Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to maintain public order during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to maintain public order during the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)]

The Home Office has been working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council every single day throughout the covid crisis, not only to back the police when it comes to law enforcement but, equally importantly, to ensure that they are resourced throughout covid to provide the support required for frontline police officers.

[Alun Cairns]

During this covid period, many coastal communities have found themselves under threat from mass gatherings—in my constituency, Ogmore-by-Sea is one example and Barry Island is another. Will my right hon. Friend join me in sending the strongest message that such behaviour will not be tolerated? Will she support the police and pay tribute to them for the strong action they are taking to ensure that coastal communities can be enjoyed by families and by tourists who want to visit and enjoy our fantastic resources?

[Priti Patel]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have visited his constituency in the past and know how beautiful it is. I commend the officers and the police chief for all the work that they have been doing. My right hon. Friend is right to want that area to protected for local residents so that it can be enjoyed responsibly. There is of course no scope at all for antisocial behaviour. We have been continuing to support the police to make sure that they have been equipped throughout this covid crisis to police effectively and encourage the right and responsible kinds of behaviours.

Gangs and Serious Youth Violence

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

The Chair definitely has no responsibility whatsoever for receptions held outside this House.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Alun Cairns)]

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I can advise the House that the Secretary of State has parliamentary business elsewhere and I understand that he has spoken to the promoter of the debate to explain that that is the case. I should also say that the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State hosted a very successful St David’s day reception on St David’s day at No. 10 earlier this week.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Indeed, it would be good if the House could come together and send a clear message, which is why I have said we will put before the House, and ensure it is aware of, our proposal on this matter. The Foreign Secretary and I continue to work on that.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The Government have taken significant steps to combat online child abuse, working with the police, technology companies and independent charities and experts, but an intensified risk is now posed by the hidden internet software Tor. What action can the Government take?

[Damian Green]

My hon. Friend has identified an important problem, that of Tor—The Onion Router—which is a secret part of the web. I hope that he will be reassured to learn that one of the specific tasks given to the industry by the UK-US joint taskforce, which I chair along with the assistant Attorney-General of the United States, is that of finding a way to root out criminality from secret parts of the web which are accessible to the terrible criminals who seek to exploit children online.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

9. What progress her Department is making in reducing net migration to the UK.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

12. What steps her Department is taking better to manage immigration.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

17. What progress her Department is making in reducing net migration to the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The figure for net migration is reached by looking at the numbers leaving and the numbers coming in. The Office for National Statistics has been absolutely clear about the statistically significant fall in immigration and net migration, and it is the fall in immigration that has led to the fall in net migration.

[Alun Cairns]

The new “Life in the UK” test comes into force this week. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it should focus on encouraging immigrants to play a full part in British life, rather than teaching them how best to claim benefits?

[Mrs May]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and that is exactly what the new “Life in the UK” test does. We have revamped the requirements for people taking the test. It is no longer about water meters and how to claim benefits, but enables people to participate fully in our society. It has sections on British history. The test enables people to understand what being resident in the United Kingdom is about and how to participate in our society, and I think that is absolutely right.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that it is important that we reach out to women to help to increase participation even further. I have already cited the dramatic impact that hosting the Olympics and Paralympics has had in raising participation among women. Some sports have had a particularly successful track record in this area. Netball is one of the fastest growing women’s sports in the country, with participation having increased from 110,000 in 2005 to 158,000 last year. There are also examples in cycling and hockey. There is some good success, but we need to make sure that it is echoed in other areas too.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to improve broadband availability across the UK.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We are investing some £680 million in urban and rural broadband. Taking into account local authority funding and private sector investment, more than £1 billion is going towards rolling out broadband.

[Alun Cairns]

I pay tribute to the Minister and the Government for prioritising the roll-out of broadband and for the significant sums of public money they have committed to it. Openreach has been successful in many of the contracts for extending broadband provision, but its modelling can be inaccurate. Some of my constituents have switched to fibre-to-the-cabinet, but they do not get speeds anywhere near the original commitments. Given those inaccurate models, is the Minister confident that some of the providers will not come back for further public money?

[Mr Vaizey]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the assiduous work he does for his constituents. The average speed in Wales has gone up from some 7.5 megabits to 12 megabits. We are investing almost £57 million in rolling out broadband. I note what he says about speed. It is important that customers understand the speeds they will be getting.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Monday 7th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

21. What consideration she has given to the funding formula which allocates funding to each police authority.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

The police allocation formula is a robust and credible tool for estimating police work load in police force areas. It continues to be used to allocate the majority of central Government funding that goes to police authorities.

[Alun Cairns]

The South Wales police force area includes Cardiff, which, as a capital city, has additional civic responsibilities, which obviously mean that the police force incurs ongoing costs. Will the Minister agree to look at that factor and to meet me to consider it further?

[Nick Herbert]

I will continue to look at that factor, and am happy to agree to meet my hon. Friend—other hon. and right hon. Members have met me to discuss that issue. I should point out that forces can bid for funds through special grants for events or unforeseen circumstances. That is restricted to expenditure exceeding 1% of a force’s annual budget, but South Wales police has benefited from such awards in the past.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

15. What steps her Department is taking to protect women from domestic and sexual violence.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to protect women from domestic and sexual violence.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)]

In March this year we published a detailed action plan on tackling violence against women and girls. We have already delivered in several areas, including a commitment to provide more than £28 million of Home Office funding over four years for local specialist services to support victims of domestic and sexual violence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lynne Featherstone]

Preventing sexual and domestic violence from happening in the first place is a key priority of our action plan to end violence against women and girls. We are committed to developing education and awareness-raising campaigns on rape and sexual assault. As my hon. Friend said, we work with the Department for Education to encourage teaching about sexual consent in schools.

[Alun Cairns]

What discussions has the Minister had with the Department of Justice about victims of domestic violence who do not report offences to the police, particularly in the light of potential legal aid changes?

[Lynne Featherstone]

There have been no specific discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on this issue. However, the Ministry of Justice is a member of the inter-ministerial group on violence against women and girls, which is chaired by the Home Secretary. Discussions on the support provided for all victims of violence against women and girls is discussed at its meetings.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lynne Featherstone]

There are no loopholes in the Bill. The barring scheme will continue to cover all those in day-to-day, unsupervised contact with children, and those working in supervised positions will still be eligible for Criminal Records Bureau checks.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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

The Home Office is committed to protecting the public, controlling immigration, securing our borders and helping the police to combat and prevent crime and terrorism. I recently announced to the House the outcomes of our review of the Prevent strategy to counter radicalisation and our plans for a new national crime agency, which will be a powerful body of operational crime fighters who will secure our borders, tackle organised crime, fight economic crime and protect vulnerable children and young people.

[Alun Cairns]

The Prime Minister had significant success in Brussels last week in maintaining strong rules on the deportation of illegal immigrants. What role will the border police command play in allowing that to be delivered?