Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the possibility of a conflict of interest arising from the appointment of Dru Sharpling as a member of the panel considering the Janner strand in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, given her former role as an inspector of constabulary being briefed in the Janner case prior to charges being brought.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As required by the Inquiries Act 2005, inquiry panel members must notify the Minister of any issues that might affect their eligibility for appointment, such as their ability to be impartial. In March 2017, following confirmation of the investigative strands that the Inquiry would pursue, Dru Sharpling wrote to then Home Secretary to provide details of her career and stating her belief that this would not affect impartiality.
The then Home Secretary replied confirming that she was satisfied that none of the information provided could be said to affect the panel’s impartiality. These letters are available on the IICSA website - https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/1361/view/copy-2017-03-01-letter-from-dru-sharpling-to-home-secretary-re-further-declaration-interest.pdf and https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/1362/view/copy-2017-03-20-letter-from-home-secretary-to-dru-sharpling-re-further-declaration-interest.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the possibility of a conflict of interest arising from the appointment of Dru Sharpling as a member of the panel considering the Janner strand of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and her previous appointment as a Crown Prosecutor.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As required by the Inquiries Act 2005, inquiry panel members must notify the Minister of any issues that might affect their eligibility for appointment, such as their ability to be impartial. In March 2017, following confirmation of the investigative strands that the Inquiry would pursue, Dru Sharpling wrote to then Home Secretary to provide details of her career and stating her belief that this would not affect impartiality. The then Home Secretary replied confirming that she was satisfied that none of the information provided could be said to affect the panel’s impartiality.
These letters are available on the IICSA website - https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/1361/view/copy-2017-03-01-letter-from-dru-sharpling-to-home-secretary-re-further-declaration-interest.pdf and https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/1362/view/copy-2017-03-20-letter-from-home-secretary-to-dru-sharpling-re-further-declaration-interest.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered the collection of additional biometric data for inclusion in the provision of passports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The British passport is fully compliant with international standards and guidelines as set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization. There are currently no plans to include additional biometric data in passports.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK passports (1) in circulation, and (2) potential circulation that are the subject of fraudulent production.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Her Majesty's Passport Office does not monitor or record data on British passport holders who enter or leave the UK. On 31 December 2017, there were just under 50 million valid UK passports in issue that were not cancelled, lost or stolen. This data is calculated at the end of each calendar year.
HM Passport Office does not estimate the numbers of passports which might have been obtained fraudulently but the following table details the detections of fraudulently obtained passports in the last five years.
Financial Year | Fraudulently Obtained document detections |
2013/14 | 1,223 |
2014/15 | 548 |
2015/16 | 1,013 |
2016/17 | 559 |
2017/18 | 515 |
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 110 named persons referred by the Australian authorities to the National Crime Agency have been (1) the subject of an investigation, (2) the subject of a charge, (3) prosecuted, and (4) the subject of treatment.
Answered by Lord Bates
The National Crime Agency (NCA) does not recognise the figure of 110 referrals highlighted in the question. As is the case with all referrals from law enforcement agencies, the intelligence is assessed by the NCA. Where appropriate, the referral is developed and disseminated to UK police forces.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the Australian referrals of paedophile activity were made to the National Crime Agency.
Answered by Lord Bates
The National Crime Agency (NCA) does not recognise the figure of 110 referrals highlighted in the question. As is the case with all referrals from law enforcement agencies, the intelligence is assessed by the NCA. Where appropriate, the referral is developed and disseminated to UK police forces.