Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to expedite applications for resettlement to the UK made by Afghan people who are (a) in Pakistan and (b) at risk of being removed to Afghanistan before they receive a decision.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate families as soon as possible.
Afghans in third countries including in Pakistan who are eligible for resettlement to the UK continue to be supported by the UK Government, and flights from Pakistan to the UK continue to take place. However, we are unable to provide further operational details on this.
The UK Government is aware of recent announcements made by the Government of Pakistan regarding Afghans being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase public trust in the police.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been clear that police officers must be held to the highest standards and that this is vital to public trust.
The Home Office established the Angiolini Inquiry following the horrific murder of Sarah Everard, to identify lessons for policing so that the public can have confidence that the police are there to protect them. Part 1 of the Inquiry is due to report in early 2024. In May this year the Home Secretary commissioned Part 2 of the Inquiry to consider broader issues in policing, such as vetting, recruitment and culture, as well as the safety of women in public spaces. The terms of reference for Part 2 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/angiolini-inquiry-part-2-terms-of-reference.
The Home Office has recently announced measures to strengthen the police dismissals system, to ensure processes are effective at removing those not fit to serve. The review’s full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-officer-dismissals-home-office-review. The Home Secretary also asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for police vetting, which was published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-vetting-code-of-practice.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to protect Jewish people from hate crimes.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government is clear that all forms of hate crime, including antisemitic hate crime, are completely unacceptable. We expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.
In March 2023, the Home Secretary, announced the continuation of the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant and increased funding for 2023/24 by £1 million, to a total of £15 million. This grant provides protective security measures at Jewish schools, colleges, nurseries, and some other Jewish community sites, as well as a number of synagogues.
In light of the horrific Hamas terrorist acts in Israel and related reports of increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, the Prime Minister has announced additional funding of £3 million for the Community Security Trust to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites.
The Home Secretary chairs the Jewish Community Crime, Policing and Security Taskforce. This meeting brings together Government, law enforcement and the Community Security Trust in order to address Jewish community security concerns.
The Home Secretary also meets the Metropolitan Police Commissioner regularly, along with senior officers across the country, to ensure the police are doing everything they can to protect Jewish people from these crimes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people entering the UK illegally by boat.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We have developed a comprehensive ten-point plan to stop the boats and we are focused on delivering it. So far, small boats are down by more than a fifth compared to last year.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling physical abuse between people under the age of 18 in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Policing, including the response to physical abuse, is a devolved matter for consideration by the Northern Ireland Executive.
We are open to discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to share knowledge on tackling physical abuse amongst young people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) applicability for high-profile sporting events in the UK of the anti-drone technology used by French authorities during the Rugby World Cup.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following publication of the Government’s Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy in 2019, the Home Office supported the development of a police national counter-drone capability, with the specialist National Police Chief’s Council Counter-Drone team implementing this across the UK. It comprises a range of specialist equipment, vehicles, and personnel to provide a flexible counter-drone capability to detect, track, identify and effect drones.
Counter-drone equipment has been successfully deployed at major events, including sporting events, such as: COP26, the Commonwealth Games, The Coronation of His Majesty The King, and Eurovision. The equipment has a proven track record, and the Home Office continues to support further capability development. The Home Office does not routinely comment on police operations.
The Government works closely with international partners around the world to develop a common approach to addressing shared threats and challenges associated with the misuse of drones.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable information sharing between (a) banks, (b) technology firms and (c) telecommunications companies for the purposes of (i) investigating, (ii) detecting and (iii) preventing fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
As outlined in the Economic Crime Plan 2 (ECP2) and Fraud Strategy, both published earlier this year, sharing information and data is a key means for the public and private sectors to identify and block frauds and economic crime.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill and reforms to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will remove the legislative barriers to economic crime data sharing.
As set out in ECP2, HMG will work with industry to implement a public-private economic crime data strategy that enhances the exploitation of available data across the ecosystem to better prevent, detect, and pursue economic crime.
HMG has also worked directly with key sectors to improve data and information sharing. This has included engaging with the Payment Systems Regulator and signing specific charters.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to tackle Artificial Intelligence generating child sexual abuse material online.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse online and in our communities across the UK and internationally. Our approach is underpinned by the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy which sets out firm commitments to drive action across the whole system.
The law in the UK is very clear with regards to production of child sexual abuse material. It is an offence to produce, store, share or search for any material that contains or depicts child sexual abuse, regardless of whether the material depicts a ‘real’ child or not. This prohibition also includes pseudo-imagery that may have been computer-generated.
Home Office investment supports the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, safeguard children and remove the most horrific child sexual abuse material from the internet, including on the dark web.
The Government not only works closely with law enforcement but also child protection agencies to develop a robust assessment of the threat posed by child sexual offenders and therefore create technological and legislative solutions to target offenders and safeguard children.
It is not only the duty of the government to take this threat seriously, but also that of the technology companies that utilise Artificial Intelligence. They must incorporate safety measures to ensure their technology cannot be exploited by child sexual offenders.
That is why this Government is currently driving forward the Online Safety Bill which seeks to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The Online Safety Bill will, for the first time, place clear legal duties on technology companies to take proactive steps to identify, remove and prevent users encountering illegal content, including child sexual abuse content from platforms/services. This includes AI-generated child sexual abuse content. Companies who fail to fulfil their legal duties will be held to account by an independent regulator, Ofcom, who will have strong enforcement powers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been charged with membership of a proscribed organisation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations or individuals who may be members of proscribed organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies.
The Government publishes quarterly national statistics on the use of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent relevant legislation in Great Britain. This includes information on arrests, charges and convictions for proscription offences. The most recent publication up to year ending March 2023, was published on 08 June on GOV.UK: Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes, and stop and search, Great Britain, quarterly update to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has held with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling telephone fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
This Government is committed to doing everything we can to stop criminals abusing telecommunications networks. As a part of the Fraud Strategy, we announced a consultation on extending the ban on cold calls to include all financial products. We have also consulted on stopping criminals from getting hold of SIM farms. We are currently considering what action needs to be taken to prevent criminals from abusing mass texting services.
These actions are in addition to the Telecommunications Fraud Charter, which is a voluntary agreement with the telecommunication sector that has resulted in over 600 million scam texts and tens of millions of scam calls being blocked. It is available here: Fraud sector charter: telecommunications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We continue to regularly engage with officials from the devolved governments, including Northern Ireland, on tackling fraud. This includes a discussion on fraud at the National Policing Board on 8 March 2023, chaired by the Home Secretary and attended by the Chief Constable of PSNI. Agenda and minutes are available online: National Policing Board - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).