Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria were used to determine the re-imposition of visit visa requirements for Colombia; and what determination he made using those criteria for other Latin American countries.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Full details were provided in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the changes to the Immigration Rules: Explanatory Memorandum to the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules Presented to Parliament on 26 November 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to review the current proscription of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under the Terrorism Act 2000; and what criteria will be used to determine whether (a) HTS and (b) HTS's affiliates continue to pose a threat to national security.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
As a matter of long-standing policy, the Government does not comment on proscription matters in respect of individual organisations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect Hong Kong democracy activists in the UK who have bounties placed on them by the Hong Kong government.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
While it is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on security matters, where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security measures as appropriate.
The Government has developed new guidance which can be found on GOV.UK providing those who believe themselves to be at-risk of transnational repression with practical advice for their safety both physically and online.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of arson in (a) England and (b) Romford.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their vital work and to keep the public safe from fires, including those caused by arson. However, decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.
As part of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s strategic role across fire and rescue services (FRSs), it supports partnership working to promote the consistent recording and investigation of deliberate fires by the Police and FRSs.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of car theft in (a) England and (b) Romford.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts.
We also provided £250,000 funding in the last financial year to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad.
Via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
In recent weeks, the Security Minister and I have each met vehicle manufacturers to discuss these issues. Officials also regularly engage and work with industry to discuss workable solutions to help prevent vehicle theft.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of drug trafficking networks operating in and through Venezuela on the UK and its overseas territories.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Drug misuse can have a devastating impact on the safety, productivity, and health and wellbeing of our communities.
The UK takes a global approach to continuously assess the impact of global drug trafficking, working with international partners to try and reduce the flow of drugs to the UK and to ensure we stay flexible and coordinated in our response.
Tackling the supply of drugs and drug trafficking remains a priority for this Government and will play a critical role in making our streets safer. We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 reintroducing physical exit checks at borders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the completeness of the data collected under the exit checks programme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of car theft were reported to the Metropolitan Police in the London Borough of Havering in the last six months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including the number of theft of motor vehicles, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information is published as official statistics each quarter at both the Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership level, including Havering Crime Safety Partnership area. The latest information, to the year ending September 2024, can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Information for the year to December 2024 is due to be published on 24th April 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help increase the charge rate for vehicle thefts in London.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Vehicle theft is a truly distressing crime and this Government recognises the negative impact vehicle thefts have had on individuals, businesses and industry.
In our Crime and Policing Bill, we have brought forward two new offences to criminalise the possession, importation, making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply an electronic device (such as a signal jammer) for use in theft of a vehicle or theft of anything in a vehicle.
We are committed to restoring and strengthening neighbourhood policing. Through our Safer Streets Mission, our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers, across England and Wales, to speed up response times and build public confidence.