Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ease queues for passport checks at airports.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Border Force’s number one priority is to maintain a secure border. Building on the successes so far this year Border Force will seek to maximise all available resource to minimise wait times for passengers travelling into the UK.
We are also working with other Government Departments and UK ports and airports to implement robust and dynamic plans which allow us to anticipate and quickly respond to the effects of increased passenger travel on the UK’s border controls, whilst continuing to maintain border security and facilitating the movement of people and legitimate goods.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on UK citizens returning from combat in Ukraine; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme will be re-opened.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is not yet open. Officials are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme, amid the complex and changing picture.
The Government will continue to work closely with other government departments, non-governmental organisations, charities, local authorities and other partners and relevant organisations in the development and implementation of the ACRS.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a 12-month covid-19 recovery visa for people involved in the food and drinks sector supply chains.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government position remains we will not be introducing a short-term visa route allowing recruitment at or near the minimum wage with no work-based training requirements, such as the ‘Covid recovery visa’ which has been suggested.
Most of the solutions for labour shortages are likely to be driven by industry, with a big push towards improving pay, conditions and diversity needed. This includes business facing recruitment issues engaging with the Department for Work and Pensions about the support they can provide, rather than turning to the Home Office for immigration based solutions instead.
The UK labour market has changed rapidly in recent months and we need time to monitor the impact of the new Skilled Worker route, as well as how the economy recovers post-Covid 19 including those individuals who will begin returning to the labour market from the furlough scheme.
The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found some roles in the food production, supply and agricultural sectors meet the RQF3 skills threshold for the Skilled Worker route so are eligible to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa and can therefore be recruited on global basis. The threshold was previously set at degree-level jobs. Modelling by the MAC suggests the new, broader RQF3 threshold strikes a reasonable balance between controlling immigration and business access to labour.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce knife crime among young people through working with schools.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is committed to reducing serious violence, including knife crime, and prevent the tragedies affecting our communities. We are taking a whole system approach - this involves working with a wide range of partners to combat crime, including schools.
We have invested £105.5m over three years into to establish and develop 18 multi-agency Violence Reduction Units (VRUs), which bring together key partners across health, education, policing, housing, and others to address the root causes of serious violence in the worst affected areas. These VRUs commission a range of interventions to intervene early and prevent crime, including close working with schools to support vulnerable young people, such as through mentoring programmes, sports-based interventions, and behavioural therapy. With an additional £30 million this year for ‘Grip’ funding, to bolster operational problem-solving police activity work, some forces are also carrying out interventions, engagement and education work in schools alongside the VRUS. We have also invested £200 million in early intervention and understanding what interventions work best to reduce violence, through the 10-Year Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). YEF’s funded projects ensure those most at risk are given the opportunity to turn away from violence and lead positive lives; and will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness of different interventions.
The Government also supports Operation Sceptre’s knife crime weeks of action conducted by police forces across England and Wales, which include knife crime awareness session in education establishments. In the last week of action beginning 26 April, police forces conducted 1,481 school engagement events.
In addition, in 2020 the National Police Chiefs’ Council published guidance to schools on ‘When to call the police’ which provides advice regarding incidents on schools and colleges premises if a potential crime has been committed. This covers weapons enabled crime and also how to identify vulnerable children. It should be read alongside DfE’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on encouraging vehicle manufacturers to take steps to help prevent the theft of keyless vehicles.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime as a priority. We continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for vehicle crime, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which includes representatives from the motor industry and Department for Transport, to take forward a programme of work. This work is overseen by the Government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce.
As part of this programme, the National Vehicle Crime Working Group has established a horizon-scanning group to identify potential future trends, threats and vulnerability in vehicle security and vehicle-related crime. We will continue to engage closely with academics, vehicle manufacturers and policing leads to undertake research and implement actions to mitigate future opportunities to criminally exploit technological and design changes in the automotive industry.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to encourage collaboration between (a) Ofcom, (b) the Telecommunications sector and (c) the National Crime Agency on reducing fraud; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is exploring a range of different measures aimed at tackling the criminal abuse of mobile telecommunications across a range of different crime types including fraud.
As set out in our Economic Crime Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-crime-plan-2019-to-2022), we are clear that a public- private partnership is essential in tackling fraud. Government, telecommunications providers, law enforcement, regulators, including Ofcom, and consumer groups are in regular conversation with the aim of protecting the public from these crimes. This includes developing a voluntary charter of the actions that telecoms companies will take to prevent fraud.
The Government will build on this work through our Fraud Action Plan, an ambitious approach grounded in prevention, education, effective enforcement and regulatory reforms that will be published after the Spending Review.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reinstate an explicit protest exemption in covid-19 regulations.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The right to peaceful protest is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. However, in these unprecedented circumstances, any gathering risks spreading the disease, leading to more deaths, so it is vital that everyone plays a part in controlling the virus. The Covid-19 regulations are being kept under constant review by the Department of Health and Social Care, in close consultation with other Government departments.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of police enforcement of covid-19 restrictions on the (a) nature of policing and (b) relationship between the police and the public; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The police have played a vital role in the response to this pandemic, helping to keep the public safe, and ensuring that public order is maintained in these unprecedented circumstances.
Policing continues to be by consent. Throughout the pandemic the police approach to enforcing restrictions has followed the four-step escalation principles – engaging, explaining, encouraging, and then enforcing where necessary. In addition, the police have maintained community relations as local measures have come into effect.
The latest published ONS figures show that confidence in the police remains at high levels with 85% being very or fairly satisfied with the way the police in the local area is responding to the virus outbreak.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of an amnesty for people arrested as part of anti-lockdown protests during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The right to peaceful protest is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. However, in these unprecedented circumstances it is vital that everyone plays a part in controlling the virus.
The time-limited, national measures previously in place between 5 November-1 December, applied to protests and to all other gatherings, except for a few exemptions such as funerals. Everyone was required to follow these rules.It is for the Police, in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether an action warrants possible criminal proceedings.