Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Damian Green Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

My hon. and learned Friend, the Minister for Justice, Lord Faulks, has made the following written ministerial statement:

I am pleased to announce that, today, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will become an Executive agency.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) was established in 1994. During 2012-13, a triennial review was carried out on CICA. The recommendation of the review was that CICA should become an Executive agency as this would better reflect its current operating model.

Today, the framework document which details the governance arrangements between the Department and the CICA agency has been published. In line with the requirements for all Executive agencies, the framework document sets out the overarching framework for the governance and accountability arrangements between the Department and the agency.

The creation of the CICA as an agency will not lead to any change in the CICA’s core function of paying money to people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the blameless victim of a violent crime.

I have, today, placed copies of the framework document in the Libraries of both Houses and on the Department’s website at: www.justice.gov.uk.

Home Department

Damian Green Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Mr Raab]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for the surrender of an individual under a European Arrest Warrant were received by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in 2010-11.

[Official Report, 1 December 2011, Vol. 536, c. 1063W.]

Letter of correction from Damian Green:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) on 1 December 2011.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Damian Green]

[holding answer 7 November 2011]: In 2010-11, SOCA received 6,032 Part 1 European Arrest Warrant requests (relating to individuals who are in the UK) and 256 Part 3 warrants (relating to individuals wanted by the UK).

Member states will often issue an EAW to all other member states when the location of the individual sought is not known. The number of requests received, therefore, is not necessarily an indicator of those individuals being in the UK.

The correct answer should have been:

[Damian Green]

[holding answer 7 November 2011]: In 2010-11, SOCA received 5,770 Part 1 European Arrest Warrant requests (relating to individuals who are in the UK) and 256 Part 3 warrants (relating to individuals wanted by the UK).

Member states will often issue an EAW to all other member states when the location of the individual sought is not known. The number of requests received, therefore, is not necessarily an indicator of those individuals being in the UK.

[Mr Raab]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for the surrender of an individual under a European arrest warrant were received by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in 2011-12.

[Official Report, 20 June 2012, Vol. 546, c. 1058-60W.]

Letter of correction from Damian Green:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) on 20 June 2012.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Damian Green]

[holding answer 18 June 2012]: During the business year 2011-12, the Serious Organised Crime Agency received 5,832 European arrest warrants issued by EU member states—this figure includes four issued by Gibraltar. The following table breaks this figure down by issuing state.

[Damian Green]

[holding answer 18 June 2012]: During the business year 2011-12, the Serious Organised Crime Agency received 5,641 European arrest warrants issued by EU member states—this figure includes four issued by Gibraltar. The following table breaks this figure down by issuing state.

European Police College (Relocation)

Damian Green Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

The Government have decided to opt in to the member state initiative for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council to relocate the European Police College (CEPOL) from Bramshill (UK) to Budapest (Hungary) (European Union Document Nos. 2013/0812 (COD), ENFOPOL 395 CODEC 2773 PARLNAT 307).

The current CEPOL Council decision states that the headquarters of CEPOL shall be in Bramshill. The draft regulation replaces the part of the CEPOL Council decision that specifies Bramshill, with a statement that the seat shall be in Budapest. The Bramshill site is owned by the Home Office, and is also currently used by the College of Policing. The site costs the Home Office £5 million per annum to run, and is not economically viable. The Home Secretary therefore decided in December 2012 that Bramshill should be sold. It was placed on the market in the summer with a listing price of £20 million to £25 million, and we are on schedule to complete the sale by March 2015. The sale of Bramshill means that we will be unable to continue housing CEPOL there.

The publication of the draft regulation is an important step towards ensuring that CEPOL vacates the Bramshill site in good time for any sale. Buyers would expect vacant possession, so in the context of securing the sale it is very much in UK interests to support the proposal. CEPOL have been guaranteed occupation of the site until September 2014, as the new site in Budapest will not be ready to house CEPOL until the end of August 2014.

We are keen to co-operate fully in the process of moving CEPOL from Bramshill to its new location. To give CEPOL staff some much needed assurance this process needs to be completed quickly. The regulation has been helpfully progressed in the EU to accommodate our objectives in moving CEPOL from Bramshill.

Firearms (England and Wales)

Damian Green Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

I am today publishing statistics on police use of firearms in England and Wales for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. These show that:

The number of police operations in which firearms were authorised was 10,996—a decrease of 1,554 (14.1 %) on the previous year.

The number of authorised firearms officers (AFO’s) was 6,091—a decrease of 665 (10.9%) officers overall on the previous year.

The number of operations involving armed response vehicles was 13,116—a decrease of 1,145 (8.7%) on the previous year.

The police discharged a conventional firearm in three incidents—down from 5 incidents in 2011-12.

Full details are set out in the following tables.

Taser Statistics

Damian Green Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

I am today publishing the statistics on police use of taser in England and Wales for six monthly periods between January 2012 and December 2013. These show that:

Total police use of taser has increased from 2012 to 2013, continuing the trend seen since 2009.

The proportion of taser where the “highest use” was “fired” decreased between 2012 and 2013—accounting for 17% of uses in 2013.

The most common “highest use” of a taser was “red dot” in each of the last two years, accounting for just over half of all uses.

Full details are available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-use-of-taser-statistics-england-and-wales-2012-to-2013 and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Damian Green Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

13. What his policy is on support for victims of crimes.

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

The Government are committed to providing more support than ever to victims of crime, and to giving them a louder voice in the criminal justice system. We have implemented a new victims code that tells people what to expect at every stage of the process. We aim to spend up to £100 million to support victims to cope and where possible recover from crime. This is roughly double what we currently spend, with offenders paying a much greater share. Last month we announced the first dedicated fund of £500,000 to support victims of male rape.

[Chris Ruane]

The Minister speaks of a code of practice. Will he confirm that if it is ignored by the police or the courts, the victim has no recourse whatsoever? The code is, in effect, toothless.

[Damian Green]

No, I would not say that at all because among our other innovations is a Victims Commissioner, whose basic role is to ensure that the code of practice is taken seriously by the police and by all other parts of the criminal justice system. Victims have much greater protection under this Government than they ever had under the previous Government.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

Every year, about 3,000 burglars with 15 or more previous convictions are not sent to prison. How does releasing these people back on to the streets to continue their crime spree help victims of crime? Is it not time that legislation was introduced to ensure that persistent burglars must be sent to prison?

[Damian Green]

I am sure that my hon. Friend will welcome the “Transforming Rehabilitation” proposals, which will mean that those receiving even sentences of under 12 months will for the first time receive help in prison, which will ensure that they are much less likely to reoffend when they come out.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Since May 2010, we have had 15 months with no Victims Commissioner at all, and two years with a part-time Victims Commissioner. What kind of signal does the Minister think that sends about this Government’s attitude to victims of crime?

[Damian Green]

I think that we have an excellent Victims Commissioner, who does the job extremely well.

[Sadiq Khan (Tooting) (Lab)]

Part-time.

[Damian Green]

One of the most ironic heckles I have ever heard is the shadow Justice Secretary shouting “Part-time”, when that is the method that he adopts to his job.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

About 550 people lose their lives in homicides throughout the country each year. For the families left bereaved by these tragedies, the dreadful impact can last for many years afterwards. Victims of crime often need long-term or even life-long support. Will the Minister therefore explain why the Government’s new homicide service will not be providing services to families who have lost a loved one prior to April 2010?

[Damian Green]

As the hon. Gentleman says, the homicide service will deal with those who have been bereaved by homicide over the past few years, but more money has gone to local police and crime commissioners, and they can commission additional services, which may well include some of the groups that I know are worried about the services they are providing to more distant victims of homicide. I can assure him that I am equally concerned about that, but the PCCs will deal with them.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

14. What recent representations he has received on compensation for people with pleural plaques.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

As I detailed earlier, we have taken a large number of measures. Perhaps the most significant one will be literally to give them a voice in court: victims of crime will be able to make a statement in court after the verdict but before the sentence. Many victims have emphasised that that will empower them: they will be able to look the offender in the face and say what effect the offence has had on their family. That is a very significant change in the court process in favour of victims.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

T6. It is estimated that this year there will be 42,000 applications to the criminal injuries compensation scheme, which means that 15,000 people who would have been eligible under the old scheme will not get anything. Is the Secretary of State proud that he has taken away access to justice for so many victims of crime?

--- Later in debate ---

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Humberside police have the highest number of reported child rapes. Last year, the figure was 176, alongside the 193 reported adult rapes. The cut to the money that is available to the Hull rape crisis centre will mean that the centre is no longer viable and that victims will have to travel 60-odd miles to Leeds to get the assistance that they need. Will the Minister and the Secretary of State look at that case to see whether the Ministry of Justice can support this very vulnerable group of people through the continuation of funding?

[Damian Green]

I will, of course, look at that individual case. However, I hope that the hon. Lady and the House will acknowledge that the Government are committed to funding 15 new rape crisis centres; that the 14th and 15th new centres will come on stream this year; and that we have provided an extra £4 million to allow that to happen. Inevitably, there are bids that cannot be met for perfectly valid reasons, but I will take a look at that case.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend look again at the adequacy of the terms of reference and working practices of the Office for Judicial Complaints to deal properly with redress in the very rare cases in which our judiciary do not come up to the proper standards of behaviour?

Rural Crime (Mapping Scheme)

Damian Green Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under you, Mr Bone. I congratulate not only the hon. Member for Clwyd South (Susan Elan Jones) on introducing the House to what she rightly describes as a good news story, but the residents in Esclusham and Ponciau who developed the mapping scheme.

Like the hon. Lady, I represent a semi-rural constituency, so I know all about the tensions between the policing of rural and urban areas; people in each area feel that those in the other area get more than their fair share of the cake. It is always difficult for police forces to decide where to point their efforts. However, it is obvious that in rural areas local information such as land ownership and livestock details can be important to police attending incidents. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady’s constituents for gathering the information to provide the digital map that she described, which will help North Wales police tackle rural crime in the area. The other key element to the scheme is that the information can be accessed via a tablet, helping the police to get the information while they are out on the ground. That keeps police on the street—perhaps in this case, in the field, but certainly out of the station—for longer than would otherwise be the case.

The hon. Lady rightly laid great stress on what wider applicability there can be for this type of local initiative. The answer is, “a great deal.” As I set out in a speech to police and crime commissioners in January, and again at a recent conference we held for digital pathfinder police forces, one of the biggest opportunities for the police to improve the service that they give the public is through embracing new technology. It allows the police to address not only the challenges posed by rural crime, but new emerging threats.

I will talk about the wider national scene first. Clearly, technology of the type the hon. Lady has described is shifting people’s behaviour and expectations of public services. Policing is responding to that, as the example of the mapping scheme shows, but the question that I pose regularly to those running individual forces and to PCCs is whether we are responding fast enough. Technology will be a significant key to the police continuing to cut crime in the future, and the intelligence input from the local community will continue to be vital in ensuring that technology is a success.

The hon. Lady referred to Sir Robert Peel; his famous dictum was:

“The police are the public and the public are the police.”

Part of that is an instinctive daily—hourly, if necessary—information flow between the police and the public. Technology makes that much easier than it ever has been, not just through social media but by various other means. The capacity of an informed, intelligent and helpful citizen to tell the police that something is going on somewhere where we could not remotely expect a police officer to be at that moment is greater than ever before.

The other side to that is that officers should have access to information while out on the streets, so that they can make quick decisions and avoid having to go back to the station to fill in forms or access IT systems. In a world of apps that allow people to book a taxi, find out when the bus is coming and do their banking on a smartphone, online police services and information should become business as usual. All forces now provide information via their website and Twitter; nearly all forces provide information via Facebook, and two thirds do so via YouTube. The public can contact individual officers or specific neighbourhood teams in many forces directly.

It is disappointing, however, that people cannot routinely do relatively basic things, such as reporting individual crimes, online. There are exceptions. Sussex police force allows the public to report crime online, and in Avon and Somerset, victims of reported crimes can track the progress of the police investigation online. I would like to see that spread across all forces.

We want to be ambitious, not simply doing old things with new tools but harnessing the potential of technology to bring about transformational change. That is what digital policing is about. Many forces are serious about digitisation, and I am delighted that 32 forces have signed up to be digital pathfinders. The College of Policing digital pathfinder programme is about bringing together forces that are serious about forging a digital path to share innovative ideas and identify collaboration opportunities. The programme will identify what a fully digital force will look like, highlighting how technology can improve the public experience of dealing with the police, and how officers can be more efficient and effective while out on the beat and can streamline processes to link up with their criminal justice partners. I hope that North Wales police will consider becoming a digital pathfinder, building on the innovation the debate today has highlighted. I am sure that the hon. Lady will want to challenge her local force and PCC on this matter.

One of the hon. Lady’s questions was about funding. She may be aware of the Home Office innovation fund. Recently we allocated over £11 million to IT projects from the 2013-14 precursor police innovation fund. There will be another round of allocations next year, for which the fund will be two and a half times the size. Much of that money is used on precisely the type of development in IT that she has described today.

For example, Avon and Somerset will use the funding to set up a citizen portal, which will allow the public to report and track non-emergency crimes. Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire were successful in their joint bid to support their work to build innovation in IT into their end-to-end business transformation project to make all possible processes digital. South Wales is using global positioning system technology linked to police data to provide officers with relevant information and intelligence about the area they are in, or a person they encounter. Building on that money, the police innovation fund will have £50 million available next year to support further innovation, including digital projects.

The Home Office has recently awarded a contract for the provision of evidence-based decision support, a service that will enable the right team of experts from industry, small and medium-sized enterprises and academia to be assembled to focus on the customer’s specific problems before making critical decisions. It will ensure that transformation programmes are fully sighted on the latest technical innovations. By using the service, forces can be confident that they are investing in the right things and not just the latest gadgets. Those things combine to provide an opportunity for forces to bring about real, transformational change.

The hon. Lady was right to praise the innovative work that the PCSO did in partnership with her local community in developing the system in Esclusham and Ponciau. PCSOs have played a huge part in providing effective neighbourhood policing, and they are a highly visible presence in communities. As that work shows, PCSOs have proved an invaluable link between the police and the communities that they serve by understanding and identifying local priorities, solving local problems and low-level crime, and engaging with the community. That is even more important in rural areas, which, as the hon. Lady knows, can present different challenges because of their size and the remoteness of their communities.

Lasting success in tackling rural crime will lie in local police and communities having a tailored joint response to the problems that they face, as we have seen in the partnership in north Wales. Although crime rates in rural areas tend to be relatively low, it is right that rural communities can know what crime looks like in their area and can hold somebody to account for doing something about it.

We provide the public with local information about crime and what the police have done in response to it. That information is regularly updated, so the public are able to hold local forces to account. Police.uk, the national crime and policing portal, provides rural communities with local information about crime and antisocial behaviour. Police.uk information is presented clearly and concisely, which enables the public to access crime and policing information in a way that is useful to them. The number of hits on police.uk since it was set up is evidence of how useful people find it.

We have shifted power to local communities through locally elected police and crime commissioners, who ensure that the public have a stronger voice in determining local policing priorities. A national rural crime network has been set up to tackle countryside crime, and it has been endorsed by 18 police and crime commissioners. It is good that PCCs in rural areas are coming together to discuss issues of mutual concern, and, as with the system that the hon. Lady spoke about, to spread best practice. As she rightly said, local initiatives can turn into national or international initiatives, which need to start somewhere.

[Susan Elan Jones]

I am grateful to the Minister for much of what he said. May I gently turn him to my question about whether he will meet with my constituents who are involved in the programme?

[Damian Green]

I was saving that for the end. I promise the hon. Lady that I will get there.

The rural crime network includes organisations dedicated to rural communities, which will be able to learn from one another and work collaboratively on new ideas and solutions that will benefit local people. Several PCCs have prioritised rural crime, which shows concretely that rural communities are able to have an effective say. In North Wales, the PCC has put in place a rural crime plan to engage with the rural community and address their concerns, including theft from rural areas of equipment and livestock. The force is providing a presence at farmers’ markets and agricultural events, and a rural crime team, comprising four full-time police constables and a sergeant, has been created.

Such schemes are not restricted to Wales. In Suffolk, the PCC has introduced a dedicated team of special constables to work with safer neighbourhoods teams to tackle offenders who target farms and rural communities, and rural crime police officers who will focus on hare coursing. The PCC in Thames Valley, Anthony Stansfeld, has also prioritised rural crime, and has introduced the “Country Watch” messaging system. So far, more than 7,500 people have signed up to the system to receive crime alerts and witness appeals, to see galleries of wanted criminals or suspects, and to receive information on community groups, events or meetings and details of operational work, by e-mail, text or telephone. Those examples from around the country illustrate that there is welcome new thinking and activity in the hon. Lady’s constituency and other parts of the country to deal with the problems that rural crime creates, and to enable police forces around the country to become more effective in stamping it out.

The hon. Lady asked whether I will meet her constituents. Of course I will; I am happy to do so. As I said, spreading best practice is an effective way of ensuring that good ideas have benefits beyond the local communities in which they were created. I hope that other communities will be inspired by the initiative that she spoke about and some of the others that I have mentioned. Rural crime is one the key examples where the use of new technology can, and will, transform policing, so that we deliver a better, more efficient service to the public. I hope that the good idea in the hon. Lady’s constituency will bring benefits to not only her constituents but many others around the country.

Fatal Domestic Violence

Damian Green Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

In congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland) on securing the debate, I very much echo his opening words that this is indeed a sensitive and important area. I also echo his closing words in paying tribute to AAFDA and the other organisations that work in this most difficult area. I have been aware for some time of his interest in and knowledge of the area from the various written questions that he has submitted on it.

I am more than happy to assure my hon. Friend that the Government remain committed to ensuring that victims of all types of crime have access to support to enable them to cope and, wherever possible, to help them to recover from their experience, or at least, to be able to have some kind of normality in their lives: for example, returning to work, re-engaging with outside interests and trying to rebuild their lives.

Domestic abuse and homicide are particularly abhorrent forms of crime. Such violence, as my hon. Friend said, ruins and destroys families. It is insidious and can take many forms: physical, emotional and sexual. Homicide is its most extreme manifestation. Clearly, for anyone to lose a loved one in such a way is a disturbing and traumatic experience.

Progress has been made over the years to raise the profile of the issue and, more importantly, to fight it. In 2011, the Home Office implemented section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. That means that local areas and agencies are expected to undertake a multi-agency review following a domestic violence homicide to help all those involved in the review process in identifying the lessons that need to be learned. In November 2013, the Home Office published a document setting out the most common themes that were identified as lessons to be learned.

I am obviously aware of the organisation Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, based in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and of the very good work that it does in supporting those affected by domestic abuse and homicide. More generally, support for those bereaved by homicide has been improved in the past few years. The Government remain committed to providing support for victims of crime and their families, and that includes provision of support for those bereaved by homicide.

Currently, the Ministry of Justice provides £2.4 million of annual funding to a national homicide service provided by Victim Support. That service provides an assigned caseworker who delivers and co-ordinates practical and emotional support and who can commission specialist support, including legal advice and counselling. In addition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently provides up to £100,000 of funding a year for additional support when the homicide has occurred abroad. That funding helped 4,500 individuals to be supported by the homicide service between 2010 and the end of 2013. Currently, 2,588 people are being supported.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice currently provides a total of £350,000 of annual funding to a number of other specialist and peer support organisations that provide help for families bereaved by homicide. Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse is one of the organisations providing peer support that we currently fund.

A new national homicide service is currently being commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and, from October 2014, the Ministry of Justice will be providing grant funding for a more integrated offer of support for those bereaved by homicide. It will provide access, where required, to practical and emotional support and to both specialist and peer support.

The principle of service provision is that it will be based on need. My hon. Friend mentioned Louise Casey’s review of the homicide service in 2011, and rightly so; it is an important document. One of the lessons that we have drawn from it and, indeed, from learning and feedback from the service providers currently funded, is that the needs of those bereaved by homicide can range from the short term to the long term and, in some cases, as he said, persist for many years or even be lifelong. In that regard, it is important to remember that Louise Casey’s report called for an integrated service for the bereaved; and, indeed, an integrated service commissioned and managed by one grant fund will be able and required to refer individuals to peer and specialist support. That is precisely because signposting, under current separate grant funds, is sometimes not in the best interests of families, so we are trying to address that specific point that my hon. Friend made.

We also know that individuals who need support will not inevitably fall into one category of support need. Individuals who need specialist advice may, for example, also need immediate practical support and advice, counselling support or help with claims for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. We know that victims’ needs can both change and recur over time, so not only will the balance of what victims need across these various areas of support vary from individual to individual, but the balance of support that any individual needs may change over time. That is why we want support to be available to individuals for as long as they need it; we are not looking to exit individuals from the support that they need according to a pre-set time scale or proportion of the available budget. That is to say that victims who receive support from the national homicide service will be able to do so for as long as they need it. We also want the support offered to address and help to meet the range of an individual’s needs, so that in time the need for support reduces.

The Ministry of Justice therefore intends to provide one grant award for a national homicide service. We are inviting bids from organisations that can demonstrate how they will deliver support across the range of needs; it is important to ensure that this leads to a more integrated service than the current separate funding arrangements. We are inviting prime contractors with subcontractors, and consortiums, to bid. There is therefore scope for smaller organisations, including peer support groups, to take part in the process, either as bidders for the direct MOJ grant or as partners in service provision. This competitive grant process will allow the provision of support to families based on need and entitlement, and provision of the support is therefore not time-limited.

Let me be clear that although we are changing the way in which we fund the homicide service in order to provide a more efficient, effective and integrated service, we remain committed to ensuring that peer support is available to those victims who want or need it. It is expected that in bidding for and providing the service, the future recipient of this grant award will need to demonstrate how it will directly provide support and, where it cannot directly provide all support across the range of needs, it will put in place sustainable arrangements with other organisations that can help to ensure that the range of needs are met.

Let me address directly a point that I know AAFDA makes: what happens to those bereaved by homicide before the setting up of the homicide service in 2010? Among the essential features of the current service model is that it is designed to provide immediate support and then structured ongoing support. It provides a dedicated caseworker in the immediate aftermath of bereavement who conducts a needs assessment. Obviously, the needs of those bereaved before 2010 will not be best supported by this service model, so we do not propose to extend the scope of the new service to include support in cases that predate the current service, but organisations that currently support pre-2010 provision were advised in August 2013 that they would need to ensure that they made suitable funding arrangements, either to continue to support service users or to transition them to appropriate services once the current funding streams ceased. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice also gave organisations the opportunity to engage in work to consider how to help the victims sector build capacity and capability ahead of the move to local commissioning by police and crime commissioners in October 2014. Of course, PCCs will be able to augment nationally provided services locally as they see necessary.

The organisations have been told about this; they have been told about the new funding arrangement, and I hope that they will be able to use the new arrangements to ensure that they continue their essential services. If an organisation proves unable to develop such arrangements and that means that there is a risk of essential support ending, it can and should contact the Ministry of Justice to highlight that risk, the steps that it has taken to resolve it and information on the range, volume and type of support activities that would constitute the gap in service provision from October 2014, because the purpose of the new grant award arrangements is that resources can be distributed as effectively and efficiently as possible, which will ensure that organisations provide as much support as possible for individuals.

I again emphasise the importance, under the new arrangements, of commissioning by police and crime commissioners. That will mean that decisions about local services are based on local needs and made by individuals who have an understanding of those needs and who can be held accountable for the money that they spend on these services. Each PCC will therefore be able to look at the range of services being provided both locally and nationally and make their own assessment of how to provide additional, tailored support to victims based on local requirements.

I think that the new system will be better integrated than before and I hope that it will also be more flexible than before, so that the small specific charities that do such vital work will be able to continue doing it. I hope, therefore, that I have gone some way towards reassuring my hon. Friend that it is precisely because of the changeable and varied needs of individuals who are bereaved by homicide that a grant award for a co-ordinated and integrated provision of service is the right approach to ensuring that those bereaved by homicide have access to vital support.

Covert Surveillance/Covert Human Intelligence Sources

Damian Green Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

I am today announcing the publication of the Government’s consultation on the covert surveillance and the covert human intelligence source codes of practice. The regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) contains a requirement for codes of practice to guide those who use the powers for which the Act provides.

The majority of the proposals to update the codes of practice are as a consequence of the regulation of Investigatory Powers (Covert Human Intelligence Sources: Relevant Sources) Order 2013 which I laid on 31 October 2013 and which came into force on 1 January 2014. In addition, there are a number technical or other amendments which provide greater clarity for those authorising and using covert techniques.

RIPA and its associated codes of practice have greatly improved control and oversight of the way public authorities use covert investigatory techniques, in order to protect our right to privacy. The proposed changes will promote the highest standards of professionalism and excellence in this most sensitive aspect of law enforcement.

The consultation will last for six weeks, during which time the Home Office will actively engage with partners. Copies of the consultation will be placed in the House Library. An online version of this consultation will be available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/ consultations/covert-surveillance

Police Federation Reform (Normington Report)

Damian Green Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) on securing this debate and Members on both sides of the House on their heartfelt and thoughtful speeches, and on the clarity of the debate. Anyone who has listened to this debate or who reads it subsequently will see that it has sent a very clear message to the Police Federation about the Normington report.

I simply want to echo that message. I fully agree with the principles behind the motion. I agree that public trust in the police is vital. I agree that the federation, which represents 130,000 rank and file police officers, has a vital part to play. I agree that the federation must change significantly if it is to play its role effectively. I pay credit to the federation and its current leadership under Steve Williams for recognising that change is needed and for commissioning the independent Normington review to guide that reform. The report does that very clearly. I also agree with Members on both sides of the House that the vast majority of police officers do what is a difficult and sometimes dangerous job very well on a day-to-day basis. The tradition of policing by consent is a vital part of democracy and quality of life in this country. That is the background to the problem that the Normington review addresses.

The review was undertaken because of significant concerns about the transparency and integrity of the Police Federation and those who act on its behalf. It is important that the federation addresses those issues to ensure that it acts in the interest of its membership and commands the confidence of the public. To that end, I welcome the news that the Home Affairs Committee will produce a report on these matters.

As others have said, Sir David Normington and the other members of the panel have produced a report that is thoughtful, comprehensive and well evidenced. It is insightful on the issues that the federation faces and considered in the solutions that it recommends. We all agree with Sir David that the federation must operate with openness and integrity. The review suggests a great number of far-reaching reforms. We will soon see how the federation responds.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Mr Ruffley) intervened on the former police Minister, who is revisiting former glories today, to ask about the federation’s response. Steve Williams said before the Normington review was published that he would accept it. Obviously, discussions are now going on inside the federation. I assure the House that those discussions are being monitored closely by the Government.

The Government agree with the sentiment that has been expressed by Members on both sides of the House that it is for the federation to reform itself and not for the Government to step in at this stage. We need to see what the results of the federation’s considerations are. We do not plan to change the legislation before the review has been considered and processed by the federation. However, it is important that the federation moves forward with reform. I do not rule out the possibility of new legislation or regulations because the federation was created by an Act of Parliament and many of the changes may need to be made in Parliament. We will come to that at the appropriate time.

One of the virtues of the Normington report is that it has produced a timetable for action by the federation. Outsiders with an interest, such as this House, will be able to see how the timetable is being met. The time to consider any legislative action that we need to take is after the federation has considered its next steps.

A number of important points have been made by hon. Members. The issue of federation expenses has been raised. I take any suggestion that expenses have been misused extremely seriously. Federation representatives are elected by their members to represent them. They must therefore act in their members’ interests in using federation funds. It rightly falls to the federation to handle and respond to those issues. It is important for the federation to demonstrate that it uses its finances, which are raised primarily through member subscriptions, in a transparent and responsible manner. If it does not show that it does so, it is difficult to see how it can command the confidence of its members or the public.

References have been made to the accusations of bad behaviour on national police memorial day by representatives of the federation. Like the former police Minister and the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, I have attended national police memorial day. It is a very moving occasion that is important to the friends and families of police officers who have given their lives in the course of their duties. I know that the leadership of the Police Federation would want to ensure that that occasion is treated with the dignity that it deserves. If there have been problems, I hope that action will be taken to ensure that they are not repeated.

There have been a number of references to the notorious No. 2 accounts that are held by some branches of the Police Federation. Those financial issues have been covered thoroughly in the Normington report. It makes a number of recommendations to improve the transparency and handling of federation finances. It recommends that all accounts, including No. 2 accounts, should be published and available publicly. As that information comes to light, we will gain a better understanding of how the money is being gathered and spent. It will fall to the appropriate authorities to deal with any unlawful or improper behaviour that is identified. That might be the police themselves or it might be Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Clearly, we need to know more about what is happening in those No. 2 accounts. I look forward to seeing how the federation responds to the report’s recommendations. If help is needed from the Government to implement the changes, it will certainly be available.

As well as those specific reforms, the review recommends a great deal of far-reaching reform. I am sure that all Members expect there to be change. Behind all that, the federation must ensure that it performs its most important role, which is to represent rank and file officers. It is clear from the important surveys that many hon. Members have mentioned that those officers still want the federation to represent them. As such, our starting point must be to ask how we can make the federation reform itself in order that it can deliver that service more effectively. We are at the stage of giving the federation the opportunity to consider how it will change on the basis of the recommendations.

The final matter that has come up frequently is the events at Downing street involving my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). It is clear that those issues have caused widespread concern about police integrity, and demonstrate that unless all officers operate to the highest standards of integrity, policing risks forfeiting public trust. The court has now decided on the appropriate sentence for the criminal conduct of PC Keith Wallis, and the IPCC has stated that its investigation has provided evidence to support gross misconduct proceedings against five officers, including PC Wallis. It will be for the Metropolitan police service disciplinary panel to decide on the culpability of the officers involved.

Hon. Members will also be aware that the Home Office is currently considering changes to the whole police disciplinary system, and the IPCC is independently investigating allegations that three Police Federation officers from West Mercia, West Midlands and Warwickshire police gave false accounts of their meeting with my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield on 12 October 2012, in an attempt to discredit him. As that investigation is ongoing it would obviously be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

In conclusion, I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to what I think will be a significant and important debate that will mark progress and greater clarity in the necessary reform of the Police Federation in the wake of the Normington review. I hope and expect that the federation will address those concerns, so that it can become once again an institution that its members will be proud of, and of which the public will be proud, just as they are proud of our police.