Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK's national threat level following the recent (a) Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and (b) Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The UK National Threat Level remains at Substantial meaning an attack is likely and will continue to be reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the threat of a terrorist attack in the UK.
Considerations have and continue to be made in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help prevent white diesel thefts following the changes to use of rebated diesel introduced from 1 April 2022.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is working closely with police and industry partners to do everything we can collectively to drive down acquisitive crime, including theft of diesel.
The Home Office funded the set-up of the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP), which ensures national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle crime affecting rail networks, utility, agricultural and construction companies. Reports of fuel theft are being mapped through this Partnership to provide insights on the scale of these thefts and potential preventative measures.
Fuel users who store any type of diesel in tanks or in vehicles and machinery on their site(s) should continue to take steps to ensure this is stored securely. Practical crime prevention advice is published on the Secured by Design website, developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: https://www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/crime-prevention-advice/fuel-theft.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to investigate and prosecute people who abuse positions of trust by commencing relationships with people under the age of 18.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy affirms the Government’s commitment to ensuring there are no safe spaces for offenders to abuse and exploit vulnerable children.
The criminal law is clear: any sexual activity with a child under 16 is a criminal offence, regardless of whether consent is given. Any non-consensual sexual activity is also a crime, whatever the age of the victim and whatever the relationship between the victim and perpetrator.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 also contains a number of offences which criminalise sexual activity with a child under the age of 18 by people who hold a “position of trust” in respect of that young person even if such activity is consensual, effectively raising the age of consent from 16 to 18 in those circumstances.
We are committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse. That is why, following a review of the law in this area, we are including measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill introduced on 9 March, to widen the current offences which prevent adults in a position of trust from engaging in sexual relationships with young people under the age of 18, bringing sports coaches and religious leaders in line with other occupations such as teachers and doctors.
We have also strengthened law enforcement capacity and capability through funding for projects like the police Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme and have given police a range of powers to respond to people who pose a risk to children. We have further committed within the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse strategy to strengthen civil orders used to manage the risk posed by sex offenders and those who pose a risk of sexual harm, once a suitable legislative opportunity arises.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the participation of Overseas Territories in the Protected Person's Scheme.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The UKPPS provides protection to those judged to be at risk of serious harm where the protection arrangements required are not available to the local police or referring Agency.
UKPPS works with international partners as appropriate and as required, within the UKs judicial framework.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of risk under the Prevent programme of the European Institute for Human Sciences and its operations in the UK.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Prevent works closely with local people and organisations to stop vulnerable people being drawn into terrorism. Any indication that an individual or organisation is radicalising others is investigated and, if substantiated, appropriate multi-agency action is taken to address it. There are tried and tested mechanisms in place to address extremism in the charity sector.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her predecessor's speech on 20 May 2019, what timeframe applies to the Government’s review of the Treason laws.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The risks posed to the UK from hostile states have both grown and diversified and we have to ensure that we have the necessary powers to meet current and evolving threats to the UK, both domestically and overseas.
The Home Office is reviewing the legislation relating to hostile state activity to assess whether additional powers are required to clamp down on the activities of hostile states which threaten the UK.
The Treason Acts along with other relevant Acts are being considered as part of the Home Office’s ongoing wider review of legislation. This work is ongoing and has not reached conclusions yet.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of prioritising police resources on tackling organised crime in rural areas.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It is the responsibility of Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to ensure that the police priorities reflect those of their communities and that resources are deployed accordingly.