Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Neill Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

Speaking as a London MP and the Minister for London, I hope the hon. Lady will welcome the fact that the Met commissioner is actively recruiting an additional 1,000 officers, on top of the 1,000 the Met needs to recruit to stand still.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

22. Lack of visibility is made worse when the police do not use the resources they currently have to follow up crime. That is a particular concern to residents in Bickley in my constituency, where a 29% spike, largely in burglary and theft, has not resulted in victims being contacted in a timely manner, even when in many cases they have been able to hand over CCTV footage. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this?

[Mr Hurd]

I shall certainly do that, not least as I have had similar experiences in my own constituency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

As I said earlier, the White Paper will be published soon, but it is important for people to keep in mind that this is the biggest change to our immigration system in 45 years, and it is important that we get the detail right; then we can evaluate it together, properly.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

For many victims of burglary, the intrusion into their home, personal space and life is tantamount to an assault. Is it not time that steps were taken to ensure that domestic burglaries are effectively treated as crimes of violence, in terms of police resourcing and priority, and sentencing?

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right: the intrusion into a person’s home in a domestic burglary can completely undermine their feeling of safety at home. That is why we continue to ensure that the police have the resources that they need to cut crime and keep our communities safe, and of course make sure that police and crime commissioners—for example, in London—set the policing priorities for their area.