Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of areas suspending the applications process for the grant of new firearms licences on (a) shooting sports and (b) the licenced gun trade in those areas.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle delays in issuing licences by police firearms departments.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have suspended the grant of new fire arms certificates.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a visa scheme for seasonal workers to support the agricultural industry.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office already operates such an immigration route.
The Seasonal worker visa was introduced in March 2019. There are 30,000 visas available this year, but this will begin to taper down from 2023. The total allocation of places for 2022 can increase if needed but by no more than 10,000 places.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the food and drink sector's proposal for a covid recovery visa scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Points Based System already provides for a range of roles in the food and drink sector, including roles such as Butchers, subject to the rules and requirements of the system being met, including on salary.
Beyond the Points Based Systems, employers can recruit those with general work rights including the millions of people who have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme, those who have arrived via our settlement route for British National (Overseas) normally resident in Hong Kong and their households, those who have arrived via a family visa and those in the UK under our Youth Mobility Schemes. They have full access to the UK labour market and are free to work in the UK and can undertake any role.
But recognising the extraordinary circumstances facing businesses currently, Government is providing visas as a time-limited, temporary measure for the food sector until longer term measures to improve the supply of skills domestically. start to have an impact. This includes visas for up to:
• 4,700 HGV food drivers who will be able to arrive from late October and leave by 28 February 2022 and;
• 5,500 poultry workers will arrive from late October and stay up until 31 December 2021.
However we must see long-term solutions delivered by employers through improved testing and hiring, with better pay and working conditions, as immigration routes do not provide a guarantee of being able to recruit in a competitive global market for skilled workers.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British citizens have returned home since March 2019.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Around 900 people have travelled from the UK to engage with the conflict in Syria and Iraq, against the advice of the Foreign Office. Of these, approximately 20% have been killed in the conflict and around 40% have returned to the UK.
We can confirm that in the last 12 months there have been a small number of British children who have left Syria and returned to the UK via third countries.
The Government’s priority is the safety and security of the people who live here. All of those who have returned, have been investigated and the majority have been assessed to pose no, or a low security risk.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of whether the UK regulatory framework is sufficient to facilitate fast and effective use of counter UAV technology by the Government.
Answered by James Brokenshire
To ensure police have the powers required to effectively tackle drone misuse by authorising the use of counter UAV technology, The Home Office have been supporting the Department for Transport as they lead in developing and introducing the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft (ATMUA) Bill. The ATMUA Bill gives Police, Senior Prison Officers and Civil Nuclear Constabulary the ability to authorise the use of counter UAV technology to protect the public and Critical National Infrastructure sites.
The ATMUA Bill will develop new norms of safe drone use while enabling an effective operational response to drone misuse.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British citizens and (b) British citizens who had their citizenship revoked are known to have escaped from detention in camps or prisons in northeast Syria since Baghouz fell in March 2019.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The safety and security of Internally Displaced Persons camps and detention centres in northeast Syria is the responsibility of the detaining authority.
The UK’s aim is to see that justice and accountability are achieved for all parties and that those who have committed crimes in the name of Daesh are prosecuted for their crimes, in a manner consistent with relevant domestic and international standards.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the research of counter UAV technology is coordinated across Government departments.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Those engaged in work to counter the treat from drones, consists of a variety of departments including the Department for Transport, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy amongst others co-ordinated by the Home Office.
Science and Technology teams within this cross-government community work collaboratively to ensure the best use of resource and collaborative problem solving. This collaboration is facilitated by an established governance system of Senior and working level boards and working groups. These strong working relationships have enabled the community to test existing and help develop future counter UAV technology and support industry to better meet the UK’s security needs.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there are resourced contingency plans to counter the threat of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by terrorist groups within the UK.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Home Office and Police are working jointly to build a new national counter-drones capability, which will give the police the technology, resource and training required to effectively tackle the illegal use of drones.
There is no single means of protecting the UK from malicious drones use, which is why the Home Office, via the UK Counter-unmanned Aircraft Strategy has committed to developing a layered approach to counter malicious drone use. This layered approach includes: improved public understanding of safe drone operation; requiring drones over a certain size to be registered; requiring commercial drone pilots to be licenced, with full risk assessments in place for any companies operating commercial drones.