Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of decriminalising the possession of (a) pepper spray and (b) non-lethal self-defence weapons on safety for women.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Pepper sprays are currently prohibited by law and we have no plans to change this. It has been the view of successive governments that the possession of items such as pepper sprays for personal protection is likely to lead to an increase in levels of violence as they could be used against the owners to incapacitate them, with serious consequences.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers her Department sent to live in Preston in each month of (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support
Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 25 February 2021.
The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in dispersal accommodation for the first time in each quarter in each of the last two years, by local authority. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 giving Indefinite Leave to Remain to all migrant NHS workers and their families.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Workers from overseas in the NHS and wider health and care sector have made a huge contribution in tackling COVID-19 and the Government has taken unprecedented measures to ensure the sector is supported fully, including free 12-month visa extensions for those working in eligible occupations in health and social care.
Individuals working in healthcare, on a route which leads to settlement, will be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for themselves and their family, providing they meet the requirements, including a period of lawful residence in the UK without excess absences, sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK. In sponsored work routes, settlement relies on applicants having worked in their sponsored job for five years. Given the wider requirements for a grant of ILR we will not be making a general grant of it to those working in the NHS.
We will though grant immediate indefinite leave to remain (ILR), free of any charges, to family dependants of NHS, health and care workers who unfortunately lose their lives as a result of contracting COVID-19. We hope this number will be limited.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to transfer control of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service from Lancashire County Council to the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on fire and rescue governance where a local case is made. We are not currently aware of a proposal by the Lancashire PCC to take on governance of the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
This Government remains strongly committed to driving closer collaboration between our emergency services. The first part of a two-stage PCC Review launched in July 2020 considered options to strengthen the accountability of PCCs and expand their role. This included options to strengthen fire governance through the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) model. Part one of this Review’s final set of recommendations will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British and (b) foreign travellers have been fined for breaching quarantine rules following arrival to England from a non-exempt country in the last six months.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
On 30 September, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published its latest report on the police use of Covid-19 enforcement notices issued under all emergency health protections. The data covers up to the 21 September and shows that 38 fines had been issued to individuals who have contravened the International Travel regulations by failing to self-isolate after arriving in England from a country on the UK government list. These were issued across 14 forces. The data does not specify the nationality of the recipient of a fine and this information is not held by the Home Office.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the rate of crime involving young people.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
No data exists on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the rate of crime involving young people. However, the National Police Chiefs Council reported on its website on 27 August 2020 that provisional data from police forces in England and Wales shows a reduction in crime during the Coronavirus outbreak and that the vast majority of the public are following government regulations enacted in response to the crisis. It also reported that the provisional data indicates certain crime trends are returning towards pre-lockdown levels. This report is available from:
https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/provisional-data-shows-crime-slowly-returning-to-2019-levels
The Office for National Statistics published a report ‘Coronavirus and crime in England and Wales’ on 26 August 2020, which estimated a significant reduction in crime during April and May 2020 compared with a two-month average in the pre-lockdown period, and that reductions were seen across many types of crime. This report is available from:
Police recorded crime statistics and Crime Survey of England and Wales data covering the period to June 2020 will be released in October 2020.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle racial bias in the issuance of covid-19 related fines.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Our dedicated police officers have gone above and beyond during this pandemic – keeping the public safe through engaging, explaining, encouraging, and enforcing only as a last resort.
While it is a complex picture, it is a concern to see disparity between white and black, Asian or ethnic minority people. Each force will be looking at this carefully to assess and mitigate any risks of bias – conscious or unconscious – and to minimise disproportionate impact wherever possible. Many forces have brought in community representatives to help them scrutinise the circumstances around each Fixed Penalty Notice and if it has been issued fairly.
We are clear that no one should be subject to police enforcement on the basis of race alone and we work closely with forces and the NPCC to address disproportionality in policing.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment she has made of the number of young people arrested for anti-social behaviour in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) England between April 2020 to July 2020 compared to the same period in each of the last 2 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally.
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of arrests, including information on the number of arrests of those aged under 18 years old, on an annual basis only. Data are collected at Police Force Area level only, and information on the number of arrests at lower levels of geography are not held.
Data on arrests for the period up to March 2020 are scheduled to be published on 22 October 2020. Data for the period to March 2021 will not be published until 2021.
Data for the period up to March 2019 for both Lancashire and England and Wales can be found in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2019
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the increase in (a) xenophobia and (b) hate crimes reported in relation to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office are working closely with the National Police Chief’s Council to ensure that all police forces are providing reassurance to affected communities and encouraging hate crime reporting during the pandemic. The Government are also working with civil society partners to understand whether there are issues of underreporting at this time.
Government continues to work with communities around the country and the police to ensure people of all backgrounds have access to the latest information and are supported through this period.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will investigate the number of BAME deaths in custody where restraint was used in the last 15 years; and what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the Report of the Independent Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody which notes that every prosecution over a death in custody in the past 15 years has ended in acquittal.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to delivering meaningful and lasting change to prevent deaths in custody.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct publish figures for deaths in or following police custody each year. Prior to 2018/19 the data includes ethnicity but does not state whether restraint was used.
In 2018/19, there were 16 deaths in custody, of whom 15 individuals were white and one was black. Six of these 16 individuals had some force used against them either by officers or members of the public before their deaths, although this use of force did not necessarily contribute to their deaths. All six people were white.
The Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody will continue to oversee and drive progress in response to the independent review. This includes ongoing work to make police procedures more accountable following a death in custody as part of a wider package of police integrity reforms.