Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) business across Greater Manchester on steps to tackle the sale of (a) knives and (b) other offensive weapons to (i) teenagers and (ii) young people.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime in a decade and we are already taking a range of steps to make our communities a safer place for our young people.
We know that more needs to be done to tackle the sale of knives and offensive weapons online which is why last October, the Home Secretary asked Commander Stephen Clayman, as the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, to carry out a review into the online sale and delivery of knives. The review was published on 19 February 2025: www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-end-to-end-review-of-online-knife-sales
We have already decided to take forward the most pressing recommendations in the report and have announced “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives including strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage age verification system at the point of purchase and on delivery. We are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, funding a new online police coordination hub to take action against illegal knife and weapon content online; and we are intending to consult later this year on a registration scheme for online sellers of knives.
It is a Government manifesto commitment to hold senior executives of online platforms and marketplaces to account for illegal knife related content around the sale of prohibited offensive weapons or illegal marketing of knives in ways which encourages violence. We ran a public consultation on these proposals which closed on 11 December 2024 and we will be publishing our response shortly.
We have also implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes. The ban came in to force on 24 September 2024 and it is now illegal to sell, manufacture, supply or possess these weapons.
It is also a Government manifesto commitment to ban ninja swords and we ran a consultation between 13 November 2024 and 11 December 2024 to clarify the legal definition. We are now moving forward with our plans to ban ninja swords later this year.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to tackle the flow of illicit drugs in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling the criminals running drug supply chains is a priority for this government as part of our mission to reduce serious violence and exploitation. Key to achieving our aim of halving knife crime is targeting the drug gangs which drive serious violence, where one quarter of knife homicides are connected to drugs markets.
In partnership with the NCA and policing we are targeting organised crime groups at every stage of the drug supply chain, combatting illicit finance, disrupting the hidden channels through which criminals communicate, and supporting law enforcement agencies with dedicated personnel to identify high-harm threats and opportunities for disruption.
In addition, to disrupt county lines, which is the most violent and exploitative model of drug distribution, we are also providing, through our County Lines Programme, dedicated funding to Greater Manchester Police to support activity to tackle this issue.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) funding for and (b) resourcing of Border Security Command.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Border Security Command (BSC) is enabling a step-change in how our full range of capabilities are coordinated, maximised and targeted on organised immigration crime and reducing irregular migration including through the investment of £150 million to provide new technology, capabilities and specialist officers tackling organised crime.
The funding and resourcing for the BSC are under constant review. This review process is crucial to ensure that value for money is achieved for taxpayers and the BSC is fulfilling its functions.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Protection Order pilot scheme on the resources of Greater Manchester Police.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) are the first order to cover all forms of domestic abuse including economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour and are the first cross-jurisdictional order available in the family, civil and criminal courts to protect victims. They can impose notification requirements, electronic monitoring and attendance to a behaviour change programme. Breach of a DAPO is a criminal offence punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment. Greater Manchester Police was the first force to secure a custodial sentence for a breach of a DAPO.
We have commissioned an evaluation of DAPOs to gather evidence to understand how DAPOs are working in practice. The evaluation will include an assessment of how police are resourcing DAPOs.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's news story £200 million boost to transform neighbourhood policing, published on 31 January 2025, whether additional funding will be allocated to community policing in Heywood and Middleton North constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has committed to restoring neighbourhood policing through the delivery of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This includes new putting 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables on the beat in neighbourhoods up and down the country. Every part of the country needs to benefit from this pledge including Heywood and Middleton North constituency.
Details of each force’s allocation of the neighbourhood policing grant for 2025-26 were announced at the final police funding settlement on 30 January.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Greater Manchester Police to tackle the (a) prevalence and (b) impact of anti-social behaviour the city-region.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, committed to a zero-tolerance approach to ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every force working with communities to develop a local anti-social behaviour action plan. We will also put 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.
The Government recently announced Respect Orders which will be introduced through the Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders can be applied for by the police and local councils and are issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaching a Respect Order will be a criminal offence, allowing police officers to immediately arrest offenders and disrupt ongoing ASB.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the impact of her Department's policies on the number of convictions for (a) people smuggling and (b) related crimes since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Backed by £150 million funding, the Border Security Command (BSC) has a strategic cross-government remit and convening authority over the border security system, with its early focus on delivering operational capacity and new powers to support agencies across the Border Security system to dismantle criminal gangs quickly and effectively.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) leads the law enforcement response to the organised criminality involved in the trafficking and smuggling of people to the UK; it investigates and brings organised immigration crime offenders to justice. The NCA assesses their activity is having an impact here and overseas –Their operational results are demonstrated in the form of arrests, prosecutions and seizures, and they have continued to disrupt a large number of networks involved in this type of criminality since July 2024.
From 4th July 2024 through 12th December 2024, 17 people were convicted and sentenced across 7 OIC operations thanks to NCA’s actions. 15 of those sentenced received a total of over 107 years in custody, with a further 2 people receiving suspended sentences for their OIC crimes.
The NCA has over 70 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime - several of these sit right at the top of the NCA’s priority list.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on steps to tackle violence against women and girls on public transport in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Achieving this requires a transformative approach to the way we work together across national and local Government, public services, the private sector, and charities.
This includes working with the Department for Transport and the transport sector, on how we can improve safety for women using the transport network.
I meet Ministerial colleagues from across Government regularly and recently met with the Minister for Local Transport 2024 to discuss how we can better tackle VAWG on transport networks right across the country. My officials and I also engage regularly with the British Transport Police on this issue.
On 27 November 2024, we launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in select areas, including Greater Manchester, which will go further than existing protective orders to protect victims.
In addition, Greater Manchester Police is continuing to drive forward the work of Operation Soteria, a unique police and Crown Prosecution Service programme, which has introduced new operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape in England and Wales.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to make it easier for women to report abuse experienced when they have been exercising in public.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government has set out an unprecedented ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, and we are determined to use every lever available to us to deliver on that aim.
That means working across Government departments to tackle threats to women’s safety in all areas of their lives, including in public spaces.
This year, the Home Office is providing £15 million to support communities through a variety of preventative interventions such as improved CCTV and streetlighting, public guardianship schemes, and behavioural change initiatives including educational programmes to help change attitudes towards women and girls.
In addition to reporting via 999 and the 101 non-emergency number, anyone who has experienced abuse which is not an emergency can report it through the Single Online Home (SOH) reporting tool (www.police.uk/pu/contact-us/). As of November 2024, 40 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales plus British Transport Police have been onboarded onto the Single Online platform and one further force is currently onboarding.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to protect (a) workers who support the night time economy, (b) shift workers, (c) NHS workers, (d) people enjoying a night out and (e) other people travelling at night who are at risk of (i) violence and (ii) sexual violence.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government will treat tackling violence against women and girls as a national emergency and will use every tool to target perpetrators and address the root causes of violence on our streets.
We want women to feel safe and will use every lever to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, across the whole of government, with policing and other experts.
To make our streets safe, we must drastically reduce serious violent crime and violence against women and girls, increase confidence in the police, stop young people falling into crime, and make our criminal justice system work for victims.
No one should ever have to face the risk of violence or harassment when travelling. This government is taking action to make sure our transport network is safe for all. The Department for Transport is working closely with transport partners, including the British Transport Police, on a range of initiatives to address the problems faced by different users, including women and girls, on the transport network.