Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's statutory guidance entitled Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act: anti-social behaviour, updated in December 2022, what account she has taken of the potential effectiveness of mediation in assessing the use of powers to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the ‘2014 Act’).
The statutory guidance makes clear on pages 27-28 that mediation can be sought as an informal intervention prior to using the powers and tools. It is also referenced throughout the guidance.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the deployment of mediation as a method of tackling anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.
We provided the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Currently, no assessments been made of the deployment of mediation.
It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The Home Office published statutory guidance to support local areas to make effective use of these powers. The guidance sets out the importance of focusing on the needs of the victim and the local community, as well as ensuring that the relevant legal tests are met. This guidance was updated in June 2022 to ensure a victim-centered approach to tackling ASB as well as stronger use of the powers and tools in the 2014 Act.
The Beating Crime Plan, published in July 2021, laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and ASB and committed to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’, including the Community Trigger. We have updated the statutory guidance to ensure that the powers and tools are implemented more effectively.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in tackling anti-social behaviour effectively.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.
We provided the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Currently, no assessments been made of the deployment of mediation.
It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The Home Office published statutory guidance to support local areas to make effective use of these powers. The guidance sets out the importance of focusing on the needs of the victim and the local community, as well as ensuring that the relevant legal tests are met. This guidance was updated in June 2022 to ensure a victim-centered approach to tackling ASB as well as stronger use of the powers and tools in the 2014 Act.
The Beating Crime Plan, published in July 2021, laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and ASB and committed to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’, including the Community Trigger. We have updated the statutory guidance to ensure that the powers and tools are implemented more effectively.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to extend the Health and Care Worker visa scheme for (a) social care workers, (b) care assistants and (c) home care workers beyond 15 February 2023.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Following a recommendation by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in their recent annual report, the Government has made care worker, care assistant and home care worker roles (Standard Occupation Classification code 6145) eligible for the Health and Social Care Visa and added them to the Shortage Occupation List.
This rule change came into effect on 15 February 2022 and will be in place initially for a 12-month period. Successful visa applicants will have all the same rights, benefits and obligations as other Health and Care visa holders including being able to extend their visa and apply for permanent settlement.
The Government looks forward to receiving the final MAC report into adult social care at the end of April and will review the future of this policy following that report and closer to the end of the 12-month period.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have held meetings with the Liaison and Diversion Service since publication of the Civil Justice Review report into Anti-social Behaviour and the Civil Courts in October 2020.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that ASB has on both individuals and communities.
The Home Office chairs the Anti-Social Behaviour Strategic Board which brings together key partners from agencies and other Government departments, including to catalyse joint working and share best practice on ASB.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) meets regularly with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), including on the recommendations in the Civil Justice Council’s report on ‘Anti-social Behaviour and the Civil Courts’. The MoJ is also working with the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) to consider how to address recommendations in the report.
The Home Secretary meets regularly with her Cabinet colleagues to discuss government priorities, which include crime and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether meetings have been held between (a) the Anti-Social Behaviour Strategic Board and (b) HM Courts and Tribunal Service since publication of the Civil Justice Review report into Anti-social Behaviour and the Civil Courts in October 2020.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that ASB has on both individuals and communities.
The Home Office chairs the Anti-Social Behaviour Strategic Board which brings together key partners from agencies and other Government departments, including to catalyse joint working and share best practice on ASB.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) meets regularly with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), including on the recommendations in the Civil Justice Council’s report on ‘Anti-social Behaviour and the Civil Courts’. The MoJ is also working with the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) to consider how to address recommendations in the report.
The Home Secretary meets regularly with her Cabinet colleagues to discuss government priorities, which include crime and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by which date applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme will have received their final decision letter.
Answered by Priti Patel
We cannot provide a specific timeframe by when claimants will receive their final decisions.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the Government's response to the Firearms Safety Consultation.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government recognises the interest generated by the firearms safety consultation which ran from 24 November 2020 to16 February 2021. The public consultation sought views on a number of proposals on firearms safety issues and received over 12,000 responses. The Government will publish a response to the consultation following a full and careful consideration of the responses we received.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional resources she plans to allocate to law enforcement agencies to ensure effective action against people perpetrating online fraud.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is aware fraudsters are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. We are regularly monitoring the number of cases being reported to the police and these – at present- remain very low.
Despite a difficult fiscal backdrop, as part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed a further £63m to the Home Office to tackle economic crime, including fraud. This is in addition to funding the Home Office commits each year to the National Crime Agency, National Economic Crime Centre and police forces, including the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud and the operator of the Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.
Our efforts to tackle online scams have been ramping up, including working with the National Cyber Security Centre to establish a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service which was launched in April 2020. This service allows the public to report potential scams safely and effectively. As of 28 February 2021, the number of reports received stand at more than 5,000,000 with the removal of more than 36,000 scams and 71,000 URLs.
The best way to deal with these scams is for the public to be well-informed on how to protect themselves. We have launched a gov.uk page containing easy-to-follow steps for people to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. It also signposts advice and support to those who may unfortunately have fallen victim. This page can currently be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime.
We continue to encourage anyone who has been a targeted by a scam to report it. Action Fraud is the central police reporting point for all victims of fraud and can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of online fraud during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is aware fraudsters are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. We are regularly monitoring the number of cases being reported to the police and these – at present- remain very low.
Despite a difficult fiscal backdrop, as part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed a further £63m to the Home Office to tackle economic crime, including fraud. This is in addition to funding the Home Office commits each year to the National Crime Agency, National Economic Crime Centre and police forces, including the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud and the operator of the Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.
Our efforts to tackle online scams have been ramping up, including working with the National Cyber Security Centre to establish a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service which was launched in April 2020. This service allows the public to report potential scams safely and effectively. As of 28 February 2021, the number of reports received stand at more than 5,000,000 with the removal of more than 36,000 scams and 71,000 URLs.
The best way to deal with these scams is for the public to be well-informed on how to protect themselves. We have launched a gov.uk page containing easy-to-follow steps for people to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. It also signposts advice and support to those who may unfortunately have fallen victim. This page can currently be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime.
We continue to encourage anyone who has been a targeted by a scam to report it. Action Fraud is the central police reporting point for all victims of fraud and can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime