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Written Question
Police: Misconduct
Wednesday 31st July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to increase the number of people approved to sit on the Appeal Tribunal Chair list for police misconduct trials.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police Appeal Tribunals (PATs) play a crucial role in ensuring that we have a fair and robust police discipline system.

There was a recruitment exercise earlier this year to significantly increase numbers of PAT chairs, and decisions on appointments will be taken in due course.


Written Question
Police Stations: South Norfolk
Wednesday 31st July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations were operational in the South Norfolk constituency in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data is available.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This data is collected at Police Force Area (PFA) level only, and information at lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies is not collected.

Table H1 of the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the ‘Police Workforce’ publication shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers that are available for duty. The number of police officers available for duty excludes those on long term absence (career break, sick leave, study leave, maternity/paternity leave, suspension, special leave, compassionate leave and study leave).

The Home Office does not centrally collect information on police stations and never has done.


Written Question
Police: South Norfolk
Wednesday 31st July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of active police officers in the South Norfolk constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This data is collected at Police Force Area (PFA) level only, and information at lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies is not collected.

Table H1 of the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the ‘Police Workforce’ publication shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers that are available for duty. The number of police officers available for duty excludes those on long term absence (career break, sick leave, study leave, maternity/paternity leave, suspension, special leave, compassionate leave and study leave).

The Home Office does not centrally collect information on police stations and never has done.


Written Question
Visas: Seasonal Workers
Tuesday 30th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend the Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published a Review of the Seasonal Worker route on 16 July.

The Government will carefully consider the MAC’s recommendations and will announce a detailed response in due course.


Written Question
UK Border Force: ICT
Tuesday 30th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the police reporting and notebook organiser (PRONTO) system to ensure its effectiveness at recording questions that deviate from the list of pre-defined ones built into it.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Historically police forces and law enforcement organisations have made local commercial buying decisions through Chief Constables and PCCs for products such electronic notebook organisers. These organisers are used to increase efficiency whilst undertaking operational duties.

In support of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of data, the Home Office maintains under active review all processes needed to support police and law enforcement partners with their operational data requirements. However, the functioning of electronic notebooks remains a primary consideration for operational partners in policing and law enforcement.


Written Question
UK Border Force: ICT
Tuesday 30th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a standardised procedure for recording debriefing records onto police reporting and notebook organisers (PRONTOs).

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Historically police forces and law enforcement organisations have made local commercial buying decisions through Chief Constables and PCCs for products such electronic notebook organisers. These organisers are used to increase efficiency whilst undertaking operational duties.

In support of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of data, the Home Office maintains under active review all processes needed to support police and law enforcement partners with their operational data requirements. However, the functioning of electronic notebooks remains a primary consideration for operational partners in policing and law enforcement.


Written Question
Crime: Rural Areas
Friday 26th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the financial impact of rural crime on the agriculture sector in Norfolk.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to stamping out crime and disorder in rural areas and we will ensure countryside communities blighted by organised crime, rural theft and antisocial behaviour will be protected.

The Home Office provided a startup grant of £300,000 to set up the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU).

The NRCU supports forces nationally in their responses to rural crime, such as the theft of farming or construction machinery, livestock theft, rural fly tipping, rural fuel theft and equine crime. The unit aims to help police forces tackle rural crime priorities through the provision of specialist operational support, as well as through sharing best practice and encouraging regional and national approaches to tackling rural crime. The NRCU helps police across the country tackle organised theft and disrupt organised crime groups, as well as working closely with the National Crime Agency.

The Home Office also directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to provide intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime which can affect the agriculture sector.


Written Question
Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme
Friday 26th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was allocated to (a) each police force in England and Wales, (b) each government department, (c) each local authority and (d) other bodies through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme in each year since 2010.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Allocations from the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) with breakdowns for police forces, government departments, local authority and other bodies that participate in ARIS is only available from financial year 2016/17 to 2022/23


Published data from financial year 2016/17 to 2021/22 can be found in tab 9 of the data tables: Reporting force and agency data - assets recovered: September 2022.

Published data from financial year 2017/18 to 2022/23 can be found in tab 10 of the data tables: Asset Recovery Statistics, financial years ending 2018 to 2023: Data Tables.

The total value of ARIS allocations to police forces, government departments, local authority and other bodies from 2016/17 to 2022/23 is £679.7m


The next publication covering financial year 2023/24 is due to be published in September.


Written Question
UK Border Force: Staff
Friday 26th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Border Force Operational Notification forms.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Operation Notification Form (ONF) is used by Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) teams outside the Metropolitan Police area


Its purpose is to enable Immigration Enforcement (IE) to request local police assistance for an enforcement visit or notify the police of a planned enforcement visit where no additional local police assistance is required. It is used by IE to gather intelligence held by the police regarding the subjects and addresses they plan to visit. In addition, it enables local police to carry out an equalities and community impact assessment of the proposed visit and allows IE to notify police of the result of the visit using the intelligence feedback report


Operational business assurance standards provide officers with guidance relating to the use of ONFs / equivalent police checks. Assurance checks for ONFs have been conducted in past operational assurance reviews


Published guidance on the ONF can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/powers-and-operational-procedure/enforcement-planning-assessments-accessible.

The role of ‘Operational Support Officer’ is not a standard position within every operational team / unit within IE, therefore the department would not consider creating a standardised best practice guide for this position


Guidance for officers dealing with immigration enforcement matters is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/enforcement-instructions-and-guidance.


Written Question
UK Border Force: Staff
Friday 26th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish standardised best practice guides for Border Force Operational Support Officers.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Operation Notification Form (ONF) is used by Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) teams outside the Metropolitan Police area


Its purpose is to enable Immigration Enforcement (IE) to request local police assistance for an enforcement visit or notify the police of a planned enforcement visit where no additional local police assistance is required. It is used by IE to gather intelligence held by the police regarding the subjects and addresses they plan to visit. In addition, it enables local police to carry out an equalities and community impact assessment of the proposed visit and allows IE to notify police of the result of the visit using the intelligence feedback report


Operational business assurance standards provide officers with guidance relating to the use of ONFs / equivalent police checks. Assurance checks for ONFs have been conducted in past operational assurance reviews


Published guidance on the ONF can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/powers-and-operational-procedure/enforcement-planning-assessments-accessible.

The role of ‘Operational Support Officer’ is not a standard position within every operational team / unit within IE, therefore the department would not consider creating a standardised best practice guide for this position


Guidance for officers dealing with immigration enforcement matters is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/enforcement-instructions-and-guidance.