Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) current and (b) former (i) civil servants and (ii) politicians will be required to give evidence to the grooming gangs inquiry; what steps her Department is taking to ensure accountability of public officials involved in the handling of grooming gang cases; and whether public officials found to have engaged in wrongdoing will be liable to prosecution.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The National Inquiry will utilise existing legislation in the Inquiries Act 2005 to appoint an independent chair who will determine the conduct and procedure of the inquiry. We will announce further details on the inquiry, including the appointment of an independent chair, in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign-born prisoners are currently serving sentences for knife crime offences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Statistics of this nature do not currently form part of our published statistics. Our current approach to publication of nationality data is in line with that used during the previous Conservative Government. However, we are monitoring the data that we collect and publish on the prison population and will keep this under review.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. The Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since 5 July 2024, more FNOs have been returned than in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether prisoners undertake (a) litter collection and (b) graffiti removal.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Prisoners currently can access community service work through Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) during the custodial element within their sentence.
The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be granted leave from prison for short periods on temporary licence. ROTL is an important rehabilitation tool which allows prisoners to participate in activities in the community which have been identified as serving a particular purpose in meeting their individual resettlement objectives. Suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, attend college, attend an interview, maintain/re-establish links with their family or undertake community work, such as litter clearance or graffiti removal. This helps them develop responsibility and gain valuable skills.
The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case-by-case basis to safeguard the public. Any breaches can result in additional time in custody.
In addition, Unpaid Work is the punitive community requirement set by the court. In 2023, around half of those on community sentences had such a requirement, with around 5 million hours delivered each year. This can include carrying out work such as litter clearance and graffiti removal.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of foreign nationals entering the UK as delivery drivers under temporary work schemes.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Under the current Immigration Rules, the UK operates no Temporary Work schemes that enable the recruitment of delivery drivers from overseas.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of immigration cases involve the use of interpretation services paid for by the state.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for school absence in the last 12 months; and what the value was of those fines.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The most recent data held by the department covers the 2023/24 academic year and is available in the statistical release on parental responsibility measures, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.
The information requested covering the last 12 months is not held by the department. Data for 2024/25 will be published in early 2026.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of full-face coverings on levels of (a) coercion, (b) domestic control and (c) honour-based abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls, including Coercive or Controlling Behaviour (CCB) and ‘Honour’-Based Abuse (HBA), is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto included a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy to be published in the summer.
CCB is a particularly insidious form of domestic abuse. As made clear in statutory guidance, it can include isolating a person from friends and family, enforcing rules to humiliate, degrade or dehumanise, physical intimidation or taking control over aspects of the victim’s everyday life, such as by dictating what they can and cannot wear.
CCB is an offence in the Serious Crime Act (2015). The statutory definition of domestic abuse, contained within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, explicitly recognises controlling or coercive behaviour as a form of domestic abuse.
HBA is an umbrella term, covering specific crimes such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, but also other forms of abuse that take place in an 'honour' context. HBA is often hidden in nature. We are focused on preventing these crimes from happening, supporting and protecting survivors and those at risk, and bringing perpetrators to justice.
In 2023, the Home Office commissioned a feasibility study on producing robust prevalence estimates for FGM and forced marriage. The study concluded in March 2024, and we are currently working on our next steps and will provide an update in due course.
Building on the progress made in the Community Advocates Project, which took place in early 2024, we are progressing the HBA Campaign. This is a campaign to raise awareness of issues surrounding HBA and signpost where people can seek help. The Home Office also funds Karma Nirvana to operate the national HBA Helpline which supports victims and survivors and advises professionals to improve awareness of HBA.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has provided to (a) police officers and (b) security personnel on interacting with people wearing face coverings that obscure identity in public places.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 provides a power for police officers to demand the removal of disguises in certain circumstances to prevent crime. In addition, if the officer believes that someone is wearing an item for the purpose of concealing identity there is also a power to seize such items.
Statutory guidance on the use of this power is set out in Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The College of Policing is responsible for providing operational guidance to police on the use of their powers.
We will also use the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a new offence to use a face covering to conceal identity in an area the police assess a protest is likely to occur that may involve the commission of offences.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of state-funded schools currently permit the wearing of the (a) niqab and (b) burqa by (i) students and (ii) staff; and whether her Department has issued any guidance on uniform policies and face coverings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has published non-statutory guidance on developing a school uniform policy, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms. The guidance sets out that it is for the governing body of a school to decide rules about appearance and the design of any uniform they choose to have. Schools must have regard to their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 and need to consider the impact of their policy on pupils who share a protected characteristic.
The department does not collect data on individual schools’ uniform policies.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people without lawful immigration status who have come into contact with the police in the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.