relaxed” about collaboration between police forces and the private sector, but that police forces had Labour’s “blessing” to do it.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that collaboration between police forces, and indeed between police forces and other bodies, to get much-needed efficiencies is welcome at any time but is now essential in these challenging times, as we try to protect front-line police services and clear up the financial mess left by the Labour party?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. It is of course right that at all times police forces look at what efficiencies they can make, and at what collaboration they can enter into, to ensure that they are able to increase and improve the service that they provide to the public, but while forces are having to make budget cuts because of the deficit that was left by the Labour Government, that is even more important.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Eric Ollerenshaw

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

The figure that the hon. Lady has cited is not an official statistic; it is a figure that was derived from a piece of work that excluded analysis of significant parts of the Budget. That is why it is not a figure that I am going to recognise. Furthermore, if we had not taken those decisions in the Budget to deal with the deficit, and if we had adopted Labour’s plans to deal with it, that would have hit women even harder than our proposals. Under Labour’s proposals, expenditure on debt interest would have been higher than the expenditure on crucial public services, which are of particular importance to women.

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

3. What discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on increasing recruitment to the civil service from black, Asian and other minority ethnic people.