Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the relationship between Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance Support Organisation.
Answered by Ben Wallace
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 15 January 2018, UIN 122667.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Islamic Resistance Support Organisation operates in the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Home Office does not keep a central register of all the organisations that operate in the UK.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the National Police Chiefs’ Council through the Home Office National Law Enforcement Data Programme on the introduction of the National Register of Missing Persons.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Officials have been and will continue to be in regular contact with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the introduction of the National Register of Missing Persons.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle sources of financial assistance to Hezbollah in the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The UK has a strong reputation for tackling terrorist financing and we are a key player in international efforts to strengthen the global response to terrorist financing. This was demonstrated in the UK’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report published in December 2018, which gave the UK the highest possible rating on how it tackles terrorist financing.
Our approach to countering terrorist finance is multifaceted and we have a range of disruptive tools and capabilities to detect, prevent and disrupt the movement of terrorist finance. We also work very closely with our international partners and financial institutions here in the UK, to exchange and analyse information to better detect, prevent and disrupt the movement of terrorist funds.
The investigation and prosecution of offences relating to proscribed organisations is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department provides to children below the minimum age of criminal responsibility who (a) are or (b) have been involved in county lines activity.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We do not provide specific support services to children under 10 involved in county lines activity. However the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including: funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million over two years to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines; publication of guidance for frontline professionals on how to identify potential victims of county lines and the appropriate referral routes; £17.7 million over two years through the Early Intervention Youth Fund to help deliver services to support and prevent young people from getting involved in crime, including county lines. The funds are not restricted by the age of criminal responsibility.
Criminally exploited children who have also been trafficked are identified and supported through the National Referral Mechanism, which can include support from Independent Child Trafficking Advocates which we have committed to rolling out nationally.
The Department for Education has also just announced £2 million for a new national response unit that will be established to help local authorities support vulnerable children at risk of exploitation.