Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using recovered monies from the proceeds of crime to provide adaptive sports equipment for police officers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) are distributed under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The objective of ARIS is to provide agencies with incentives to use POCA powers to recover more criminal assets, with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice.
Under the scheme, a proportion of the assets recovered using powers under POCA are redistributed to the agencies involved in the recovery, based on their relative contributions. The current allocation sees ARIS receipts split 50:50 between central government and operational partners.
In the spirit of the Scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. However, the use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency and is left to their discretion. Further information on ARIS and how funds are spent can be found at: Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin: Financial years ending March 2018 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has no current plans to establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling. Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
The Government has established a joint Home Office, Department for Transport and National Police Chiefs’ Council Roads Policing Review to understand what can be done better to tackle road crime and improve road safety.
In addition, last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the powers they need to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour, including motorcycle nuisance, facing communities across England and Wales.
The plan is backed by £160m of funding and includes supporting an increased police and other uniformed presence to target anti-social behaviour hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas, including Durham Constabulary, but from April we are providing funding of £66m to every police force in England and Wales to support a hotspot enforcement approach for both anti-social behaviour and serious violence. Hotspot patrols could be used in areas where anti-social behaviour involving motorcycles is an issue.
The Government will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation, including in relation to offences involving motorcycles.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much and what proportion of the cost of caring for an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker with special needs who has been placed in the care of a local authority is paid for by his Department.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In addition to money for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement and finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to the costs incurred by local government in looking after unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children and former UAS childcare leavers.
Local authorities supporting the greatest number of UAS children relative to their child population receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night for each UAS child. This higher rate applies to local authorities supporting UAS children totalling 0.07% or greater of their general child population. All other local authorities receive £114 per person per night for each UAS child in their care. In addition, any local authority who accept the responsibility for a UAS child from a higher rate receiving local authority will receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night. This funding is not ring-fenced, and local authorities are free to use this funding as they see fit to support children in their care.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the needs of an unaccompanied minor placed in the care of a local authority; and what assessment his Department has made of the ability of local authorities to meet those needs.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme. The National Transfer Scheme provides a mechanism for the statutory responsibility for an UAS child to be transferred from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.
The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authorities as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
When a child is being looked after by a local authority, that local authority is under a duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare under the Children Act 1989.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to provide homes to people granted leave to remain once their funded accommodation ends; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending the period of time before which such accommodation needs to be vacated on the supply of social housing.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our SMP to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to update the County Lines Programme to include illegal vapes.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen. “County lines” drug dealing is a form of drug distribution which exploits children and vulnerable young people, coercing them into being ‘runners’ and transporting illegal substances and money locally as well as around the country. The vast majority of county lines are focused on Class A drug supply, but we are clear that through our Programme, police and programme partners are supported to take action against county lines drug supply in whatever form it may take, including illegal vapes.
Through the County Lines Programme, we are also funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture, map the national threat of county lines and prioritise action against the county lines groups causing the most harm nationwide. The NCLCC has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue. We will continue working with NCLCC to further understand the illicit substances being distributed through the county lines model.
Since the Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, 15,600 arrests and 8,000 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,100 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, meeting the HMG Drugs Strategy commitment of closing over 2,000 by April 2025 in half the time.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) foreign and (b) dual nationals who have been (i) convicted of an offence subject to more than 12 month imprisonment and (ii) deported in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The information requested is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish information on a quarterly basis on FNOs returns and can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Foreign offenders should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and more than 16,600 have been removed since January 2019 to September 2023. We make no apology for this vital work.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of guidance issued to register office staff on supporting families with a bereavement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The General Register Office for England and Wales is responsible for ensuring that all deaths occurring within England and Wales are registered in accordance with the law. This forms part of the UK’s system of civil registration. Register office staff are required to record certain personal details of the deceased, such as their name and date of birth/age, place, date, and cause of death.
The General Register Office has no responsibility to provide register office staff with guidance to support families following a bereavement.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to take steps to increase the number of police officers in (a) County Durham and (b) Darlington.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has delivered its manifesto commitment to deliver 20,000 additional officers. At the end of March 2023, we had the highest number of officers on record in England and Wales, with 149,566 officers in post surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 officers in post in March 2010 (the latest uplift data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-officer-uplift-final-position-as-at-march-2023/police-officer-uplift-final-position-as-at-march-2023).
Durham Police recruited 239 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 225 officers. On 31 March 2023, there were 1,379 police officers in Durham, a total growth of 241 additional officers against the baseline (1,138) at the start of the Police Uplift Programme.
We expect forces to maintain officer numbers at uplift levels.
Decisions on how officers are deployed are a local operational matter for Chief Constables working with locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
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 using premise closure orders to tackle anti-social behaviour in homes managed by housing associations.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 27 March, the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The powers available under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including closure orders, are deliberately local in nature as local agencies are best placed to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances. However, we have recently undertaken a consultation on the powers to ensure they can be used as effectively as possible.
The plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes up to £60m to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we will work with 10 police force areas, including Durham, but from 2024 will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales.
The Safer Streets Fund is supporting local initiatives aimed at increasing the safety of public spaces by tackling neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls. Since the Fund launched in 2020, we have invested £120 million through four rounds supporting 270 projects across England and Wales, with a range of interventions including CCTV cameras. On 6th July we launched a further fifth £60million round.