Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department provides funding to the Home Office Islamic Network; and how much staff time was taken to run that network in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Faith and Belief networks in the Home Office do not receive any Home Office funding for their activities.
The chairs of all Faith and Belief networks including Christian, Islamic, Jewish Networks, Hindu Connection and Sikh Association are permitted up to 20% facility time with executive committee members receiving 10% to carry out network related activities.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to remove the entitlement of EU passport holders to use fast-track passport gates at UK airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We keep e-passport gate (eGate) eligibility under review and operate our border controls in the interests of the UK, balancing border security with passenger flow. EU and EEA passport holders are currently eligible to use eGates to enter the UK and we have no plans to change this. This would be in contradiction with our stated ambition to digitise the border by increasing the use of automation and eGates by those currently eligible and investigating options to expand eligibility to further cohorts.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff left his Department in each year since 2015.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This information is published annually and can be found via the links below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics
Data before 2019
Civil Service statistics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will review the ability of European Union citizens to use e-gates at UK airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
EU and EEA citizens are currently eligible to use eGates at UK airports. We keep border security under review and operate border controls in the best interest of the UK, balancing border security with passenger flow.
In the New Plan for Immigration, the Government has set out our ambition to increase the use of automation and eGates by those currently eligible and investigate options to extend eGate eligibility to further cohorts.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the fleet is of the National Police Air Service.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police-led service that provides police air support to 44 police forces across England and Wales, including the British Transport Police.
NPAS owns a fleet of 20 helicopters (19 operational and 1 training aircraft), and four fixed winged aircraft.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle cyber-related crime in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022-25, which is supported by £2.6 billion of investment through the National Cyber Fund.
Key to delivery is ensuring that local policing has the resources needed to deal with the cyber threats we face. In 2023/24, the Home Office is receiving £18 million from the National Cyber Fund to provide a range of capabilities and resource to tackle and respond to cyber crime. This funding is supplemented by a further £16 million of Home Office funding through the Police Settlement Programme.
This funding continues to build law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional, and local levels to ensure they have the capacity and expertise to deal with the perpetrators and victims of cyber crime. We directly fund a specialist Cyber Crime Unit at West Midlands Police, which covers Solihull, and another, more specialist team, at the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). This ROCU team is integral to our response to high-harm, high-impact crimes like cyber extortion.
This Regional Cyber Crime Unit for West Midlands (RCCUWM) also works with businesses and organisations based in Solihull, across the private and public sectors, and at community level. Under the Local Resilience Forum, RCCUWM work with Solihull Council, amongst others, to build stronger cyber security and resilience. A key part of RCCUWM’s work is to ensure the integrity of our Critical National Infrastructure providers, and they have a long-standing partnership with NHS Birmingham Solihull (BSOL) Integrated Care System and NHS England.
We have also rolled out Regional Cyber Resilience Centres in London and each of the nine policing regions, including the West Midlands. These are a collaboration between the police, public, private sector and academic partners to provide cyber security advice to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises so that they can protect themselves better in a digital age. Details of the Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands can be found at Cyber Resilience | The Cyber Resilience Centre For The West Midlands (wmcrc.co.uk)
All vulnerable victims of fraud and cyber crime in Solihull receive contact and Protect advice from law enforcement, specifically aimed at helping them to protect themselves in future from revictimization.
The specialist RCCUWM Prevent Team also work to intervene if people are deemed at risk of becoming involved in cyber offending. RCCUWM deliver the National Cyber Choices programme and have delivered multiple initiatives across Solihull, including working with schools to help them identify those at risk. Solihull local police officers support these important safeguarding interventions.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle fraud-related crime in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
In May 2023, the Government published the Fraud Strategy which set out a national response to combat the threat.
Through the new Online Safety Act and the Online Fraud Charter the Government is working to prevent the British public encountering fraud at source. The Fraud Strategy also committed £100m of investment in law enforcement, and created a new National Fraud Squad, to increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters. Furthermore, fraud will be made a priority for local police forces through the Strategic Policing Requirement.
Overall, fraud in England and Wales has reduced 13% compared to last year. There has also been a 5% decrease in the number of fraud reports made in the West Midlands, demonstrating progress on the Fraud Strategy’s commitment to protecting the public’s hard-earned money.
We will shortly be launching a new national Anti-Fraud campaign, which will further equip the public with the tools they need to spot and take preventative action to avoid fraud.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were received by the Independent Office for Police Conduct about the Metropolitan Police in 2023; and how many of those complaints were upheld.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Independent Office of Police Conduct routinely publishes statistics on complaints they have received on their website: Police complaints statistics | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of the complaints submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in 2023 were upheld.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Independent Office of Police Conduct routinely publishes statistics on complaints they have received on their website: Police complaints statistics | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in 2023.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Independent Office of Police Conduct routinely publishes statistics on complaints they have received on their website: Police complaints statistics | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)