Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits requiring applicants for a shotgun or firearms licence to undergo a basic safety lesson on firearms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety.
We intend to publish this consultation later this year. This is in addition to the publication of revised Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police in August, intended to strengthen the assessment of those who hold, or who apply for, both shotgun and firearms licences. The Statutory Guidance is helping to ensure consistency in decision making across all police forces.
The assessment of suitability to hold a shotgun or firearm, including in relation to the safety of the applicant and the wider community, is a matter for the relevant Chief Officer of Police. We do not have any plans to introduce additional safety lessons for licence holders.
The Government keeps all controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard the public against the misuse of licensed firearms.
The terrible murders in Luton on 13 September 2024, when Juliana Prosper and two of her children, Giselle and Kyle, were fatally shot by Juliana's son using an illegally purchased shotgun, exposed weaknesses in the controls on the private sale and purchase of firearms. In the light of this incident, the Government is considering options for tightening the law in this area, and we will bring forward our proposals shortly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure consistent (a) standards and (b) decision making in the licensing of (i) shotguns and (ii) firearms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety.
We intend to publish this consultation later this year. This is in addition to the publication of revised Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police in August, intended to strengthen the assessment of those who hold, or who apply for, both shotgun and firearms licences. The Statutory Guidance is helping to ensure consistency in decision making across all police forces.
The assessment of suitability to hold a shotgun or firearm, including in relation to the safety of the applicant and the wider community, is a matter for the relevant Chief Officer of Police. We do not have any plans to introduce additional safety lessons for licence holders.
The Government keeps all controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard the public against the misuse of licensed firearms.
The terrible murders in Luton on 13 September 2024, when Juliana Prosper and two of her children, Giselle and Kyle, were fatally shot by Juliana's son using an illegally purchased shotgun, exposed weaknesses in the controls on the private sale and purchase of firearms. In the light of this incident, the Government is considering options for tightening the law in this area, and we will bring forward our proposals shortly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to require people wishing to sell a firearm to (a) notify the police of their intention and (b) be required to first receive verification from the police of the proposed vendor's firearms licence.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety.
We intend to publish this consultation later this year. This is in addition to the publication of revised Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police in August, intended to strengthen the assessment of those who hold, or who apply for, both shotgun and firearms licences. The Statutory Guidance is helping to ensure consistency in decision making across all police forces.
The assessment of suitability to hold a shotgun or firearm, including in relation to the safety of the applicant and the wider community, is a matter for the relevant Chief Officer of Police. We do not have any plans to introduce additional safety lessons for licence holders.
The Government keeps all controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard the public against the misuse of licensed firearms.
The terrible murders in Luton on 13 September 2024, when Juliana Prosper and two of her children, Giselle and Kyle, were fatally shot by Juliana's son using an illegally purchased shotgun, exposed weaknesses in the controls on the private sale and purchase of firearms. In the light of this incident, the Government is considering options for tightening the law in this area, and we will bring forward our proposals shortly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps the Government has taken to help tackle period poverty in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is committed to addressing the underlying causes that lead women and girls into period poverty. Across the UK, many individuals and families are experiencing financial pressures as a result of the cost of living. Through our efforts to make work pay and our continued investment in public services, we are determined to ensure that everyone has access to essential items, including period products.
The Government supports several schemes to ensure that those in greatest need can access period products. All women and girls being cared for by the NHS are entitled to them, on request, free of charge. Similarly, the Department for Education runs a scheme to provide free period products to girls and women in their place of study. Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 87% of post-16 organisations in England have used the scheme to order period products.
These national schemes benefit areas across the country, including the South East. Local authorities and NHS bodies deliver the policies in their areas, working with schools, healthcare providers and community organisations to reach those in need.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police officers are given (a) official targets, (b) unofficial targets and (c) recommendations for the number of fixed penalty notices they should issue.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not give police officers or police forces official or unofficial targets, or recommendations for the number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) they should issue.
FPNs can be an efficient means for the police to deal with low level offences including motoring or anti-social behaviour offences, whilst reducing the burden on the courts and allowing police resources to focus on more serious crimes.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to restrict the sale of computer games that (a) allow players to pretend to be the perpetrator in real-life school shootings and (b) create scenarios where players can commit mass school shootings; and whether she plans to restrict the promotion of such games to (i) children and (ii) all people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Decisions regarding the classification of video games are made by the Games Rating Authority (GRA). The GRA’s decisions are made independently of the government, which is important to ensure impartiality. The GRA’s age ratings serve to protect the public and empower people to make informed gaming choices, whilst also recognising and respecting adult freedom of choice within the law.
The GRA is able to address issues of potential harm by awarding an appropriate age rating or suggesting changes to a developer’s content to make the game acceptable. Where this is not possible, a classification may be refused.
Even if material does not breach a specific UK law, the GRA may refuse to classify content on harm grounds when a game contains material that poses a significant risk of harm; either to viewers or, through their subsequent behaviour, to society. This may include content that contains:
Material that promotes criminal activity, including drugs;
Material that is illegal or has been created by the commission of a criminal offence;
Portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context;
Material which makes rape, or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour, or sadistic violence look appealing.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on employment law of the adequacy of working rights of app-based (a) private hire drivers and (b) couriers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On Monday 21 October 2024, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill.
This is available at: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials were investigated under their Department's disciplinary processes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
From 1st January 2021 until 16th October 2025 25 officials have been investigated under the department’s disciplinary processes.
We are unable to provide the yearly breakdown of disciplinary investigations because doing so would breach the Data Protection Act. This is due to the risk of identifying individuals in years where the case count is five or less, as the information relates to someone other than the data subjects and the risk of individuals becoming identifiable where case numbers for some years are 5 or less.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of legislation on the use of e-scooters in public places.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving e-scooters, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizure. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.
The Government also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles, including privately owned e-scooters, which have been used anti-socially or illegally more quickly. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.
These combined measures will help tackle the scourge of e-scooters ridden anti-socially or illegally and will send a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
Enforcement of road traffic legislation is an operational matter for Chief Officers of local forces to decide how best to use their powers depending on the specific circumstances.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to (a) increase restrictions on (i) buying and (ii) importing antique firearms and (b) improve the monitoring of the ownership of those firearms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps the law and controls on antique firearms under review. The Antique Firearms Regulations 2021 provides a statutory definition of antique firearm in order to clarify which firearms can safely be exempt from firearms controls and which should be subject to licensing requirements.
We undertake a review of the firearms that are exempt from control annually, to assess whether any antique firearms feature in crime, with a full review of the Regulations every three years. The most recent review identified no need for further changes to the controls on buying, possession or importing of antique firearms at this time. The Government will not hesitate to take action in relation to any antique firearms if the evidence shows that this is necessary.
Since antique firearms are exempt from most firearms controls, including the need for licensing, we do not routinely monitor their ownership.