Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Dewsbury of 10 February 2017 on child refugees.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I responded to the hon. Member's letter on 14 March 2017.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on merging the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Home Office airport policing and the Ministry of Defence Police.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 included a commitment to “integrate infrastructure policing further and to review the options to do this". We are continuing the work across Whitehall to deliver this commitment in consultation with the relevant forces.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who the diversity champion is on her departmental board.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Home Office Executive Management Board chaired by the Permanent Secretary and made up of Director Generals and the Second Permanent Secretary have all agreed to be diversity and inclusion champions for respective protected characteristics as detailed below.
Diversity Strand/ Protected Characteristic | Home Office Champion |
Disability | Mark Thomson, Director General, Her Majesty’s Passport Office and United Kingdom Visas and Immigration |
Generational diversity | Paul Lincoln, Director General, Crime, Policing and Fire Group |
Race | Mark Sedwill, Permanent Secretary, Hugh Ind (Chair of Race Board) |
Gender | Patsy Wilkinson, Second Permanent Secretary |
Sexual Orientation | Mike Parsons, Director General, Capabilities and Resources |
Faith | Tom Hurd, Director General, Office of Security and Counter Terrorism |
Gender Identity | Simon Wren, Director of Communication, Communication Directorate |
Diversity and Inclusion (Overview) | Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General, Border Force |
As Champions, they see themselves as role models, widely recognised as a supporter and champion of diversity and inclusion with a key role to play in embedding diversity and inclusion into all aspects of the Home Office. The Home Office views this as an opportunity to make a real difference to the experience of our people, ensuring an inclusive Home Office that values the contribution of everyone.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports have been confiscated from Syrian citizens by UK officials in Turkey in 2016 on the basis of those passports having been stolen.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Home Office does not have legal authority in Turkey to confiscate foreign passports which have been reported as lost or stolen or identified as forged.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian passports have been returned to the Syrian government on the basis that they have been reported stolen by that government.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Home Office does not currently return Syrian passports to the Government of Syria.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports have been confiscated from Syrian citizens by UK officials in 2016 on the basis of being stolen.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
This information is not collated centrally. To collate this date would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have signed up to COMPASS for the provision of asylum accommodation.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced the policy of national dispersal, designed to share the impact of asylum seekers across the whole of the UK. The Home Office publishes figures on the number of asylum seekers housed in dispersed accommodation by local authority.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legislation on hate crime; and whether she has plans to review the suitability of such legislation for tackling such crimes.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.
We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.
We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.
This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.
The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.
Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.
Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.
The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:
● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;
● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;
● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;
● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.
Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage reporting of hate crime incidents; and whether she plans to introduce new ways of reporting.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.
We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.
We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.
This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.
The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.
Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.
Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.
The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:
● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;
● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;
● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;
● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.
Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provides specialist care for victims of hate crime; and if she will provide additional resources to deal with the rise in hate crime since the referendum on UK membership of the EU.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.
We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.
We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.
This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.
The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.
Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.
Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.
The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:
● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;
● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;
● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;
● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.
Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.