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Written Question
Drugs: Internet
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK-based websites have been closed down by (a) a law enforcement agency and (b) an internet service provider for (i) selling and (ii) marketing drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in each of the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. As part of our 10-year Drugs Strategy, the Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK, including through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online.

Law enforcement agencies work routinely with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, however, data on the number of websites closed down is not collected.


Written Question
Drugs: Social Media
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken with (a) law enforcement agencies and (b) internet service providers to remove social media posts that (i) sell and market drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and (ii) commit other offences in the last (A) 12 months and (B) five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. As part of our 10-year Drugs Strategy, the Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK, including through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online. Law enforcement agencies work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and committing other offences.

Further measures to tackle the sale of controlled drugs and other offences are included in the Online Safety Bill, which was introduced on 17 March 2022, and is currently undergoing passage through Parliament. Under this legislation tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content online. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker. Illegal content covered will include terrorist material, child sexual exploitation and abuse material, hate crime, fraud and the sale of illegal drugs or weapons.

The Government has invested in specialist investigation teams at regional and national level to provide the relevant knowledge, skills and capabilities for enforcement online. This includes a number of harm-specific units that refer illegal content to social media companies so it can be taken down, in accordance with platforms’ terms and conditions.


Written Question
Steroid Drugs: Misuse
Wednesday 25th January 2023

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling the (a) marketing and (b) sale of illegal steroids in the UK.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drugs ruin lives and devastate communities, which is why the Government is committed to tackling both the supply and demand for drugs, including illicit anabolic steroids. Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs, through its three priorities: breaking drug supply chains; delivering a world-class treatment and recovery system; and achieving a significant reduction in demand for illicit drugs.

Anabolic steroids are controlled as Class C substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 because of the physical and psychological harms they cause. It is an offence to produce or supply steroids without a licence, unless a lawful exemption applies. It is also an offence to possess, import or export steroids with the intent to supply them, unless a licence or an exemption (for example, in healthcare) applies.

Law enforcement agencies continue to work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling or marketing drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. And further measures to tackle the sale of controlled drugs – including the unlawful supply of anabolic steroids - are included in the Online Safety Bill, with companies required to take action to prevent criminal activity. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom.


Written Question
Knives: Crime
Thursday 17th June 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding his Department has allocated to reducing knife crime in (a) the UK and (a) Leicestershire.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

This Government is determined to turn the tide on knife crime in all areas, wherever it occurs.

On 4 February 2021, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £15.8 billion in 2021/22, an increase of up to £636 million compared to 2020/21. Leicestershire Police will receive up to £215.0 million in 2021/22; an increase of up to £11.1 million from the previous year.

The Home Office has invested a total of £242 million over three years in the 18 police force areas most affected by serious violence through the Serious Violence Fund (SVF). Over three years, £105.5 million of the SVF has been invested in multi-agency Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in the 18 areas, with £2,640,000 allocated to the Leicestershire PCC to develop the Leicestershire VRU. VRUs bring together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the local drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them. In addition, Leicestershire Police have been awarded £2,855,990 of the remaining £104.9 million of the SVF, which has been allocated to the same 18 police forces to fund a surge in police operational activity.

In addition to the Serious Violence Fund, the Home Office have invested £200 million in early intervention and prevention support initiatives over 10 years to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). On 6 May 2020, the YEF launched a new £6.5 million Covid-19 grant round to support vulnerable young people, aged 10 to 14, at risk of youth violence. In total, 2 grantees in Leicestershire are in receipt of funding from all grant rounds.


Written Question
Drugs: Misuse
Friday 28th May 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs plans to (a) conclude its inquiry and (b) produce its recommendations on Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

As the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is independent from Government, the timings concerning its report on image and performance enhancing drugs is a matter for the ACMD.

The ACMD publishes its advice concurrent to its presentation to ministers.

I expect to receive an update from the ACMD on its priorities and ongoing commitments later this year.


Written Question
Pets: Theft
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a national (a) task force and (b) strategy to tackle pet theft.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

Further to the reply I provided to my Hon. Friend’s question on 22 March, I can assure him the Government is working with the police and others and will consider the evidence and what more could be done to prevent pet theft.


Written Question
Pets: Theft
Monday 22nd March 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

What steps her Department is taking to reduce pet theft.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Government recognises the distress pet theft causes.

It is for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to determine how to tackle this crime. The Government’s role is ensuring police forces have sufficient resources to respond to the challenges they face.

We have committed to recruit an extra 20,000 police officers by March 2023, with over 6,000 already in place.


Written Question
Police: Disciplinary Proceedings
Wednesday 3rd March 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning the time limit for professional investigations of police officers with the time limit for police investigations of suspected criminals.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

In February 2020, the Government introduced a package of reforms to strengthen the police discipline system and help speed up proceedings, including the introduction of a 12-month trigger on police discipline investigations which requires the investigating body - whether the IOPC or a Professional Standards Department in a police force - to provide a written explanation for the delays, the planned steps to bring the investigation to a conclusion and the estimated completion date. This is sent to the local policing body.

There are no plans to align the time limits for investigations into police officers with investigations of suspected criminals.


Written Question
Migrant Workers: Social Services
Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to promote the Settled Status scheme to EU workers in the social care sector.

Answered by Kevin Foster

As of 11 February 2021, over five million applications had been received to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), and 4.5 million grants of status have been made, delivering on the government’s promise to secure the rights of millions of Europeans in UK law for years to come

A comprehensive range of communications activity has been delivered to date to increase awareness of the EUSS across sectors and audience demographics including EEA and Swiss national key workers including those working in the social care sector.

Communications activity includes extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, a refresh of EUSS promotional materials, and an extensive new wave of targeted UK advertising on social media, website banners, catch up TV and radio, launched earlier this month, to ensure EEA and Swiss citizens are aware of the scheme and supported to apply.

The Home Office has also provided up to £17million in grant funding to a current network of 72 organisations that provide bespoke support to vulnerable and hard to reach EU citizens and their family members eligible to apply to EUSS. The Home Office recently announced a further £4.5 million of funding to the 72 organisations to continue these support services well beyond the 30 June 2021 deadline.

Communications to reach eligible workers via their employer have been ongoing since the scheme’s launch with hundreds of engagement events delivered alongside the provision of an employer toolkit, equipping organisations with the information required to support their staff.

This has included a bespoke event for NHS employers, and with several regional strategic migration and enterprise partnerships. NHS employers, Scottish Social services and Wales Social care also sit on EUSS advisory groups.

Workers in the social care sector were given early access under the pilot phases of the scheme and we have provided extensive outreach and support to the sector. We continue to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care, and Local Authorities to provide support and materials to eligible individuals in the sector.


Written Question
Fraud: Coronavirus
Tuesday 22nd December 2020

Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of covid-19 related fraud; and what steps she is taking to prevent those offences.

Answered by James Brokenshire

The Government is aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes. We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime

Our efforts include working alongside the National Cyber Security Centre to establish a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service. This service allows the public to report potential scams safely and effectively. To date, this has led to the removal of over 22000 scams. Members of the public can forward suspicious emails to the dedicated email address: report@phishing.gov.uk

We are also working with the Cabinet Office, who lead on the response to public sector fraud, around tracking and mitigating the risk of fraud against the unprecedented levels of stimulus funding including the bounce back loan scheme.