Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that anti-social behaviour is recorded consistently across the country.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent anti-social behaviour can have on both individuals and communities.
We monitor the national statistics on ASB through police recorded crime incident data and the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which presents people’s perceptions of levels of ASB. Given the localised nature of ASB, we do not currently plan to introduce a national standard for the reporting of ASB or create a national database.
We do, however, keep ASB under review through the Anti-social Behaviour Strategic Board which brings together a range of partners from key agencies and other Government departments to discuss ASB issues and share best practice. We have recently published multi-agency principles, endorsed by the Board, which seek to describe a consistent approach to addressing ASB in local communities and to ensure a strong and effective partnership response to anti-social behaviour, including local reporting and referral pathways.
Recommendations from Part Two of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Review were published on Monday 7 March 2022. The overall package strengthens and expands the role of PCCs. We want to ensure that PCCs have sufficient tools and levers to more effectively scrutinise and challenge partnership activity on ASB. To do this, PCCs should be able to bring partners together on ASB, direct local ASB strategy and request local data on ASB.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has a responsibility to support Mountain Rescue teams alongside the other emergency services.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Mountain Rescue Teams in England and Wales currently receive no direct government funding. The Home Office currently has no plans to review this.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Minister for Safeguarding has had recent discussions with representatives of (a) banks and (b) UK Finance on tackling financial abuse by perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Tackling domestic abuse is a key commitment for this Government, and tackling financial and economic abuse is integral to this. That is why we introduced our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (the 2021 Act) alongside a comprehensive action plan of non-legislative measures.
In recognition of the devasting impact economic abuse can have on victims’ lives, for the first time in history, it is now recognised in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse, within the 2021 Act. The Act, supported by statutory guidance, will further assist frontline services and agencies in identifying and responding to economic abuse.
We work closely with, and fund organisations that, seek to promote awareness of, and improve the response to economic abuse, including the organisation Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA). Since 2018, we have provided £567,000 of funding to SEA which has supported the vital work of the Financial Support Line and their financial services industry initiative for banks and building societies to better support victim and survivors of domestic abuse.
On 30 March, we went even further and published our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. The plan will seek to transform the whole of society’s response and sets out four key areas to improve the response to domestic abuse; Prioritising Prevention, Supporting Victims, Pursuing Perpetrators and creating a Stronger System. The plan invests over £230 million of new funding, with over £140 million to support victims. The plan also commits £200,000 of funding to further support improving the response to economic abuse and provide vital economic safety for victims and survivors.
We recognise the financial sector has a key role to play in tackling economic abuse and we work closely with UK Finance to continue raising awareness and understanding amongst financial firms. To hear a range of views on how the public and private sector can continue working together to strengthen our response to economic abuse, in February, the Home Office held an economic abuse roundtable with key stakeholders from the voluntary and financial sectors.
We are committed to ensuring victims of economic abuse receive the support they need and we continue working closely with the financial sector to improve the response to all forms of abuse.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the details of local authorities that (a) have and (b) have not offered homes to Afghan families.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are currently over 12,000 individuals from Afghanistan in bridging hotels.
We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We have moved, or are in the process of moving, over 6,700 people into homes since June 2021. Finding suitable homes for this number of people is a significant challenge. We are working across government and with over three hundred Local Authority partners to move Afghan evacuees into permanent homes as soon as possible so they can settle and rebuild their lives. Alongside our engagement with local authorities, we are reaching out to landlords, developers and the wider private rented sector to encourage further offers of properties, either directly to Local Authorities or through our Housing portal.
Data is not currently published on local authorities who have pledged properties to Afghan families. The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data cover up to the end of March 2022.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan families remain in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are currently over 12,000 individuals from Afghanistan in bridging hotels.
We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We have moved, or are in the process of moving, over 6,700 people into homes since June 2021. Finding suitable homes for this number of people is a significant challenge. We are working across government and with over three hundred Local Authority partners to move Afghan evacuees into permanent homes as soon as possible so they can settle and rebuild their lives. Alongside our engagement with local authorities, we are reaching out to landlords, developers and the wider private rented sector to encourage further offers of properties, either directly to Local Authorities or through our Housing portal.
Data is not currently published on local authorities who have pledged properties to Afghan families. The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data cover up to the end of March 2022.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to to enable DBS checks to be undertaken on Ukrainians who are seeking employment in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Except in some sectors like health and education, where DBS checks are mandated by the sector, the use of DBS checks is at the discretion of the employer.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) are able to provide criminal record certificates for those who have lived overseas and DBS checks therefore can be undertaken for Ukrainians who wish to work in those sectors where DBS checks are mandatory or where employers require them. However, as the DBS cannot access overseas criminal records, DBS checks will only contain information on criminal records in the UK. The Home Office provides guidance to employers who wish to request overseas criminal records checks for time spent abroad.
Specifically, Ukrainian citizens can apply for their criminal record checks via the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is available to Border Force staff handling asylum applications from members of the LGBTQI community on (a) language and (b) consideration of country of origin.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Border Force staff do not handle asylum applications; however, Asylum Operations who deal with asylum applications, including substantive interview and asylum decisions, ensure all caseworkers receive specialist training in how to approach claims from those who identify as LGBTQI+.
Individuals seeking asylum in the UK are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken, including where it may be sensitive or difficult to disclose.
Each case is considered on its individual merits by caseworkers who have received extensive training and all available evidence is carefully and sensitively considered in light of published country information ensuring all individuals are treated fairly and with dignity.