Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Newton Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)]

13. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people subjected to forced marriage are encouraged to report that crime to the police.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sarah Newton)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising such an important matter. We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice will not be tolerated in the UK. We want to see more victims having the confidence to come forward to report this often hidden crime, and that is why we are introducing lifelong anonymity for victims through the Policing and Crime Bill.

[Mike Freer]

I am glad that this country is leading the way on tackling violence against women and girls, but does the Minister agree that we need to keep up the pressure to eradicate child marriage, as it is a particularly pernicious form of violence?

[Sarah Newton]

I do indeed. The UK is a world leader in the fight to stamp out forced marriage, and I am clear that to end these crimes in the UK we must end them overseas, too. That is why we are pursuing an ambitious programme of work at an international level, including with the Department for International Development, through its £36 million programme to end child, early and forced marriage.

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab/Co-op)]

14. What representations she has received on the economic value to the UK of international students studying at universities.

--- Later in debate ---

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

T6. Waffle, Mr Speaker—waffle is all that we get in answer to questions about dealing with hate crime on Facebook and Twitter and on the internet. If Germany can fine these companies half a million pounds every time they fail to take down hate speech posts within 24 hours, why can we not also take practical action to hold them to account for their failure to deal with hate speech?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sarah Newton)]

The hon. Gentleman has made a very important point. Hate crime has no place whatsoever in our society. It destroys communities and people’s lives, and we are taking every possible action against it. We have the strongest legislative framework in the world, and that includes working with internet providers. I can absolutely assure the hon. Gentleman that we have agreements with internet providers, and that when hate crime is identified, they will take the horrendous stuff down.

[Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) (Con)]

T3. Cheshire constabulary is currently rolling out Operation Shield, which allows people to mark their valuables with a unique DNA liquid to prove their ownership of stolen items in the event of their recovery. What is the Department doing to support similar crime-fighting initiatives?

--- Later in debate ---

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

T7. I was pleased recently to attend the “little litter pickers” celebration organised by the innovative Halcon One Team in Taunton Deane. The litter pickers are just one aspect of this commendable One Team community partnership, bringing together the police, social workers, teachers and local residents to tackle serious deprivation, with real results in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. Does the Minister agree that the Halcon One Team can act as a model across the country, and will she join me in commending all the team’s hard work, especially that of Sergeant Andy Murphy?

[Sarah Newton]

I am absolutely delighted to commend the work of this multi-agency Halcon One Team, which operates in my hon. Friend’s constituency. It is, indeed, a marvellous example of where the police and local agencies work together in their communities with vulnerable people, tackling environmental issues and providing young people with a constructive alternative, to avoid them being dragged into a life of crime and antisocial behaviour.

[Joan Ryan (Enfield North) (Lab)]

In the light of Holocaust Memorial Day this week, will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Holocaust Educational Trust, which remind us of the worst example we have ever witnessed of where anti-Semitism can lead? In the light of the publication of the Community Security Trust 2016 anti-Semitic incident report next week, and bearing in mind the fact that last year saw the third highest annual level of anti-Semitic hate incidents in the UK, what are the Government doing to combat rising levels of anti-Semitism?