Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the levels of cross-channel food smuggling in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Border Force work closely with the lead department DEFRA in relation to Products of Animals Origins and food smuggling data.
The DEFRA link below will provide further detail in relation to the questions asked:
www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress his Department has made on bringing forward secondary legislation under the Elections Act 2022 to implement his policies on overseas voting.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The secondary legislation to deliver the overseas electors change is expected to be made and come into force in January 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward secondary legislation under the Elections Act 2022 to implement his policies on overseas voting.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The secondary legislation to deliver the overseas electors change is expected to be made and come into force in January 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the current average wait time for a decision to be made on a modern slavery case under the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1154119/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-uk-quarter-1-2023-january-to-march-tables.ods
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been prosecuted for fraud each year in the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data showing the number of defendants prosecuted for offences of fraud.
The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time taken to investigate cases at Action Fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
Action Fraud is the national reporting service for fraud but is not responsible for investigations. Reports submitted to Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation.
The NFIB currently aims to review every report for vulnerability within 72 hours of it being received on the NFIB technology platform. All allegations where viable lines of enquiry are identified should be disseminated to the appropriate force within 7– 28 days of reporting, depending on the level of information and evidence available.
We are working with City of London Police to refresh and upgrade the current Action Fraud service. Improvements include using automation within NFIB to increase its effectiveness.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to Government policy on visas for employment in the fishing industry on the cost of fish.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s longstanding position has been that foreign nationals need permission to work in UK waters and that transit visas have never been an appropriate visa to use to work in the UK. There has been no change in our position with this regard. The Government recognises there will be adjustment required for the industry to become compliant with the immigration system and has offered a generous visa support package to the sector. We are working closely with the fishing industry and Seafish to monitor labour shortages and their impact on the cost of fish.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the quantity of exported food that has been wasted due to delays in inspections at UK borders in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 May 2023 to PQ 183339.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what proportion of her Department's budget was spent on food for the police force in each of the last five years; and what proportion of food supplied to the police force was produced by UK farmers in each of those years.
Answered by Chris Philp
The Home Office does not hold information relating to the proportion of budgets spent on food for police forces and what proportion of the food supplied was produced by UK farmers.
Decisions on how to use funding and resources are an operational matter for Chief Constables. Police and Crime Commissioners are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience,
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the quantity of food that has spoiled while awaiting export checks at UK borders that were introduced as a result of the UK's departure from the EU since those checks were introduced.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no export checks implemented at the UK border for food as a result of EU exit, and so no assessment has been made.
However, products are now subject to checks at the EU border which are the responsibility of the EU authorities. We do not have an assessment of the number of products detained, but Defra has functions in place to support UK exporters if their consignments are detained at the EU border in order to facilitate this trade and minimise disruption.
The APHA Centre for International Trade has a dedicated Exports Team who are available to support GB stakeholders and provide advice and support where it is required. We have systems in place so that any detained consignments are dealt with as a priority. In respect of any complex exports queries or detainments, we will liaise with Veterinary and Defra Policy colleagues to ensure that the appropriate advice and support is given.