Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the proposed standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker under the Crime and Policing Bill to include retail delivery drivers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling retail crime. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Assaults against delivery drivers are already an offence (Common Assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those delivering goods to customers and other public-facing roles.
Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the EU Entry Exit System on (a) goods trade across the short straits, (b) goods availability in the UK and (c) prices of goods in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The implementation of the EU Entry Exit System (EES) has been postponed by the European Commission while they review their plans, with an updated roadmap to be announced in due course. We are continuing to work with the EU and its member states, as well as industry, to understand their plans and potential impacts.
Comprehensive freight traffic management plans are already in place on the Kent road network, and HM Government is closely aligned with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to manage any disruption and keep both passenger and freight traffic flowing through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
Once the EU has set out its plans, we will be able to continue to work to understand the impacts of EES on the UK, including on freight traffic and goods trade across the Short Straits.
Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the EU Entry and Exit System on (a) freight traffic across the Short Straits and (b) GB-EU trade at peak passenger periods.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The implementation of the EU Entry Exit System (EES) has been postponed by the European Commission while they review their plans, with an updated roadmap to be announced in due course. We are continuing to work with the EU and its member states, as well as industry, to understand their plans and potential impacts.
Comprehensive freight traffic management plans are already in place on the Kent road network, and HM Government is closely aligned with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to manage any disruption and keep both passenger and freight traffic flowing through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
Once the EU has set out its plans, we will be able to continue to work to understand the impacts of EES on the UK, including on freight traffic and goods trade across the Short Straits.
Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes approved by Parliament earlier this year. The ban came into force on 24th September.
We will also be pressing ahead as soon as possible with a ban on Ninja swords, following the tireless campaigning of Pooja Kanda whose son Ronan was killed with one of these lethal weapons. We will be launching a consultation shortly and plan to introduce the legislation shortly afterwards when Parliamentary time allows.