Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs: Reappointment
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
I am pleased to announce that Dr Owen Bowden-Jones has been reappointed to the ACMD both as a member and as its Chair. This re-appointment is for a three-year term, beginning on 1 January 2020. Dr Bowden-Jones is an experienced clinician who provides assessment and treatment for people experiencing harms from emerging problem drugs.
The ACMD was established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and provides advice to Government on issues related to the harms of drugs. It also has a statutory role under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
[HCWS1781]
Serious Violence
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
On 1 April 2019 the Government published a consultation paper on a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence.
The consultation sought views on three options to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence including: a new duty on specific organisations to have due regard to the prevention and tackling of serious violence; a new duty through legislating to revise community safety partnerships; and, a voluntary non-legislative approach.
The consultation closed on 28 May and I am today publishing the Government response to the consultation which includes a summary of the responses that the consultation received. A copy of the Government response and related impact assessment will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be available on the www.gov.uk website.
[HCWS1721]
Compliance Improvement Review
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
On 9 May 2019 I made a written ministerial statement to notify Parliament of compliance risks that MI5 had identified and reported within certain technology environments used to store and analyse data. In the statement I confirmed that I had established an independent review to consider and report back to me on what lessons could be learned for the future. My statement today notifies Parliament that this review, the Compliance Improvement Review (CIR), is now complete and that the Government are publishing the summary section of the report and its recommendations, gisted where necessary for national security reasons.
The CIR was led by Sir Martin Donnelly, a former Permanent Secretary, and examined how the issue arose and considered MI5’s governance and risk management procedures in light of this. The review team had access to all relevant documentation and met key individuals from Government, MI5 and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office to discuss the background to the risks being identified. I would like to place on record my thanks to Sir Martin and the review team, who have worked diligently to complete a thorough and well-evidenced review.
I was provided with a copy of the review report in late June and have since had the opportunity to discuss it with Sir Martin. The Investigatory Powers Commissioner and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament have both received copies of the full report.
The CIR identified three areas where improvements can be made. These are: improvements to support an effective compliance culture across MI5; improvements to ensure more effective sharing of information between MI5 and the Home Office to identify emerging issues; and improvements to ensure increased legal input to the MI5 Management Board and ensuring closer joint working between MI5 and Home Office legal advisors. The review makes a total of 14 recommendations to address these issues, which are set out in the document that has been published today.
I can confirm that DG MI5 and I agree with the CIR’s conclusions and my Department will now work closely with MI5 to deliver the recommendations.
It should be noted that the CIR found that there was no attempt by MI5 to hide the compliance risk they were managing. The CIR describes MI5 as “a consistently high-performing organisation, with a growing number of committed and professional staff working under sustained pressure to keep this country safe”, a view I share from my experience as Home Secretary. Copies of the CIR summary document will be made available on www.gov.uk and will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
[HCWS1722]
Oral Answers to Questions
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
The Disclosure and Barring Service is a vital part of the safeguarding regime. The DBS issued more than 5 million certificates last year, which was more than the previous year. The Home Office, as the sponsoring Department, continues to oversee the DBS’s performance.
John Spellar
Does the Home Secretary not understand —I think he does, along with the Justice Secretary—that it is widely accepted across the House that the service is not fit for purpose, because it makes it far too difficult for those with a record to get back into work, which is bad not only for them but for their families and society? Can we have some urgent action to get back to trying to rehabilitate offenders by putting tight limits on disclosure, especially for cautions and minor offences in early years, and so let many of our citizens turn their lives around? Why does he not cut through the bureaucratic inertia in the Home Office and get a move on?
Sajid Javid
The House will be aware that there have problems with the service in recent years. As a result, a number of changes are being made and performance is up. In fact, a new chief executive is starting this week, I believe, so there is new management. On the actual policies it implements, the right hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Changes can be made and active discussions are taking place right now between me and the Justice Secretary.
Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con)
Already this phenomenal summer of sport will have inspired many children to play football, tennis and cricket, with netball, golf and rugby still to come, but there are still failings in our safeguarding processes, including the DBS checks. I worked extremely hard with the excellent Minister on this policy. The main issue remains broadening the remit of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include sports coaches, but will the Home Secretary update the House on progress towards strengthening DBS checks for those involved in coaching, including assistant coaches, to ensure the next generation of possible sporting heroes and heroines are safe from abuse?
Sajid Javid
I thank my hon. Friend for the work she has been doing for several years to encourage more people, particularly young people, to take part in sport. She is right about the current position: sports coach is not included as position of trust. Enhanced criminal checks are available, but I agree that we need to do more work, which is why we are reviewing the effectiveness of the law on those who take advantage of young children with sexual relationships and are looking at what more we can do to include them as positions of trust.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The scope of the DBS is far too narrow. Private tutors are exempt, as are host families of international students. As we head into the summer, it is a reminder that we need to safeguard all young people. What steps is the Home Secretary taking to ensure it is far more comprehensive in who it covers?
Sajid Javid
I understand that the hon. Lady has had a meeting recently with the victims Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), on this very issue, and I am glad that she has raised it. She may be aware that there are changes we have to, and want to, make because of a recent Supreme Court judgment, and because of that I want to bring forward other changes that we are looking at and planning and that, when they happen, she will welcome.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
Some of these DBS checks take far too long and prevent people from getting into employment. Is it the fault of the DBS, local police forces, or both?
Sajid Javid
Sometimes, when there are delays, they will probably be very case-specific, so it is hard to attribute fault, but my hon. Friend is right to raise the need for speedy checks. There have been significant improvements. He may be interested to know that there is a 14-day maximum on the basic checks we apply, and in 98% of cases that has been met.
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)
Sir David Amess (Southend West) (Con)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Diverting young people away from crime is at the heart of our approach to tackling serious violence. Factors such as domestic abuse, truancy and substance abuse can make a young person more vulnerable to becoming a victim or perpetrator of serious violence. That is why, for example, we are investing £220 million in early intervention schemes—a record amount.
Giles Watling
I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer. We all know that instances of violent crime in urban centres such as London get the most media attention, but sadly we are also seeing our share of violent crime in my coastal constituency. We had one robbery at knifepoint and one serious assault in the same area of the town in the past week. Following a campaign that I led in Essex, we have seen 12 more officers on the streets of Clacton. They work so hard, but what more can be done to prevent young people in areas such as my constituency from turning towards violent crime?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend has led an excellent local campaign and I commend him for it. As he will know, Essex police has received £1.7 million from the £100 million extra funding to tackle serious violence that was recently announced. In addition, his local police and crime commissioner has been provisionally allocated a further £1.16 million for a violence reduction unit. He may also welcome the £660,000 allocated to Essex from the early intervention youth fund.
Sir David Amess
Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating N-Act, in my constituency, which has toured the schools producing plays that have a profound effect on young people, meaning that they do not get involved in gangs, and Gorgui Thiam, a Senegalese sports coach whose work has been very effective in breaking up violent gangs through the power of sport?
Sajid Javid
I happily join my hon. Friend in commending that work. The work being done there locally and similar work across the country shows the power of early intervention. That is why we have set up funding to support more and more schemes like that, both through the early intervention youth fund and the youth endowment fund.
Mr Speaker
Of course we all join in the celebration of the power of sport as a positive force, be it, for example, tennis, cricket or indeed football. [Interruption.] And lots of other sports to boot—netball, hockey, rounders and athletics. We also celebrate those who teach sport, and those who broadcast it and write about it, one of whom I spy not very far from me at this every moment—the great Richard Evans. [Interruption.] That will do for now.
Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)
Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady raises an important point and it shows precisely why we are planning to introduce the public health duty—to get more Departments and public agencies to work together in providing early intervention through many different types of programme. She is right to highlight alternative provision and some of the issues associated with it, especially how some of those children, sadly, become the target of gangs, and we are doing more work across government.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
Sajid Javid
When it comes to early intervention, youth activities, youth clubs and the kind of thing we have just heard about in Southend are the sort of important work that we want to support more. I have talked about the £220 million of early intervention funding, which is a record amount, and it will go towards doing that, supporting some 200 different projects.
Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)
You are far too kind, Mr Speaker.
What difference does the Home Secretary believe putting 20,000 more police officers out on the beat, catching criminals and deterring crime, will make in practical terms?
Sajid Javid
I have long said that we need to tackle crime, especially serious violence, on many fronts, and that means making sure that the police are properly resourced so that we have enough police on the streets. That is why this year we had a record settlement of almost £1 billion, which was voted for and supported by Government Members but rejected by Opposition Members.
Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)
Often, the focus is on violent crime in cities, but towns such as ours in West Yorkshire have seen an increase in robberies and antisocial behaviour, and the results of county lines and drug violence, too. Our area has lost nearly half its neighbourhood policing, which the Home Secretary will know has been cut throughout the country. The Home Affairs Committee has called for more police on the beat—we need more police back on the beat—and the Home Secretary has recognised that we need 20,000 more police back on the beat. When does he estimate we will get them?
Sajid Javid
I very much agree with the right hon. Lady about the need for more police. That is why we had a record settlement this year, which included, for example, more than £28 million extra for her local police force, which is leading to more police officers and more police staff. I have said that we need to go further, and we are discussing that internally in Government to see what more can be done. I hope the right hon. Lady recognises, though, that it is about more than just police; it is about early intervention and understanding some of the underlying causes of crime. I have always recognised the need for more resources and more police.
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)
The Home Secretary referred to the new public health duty. The Opposition agree that it is a good idea in principle, but does the Home Secretary agree with the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, who has said that the change is not enough on its own and who is calling for the next Prime Minister, and perhaps his Chancellor, to ensure that preventive services such as youth services have the right resources? Will the Home Secretary tell us how often the Prime Minister’s knife crime taskforce has actually met?
Sajid Javid
The right hon. Lady has mentioned an important partner in tackling serious violence, and the Children’s Commissioner is part of the serious violence taskforce and we listen to her important views regularly. Of course, the Children’s Commissioner is right that this issue requires action on many fronts. There is no one single answer—we have talked about resources, new powers, early intervention and, of course, the public health approach—which is why we are working across Government. We have institutionalised that in Government in many ways, including with the taskforce that the Prime Minister set up, which has already met once and is meeting again today.
Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Our £63 million “Building a Stronger Britain Together” programme provides funding to local community groups that seek to challenge extremist views. Since 2016, we have supported more than 230 civil society groups, which have access to training opportunities and a network of 40 expert counter-extremism community co-ordinators who are embedded in local authorities.
Dr Lewis
What more can the Government do to publicise those important examples of where communities and community organisations have succeeded in the supply of information that has prevented terrorist plots, saved innocent lives and helped to take people who were at risk of radicalisation away from extremist doctrines?
Sajid Javid
My right hon. friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. We have often talked at the Dispatch Box about, for example, the importance of the Prevent programme, which is fundamentally about safeguarding and supporting vulnerable individuals to stop them becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. My right hon. Friend may be interested to know that in just one year, 2017-18, our Channel safeguarding programme supported some 394 individuals, and 181 different community projects that have reached 88,000 different people.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
The Home Secretary really should be ashamed of himself. If he comes to a place such as Huddersfield and other towns in West Yorkshire, which my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) has just mentioned, he will find that it is about not only diverting young people from violence, gangs and crime, but tackling extremist views early on. If the Government dismantle local government youth services, they cannot just pass the responsibility across to community associations and think that is okay.
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman should know that we have done a great deal since 2000 to support community projects, including youth community projects. I mentioned earlier the £63 million that we put into the “Building a Stronger Britain Together” programme. That is through the Home Office alone, but much more is going on through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Education and local government. He mentions Huddersfield. Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting a young man called Jamal, who was the victim of racism, a form of extremism, in the hon. Gentleman’s own constituency. I had the opportunity to welcome him to our great country and to tell him that what happened to him in Huddersfield in no way represents the people of our great nation.
Sir Roger Gale
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Across Government, we are taking a broad range of legislative, diplomatic and operational action to prevent, disrupt and deter hostile state activity.
Mr Speaker
The right hon. Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale) will have Topical Question 1 as well, so he will get two bites at the cherry and he will have nothing about which to complain.
Sajid Javid
As my right hon. Friend says, I will not comment on any sensitive intelligence matter, but he is right to be concerned about the rise in hostile state activity. There is ongoing activity across Government to ensure that our democracy is protected. We have taken many steps and co-ordinated them across Government and the relevant authorities. He will also be pleased to know that, now that the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 is on the statute book, it gives us many more powers to counter hostile state activity.
David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)
The Home Secretary will know that police numbers remain key to hostile state activity prevention. I have still not heard an answer to the question that my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) posed—how many extra police officers are going to be recruited, and when, to tackle this important issue?
Sajid Javid
When it comes to hostile state activity, it is not that police numbers are unimportant, but actually, the key is intelligence and support for our intelligence services, especially for MI5 and the excellent work that it does.
Mr Speaker
I am enormously tickled to see the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), the Father of the House, beetle into the Chamber by walking across the Government Front Bench. I suppose that he was so long an habitué of the Treasury Bench that it may seem a perfectly normal means by which to enter the Chamber, but, in any case, we are delighted to see him.
Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet) (Con)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
We continue to fight serious violence and support our world-class police. Yesterday I announced a new legal duty on public bodies to prevent and tackle serious violence, which will compel all relevant public agencies to work together to understand and address this epidemic. Over the last year, we have engaged with police officers and staff on our frontline review, which was published last week and will lead to even more support.
Sir Roger Gale
Given the ongoing police inquiry into the leaking of confidential Foreign and Commonwealth Office documents, together with the need to protect the freedom of the press, my right hon. Friend has a difficult circle to square. Can he tell the House how he intends to both protect the freedom of the press and ensure that the person responsible for this crime is brought to book?
Sajid Javid
I am not going to comment on an ongoing police investigation—I hope my right hon. Friend understands that—but the person who leaked the document should, of course, face the consequences. When I was Culture Secretary, I was very passionate about the freedom of the press. That view has not changed in any way whatsoever. I will always defend the hard-won liberties and the operation of the free press.
Karen Lee (Lincoln) (Lab)
The latest Government fire and rescue service inspections found that nine years of austerity have created a postcode lottery of response times and crewing levels. We now have rising response times, with fewer firefighters attending incidents. The Government’s reckless lack of oversight and investment is risking the safety of many communities across the country. Will the Minister consider implementing national minimum standards, to confront the geographical inequalities that his Government have deepened?
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Sajid Javid
I commend my hon. Friend for the huge amount of work he has done on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping; I saw that as Communities Secretary as well. The Government believe that no one should be criminalised for simply having nowhere to live and sleeping rough. The Government’s 2018 rough sleeping strategy committed us to reviewing the homelessness and rough sleeping legislation, including the Vagrancy Act 1824. That is what we are doing, and I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that further.
Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab)
Dame Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)
Sajid Javid
As my right hon. Friend knows, asylum seekers can work in jobs on the shortage occupation list if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months. I know that she will agree that we need to distinguish between those with the need for protection and those who are here only to work. She is right to raise the issue, and it is time for reform. The work in the Home Office is ongoing, and we hope to bring something to the House as soon as possible.
Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
Sajid Javid
I appreciate the right hon. Gentleman’s interest in this issue and the work that he is doing through the all-party parliamentary group that he chairs and helped to set up. We have discussed the broader issue several times. He will know that in 2012 the National Audit Office highlighted widespread abuse of the student migration system. That said, I have agreed with him and many other hon. Members that we need to look again at the action that was taken and see what more can be done. I am planning to come to the House with a statement to say much more before the summer recess.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
Sajid Javid
I commend my right hon. Friend for the work he has done in this space, especially on tackling unauthorised encampments. He will know that the Home Office has identified a set of measures that will extend the powers available to the police. We are also conducting a review of the act of trespassing to see whether it can be automatically criminalised.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
Disability hate crime has increased more than fourfold since 2011, and that is not even the real level of hate crime and abuse that disabled people have faced. Disabled people have been particularly hit by this Government’s cuts, so what will the Home Secretary do to tackle not just the consequences of this hate crime but the causes?
Joseph Johnson (Orpington) (Con)
In his excellent op-ed in the Financial Times on 7 June, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said it made no sense at all to send back home straight after their studies some of the brightest and most enterprising people in the world, and he also backed a cross-party move to liberalise the student visa regime. Could he update the House on his progress in restoring the two-year post-study work visa that was removed in 2012?
Sajid Javid
I am very sympathetic to what my hon. Friend has said. I think that is exactly the kind of change we should be looking at. It is not the policy of the current Cabinet, but, as he knows, there will be a change in the Cabinet very soon. We do not know who will lead that change, but it might well be someone he is quite close to, so he might want to lobby them too. However, I am very sympathetic, and I will happily work with my hon. Friend.
Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)
TransPennine Express recently locked a gate that is a major access point to the Hull Paragon station, and prominent disability campaigners have been protesting about that. It has locked the gate because it believes that that is the best way to deal with the rising problem of antisocial behaviour. Does the Minister agree that the company should be letting the police tackle the problem of antisocial behaviour and not discriminating against disabled people? Will Ministers join me in sending a clear message to TransPennine Express to open the gate?
Anthony Grainger Inquiry Report
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Today the Anthony Grainger public inquiry has published its final report, which has been laid before the House.
Anthony Grainger was shot dead on 3 March 2012 by an armed firearms officer of Greater Manchester police as part of the covert investigation named Operation Shire. A public inquiry was announced by the then Home Secretary in March 2016 to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Mr Grainger’s death.
I would like to thank His Honour Judge Teague for publishing his report today and for leading this important work, from which we expect to learn valuable lessons for the future. The Government will provide a formal response in due course, once we have fully considered the report, and any recommendations therein.
The report will be available from the Vote Office and to view on the inquiry website https://www.graingerinquiry. org.uk/ and on gov.uk.
[HCWS1715]
Windrush Lessons Learned Review
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
The terms of reference for the Windrush lessons learned review set out that the aim was to publish the report by 31 March 2019.
On 8 July 2019, the independent adviser to the Windrush lessons learned review, Wendy Williams, wrote to me about the timing of her review. The complexity and scale of the work required, and the request for her to also consider the right-to-rent scheme following the High Court judgement of 1 March, means that she now expects to submit her final report to me at the beginning of September. I will publish the report as soon as practicable following this.
We are determined to learn from, and right the wrongs of, the past. I look forward to receiving the report when the review concludes. I will consider the recommendations from the review carefully and announce appropriate action.
I will place a copy of Wendy Williams’s letter of 8 July in the Libraries of both Houses.
[HCWS1714]
Windrush Generation: Compensation Scheme
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
The Government deeply regret what has happened to some members of the Windrush generation and when I became Home Secretary I made clear that responding to this was a priority. The compensation scheme I launched in April is a key part of this response.
The compensation scheme has been open to receive claims since April 2019 and the Home Office is now in a position to start making payments.
Specific legislation to give direct financial authority for payments made under the scheme will be brought forward to Parliament when parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, it is lawful for the Home Office to make payments for compensation scheme claims, without specific legislative authority for this new expenditure. As Home Secretary I am able to consider other factors, including the sound policy objectives behind the scheme and the importance of righting the wrongs suffered by the Windrush generation.
I have therefore written to the permanent secretary today formally directing him, as accounting officer for the Home Office, to implement the compensation scheme for the Windrush generation and to ensure that compensation payments can be made pending the passage of the legislation. The exchange of letters relating to this direction can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush. This direction has been issued on the basis of regularity.
I am committed to providing members of the Windrush generation with assurance that they will be appropriately and promptly compensated where it is shown that they have been disadvantaged by historical Government policy. A direction to proceed is therefore optimal to ensure the Government are acting in the best interests of affected members of the Windrush generation.
[HCWS1693]
Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories: Beneficial Ownership Information
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Today I am laying before the House the 18-month statutory review of the implementation of the exchange of notes on beneficial ownership between the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and relevant overseas territories.
In 2016, the UK, the three Crown dependencies (CDs: the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey including Alderney but not Sark, and the Isle of Man) and the six overseas territories with global financial centres (OTs: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and Turks and Caicos Islands) committed to enhance the effectiveness of long-standing co-operation between law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in sharing beneficial ownership information for corporate and legal entities incorporated in their respective jurisdictions. These bilateral arrangements between the UK and each of the OT and CD jurisdictions are called the exchange of notes (EoN) and came into force on 1 July 2017. Law enforcement authorities for each participant can submit a request for information to another participating dependency or territory, who can also do likewise with the UK.
The UK, CDs and participating OTs jointly completed a six-month internal review of the EoN arrangements covering the period 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2017. A written ministerial statement covering that review was laid before Parliament on 1 May 2018.
Under section 445A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, I am required to prepare a report covering the first 18 months of implementation of the EoN, including an assessment of their effectiveness, to cover the period 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2018.
Officials from the joint anti-corruption unit in the Home Office carried out this review in collaboration with officials from the other participating jurisdictions. During the course of this review, the CDs and OTs have reiterated to the UK authorities their commitment to the EoNs, as demonstrated by their positive and proactive approach to implementation and engagement in the review process.
I am pleased to provide the following key findings of the review and recommendations for the future of these arrangements.
The findings and recommendations of this review are based on material supplied by, and discussions with, all of the participating jurisdictions. The position varies across these different jurisdictions, and not all of the findings and recommendations of this review apply to all. Where a jurisdiction already complies with the points covered by a particular finding or recommendation, it should continue to do so.
Key findings
UK law enforcement agencies (LEAs) report that the EoN have been extremely useful in accessing the information needed to support ongoing criminal investigations.
This process gives UK LEAs rapid access to beneficial ownership information on over half a million entities based in the three CDs and six participating OTs. This represents 87% of businesses in scope of the scheme. Plans are in place for this to reach 100% by December 2020. In addition, these jurisdictions have reciprocal access to information on 3.8 million UK entities through the UK’s people with significant control public register.
During the first 18 months of operation, 296 requests were made, of which 118 asked for multiple pieces of information in a single request. This equates on average to nearly four requests per week. Responses were provided for all requests made, and all but four were provided within the agreed time frame.
As many of these requests are in support of long-running investigations, it is too soon to quantify the full outcome in terms of successful investigations, but interim indicators are positive.
The statutory review notes a number of challenges during the first six months (July-December 2017), including some information being shared with caveats on its use and the occasional use of out-of-date contact address lists when making or responding to an information request. Substantial progress was made on all of these issues following an internal review, but some residual administrative issues remain.
This review did not identify any instances in which a search, or any details about a search, became public knowledge, including in relation to the beneficial owners of companies being investigated.
This review has made seven recommendations:
All registers should be completed by the end of 2020 at the latest;
participants may wish to review best practice on verifying information in the beneficial ownership registers;
if third parties need to be contacted to respond to a query, the requesting LEA should be informed before communication takes place, and suitable legally binding agreements should be in place to prevent disclosure;
LEAs should use the correct contact details when making requests;
existing dialogue and engagement should continue;
consideration and discussion on the appropriateness of expanding the scope of EoN to include civil tax cases or beneficial ownership information for trusts should continue; and
evidence should continue to be gathered on the impact of the process with regard to long-term benefits.
Participants in the EoN arrangements will take forward the recommendations of this statutory review, and will take responsibility for tracking progress. The next joint internal annual review of the EoN arrangements will take place next year and will cover the performance for 2019.
It should be noted that this review is in addition to ongoing monitoring of the practical application of the commitment by all participants.
Copies of the statutory review will be available from the Vote Office and it will also be available on the gov.uk website.
[HCWS1671]
National Crime Agency Retention of Specialist Skills
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
I am today laying before the House of Commons a departmental minute on the use of contingent liability by the Home Office for the NCA retention of specialist skills (ROSS) litigation.
The litigation relates to 15 claims from current NCA officers and the application of an abatement to those officers who chose to retire and return under the NCA’s ROSS scheme.
The NCA’s precursor, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), implemented ROSS in 2009, drawing on guidance from the Home Office. A section of the ROSS policy enabled officers, where there was exceptional need, to retire and return to their posts, whilst accessing their pensions (including the lump sum element). Those officers who retired and returned under ROSS had their salaries abated to reflect the pension income.
[HCWS1672]
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse: Archdiocese of Birmingham Case Study
Sajid Javid Excerpts(5 years, 5 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
Today the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has published its latest case study report, which can be found at www.iicsa.org.uk
This report relates to the Archdiocese of Birmingham in the inquiry’s Roman Catholic Church investigation. I pay tribute to the strength and courage of the victims and survivors who have shared their experiences to ensure the inquiry can deliver its vital work.
Government will review this report and consider how to respond to its content in due course.
I would like to thank Professor Jay and her panel for their continued work to uncover the truth, expose what went wrong in the past and to leam the lessons for the future.
[HCWS1642]