Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to prevent the sale of books denying the Holocaust on Amazon UK.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government deplores attempts to deny the Holocaust, including those views expressed in a pseudo-intellectual manner, and condemns any organisation or individual that does so. If Holocaust denial is expressed in a way that is threatening, abusive, or insulting and incites racial hatred, or is likely to do so, then that would be unlawful under the Public Order Act 1986.
DCLG officials attend the Cyber Hate Crime working group where Amazon is represented and will raise these issues with them at the next meeting.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contact she has had with Amazon to discuss the fact that books denying the Holocaust are available to buy on Amazon UK.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government deplores attempts to deny the Holocaust, including those views expressed in a pseudo-intellectual manner, and condemns any organisation or individual that does so. If Holocaust denial is expressed in a way that is threatening, abusive, or insulting and incites racial hatred, or is likely to do so, then that would be unlawful under the Public Order Act 1986.
DCLG officials attend the Cyber Hate Crime working group where Amazon is represented and will raise these issues with them at the next meeting.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the fact that books denying the Holocaust are available to buy on Amazon UK.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government deplores attempts to deny the Holocaust, including those views expressed in a pseudo-intellectual manner, and condemns any organisation or individual that does so. If Holocaust denial is expressed in a way that is threatening, abusive, or insulting and incites racial hatred, or is likely to do so, then that would be unlawful under the Public Order Act 1986.
DCLG officials attend the Cyber Hate Crime working group where Amazon is represented and will raise these issues with them at the next meeting.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Nottinghamshire Fire Service investigation of the former Trent Valley recycling site in Worksop in January 2017, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse should the site require ongoing fire service interventions.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office has made no estimation. It is for each local fire and rescue authority to assess the risk from fire and rescue related risks in its area and determine how best to allocate its resources across its prevention, protection and operational response functions.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which port of entry to the UK had the longest average waiting times for UK citizens in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I am sorry but this information is not held centrally and can only be collated at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have been (a) sacked and (b) jailed in the last five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office publishes data on the number of officers who leave the police service each year, by route of exit. The number of officers leaving due to dismissal in each of the last five financial years can be found in table 4.1 of the latest police workforce statistical bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544849/hosb0516-police-workforce.pdf
The ‘dismissal’ category includes individuals who have been required to resign, made compulsorily redundant, or have had their contract terminated.
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the total number of police officers who have been jailed in the last five years.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether, when setting up the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Government stipulated how many members of the counsel team supporting that inquiry were to practise family law.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was established under the Inquiries Act 2005. The appointment of counsel to the inquiry is a matter for the inquiry chair. The only requirement under the Inquiry Rules 2006 is that counsel appointed by the chair should be ‘qualified lawyers,’ which means they must be a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which African countries her Department regards as unsafe to return political opposition supporters to.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In accordance with our international obligations, the UK is required to consider asylum and human rights applications carefully on their individual merits. The Government takes its international responsibilities seriously and will grant protection to those in genuine need.
Each individual assessment of an asylum claim is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. The country of origin information is based on evidence taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The Home Office’s country of origin information, used in the asylum decision making process, is published on the gov.uk website. It is kept under constant review and updated periodically.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the reasons for unaccompanied children from Albania seeking to purchase tickets to fly to the UK in order to claim asylum.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Albanians require a visa to travel to the UK and are not allowed to board the plane without one. We do not issue visas for the purpose of claiming asylum in the UK. Unaccompanied children who nonetheless manage to reach the UK, including those from Albania, claim asylum for a variety of reasons. Each case is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and protection is granted where it is needed.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has issued to police forces on initiatives to stop the illegal trading of ivory.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We have not issued specific guidance to the police on tackling the illegal trading of ivory. With the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit which provides intelligence and specialist assistance to assist all police forces in the United Kingdom to deal effectively with wildlife crime investigation, including cases that involve the illegal trading of ivory.