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Written Question
Anti-social Behaviour: Motor Vehicles
Tuesday 21st January 2025

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional guidance will be provided to (a) police forces and (b) local councils on the use of Respect Orders to target anti-social car meets and illegal street racing.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets - cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years' imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.


Written Question
Anti-social Behaviour: Motor Vehicles
Tuesday 21st January 2025

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support local police forces in Hampshire to tackle anti-social car meets and illegal street racing.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets - cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years' imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.


Written Question
Anti-social Behaviour: Motor Vehicles
Tuesday 21st January 2025

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles were seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 for offences related to anti-social car meets or street racing in (a) Basingstoke, (b) Hampshire and (c) England in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets - cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years' imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.


Written Question
Anti-social Behaviour: Motor Vehicles
Friday 27th December 2024

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the proposed Respect Orders on anti-social car meets and illegal street racing in Basingstoke.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets – cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.


Written Question
Vetting
Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) standard, (b) enhanced, and (c) basic Disclosure and Barring Service checks in (i) Basingstoke constituency, (ii) Hampshire, and (iii) England have exceeded the police's target response times in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

  • The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

  • The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

  • The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.


Written Question
Vetting
Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) standard, (b) enhanced, and (c) basic Disclosure and Barring Service checks in (i) Basingstoke constituency, (ii) Hampshire, and (iii) England have taken over 100 days to complete in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

  • The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

  • The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

  • The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.


Written Question
Vetting
Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service checks in (a) Basingstoke constituency, (b) Hampshire, and (c) England in the last 12 months.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

  • The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

  • The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

  • The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.


Written Question
Shoplifting: Hampshire
Monday 25th November 2024

Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) reports of, (b) charges for and (c) convictions for shoplifting there were in (i) Basingstoke constituency and (ii) Hampshire in each year since 2010.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis.

The proportion of shoplifting offences, broken down by Police Force Area, including Hampshire, which resulted in a “Charge/Summonsed” outcome can be derived from the Outcomes Open Data tables, which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Information at the Parliamentary Constituency level is not held by the Home Office.

The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on convictions at courts in England and Wales, including a breakdown of convictions at courts in the Hampshire police force area. These are available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool that can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023

In the last year of the previous government shoplifting soared to a twenty-year high.

This Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods under £200 and we will introduce a standalone offence of assaulting a shopworker, so everybody can feel safe at work.