Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (David Anderson Report)

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I am pleased to say that in accordance with sections 14(3), 14(4) and 14(5) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, David Anderson QC has completed the report on the operation of the Act in 2011, which will be laid before the House today.

Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

Section 19(1) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (the Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of her TPIM powers under the Act during that period.

The level of information provided will always be subject to slight variations based on operational advice.

National Policing Improvement Agency

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I undertook to update the House on the transfer of the National Policing Improvement Agency’s (NPIA) critical functions to successor bodies.

On 1 April, the Central Witness Bureau, Crime Operational Support Unit, the National Missing Persons Bureau, Serious Crime Analysis Section and Specialist Operations Centre will transfer from the NPIA to the Serious Organised Crime Agency, an important pre-cursor organisation to the National Crime Agency, which will become operational in 2013. These are the first operational areas to move to a successor body; a signal of their national importance in this special year.

Work is continuing on the development of the police professional body and the new police ICT company. I will update the House as plans for these bodies are confirmed.

I envisage that the NPIA functions transferring to the professional body would include, among others: learning, development, strategy and curriculum; authorised professional practice; exams and assessments; the international academy; the National College of Police Leadership; uniformed operational support; some specialist training; and the Criminal Justice and Local Policing Unit. I see the police professional body as being the holder of a body of knowledge for the police service and the transfer of key aspects of the NPIA’s research, analysis and information unit will help to establish this ambition.

Turning to plans for other NPIA functions, I intend:

To transfer to the Home Office responsibility for the NPIA’s Police Science and Forensics services; policy for police special constables; the NPIA’s Automotive Equipment Section; management of the contract for the Airwave radio system and its replacement (including associated staff); some policy responsibility for police work force strategy (though some will also sit with the new professional body and will have an important role to play in relation to the work force); the secretariat for the reducing bureaucracy programme; and the National Police Air Service project team (which will continue to report to Chief Constable Alex Marshall) These functions, together with those I outlined in my written ministerial statement of 15 December 2011, will transfer into the Home Office in autumn 2012.

To transfer to the Home Office, as an interim measure, Hendon data centre services (HDS) in autumn 2012. This temporary move will provide continuity for many of the police service’s critical national identity systems.

To transfer the NPIA’s Proceeds of Crime Centre to the National Crime Agency when it is established in 2013. The NPIA’s statutory powers to train, accredit and monitor financial investigators remain priorities, and, in due course, I intend to bring forward legislation to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act to allow for these responsibilities to be passed to the NCA. In the interim, I will ensure the important work of the centre is preserved until the NCA is fully operational.

For the police professional body, once established, to continue the NPIA’s existing and important relationship with the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism and the Home Office-funded Police National Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Centre. The Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism will continue to provide management support and oversee the CBRN centre budget after the creation of the new body.

I will continue to update Parliament as we make further decisions on remaining functions, the future of the NPIA estate and the creation of its successor bodies.

Alcohol Strategy

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Friday 23rd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

With permission, Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the new cross-Government alcohol strategy. Most people have no problem with alcohol. They enjoy a drink and it is one of life’s pleasures, but we all know there is a significant minority in this country who drink dangerously and who cause disproportionate harm. Almost 1 million violent crimes and 1.2 million hospital admissions each year are alcohol-related. Just under half of all violent crime is connected to alcohol, and drunken brawls and disorder have made many town centres no-go areas for law-abiding citizens.

The effects of such dangerous drinking on crime, communities, children and families are clear, but it need not be like this. Alcohol can be consumed responsibly, a drink can be enjoyable, not dangerous, and a thriving night-time economy can be built on the basis of a sensible drinking culture. In Durham, a Best Bar None accreditation scheme promotes responsible pub management. Licensed premises must meet minimum standards, for example on the skills and knowledge of their bar staff, to gain approval. They are encouraged not to serve beer to drunks and to build a good relationship with the police and local agencies. After three years, licensees reported a 75% increase in trade, a 50% increase in city centre footfall and an 87% reduction in violent crime. Experiences like that show that city centres can become more attractive places to visit at night if they allow sensible drinking rather than a licensing free-for-all.

Such schemes should be encouraged, but any progress will for ever be overshadowed unless we stop the flow of cheap alcohol. In some shops and supermarkets, drinks are now so heavily discounted that it is possible to buy a can of lager for as little as 20p or a two-litre bottle of cider for just £1.69. That means that many people now drink excessively at home and that many pre-load before they go out. Two thirds of 17 to 30-year-olds recently arrested in one city said they had pre-loaded before going out, and pre-loaders are estimated to be two-and-a-half times more likely to be involved in violence than other drinkers. So we need to deal with the dangerous drinkers, crack down on the irresponsible businesses and stem the tide of cheap alcohol. That means providing punishment and treatment for those who have shown that they cannot drink sensibly, tightening our licensing laws and cracking down on those who sell alcohol to children or drunks. It also means, for the first time, putting a sensible price on alcohol.

Those who have a particular problem with alcohol need specialist help to change their behaviour, so we will provide better treatment for dependent drinkers. We will develop alcohol interventions in prisons and will make alcohol treatment requirements imposed by the courts more effective. Dangerous drinkers who are convicted of alcohol-related crimes will have their unqualified right to drink removed through piloted sobriety schemes. These schemes will involve breathalysers and specialist electronic tags to monitor offenders’ alcohol levels and ensure they remain sober. From April, pilots using conditional cautions will launch in five areas—Westminster, St Helens, Hull, Plymouth and Cardiff. Further pilots will be launched shortly to tackle more serious offenders using community orders. We will legislate to support the roll-out of these schemes nationwide should they prove successful.

As well as tackling irresponsible drinkers, we must also help local areas to tackle irresponsible businesses by giving them greater powers over licensing. The Government’s reforms to policing, health and the criminal justice system will help to put power in the hands of local people, but we also want to give local areas specific powers to deal with alcohol-related problems. New powers in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 will come into force on 25 April. They include powers to make it easier for local agencies to refuse, revoke or impose conditions on a licence and to close down premises that sell alcohol to children or contribute to crime and disorder. They will double to £20,000 the maximum fine for persistently selling alcohol to children, and anyone with an interest will be able to object to new licensing applications no matter where they live. Later this year, new early morning alcohol restriction orders will give local areas the power to stop alcohol sales late at night if they are causing problems by restricting opening and closing hours, and we will introduce powers for local areas to control the density of licensed premises. We will also bring in powers to allow local areas to place a new late-night levy on businesses that sell alcohol late into the night so that businesses that benefit from late-night drinking will contribute towards the cost of late-night policing.

The alcohol industry also has an important role to play. This strategy promises to support and free up businesses that are acting responsibly. Most British pubs promote a good drinking environment and are the safest and friendliest places to have a drink, so we will build on the existing responsibility deal to drive greater industry action to prevent alcohol misuse. For example, 35 leading drinks companies are today launching a pledge to give consumers a wider choice of lower-strength products and smaller servings with the aim of taking 1 billion units of alcohol out of the market by 2015.

Individual, local and industry actions are all important to deal with problem drinkers and problem pubs, but dealing with problem pricing can be done only by central Government. We know that the availability of cheap alcohol helps to fuel binge drinking. Strong evidence from a number of studies conducted in the UK, Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere shows that alcohol consumption is closely linked to the price of alcohol. Those studies also showed that increasing the price of the very cheapest alcohol does the most to reduce heavy drinking. There is also evidence that young people are particularly sensitive to changes in price. Increasing alcohol prices lowers their alcohol consumption. That is why we have already taken action to tackle the availability of cheap alcohol. We have stopped high-strength white ciders from qualifying for lower rates of duty, we have introduced a new higher rate of duty for high-strength beers and we have brought in a new lower rate for lower-strength beers.

Those significant steps forward will help better to match prices to alcoholic strength, but the problem is now so acute that we need to go further. We will therefore introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol. This will ensure for the first time that alcohol can be sold only at a sensible and responsible price, stopping the deep discounting and bargain basement sales that drive binge drinking. We will consult over the coming months on the level of the minimum unit price and will seek to introduce legislation as soon as possible. We do not now intend to go ahead with the proposed ban on the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty and VAT. Most drinks will not be affected by minimum unit pricing, but the cheap vodka, super-strength cider and special brew lagers will go up in price. The dangerous drinks will become more expensive but the price of a normal pint in the local pub will not increase by a single penny. We will also consult on introducing a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops, such as “buy one, get one free” deals that push people to buy more alcohol than they want. We do not intend to apply this ban to pubs, bars and restaurants, which, as I have already said, offer a more controlled drinking environment. We want to encourage these premises to survive and thrive.

This strategy is targeted explicitly at dangerous drinkers, problem pubs, irresponsible shops and harmful drinks. Those who enjoy a quiet drink or two have nothing to fear from our proposals. The local pub has nothing to fear and the responsible off-licence has nothing to fear. We will help to tackle problem drinkers, we will help local areas to deal with local licensing problems, we will encourage the alcohol industry to act responsibly and we will put a stop to the easy availability of cheap booze that has blighted Britain for too long. This is a comprehensive strategy to take back our town centres from the drunken thugs and restore them to the law-abiding majority. I commend this statement to the House.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

This announcement about the alcohol strategy is extremely important, but the way in which it has been done is a complete shambles. It has been rushed out on a Friday morning when many of our colleagues have engagements in their constituencies and without notifying the Select Committee on Home Affairs. So, despite the many pieces of work the Committee has done on this issue, its members do not have the chance to be here in Parliament to scrutinise the strategy.

Why are we debating it today rather than on Monday, as was previously planned? It cannot be to ensure that Parliament hears the details first, because we have had the chance to read them in the Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and all the other newspapers that were given the details yesterday. I even have the press pack, complete with questions and answers, which was given to the media yesterday and not to the House. It includes considerable additional information that has not been given to the House as part of the Home Secretary’s statement today. Nor can the reason be for Parliament to debate the statement, when only two hours’ notice has been given of a statement on a Friday. I take this opportunity, Mr Speaker, to apologise to the students I was due to meet in Pontefract at lunch time and have had to let down. Many of our colleagues will be in the same position.

The only reason we are sitting on Friday is so that the Budget debate could take place today rather than next week, Parliament could finish 10 days early and the Prime Minister would not have to answer Prime Minister’s questions next week. There is no precedent for handling a long-awaited consultation document in this way, on a Friday morning, with no notice. Over the past 10 years, there have been only three Government statements on a Friday: on the Iraq war, on swine flu and on Libya—all of them involving serious issues around national emergencies. What is the national emergency today?

What is the national emergency that prompted a decision to be made late yesterday afternoon to brief an important and serious strategy to the newspapers which meant that a decision was made this morning to interrupt the debate and make an oral statement? The only emergency is that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have gone wobbly over the coverage of their Budget. Their Budget has gone wrong because pensioners are furious about the granny tax, middle earners are shocked to discover they will be paying the higher rate and everyone else is furious that the Government are bringing in a £10,000 tax break for the highest earners in the country, including, we discover, half the Cabinet. This is not about a 40p minimum price; it is about their failings on the 40p tax. The Home Secretary is being used as a human shield for the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, and she should have said no.

The issue is extremely serious. The Home Secretary is right: 1 million violent crimes each year are linked to alcohol. Nearly 9,000 people die each year as a result of alcohol abuse. Many people—indeed, most people—drink moderately and responsibly, and we enjoy it. The Home Secretary is right to say that responsible drinkers should not be penalised, but we cannot stand by and ignore the serious problem of dangerous alcohol abuse. Many policies have been tried already, including linking duty to strength and giving the police stronger powers to clamp down on alcohol-related antisocial behaviour, but she is right: they have not solved the problem.

The Home Secretary is also right to say that more now needs to be done. Many of her policies are sensible and we will support them. I agree that this is the right time to try minimum pricing. There are serious questions that she should answer—and the House should have the opportunity to debate—about how we ensure that supermarkets do not simply get a huge windfall, and what safeguards there should be for pubs. I agree, too, that we should explore the issue of sobriety orders, but these are serious questions that the House should have the chance to debate, to make sure they are not used wrongly for domestic violence cases and do not tackle the seriousness of the abuse.

I agree too that licensing is important. I hope the Home Secretary will now support our proposals to put public health in the terms for licensing decisions. More needs to be done on prevention, which had little mention in the statement—little wonder perhaps, when alcohol education is being watered down in schools. These are all extremely serious issues and we should have the opportunity to debate them properly in Parliament; but we do not have the opportunity for many MPs to ask questions today and to intervene and discuss the issues with the Home Secretary.

Will the Home Secretary tell us when the decision was taken to make the statement today? Will she agree to come back to the House and properly debate the strategy, giving the Home Affairs Committee and others the proper chance to ask questions? Does she agree that she is wrong to treat something so serious in such a cavalier fashion in the announcements made to the House? Does she agree that the Government are wrong to use a serious alcohol strategy as a cover for their chaotic confusion over their dreadful Budget? Will she treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves? We will give it proper support, if she will do so for the future.

[Mrs May]

That was the usual response from the right hon. Lady—bluster and political point scoring. One thing was missing. After the disaster of Labour’s Licensing Act 2003, after election text messages saying, “Couldn’t give a XXXX for closing time,” and after all that drink-fuelled violence and disorder, there was not even a hint of apology from the right hon. Lady.

I suggest that the right hon. Lady speaks to the previous Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson), who said that he regrets not doing more during his time in office to tackle the problems caused by binge drinking. It is a shame that she cannot bring herself to be as frank about her party’s record in office.

It was difficult to decipher the right hon. Lady’s questions about the actual statement on alcohol strategy. I think she raised two points. She asked about ensuring that the minimum unit price did not lead to a cash windfall for supermarkets. I do not believe it will, because the supermarket industry is highly competitive; it has small margins on its goods and I expect money made through higher alcohol prices to be passed on through lower prices for other goods. When the cost of living is an issue, I should have thought that the right hon. Lady would welcome that.

The right hon. Lady asked about health bodies. They will of course be in a position to contribute to local licensing decisions; indeed, the new public health and wellbeing bodies will be able to participate, alongside the police and local authorities, in setting strategies to deal with alcohol in their local area. The right hon. Lady now takes an interest in health bodies having a role, although sadly she and her party opposed the Bill that enabled them to be set up.

I recognise that the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz), the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, is not in the Chamber, but last year he said:

“May I welcome the Government’s proposals for a minimum price for alcohol? They are of course in keeping with the recommendations that the Home Affairs Committee made last year.”—[Official Report, 24 January 2011; Vol. 522, c. 3.]

In 2008, the Home Affairs Committee talked about the cheap availability of alcohol, recommending that

“the Government establish as soon as possible a legal basis for banning the use of loss-leading by supermarkets and setting a minimum price for the sale of alcohol.”

What I think I deciphered from the right hon. Lady’s bluster is that the Opposition actually support the idea of an alcohol strategy and what the Government are doing. If I am correct, I welcome that.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

I think the whole House welcomes what the Home Secretary is trying to achieve with the policy, and we certainly wish it every success. Could she comment on how we can tackle a possible increase in the black market—the smuggling of cheap booze from abroad? We do not want the reinstatement of the booze cruise to France.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. There are still issues about alcohol and other goods, such as cigarettes, being imported in ways that avoid paying tax to the Government. Much of that involves organised crime groups. One of the things the Government are doing is creating the new National Crime Agency, which will strengthen our ability to deal with organised crime, and the specific border police command will strengthen our border security to enable us to fight those problems even better than we are able to do today.

[Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)]

Clearly, the Home Secretary has been sent to the House today in a shameful attempt to divert attention from the disastrous Budget, but can she tell me why if somebody is prepared to spend £60 a night in sunny Stratford, they will be diverted from spending an extra pound in the supermarket to load up before they go out?

[Mrs May]

First, I congratulate the Labour Whips on having managed to circulate their questions to their own Whips to stand up on the Back Benches to comment. What we are doing—

[Lyn Brown]

There are four Whips behind you because there is no one else in the House.

[Mrs May]

Does the hon. Lady want an answer to her question or not? By setting a minimum unit price, we are tackling the cheap alcohol that is sold and the bulk discount sales of alcohol, which mean that people pre-load at home. They are often drunk when they leave home. They go to their town centres and sadly, they create the drunkenness, the brawls, the fighting in the streets, the mayhem that mean several things. It means that the police have to spend money and deal with those issues. It means that accident and emergency departments in our hospitals are having to deal with people in drunkenness; every year, 1.2 million admissions to accident and emergency units are alcohol-fuelled. It also means that many law-abiding citizens just do not feel able to go into their town centres at night, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays, and I think it is time we did something about it, and that is what this Government are doing.

[Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)]

I welcome this consultation as an opportunity to tighten up on irresponsible sales. Does the Secretary of State agree with landlords such as Juliet Watchman of The Bell Inn in Shepton Mallet, who makes the point that if she behaved as local supermarkets did and sold lager for 34 pence per pint and cider at 48 pence per pint—pocket-money prices—or sold to those who are already heavily under the influence of alcohol, she would have her licence revoked by the local authority, and that this is a massive opportunity for landlords, the police and hospitals to contribute to the consultation?

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend. I commend the landlady of The Bell Inn in Shepton Mallet for taking that responsible approach to the issue of alcohol. We certainly look forward to receiving responses to the consultation from people such as her constituent and others. There are responsible landlords out there who are running pubs in difficult circumstances. We know; we have all seen many pubs in communities closing. We want to ensure that those who drink responsibly and those who deal responsibly with their clients, as many landlords and landladies do, are able to carry on doing so, and that we hit that end of the market that is being fuelled by this very cheap alcohol, often sold by supermarkets.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I went to talk to young people in the youth club in Spennymoor about exactly this issue. I believe that price does influence young people’s behaviour. What I do not understand is why the Government are having a consultation on this issue but did not have a consultation on the granny tax.

[Mrs May]

What we are announcing today is an alcohol strategy that will deal with the problems. It is interesting that no member of the Opposition has stood up and addressed the problems that were caused by Labour’s Licensing Act.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

I very much welcome the contents of the statement, especially as it will spell the end of the dreadful legacy of the Labour party’s so-called café culture of licensing, which has blighted town centres up and down the country and done so much harm to people’s health. I particularly welcome the licensing changes. Could the Secretary of State inform the House a bit more about how the licensing changes could also be applied to supermarkets?

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. She is absolutely right. We were promised, under Labour’s Licensing Act, a European-style café culture. Nothing could be further from the truth in many of our town centres on a Friday and a Saturday night, and law-abiding citizens are suffering as a result. We are looking at ensuring—in some of the legislation that we have already passed, such as the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, we are ensuring it—that it is easier for local authorities to clamp down on those outlets that are selling alcohol particularly to children. The fine has been increased. We are also making it easier to revoke licences where people are persistently caught selling alcohol to children.

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

A minimum price for alcohol is something that I have campaigned on, and I am delighted that, on this issue at least, the Government are listening to the health professionals, who warn that we are losing nearly £3 billion a year on alcohol-related disease. Without pre-judging the outcome of the consultation, will the Home Secretary acknowledge that the university of Sheffield suggests that a unit price of 50p is more effective? Why has her strategy not included the really important issue of alcohol advertising?

[Mrs May]

I welcome the support that the hon. Lady is giving to the thrust of the alcohol strategy. We have based the assumptions that are in the strategy on a minimum unit price of 40p. I am aware that there are those out there who say that it should be higher. We will be consulting, and obviously we will look at the results of that consultation when we make a final decision on the unit price.

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the statement by my right hon. Friend. She has talked about the changes in licensing laws made by the previous Government, which incidentally I think were well reported in the press before they were reported to this House. Can she perhaps expand on the impact that those licensing changes had on the binge-drinking culture?

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. He is absolutely right. We were promised that the legislation would suddenly open an era in which people would sit casually in the streets, drinking responsibly. In fact, what we saw was an enormously increased burden on the police, who had to deal with the late-night and early-hours licences that were allowed as a result of Labour’s Licensing Act—that is why the police welcome the steps that we are taking today—and of course that just helped to fuel that binge-drinking culture which has caused so many problems in our town centres and high streets.

I apologise; the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) previously mentioned advertising. In fact, we are looking at the issue of advertising and display of alcohol as part of the responsibility deal.

[Owen Smith (Pontypridd) (Lab)]

I agree that it is a very important statement that we have before us today, but it is a shame that it has been snuck out as a diversionary tactic on a Friday. As the Home Secretary failed to answer the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), can she now tell us when exactly she was instructed to make today's statement?

[Mrs May]

The Opposition really need to get their story straight. The hon. Gentleman's right hon. Friend stands up and complains that there has been too much press and media coverage about this, and he claims that the statement has been slunk out.

[Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough) (Con)]

I strongly support my right hon. Friend’s statement. It is important to make the point that a Conservative-led Government should be about not just laissez-faire liberalism but social responsibility and civic duty. How will my right hon. Friend ensure—if necessary, by sanction—that local authorities properly use the power that she gives them, given that they have not chosen to be very prescriptive in their powers under the Licensing Act 2003?

[Mrs May]

We obviously had a lot of consultation with local authorities when we were putting through the changes in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, and we saw that they welcomed what we were doing, which will give them more freedom to be able to exercise powers. One problem was that in some areas the Licensing Act was drawn quite rigidly, in terms of what authorities were able to do and how they were able to interpret it. They will welcome the extra freedom that we are giving them, particularly the late-night levy which, as I said in my statement, will defray the costs of late-night policing.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary’s statement repeats an awful lot of things that have already happened, which illustrates that it has been cobbled together—announcing new powers from an Act that this Parliament has already passed. Further powers such as heavier fines for those serving under-age people, which I think is very valuable, will work only if they are properly enforced. How does the Home Secretary square that with her reductions in policing budgets?

[Mrs May]

It ill behoves an Opposition Member, given the extra burden that the police felt as a result of the Licensing Act 2003, to stand up and refer to policing. The hon. Lady talked about the strategy being only about what has already been passed. No, it is not. Of course, we have brought together a number of issues, some of which we have already legislated for, such as changing local authorities’ powers in relation to the 2003 Act, and some of which we have not yet introduced, such as minimum unit pricing. Also, we have included more action with industry and on public health, dealing with health issues related to the harm that can be caused by excessive drinking. This is the first time that the Government have produced a cross-Government strategy across the board, addressing every way in which this Government can deal with the problems of alcohol which, sadly, we see in too many people in this country.

[Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)]

Pubs in West Suffolk and across the country are not only economically important but often vital hubs of the local community. Can my right hon. Friend tell me a bit more about what impact this statement will have on pubs, where so much, in many cases mostly, responsible drinking happens?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making the point that pubs play a very important role in our communities. Pubs have nothing to fear from the minimum unit price that is being introduced today. That will not have an impact on them. I hope that we will see more people feeling able to go to pubs, particularly those in town centres which until now people have often felt unable to visit because of the brawling that they see in the streets. However, we will be looking very carefully in a number of areas to ensure that what we are doing is very clearly focused on those outlets that are bulk-discounting cheap alcohol, which enables people to get drunk before they go out, not affecting the pubs.

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

Why has the voluntary agreement that the Government said they had with the supermarkets failed?

[Mrs May]

I referred to it in my statement, but it has also been announced today that, as a result of agreement with industry, we will see something like 35 billion units—

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

A billion units a year.

[Mrs May]

Yes, 1 billion units a year will be taken out. Sorry, I was getting ahead—[Interruption.] I wondered how long it would take the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) to start—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the Home Secretary. I am a little concerned about the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), who I fear is suffering from compulsive chuntering disorder. I know that he will now calm himself, and we look forward to hearing from him eloquently and possibly at length on other occasions.

[Mrs May]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I was saying to the hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mrs Glindon), we have already been working with the industry to ensure that changes can take place. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has done a lot of work on that. It will lead to 1 billion units of alcohol being taken out by 2015, and 35 companies have signed up to that deal.

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

This is an important issue for Bournemouth. We have a vibrant and popular town centre as part of the local economy, but it has suffered because of the previous Government and their reckless Licensing Act, which has been very costly to the town centre. The residents are concerned that there are simply too many pubs and clubs there. Will my right hon. Friend expand on her comments on density and powers that might be given to local authorities?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Sadly, many towns and cities across the country have felt the impact of Labour’s Licensing Act in the same way as Bournemouth. We will enable local authorities to take into account the density of licensed premises in a town centre when they are determining applications. One of the problems in Maidenhead in my constituency was that application after application was given permission. Many residents felt that things started to go wrong through that. All too often, the sort of bars to which problem drinkers went were in our town centres.

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

As a former chair of the all-party group on alcohol misuse, I think that I was the first Member to table an early-day motion raising the problem of cheap alcohol and its impact on our society. However, the Home Secretary has not mentioned the more than 6,000 babies every year who are born damaged by alcohol consumed by their mothers during pregnancy. In America, every drink canister and bottle has a label warning pregnant women about drinking. Will the Home Secretary take that into account in her consultation?

[Mrs May]

We do indeed. The hon. Gentleman will find that we refer in the alcohol strategy to the issue of pregnant women drinking and the impact on the foetus and therefore on the babies when they are born. The drinks industry—for example, Diageo—has taken several initiatives on research and other aspects of the problem. The hon. Gentleman and I do not often agree on issues, but I am very happy to agree with him on the importance of the matter that he raised.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

In the town of Deal that I represent, residents are beset in the early hours of the morning by drunks returning home and smashing up property and fights breaking out. The district council says that there is nothing it can do because of the rules brought in by Labour’s 24-hour drinking culture. In changing the rules, will the Home Secretary give real power and discretion to the district councils?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is right. We are changing the law on the powers of the licensing authorities, and I am sure that Deal and other towns and cities will find very helpful the early morning restriction orders, which will be introduced later this year and will enable local authorities to restrict licensed premises’ ability to open between midnight and 6 am.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Does the Health Secretary agree with the policy?

[Mrs May]

Yes.

[George Eustice (Camborne and Redruth) (Con)]

Police in Camborne in my constituency have recently dusted off the Inebriates Act 1898, which contains a comprehensive package of measures to deal with habitual drunks. As well as the new measures that the Home Secretary has introduced today, will she ensure that the police are making proper use of existing powers?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes a fair point. We want to ensure that existing powers that should be used, particularly on dealing with premises that continue to sell alcohol to people who are drunk, are exercised. However, I am sure that responsible landlords will welcome the statement. Indeed, the chief executive of Greene King said today that he strongly believes that the Government’s intention to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol is an important step.

[Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)]

This is undoubtedly a problem, but it is disappointing that the Home Secretary makes some of our town and city centres at weekends sound like the wild west. Alcohol is a health issue, and the figures clearly show that. Earlier this week, figures published on liver disease were extremely worrying. The Home Secretary says that there is a consultation, yet she is determined to introduce a minimum price, even if the results of the consultation go against that. Pricing is only one tool in the box that needs to be considered. Young people may laugh at the Home Secretary’s comment this morning that they are particularly sensitive to changes in price—many are not.

[Mrs May]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point about the health aspect. There has been a 25% increase in liver disease between 2001 and 2009. As he said, figures on that came out earlier this week. That is why the document is a comprehensive strategy. It deals with alcohol pricing, health, relationship with the industry and the powers for licensing authorities. It is a cross-Government strategy, which brings all those issues together, to deal with what I hope Members of all parties recognise as a problem that has not been tackled for too long.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Many nurses, doctors and other hospital staff will welcome the moves to improve zero tolerance towards drunks being abusive. However, will my right hon. Friend be careful that she is not, with the multi-buy option, harming families that budget carefully during the week when they purchase alcohol?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is right to say that we need to implement the strategy so that it has the impact that we want on the cheap alcohol and bulk discounts that lead to the sort of behaviours that I described earlier. When we consult about dealing with bulk discounts, I am sure that the very point that she makes will be raised. Obviously, we will consider that carefully.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

I point out to the Home Secretary that part of the success of the Durham Best Bar None scheme was effective policing, which is now being put at risk because of cuts to Durham constabulary’s budget. We all want responsible pricing of alcohol, and there is much that I welcome in the statement. However, the right hon. Lady has not explained why it was necessary to interrupt the Budget debate today to make the statement. Many of us are here to speak for our constituencies and outline how the Budget has had a negative impact on them. I have a specific question. A real problem in Durham is special promotions by pubs aimed at students and young people. Will they be able to continue?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady made several points. I fully recognise the role that the Durham police played in the work that is being done there. It was a collective operation through licensees, the police and others. I am very pleased that Chief Constable Jon Stoddart of Durham, who is the ACPO lead on the matter, has said that he greatly supports the policy. He said that he welcomed any new approach

“that will help reduce the availability of cheap alcohol… and reduce pressure on the police.”

That is exactly what the strategy will do.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin Vickers]

The people of Cleethorpes will broadly support the announcement. However, there will be concerns that, once again, the law-abiding majority are being penalised. Will the Home Secretary assure me that the police will use existing and new powers to the maximum, and that courts will ensure a robust approach?

[Mrs May]

I absolutely reassure my hon. Friend of that. The law-abiding majority have nothing to fear from these proposals.

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

I thank the Home Secretary for the positive remarks that have been made this morning about Durham constabulary and about the Best Bar None scheme. I recently spent some time with Durham constabulary on a Friday night, targeting under-age drinking, and I personally poured out 11 litres of cheap vodka that was taken from 13 and 14-year-olds, having been purchased by older young people and by parents, not necessarily from off-licences, but from supermarkets. This is an extremely serious issue, but I am disappointed by the way the statement has been rushed out this morning. If it was so important, why was it not brought out properly in the Budget on Wednesday?

[Mrs May]

This would never have been brought out in the Budget because this is a cross-Government strategy which deals with a variety of issues that are not matters for the Budget. The hon. Lady is right to say what an important issue this is. That is why the Government have been working across Departments to produce for the first time a comprehensive strategy which, I hope—it is the intention—will deal with the sort of problem that she has rightly raised and recognised.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am grateful to the Home Secretary and colleagues. We return to the Budget debate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

1. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK border controls during the summer of 2011.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, before I respond to the hon. Gentleman’s question, I should like to apologise for the unexpected absence due to a family emergency of the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), and for the absence of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, who is in Northumbria, representing the Government at a memorial service for PC David Rathband. I had the privilege of meeting PC Rathband, who was a brave and fine police officer. He is a huge loss to the police service and his local community and I am sure that the whole House will want to join me in sending our condolences to his family.

On border controls last summer, as the House is aware, I commissioned the chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine, to conduct an independent investigation into the unauthorised suspension of border checks during that period. The Vine report revealed unauthorised suspensions of checks, poor communication and poor record-keeping since 2007. I have accepted all the report’s recommendations and we have appointed Chief Constable Brian Moore to lead a new border force as an operational command separate from UKBA.

[Mr Bain]

I am grateful to the Home Secretary for that answer. Do not the Vine report’s devastating conclusions that border checks were downgraded more than 2,000 times last summer on the instructions of the Immigration Minister, without even the Home Secretary having been consulted first, and that fewer people were stopped at Heathrow airport and other ports last year compared with 2010 show that the tackling of illegal immigration became completely dysfunctional last summer under this Government? Will not the fight against that be further undermined by the cutting of 6,500 staff within the UK Border Agency?

[Mrs May]

The answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is no, and he put some things into his question that I challenge. First, the Immigration Minister did not instruct that certain checks should be suspended last summer. The hon. Gentleman tried to put quite a lot into his question in relation to the impact of border security checks on illegal immigration. I have to say that it would be a lot easier to take questions on immigration from the Labour party if it had not left this country’s immigration system in such a mess when it left government.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

Will the Home Secretary inform the House how many EU migrants have visited the United Kingdom since the summer of 2011 as a result of the economic difficulties in the eurozone? What contingencies has she put in place should there be a part or full collapse of the euro?

[Mrs May]

The latest figures for migration from various parts of the world that have been published are publicly available but they do not go up to the date that my hon. Friend has requested. We are aware of the issue of EU migration, which is why when we came into government we committed to ensuring that any future new member states entering the European Union would have transitional controls placed on them—something that the previous Labour Government failed to do for those early new entrants to the EU such as Poland.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

Having effective border controls means preventing the wrong people from coming in and removing undesirable people from this country. The Home Secretary has just come back from Jordan, where she met the King. She was given cast-iron guarantees about the treatment of Abu Qatada were he to return to Jordan, so why is Mr Abu Qatada still in this country?

[Mrs May]

The right hon. Gentleman makes certain claims for what happened when I was in Jordan. We had very positive and constructive discussions with a number of representatives of the Jordanian Government and I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting the King. Further work is being undertaken by the lawyers as we speak. As I have said before to hon. Members, my intention is to ensure that when we are able to deport Abu Qatada as we all want to be able to do, we are able to make that deportation sustainable.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Does the Home Secretary agree that it is really shocking that we have had a relaxation of our border controls from 2007 onwards about which Parliament was never told? Will she confirm that since that came to light she has been taking action to reintroduce the concept of border security for our country?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding us that the Vine report indicated that there had been problems with border controls since 2007—a fact that, sadly, Members on the Opposition Front Bench seemed unable to recognise when the Vine report came out. We have, indeed, reinstated full border security checks—that is absolutely right and proper—and we have taken action to make sure that by separating the UK border force from UKBA it can concentrate on the issue of establishing and maintaining proper security at our borders.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

I, too, convey apologies to the House, from my right hon. Friend the shadow Home Secretary, who is with the Policing Minister in Northumbria at the memorial service for PC Rathband. As the Home Secretary rightly said, he was a very brave police officer, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, and his colleagues in the Northumbria police. It just goes to show that, for a police officer, harm’s way can come in many different guises.

On 9 November last year, the Minister for Immigration said:

“this pilot was a success”—[Official Report, 9 November 2011; Vol. 535, c. 358.]

As it was such a great success, will the Home Secretary repeat the pilot this year, and if not, why not?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Gentleman knows full well, because this was reported to Parliament when I made a statement on the chief inspector’s report on security checks, that the initial figures that we were given last year about the summer pilot did indeed show some success, in terms of the seizure of items such as drugs. However, when the chief inspector came to look at the whole issue, he discovered that there had been some other unauthorised relaxation of security checks, and that the recording had not been complete; it was therefore not possible to give a full evaluation of that pilot.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

2. What plans she has for the Forensic Science Service’s DNA database.

--- Later in debate ---

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

10. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits of collaboration between police forces.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I welcome the increasing levels of collaboration between police forces and expect more forces to consider how to work together to make improvements and to save money. The Government have estimated that forces could save £350 million per year by collaboration on procurement and from IT. Further substantial savings could be made through collaboration in back-office functions.

[Stephen Hammond]

In 2009 the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) said that he was “relaxed” about the collaboration of police forces with the private sector. Is the Home Secretary similarly relaxed?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and indeed I am similarly relaxed. In 2009 the current shadow Policing Minister said that he was not only very “relaxed” about collaboration between police forces and the private sector, but that police forces had Labour’s “blessing” to do it.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that collaboration between police forces, and indeed between police forces and other bodies, to get much-needed efficiencies is welcome at any time but is now essential in these challenging times, as we try to protect front-line police services and clear up the financial mess left by the Labour party?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. It is of course right that at all times police forces look at what efficiencies they can make, and at what collaboration they can enter into, to ensure that they are able to increase and improve the service that they provide to the public, but while forces are having to make budget cuts because of the deficit that was left by the Labour Government, that is even more important.

[Mr Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East) (Lab)]

Can the Home Secretary tell us why the collaboration between West Midlands police and Surrey police on the long-term privatisation of large parts of the police service, including some core functions, is going ahead before the election of police and crime commissioners? Surely she sees that that undermines, potentially, the commissioner’s role in setting the strategic direction of the police force.

[Mrs May]

Police forces throughout the country are rightly looking at collaboration, but there are different ways in which they can do so. West Midlands and Surrey police forces are looking at innovative ways in which they can bring in the private sector to ensure that they are able to make the savings that need to be made while delivering the service that the public expect them to deliver. It is important that police forces have been looking at the matter for the past two years, and in advance of the election of police and crime commissioners, because frankly we could not wait to start the job of clearing up the mess that was left by the previous Government in terms of the deficit.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

Given that some of the collaboration initiatives could have a significant influence on the level of the police precept, who will have the final say on the initiative: the commissioner or the police and crime panels?

[Mrs May]

It is of course for the police and crime commissioner to set the budget and the strategic plan for any police force. We have put in place the opportunity for police and crime panels to question and challenge decisions made by the commissioner, but of course it is the commissioner who sets the precept.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Will the Home Secretary use this opportunity to confirm that collaboration should not extend to privatising 999 response teams, patrols or arrests?

[Mrs May]

I am happy to confirm to my right hon. Friend that only police officers have the power of arrest. They will continue to patrol the streets, to respond to 999 calls, and to lead investigations. The public expect the police to be experts in catching criminals, and that is what we want them to be. We do not want them to be experts in human resources or IT, which are entirely the sorts of areas that can involve collaboration with the private sector.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

Of course, collaboration and sharing of good practice has been going on for very many years, including in national resilience. Would the Home Secretary not do better to put in place the collaboration arrangements that she talks about so fondly before making cuts of 16,000 in front-line policing?

[Mrs May]

Police forces up and down the country are doing what is necessary to make the savings that we are asking them to make. They are transforming the way in which they provide policing and rightly looking to ensure that the private sector can be brought in where that will increase efficiency and save money. A Labour Government would have cut police spending and reduced police budgets. Nobody on the Labour Front Bench has said that they would intend to reverse the cuts in police spending. It is about time that the Opposition stopped opposing every opportunity that we are giving the police to ensure that they can save money from back offices and get the police out on the streets.

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

8. What steps she is taking to ensure that people applying to settle in the UK can contribute to the economy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Con)]

13. What discussions she has had with police officers on the powers they need to deal with repeated antisocial behaviour in residential areas.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

We have had extensive discussions with the police and other front-line professionals on our proposals for simpler and more effective powers. Many recognise the need to improve the services to victims of persistent antisocial behaviour and we will work with a number of forces and their partners to trial our proposed community trigger this year.

[Gordon Henderson]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her answer. What are the Government doing to speed up the lengthy bureaucratic process they inherited so that local communities can combat antisocial behaviour faster and more effectively?

[Mrs May]

We consulted on replacing 18 of the existing powers with six new ones, but I am concerned about stories of victims reporting problems and not getting any action. Community trigger will give people the opportunity to ensure that action is taken by the police or other agencies, and we will work with a number of leading local areas, including Manchester and West Lindsey, to pilot the trigger this year, offering a better service to victims and communities.

[Gloria De Piero (Ashfield) (Lab)]

The antisocial behaviour injunction is a tool used by social landlords to clamp down on nuisance tenants. Those landlords have obtained legal advice that if the Government replace that tool, the likelihood is that they will be left, to quote from the legal judgment, “literally powerless” to act, possibly for years. Will Ministers therefore keep the injunction?

[Mrs May]

I am very well aware that injunctions are often used effectively by social landlords to deal quickly with ASB. We want to build on their success in our new proposals so that they can be available to other organisations. We recognise the vital role that landlords play in tackling antisocial behaviour and are committed to strengthening their ability to deal with it.

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

14. What steps she is taking to reduce levels of domestic violence.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

The Government’s updated action plan for our strategy to end violence against women and girls was published on 8 March. We have ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. The plan also includes new actions to help to reduce domestic violence, including a one-year pilot to test a domestic violence disclosure scheme from the summer of 2012.

[Paul Maynard]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. On a recent visit to the Awaken team in Blackpool, I was told that there is a clear correlation between domestic violence against young girls in the home and future exposure to child sexual exploitation. As the Home Secretary builds her policy, will she bear in mind the importance of that correlation and ensure that she works on that with the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), who has responsibility for children?

[Mrs May]

The Department for Education and the Under-Secretary specifically are represented on the inter-ministerial group on violence against women and girls, which I chair. I welcome the excellent work being done by the Awaken project in Blackpool. We support multi-agency approaches to tackling child sexual exploitation. Indeed, the child sexual exploitation action plan includes measures to ensure that the local safeguarding children boards lead on tackling child sexual exploitation locally with a variety of partners.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

A study by Women’s Aid has shown that 230 women fleeing violence and seeking refuge were turned away from refuges in this country on a typical day last year owing to the lack of space. Does the Home Secretary agree that turning any woman away from a refuge is unacceptable, and will she give an assurance to the House that no woman seeking refuge from domestic violence will be turned away on her watch? Yes or no?

[Mrs May]

Of course we all want to ensure that women who find themselves having to flee from domestic violence are given the support that they need. It is not the case, however, that no woman was turned away from refuges in the past. However, we are taking a slightly different attitude to this issue in the domestic violence protection orders. One thing that has always concerned me is that the victim of domestic violence—all too often a woman—is often forced to leave the home while the perpetrator is able to stay in the home. The point of the domestic violence protection order is to ensure that more women suffering from domestic violence can remain in their own homes.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

Last Thursday, I made a written statement announcing the publication of the final report of Tom Winsor’s independent review of police pay and conditions. We are determined to implement reforms that will help police forces to fight crime. That includes maximising officer and staff deployment to the front line, incentivising crime fighting not form-filling, and helping to open up police leadership to the most talented, whatever their background. With those aims in mind, I am now carefully considering Winsor’s detailed and wide-ranging recommendations, and will announce the Government’s response in due course.

[Grahame M. Morris]

This weekend there have been reports of heavy-handed police tactics, including the deployment of armed officers and the use of kettling against protestors engaged in a peaceful protest against the Health and Social Care Bill outside the Department of Health. Given that this evening there will be 25 or more peaceful vigils and protests across the country, including six in the north-east, has the Home Secretary asked the police to exercise restraint in the policing of these peaceful protests and demonstrations?

[Mrs May]

How peaceful demonstrations and protests are policed is an operational matter for the force at the time. We are absolutely clear that people should have the right to protest peacefully, but it is also clear that on separate sorts of issues, such as those we have seen elsewhere in relation to people invading territory or violence around demonstrations, the police should police that appropriately as well. However, I am pleased to say that the case on kettling in the European Court was won last week, so that remains available to the police.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

T3. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Merseyside police on ending the freeze on police constable recruitment introduced under the last Labour Government and on now recruiting more constables as it shifts more money into the fight against crime?

[Mrs May]

Of course I welcome what my hon. Friend has said about what Merseyside police are doing. It is a very good example of how it is possible for police forces to make savings while improving the service to the public.

[Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

T2. There is real concern across the country that the introduction of police and crime commissioners will lead to a patchy, postcode lottery in victims’ support services. Will the Secretary of State support ring-fencing the vital resources devolved to commissioners?

[Mrs May]

We are ensuring that there is a local voice in the services available to victims and in local policing. It is right that police and crime commissioners will, in due course, be able to commission victims’ services, thus reflecting what is necessary in the local area.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

T4. Home Office figures show that between April 2010 and March 2011, more than 150 foreign nationals, previously held in immigration centres but then released into the community, went on to reoffend. What is the Minister doing to deport these individuals?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs May]

We of course looked very carefully at the arrangements that we would put in place for making information available to voters in the police and crime commissioner elections. Instead of providing a free-post booklet to every household, what we are talking about is providing internet access. However, that does not mean that there will not necessarily be literature going out, because individual candidates will have expenses with which they will be able to make literature available; and indeed, it will be possible, from the internet access, to ask for written copies of the information that is available on the website.

[Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)]

T7. Will the Home Secretary consider producing a wide-ranging study of the effectiveness of community sports programmes run by organisations such as the Active Communities Network in reducing crime and antisocial behaviour, particularly among young people?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the important role that sports activities can play in ensuring that young people are not drawn into, for example, gang activity. I was pleased to talk personally to the Premier League about its Kickz project, which is an extremely effective programme that I would commend to others.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T5. Given that the Home Secretary blames everybody but herself for the deterioration in policing in the west midlands, will she tell us how privatisation of certain parts of the police service will improve it, or who she is going to blame next?

[Mrs May]

The police service will remain a public service. The activities that require warranted officers will still be undertaken by warranted officers. However, I should say to the hon. Gentleman that the Government who took some responsibilities away from warranted officers—such as detention, custody and escort jobs—so that the private sector could undertake them was not this Government, but his: the last, Labour Government.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

T8. Will the Home Secretary congratulate Kent police, which has increased the number of front-line police officers, has 520 more neighbourhood police officers on the beat, has been cutting crime and doing a great job, and has written to me complaining bitterly about this nonsense about a reduction in first-line responders?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me an opportunity to commend the work of Kent police. By transforming the way it undertakes policing and by looking at issues such as shift patterns, Kent police has been able to increase neighbourhood police officers by 520, which shows that money can be saved while maintaining or improving front-line services.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

T6. While the Home Secretary is congratulating Kent police, will she commiserate with the people of Greater Manchester, who, according to Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, will see the biggest cut in the number of front-line police officers? In particular, will she explain why, other than the Metropolitan police, Greater Manchester police will see more officers disappear than any other police force in the land, despite the fact that it covers what is still a relatively high-crime area?

[Mrs May]

I suggest that the hon. Gentleman look at the recent comment made by the chief constable of Greater Manchester. Referring to the police authority’s decision on the council tax grant, he thanked the authority for

“agreeing the budget which will allow us to start recruiting again and to continue to reduce crime and disorder.”

[Sir Menzies Campbell (North East Fife) (LD)]

In the light of the discussions last week—[Interruption.]

[Sir Menzies Campbell]

In the light of the discussions last week between the Prime Minister and the President of the United States about extradition, is the Home Secretary now in a position to tell the House when she expects to respond to the Baker report?

[Mrs May]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his question. As he will have seen from the Prime Minister’s comments following his discussions with the President, discussions are taking place between this Government and the American Government about the extradition treaty, and I will report shortly.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

T9. The number of passengers arriving at Liverpool John Lennon airport, which is Britain’s fastest growing airport, rose from 294,000 in quarter 1 of 2010 to 713,000 in quarter 3 of 2011. The vast increase coincided with the Home Secretary’s decision to open the doors of Britain without proper checks last summer. What guarantees can she give to the people of Liverpool that all 713,000 of those passengers had their passports checked?

[Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

Victims of domestic violence seeking residential support in a refuge currently fall into the Government’s exception category and have their housing benefit paid directly to the refuge. That is important for the victims, and important for securing finance for the refuges. May I urge the Home Secretary to have discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that that arrangement can continue under universal credit?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important point. I can assure her that we are already discussing matters relating to benefits and the victims of domestic violence with the DWP, and we will continue to do so.

[Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary will recall that, following the riots last summer, there was widespread concern about the absence of policing, the police being outfoxed by technology, particularly BlackBerry Messenger, and an absence of intelligence. Following the Kirkin report, what will change, this summer and next?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising an important point about the policing of the riots last summer. Following the riots, I brought together representatives of the Metropolitan police, the Association of Chief Police Officers, BlackBerry, Twitter and Facebook to look at the use of social media and social networks during the riots. Further discussions are taking place between ACPO, the individual forces and those organisations to ensure that the police are in a better position to deal with the wealth of information that becomes available on those social networks.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Is the Home Secretary aware that there has been a reduction in reported crime in Bedfordshire, in spite of the budget cuts forced on it by the financial mess left by the last Government, and that there has also been no reduction at all in the number of front-line responders?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point about Bedfordshire police. I commend them for the work they are doing. He has highlighted that it is possible to make savings in police budgets while ensuring that the front-line service is maintained and, in some cases, improved.

[Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

Further to the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) about Abu Qatada, we are now halfway through the three-month period set by Mr Justice Mitting for an agreement to be reached with Jordan. Does the Home Secretary expect to have met the deadline by the time we next meet for Home Office questions, or will Abu Qatada’s bail conditions have been revoked?

[Mrs May]

My reply to the right hon. Gentleman is the same as my reply to the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz). There have been two ministerial visits to Jordan; the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire) has made one, and I have also done so. Home Office officials have been there separately as well. We are having positive, constructive discussions with the Government of Jordan about Abu Qatada, but while those discussions are continuing and while there are still legal issues to look into, I will go no further than that.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend welcome Cheshire constabulary’s radical approach to delivering support through a multi-purpose business service centre, which will go live in April? It will meet the needs of the Cheshire and Northamptonshire police forces, and it is being delivered with the support of private sector partners.

[Mrs May]

I am very happy to support the initiative being taken by Cheshire and Northamptonshire police. This is an excellent example of innovative thinking and of creating collaboration between the private sector and police forces to ensure that better services are available, and that the police are better able to cut crime, which is what the public want them to do.

[Mr Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

Does the Home Secretary agree that modern, strategically located police stations are an effective and essential part of modern policing?

[Mrs May]

What is important at grass-roots level is that the police make decisions about what makes sense to make themselves accessible to the public. In some cases, that will mean closing long-standing separate police station buildings and locating the police in alternative provision, perhaps in town centres.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Major serious and organised crime knows no geographical boundaries, so will my right hon. Friend congratulate the five east midlands police forces on coming together and collaborating in order to tackle this menace more effectively and to save the taxpayer £26 million over the next four years?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Those five east midlands police forces—I have visited them and spoken to them about this—are doing excellent collaborative work, not only on the tasks that they can undertake to reduce costs, but on improving their ability to fight crime.

Points of Order

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I understand the very great strength of feeling on this matter, but I have ruled on the point of order. I respect the seniority and service of the right hon. Gentleman.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

If the Home Secretary wishes to oblige, that is exceptionally obliging of her.

[Mrs May]

I do not intend to respond to the point made by the right hon. Member for Knowsley (Mr Howarth), but I think it would benefit the House if I made it clear that a leak inquiry has been initiated by the Cabinet Office. I share the concern expressed by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram) in his point of order about the impact that a leak of this sort will have on what is a very sensitive matter in the context of ensuring that the full information is put together by the Hillsborough panel, and I believe that the information in any documents should be shown to the families first and should not be leaked to the press in any form. I repeat that the Cabinet Office is undertaking a leak inquiry.

[Mr Speaker]

That was both helpful and courteous of the Home Secretary, and the House is immensely grateful to her.

Protection of Freedoms Bill

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

I note that NAPO and PAS state that they support the amendment for two reasons. First, it would put a limit on the amount of time that the accused had to wait at a police station before being questioned and, secondly, it would minimise the chances of the perpetrator’s associates disposing of any evidence. We have come so far with this vital legislation and I hope that the Home Secretary will go further today. None of us wishes to start again with new legislation, but victims of crime desperately need our help. We have an opportunity to create laws and ensure that there is training in all aspects of our criminal justice system that will mean that one person will no longer be able to torment another human being in these ways. There are flaws in the current proposals which I hope the Government will address by accepting the amendments. The Opposition, who have been supporting the proposals, will support the Government if they do that and will hold them to account for any missed opportunities if they do not.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I shall be asking the House to agree with Lords amendment 51. I am pleased and proud to be standing here supporting and speaking to amendments relating to the introduction of new criminal offences for stalking. Some years ago, I secured an Adjournment debate in the House about the tragic case of Rana Faruqui, the daughter of my constituent Carol Faruqui. Rana was stalked for some time. Sadly, the police did not pay attention to the instances of stalking that she reported to them and, as a result, Rana was ferociously murdered by the individual who had been stalking her. Since that case came to my attention, I have personally believed that we need to do more to take the issue of stalking seriously, so I am glad that we are debating this issue.

It is fair to say that when the then Government introduced the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, they believed that it would cover stalking and be adequate but we have seen over the years that it has not been taken as seriously as Members across the House would wish. Stalking is an appalling crime, both in itself and in the distress that it can cause an individual. It can also lead to physical violence and has, sadly, led to the death of the individual being stalked in cases such as that of Rana Faruqui. When I have spoken to stalking victims, they have said that some police officers are very sensitive to the issue of stalking and handle it very well and appropriately—dealing with it properly—but, sadly, others do not see the seriousness of the offence in the way that we would wish them to.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The Home Secretary will have heard my intervention on my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy). In the Home Secretary’s discussions with the police, have they begun to understand the sensitivity of stalking and that it is very difficult for someone to report it? It is at that interface at the police station that things can all go terribly wrong or well depending on the training and sensitivity of the officers concerned. Is the Association of Chief Police Officers aware of that and has she been able to discuss the matter with ACPO?

[Mrs May]

I have had some opportunity to discuss this issue with ACPO and those representing victims of stalking. Their comments are similar to what victims of domestic violence say to me. If an officer has been trained specifically in the identification of stalking and dealing with a stalking victim, then they, like an officer who has been specifically trained to deal with a domestic violence victim, understand the context and the issues that the victim is facing. Officers who have not had that separate training might not understand these issues. There are certainly matters that need to be addressed in terms of how the police look at stalking. I hope that the creation of stalking offences will be part of the process of ensuring that all officers recognise the importance of the issue.

[Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West and Abingdon) (Con)]

I welcome the amendment, but does the Secretary of State agree that the public’s severe lack of confidence in the criminal justice system’s ability to deal with stalking is a major problem, and that legislation, while welcome, is not the whole solution? We also need training for officers; that is the only way that we will improve officers’ reactions when victims of stalking come forward, increase public confidence, and increase earlier reporting of stalking.

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes a valid and important point. As I said in response to the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), I hope that the creation of the legislation and the offences will, in itself, send out a message, but of course that has to be backed up by training. I also hope that we can ensure that the public generally recognise the importance and significance of stalking as an offence, and the distress and problems that it causes to an individual who is being stalked. I remember holding a discussion on the subject with a number of people, and a victim of stalking made the point to me that when she first came forward to say that she was a victim, someone she knew said to her, “Oh, aren’t you lucky?” Nothing could be further from the truth, and we need to change that attitude.

[Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab)]

That is an important point. We have seen how long it has taken the police to treat domestic violence as seriously as it should be treated. The Home Secretary’s comments show that victims are sometimes told that it is nice to receive that sort of attention. There is also the issue of the police not treating stalking seriously; it is only in very serious cases, where death may result, that we address stalking as the important issue that it is.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs May]

Of course, what we want is for the issue to be addressed properly earlier; we want victims to have the confidence to come forward, knowing that what they say will be taken seriously, so that the matter can be dealt with properly before it gets to the point of physical violence, or indeed, as the hon. Gentleman says, before the death of the individual who is being stalked.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

How does the Home Secretary think that the public can ensure that the issue is on the agenda for the police and crime commissioners, who are to be elected in November?

[Mrs May]

From time to time, my right hon. Friend and others raise issues relating to ensuring that matters are on the police and crime commissioners’ agendas. Bodies representing victims of stalking will, I am sure, do all that they can to ensure that candidates for the post of police and crime commissioner are well aware of the issue and therefore take it into account when looking at policing in their force area.

This is, of course, the first opportunity that the House has had to discuss the issue in the context of the Bill, so I want to take a moment to set out the background to the Lords amendments. Last year, the Government consulted on whether the law needed changing to introduce a new offence of stalking. The consultation closed in February, and the majority of respondents said that a new specific offence was needed. Separately from the Government’s consultation, an independent inquiry, chaired by the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd), also concluded that the law needed strengthening better to respond to the concerns of victims of stalking. I pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman and his inquiry team for all that they have done to raise the importance of the issue; he has done that regularly in the House, too. I also commend the hard work done by the National Association of Probation Officers and Protection Against Stalking, who have, entirely rightly, been championing victims’ rights for some years. I hope that they have seen that the Government have responded to that.

Following the Government’s consultation and the independent inquiry, we amended the Bill in the other place to provide for two new free-standing offences—stalking, and stalking involving fear of violence—which will sit alongside the existing harassment offences in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The new offence of stalking in proposed new section 2A of the 1997 Act will be tried in the magistrates court, with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000, or both. The new offence of stalking involving fear of violence in proposed new section 4A will be triable either way—in the magistrates court or the Crown court. If tried in the Crown court, it will have a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

The changes that we have introduced also give the police a new power of entry for the new section 2A offence of stalking. The more serious either-way offence of stalking involving fear of violence automatically attracts a power of entry. It was clear from our consultation discussions that the police want the power to search for equipment used by stalkers so that they can gather the evidence necessary to secure convictions and prevent stalking behaviour from escalating. We have listened and responded.

There has been widespread support for these changes. Last week I received a letter from a victim of stalking, who said:

“The action your government has taken will change the lives of thousands of people for the better—and save many. Thank you for treating this crime with the seriousness it deserves.”

Our amendments mean that for the first time, we will have specific offences of stalking. However, I know there have been suggestions that we should also recognise the emotional suffering that victims of stalking experience. That is why we tabled Government amendments (g) to (k) to Lords amendment 51 and Government amendments (a) to (c) to Lords amendment 133. Those amendments will widen the section 4A offence to incorporate behaviour that causes the victim serious alarm or distress that has a substantial effect on his or her day-to-day life.

This change will mean that when a stalker causes their victim, for example, to take alternative routes to and from work, when the victim is afraid to leave the house or when they have to ask their friends or family to pick up their children from school because they are afraid of running into their stalker, this could count as behaviour that attracts the more serious section 4A offence and therefore, on conviction on indictment, a maximum five-year sentence. The message could not be clearer—anyone who ruins someone’s life with their stalking should expect to be severely punished. I know that NAPO and Protection Against Stalking have been involved in the development of these changes and I am grateful to them for their contribution.

Let me take some time to deal with the amendments in the name of the Leader of the Opposition, which are virtually identical to the ones that were tabled in another place. Amendment (b) to Lords amendment 51 relates to new section 2A(3) of the 1997 Act which sets out a list of examples of stalking behaviours. I say to the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy), who introduced the debate, that “examples” is the key word here. That is what they are intended to be—examples of stalking behaviours.

Amendment (b) seeks to add a catch-all to this indicative list of behaviours and would allow the Secretary of State to add behaviours to the list of examples. As I said, the list is intended to be illustrative only; it is not intended to set out all the types of stalking behaviour that might be exhibited. We want to ensure that it is wide enough to capture any behaviour, including stalking conduct, that has not yet been developed. The hon. Lady is right. It may well be that there are means of stalking that we cannot yet think of which will develop over time. It is right that we have within the legislation the ability to take account of those, should they develop.

The reason I think it is important not to create a catch-all provision or take a power to expand the list, but to set it as a list of examples, is that we have deliberately made it non-exhaustive. As soon as one tries to set everything down in the legislation, one risks the opportunity for individuals to find ways round the definition that has been set down in the legislation. What is important here is that the Bill says, “These are the sorts of behaviour that come into the category of stalking,” but if we try to be too rigid in setting it out, I fear that that could have a negative rather than a positive effect.

[Stella Creasy]

Given our shared concern about the inventiveness of perpetrators, will the Home Secretary undertake to review annually the range of behaviours that will be identified through this process so that we can understand whether it is being used as a list of examples or solely as a list of what constitutes stalking?

[Mrs May]

I am happy to tell the hon. Lady that we will indeed keep the legislation under review. The last thing we want to do is to find that the legislation is being misinterpreted. The reason it is set out in the terms, “The following are examples,” is precisely to send a message to people that that is all they are. There will be other activities that come under the definition of stalking for the purposes of this criminal offence, but we are not putting that exhaustive list in the Bill.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

I agree with my right hon. Friend that well-trained police officers will be able to identify exactly what stalking is. From their experience and training, they will be able to say, “That is an example of stalking and we should do something about it,” and I hope the legislation will allow that to happen.

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for supporting our approach. It is important that a degree of discretion is available to police officers so that they can identify behaviour that is not listed but would come under the definition of stalking.

A number of the comments made by the hon. Member for Walthamstow related to the creation of two offences—the lower level and higher level offences—and I think that there is a need to differentiate between the two. The practice of having two such offences is followed in a number of other areas in the criminal justice system, which I think is important, but we will be developing training—a number of hon. Members have mentioned this—for agencies in the criminal justice system in the coming months to ensure that they are aware of the nature of the legislation being introduced, such as the point about the list being one of examples only.

[Stella Creasy]

In which case, will the Home Secretary set out clearly and explicitly what she considers to be a stalking offence that would come under section 2A, rather than section 4A, because I think that there is genuine concern that having two offences but not defining the difference between them will cause problems for the police at a local level?

[Mrs May]

It is normal practice when introducing offences to have a lower level and a higher level offence, and training for the criminal justice system agencies will look at identifying the sort of behaviour that might come under one or the other. Again, in these circumstances it is always difficult, and I think inappropriate, to try to state absolutely what behaviour would come under one offence and what behaviour would come under another, because the context of behaviour might be significant; behaviour that might be considered lower level in one context might be considered higher level in another. It is important that we do not try to set out absolute definitions and that discretion is available to the police in interpreting the offences and looking at the context in which they are committed. I know that the hon. Lady’s view is different from mine, but the point is similar to the previous one: the more we try to define the offence in legislation or on the Floor of the House, the less we can offer the discretion and flexibility that might be necessary to an individual officer or the Crown Prosecution Service to deal with such cases. I fear that we might end up in a situation that is not so good if the terminology we use is too rigid.

The hon. Member for Walthamstow also tabled amendment (c) to Lords amendment 51, which would make the lower-level section 2A offence triable either way. It is currently a summary-only offence, reflecting the fact that it is a lower level offence and should be properly tried in the magistrates court. More serious behaviour should be captured by the higher level section 4A offence of stalking involving fear of violence. Amendments (d) to (f) seek to capture the emotional distress suffered by victims of stalking. I have already set out how we intend to address this point, and our approach is supported by NAPO and Protection Against Stalking. She referred to the need for clarity in the criminal justice system, yet her proposals attempt to blur the distinction between the two offences and, I think, would lead to less clarity rather than more.

The Opposition’s other amendment in this group, amendment (a) to Lords amendment 52, would remove the requirement to obtain a warrant before searching a potential stalker’s property or possessions under the new section 2A offence. As the offence is a summary-only offence, which is by definition a lower level offence, I think that requiring a warrant for a search represents an appropriate balance between protecting the vulnerable in society from stalkers and respecting the rights of those who are innocent until proven guilty. The higher level offence, as I said earlier, automatically allows the power of entry, which is appropriate, given that it is a more serious offence. For those reasons, I cannot accept the Opposition’s amendments.

[Mr Buckland]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her clear exposition of the position. May I seek some clarification on the position regarding persistent offenders, who quite properly should be dealt with in the Crown court? Will guidelines be issued to prosecutors to deal with the particular issue of persistent offenders—in essence to ensure that they are dealt with by the either-way mechanism and can then be sent to the Crown court either for trial or for sentencing?

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. The persistency of an offence is a factor that should be taken into account when looking at the seriousness of it. Perhaps I can attempt to give the hon. Member for Walthamstow some indication on these matters. My hon. Friend raises the issue of someone persistently undertaking the offence of stalking, and we hope to reach a situation in which early examples, or early behaviour, of stalking can be identified, captured and therefore dealt with through the lower level offence before it moves on to stalking behaviour—the more serious offence that is set out in proposed section 4A.

We do take stalking very seriously, however, and we are determined to do all we can to stamp it out. We have created the two new offences, explicitly putting stalking on the statute book for the first time; we are giving the police the powers of entry that they need to disrupt stalkers at an early stage; and we have responded to the concerns of victims and of victims’ organisations by making it clear that behaviour which ruins lives will be properly punished. I think that those changes will make a real difference to the lives of victims, and I commend the Lords amendments and the Government’s amendments to those amendments to the House.

[Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

It is a pleasure to follow the Home Secretary and the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) in what is a very interesting debate.

Some 10 months ago I set up an all-party committee covering both Houses, including Members from all parties and none, by which I mean it included Cross Benchers from the other place as well. The hon. Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland) played a very active part in the committee’s deliberations and is to be commended on the hard work that he put in.

We looked at the whole issue of a stand-alone offence of stalking, something that I have long believed to be a necessary tool in the criminal justice armoury. We were helped immensely by Laura Richards of Protection Against Stalking and by Harry Fletcher of the National Association of Probation Officers, to whom we as a committee are very grateful. The researcher Delyth Jewell also did a sterling piece of work in clerking the committee.

We took evidence from July last year, and we are indebted to those who came and gave of their time to provide evidence to us. I think in particular of the victims and the victims’ families. It took a great deal of bravery to relate some of their accounts. Many were harrowing, almost beyond belief and ended, as the Home Secretary said of her constituent, in death. They were awful situations, so we are indebted to those individuals, because they came before the committee and their evidence has convinced us all that this is an urgent matter that needs to be put right.

We took evidence from lawyers, who said that there was a lacuna in the current law. I was a Member in 1997 when the Protection from Harassment Act became law, and we thought it a fairly decent piece of legislation. Indeed, by and large it has been and has dealt with a great range of offences, but on the particular offence of stalking in large parts it has not fit the bill. The lawyers told us that they, too, thought we needed to consider a separate offence of stalking.

I agree with the Home Secretary that some police officers are very good at pursuing stalking through the provisions in the 1997 Act, but I am afraid—I say this as the brother and the son of police officers; I do not have any great beef with the police generally—that the vast majority cannot handle the problem, hence the fact that 72% to 75% of those surveyed reported that they were very dissatisfied with the police action taken. That is partly to do with complications in the provisions and partly to do with the new form of the offence, which often involves e-transmissions of some kind, and so on. It is also due to a lack of specific training, which is extremely urgent in this context.

We took evidence from psychologists who advised us that in many instances it is possible to address such offending behaviour. It is vital, in the case of individuals who would be subject to new section 4A and sent away for a period of incarceration, but also in the case of those subject to new section 2A, who would not be, that criminal psychologists get involved fairly soon in order to divert them from their behaviour, because, by its very nature and essence, stalking is an obsessive, often repeat, offence that goes on and on. We heard examples of individuals in prison who were planning the next stalking venture from their prison cell.

I am advised by Laura Richards, in particular, that about 20 to 25 practitioners in the UK are able to diagnose and, in large part, deal with stalking behaviour and divert offenders away from it. That is important, because otherwise all we will do is take them off the streets for a while and then they will be back. Whether they have committed a 2A or a 4A offence, it is vital that we make available the necessary specialist clinical services to deal with them. I am no psychologist and I am not medically qualified, but I know that they often have behavioural, as opposed to psychological, problems. People are trained to help them address that, and their expertise must be used to ensure that we have a proper, tough regime to deal with these awful offenders.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Llwyd]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point. We took evidence from several police officers, among whom were several knowledgeable females, who had been training their respective forces. Given that we now have a large number of good senior and junior police officers who are women, it will hopefully be more straightforward to put this legislation into effect than the 1997 Act.

I had come here to argue that the inquiry wanted a single indictable, either-way gateway. However, I am persuaded by what the Home Secretary said. I do not disagree with her analysis of new sections 2A and 4A of the 1997 Act. Hopefully, there will be such discretion for the police. When a repeat offender under new section 2A comes up again, he will clearly be a customer for new section 4A. It is extremely important that that is understood. Searches without warrant will happen under new section 4A, but not under new section 2A. I still believe that that power would have been helpful under new section 2A as well, because the police tell us that the earlier we move in on such people, the better the outcome is likely to be.

Whatever legislation we enact, it is crucial that the police, prosecutors—particularly those within the Crown Prosecution Service—judges and magistrates are trained and instructed properly, through various courses, on the necessary approach to this awful offence.

I know that other Members wish to speak, so I will curtail my remarks, but I first wish to put various questions on the record. I do not realistically expect the Home Secretary, or indeed any Minister, to respond to them all this evening, but I hope she will agree to respond in writing in due course.

My first question is whether there will be a consultation with NAPO, Protection Against Stalking and other stakeholders on the interpretation by police and prosecutors of the list of stalking behaviour contained in new section 2A. I agree that “inter alia” is otiose in the circumstances. There will be a review of the behaviour covered, so the point is dealt with without our having to discuss amendment (a).

Will there be an ongoing discussion about the need for improved victim advocacy, which is vital? I can say without breaching any confidences that the Prime Minister also took the view that that was vital. Will there be a full consultation with PAS, NAPO and other stakeholders on the implementation of the new sections of the 1997 Act? The Home Secretary said that there would be an annual review, which seems to me to provide a vehicle for including those stakeholders.

Will the impact of the new sections on police practice and prosecutions be monitored once they become law later this year? Will there be a full consultation with PAS, NAPO and other stakeholders on the interpretation of the definitions of “fear of violence” and of psychological harm involving serious alarm and distress, and will those definitions be set out in guidelines or training?

Will it be possible to monitor the impact of evidence being seized because of the need for the police to obtain a warrant for a perpetrator’s arrest prior to their property being searched under new section 2A? I was going to ask whether there would be consultation on the guidelines for prosecutors, to ensure that persistent stalkers are charged under new sections 2A and 4A, but that has been dealt with, so I need not bother the Home Secretary with it.

I ask the Government to facilitate the treatment of offenders in such a way that as many as practicable can be diverted away from their offending behaviour. Appropriate courses need to be put in place for police, Crown prosecutors, judges, magistrates and probation officers, to ensure that they are thoroughly trained up. I mention Crown prosecutors because the Crown Prosecution Service has now put together a package to deal with the new legislation. Unfortunately, it will deal only with e-crime, not with crimes in general. I believe that that mistake needs to be put right.

[Mrs May]

The right hon. Gentleman has asked a number of detailed questions, and I will be happy to get back to him in writing. We have had very good consultation and a very good relationship with NAPO and Protection Against Stalking in developing the Bill, and I expect to continue to have good consultations and discussions with them as we take the matter forward.

On the issue of perpetrators, the aim of reducing reoffending lies behind the rehabilitation work that the Ministry of Justice is doing, and I will certainly bring the right hon. Gentleman’s comments to the attention of the Secretary of State for Justice.

[Mr Llwyd]

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for that assurance, which I take to be an invitation to write to her. I had another seven or eight questions, but I shall not labour the House with them this evening.

Before I sit down and allow others to take the matter further, may I once more express my sincere gratitude to all the parliamentarians who took part in the research work? I think this may be the only time when a cross-party group that is not a Committee of the House has succeeded in bringing forward a change in the law. I do not know how often that will happen, but it is certainly a precedent that I favour—I would say that, wouldn’t I?

I wish again to say how grateful we are to Laura Richards of PAS and Harry Fletcher of NAPO, and to all the victims who assisted us by giving evidence. I am also very grateful to the Home Secretary, because I know she has been on the side of the angels on this issue for some time. I am sure she shares my pleasure in the fact that something positive is now being done.

The Bill’s provisions on stalking show that the Government have carried out a listening exercise, and we will now have firm laws. They will prevent lives from being ruined and, crucially, from being lost. They represent an important change in the law, and I have been privileged to play a part in achieving it. The inquiry has been the most enriching and worthwhile experience of my political life, and I am delighted to see the result.

Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Renumeration and Conditions

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

Tom Winsor has today published the final report of his review of remuneration and conditions of service for police officers and staff in England and Wales.

The review began its work on 1 October 2010. The terms of reference asked it to make recommendations on how to:

use remuneration and conditions of service to maximise officer and staff deployment to frontline roles where their powers and skills are required;

provide remuneration and conditions of service that are fair to and reasonable for both the public taxpayer and police officers and staff;

enable modern management practices in line with practices elsewhere in the public sector and the wider economy.

The review was asked to report in two stages. The first report, on short-term improvements, was published on 8 March 2011. I announced on 30 January that I had decided to accept the recommendations made by the police arbitration tribunal and Police Negotiating Board on its proposals. This final report is on longer-term reform.

Tom Winsor has conducted the review with the support of former chief constable Sir Edward Crew and labour market economist Professor Richard Disney. I am very grateful for all their work on both parts of the review and for this report. I will now consider it very carefully.

The final report has been laid before Parliament today and copies are available from the Vote Office. It is also available electronically to the service and the public on the review’s website at: http://review.police.uk/.

Justice and Home Affairs Council

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council was held on 8 March in Brussels. I attended on behalf of the United Kingdom. The following items were discussed.

The Council began in mixed committee with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (non-EU Schengen states). The presidency opened a debate on illegal immigration by outlining some of the pressures facing member states. The presidency reported that it was working on a roadmap for the April Council grouping current and future measures into a single strategy. The Commission (Malmström) supported the presidency and saw the response as being threefold: member states needed to make full use of existing legislation; the EU Agencies (Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office) needed to work more closely together; and there needed to be further co-operation with countries of origin and transit, with Turkey a priority. Frontex’s update showed that despite a decrease in the flows from Libya and Tunisia, the situation overall was not improving. Ministers were supportive of the presidency roadmap and all agreed that the Greece-Turkey border was a priority. The UK supported the presidency’s work and noted concerns over visa liberalisation. In addition the EU needed to begin to take action to tackle fraud and abuse of free movement rights where third country nationals were using these rights to facilitate their travel across the EU and to circumvent immigration controls. The UK also supported work upstream with partner countries, and suggested that a more concerted EU dialogue with Turkey needed to be initiated.

There followed presentations by the Commission, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and Frontex on the situation in Greece in relation to Schengen. The Commission noted there was evidence of progress but it was still uneven, particularly in the area of asylum management. EASO provided an overview of the training support currently underway. Whilst the backlog in asylum decisions was still too big, EASO welcomed the announcement that Greece’s new asylum service would be operational from this September. Frontex reported seeing real progress on border management and once again appealed to member states to increase their deployment of expertise. The presidency suggested developing returns strategies to help the Greek authorities increase their capacity to return failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants, and invited the agencies and Commission to report again in April.

The Council adopted conclusions on strengthening Schengen governance. Ministers from EU and associated states would meet twice a year in mixed committee to discuss the functioning of the Schengen area, including any serious shortcomings highlighted by reports under the Schengen evaluation mechanism. Member states welcomed the Commission’s intention to present regular reports, starting in May, which would cover planned and existing visa liberalisation and its consequences, co-operation with key countries of origin and transit, and the implementation of the Schengen acquis, including at the internal borders.

The presidency introduced its paper on co-operation with third countries in the area of border management and on strengthening internal security during major sporting events. There was little discussion. Updating Ministers on preparations for the Olympics, the Home Secretary underlined that the safety and security of the games were of paramount importance. The UK Government had been planning for years and had recently conducted live exercises, including a simulation of a terrorist attack and a test of the inter-operability of emergency services and other responders. The Home Secretary thanked Schengen states and the Commission for their assurances that requests from games’ family members for transit visas would be expedited and said the UK would disseminate information to participants informing them that they needed to meet any visa requirements of transit countries. Lastly, the Government were working with a number of member states to tackle the few instances of illegal ticket touting.

The presidency reported on the recent conference on innovation border management. Participants had acknowledged the benefits of a biometric EU entry-exit system and registered traveller programme, and agreed on the need to balance data protection considerations with the benefits of access to data for law enforcement agencies.

The presidency emphasised the importance of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) in enabling the Schengen area to remain secure without internal borders. Commissioner Malmström noted they had completed all activities on schedule to date, but issues with the national testing tool could cause the timetable to slip.

Moving into the main Council meeting, the adoption of the A points (the list of items agreed without discussion) confirmed Rob Wainwright’s directorship of Europol for another four years.

Before inviting Ministers to approve the Council conclusions on solidarity, the presidency underlined the importance of having a ‘toolbox’ at member states’ disposal to counter the challenges presented in the field of asylum and managing mixed migration flows. The conclusions provided the framework for increasing mutual trust. The Commission stood ready to undertake their commitments and thought the conclusions should maintain the momentum required to complete the Common European Asylum System negotiations by the end of 2012. EASO presented its own view of the early warning mechanism to be agreed within the Dublin regulation, with EASO analysing member state data to identify trends and push and pull factors; a Commission lead on preparedness with EASO support; and emergency support which was already being provided to Greece. The UK was pleased with the balance of solidarity measures and member state responsibilities and the fact that the conclusions recognised the value of practical co-operation. However, the UK called for caution in striking the right balance between the roles of the institutions in the early warning mechanism. For the UK, EASO should have the leading role, but in close partnership with member states. The UK also supported the view that internal relocation would simply move the problem around Europe, creating pull factors, but noted that the reference in the conclusions was on a voluntary basis.

In the last session of the Council, the presidency gave a brief overview of progress on the asylum package and signalled its intention to move with commitment and energy to complete as much as possible, in view of the 2012 deadline. The Commission was pleased with the progress made, and urged the presidency to maintain momentum.

Transit Visa Requirements (Syrian, Libyan and Egyptian Nationals)

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Tuesday 13th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

Today my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I will inform the Governments of Syria, Libya and Egypt that we will be introducing a change to the transit visa regime for the citizens of Syria, Libya and Egypt travelling to the United Kingdom. We see this as a necessary measure to protect the security of our borders.

Britain is a major hub for transit passengers travelling on long haul flights. The volume of traffic passing through the UK is increasing and poses new challenges. Since 2003 certain nationalities have been required to obtain a visa before they travel, including if they are in transit to another destination and are arriving at and leaving from the same airport. This is known as a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV). Since the introduction of the DATV regime a number of countries have been added to the list of those required to obtain a transit visa before transiting the UK. This has been done as a direct response to emerging security and immigration threats to the UK, and we will continue to monitor risks and threats.

The implementation of the DATV regime allows us to run comprehensive checks on those transiting the UK, and prevents high harm individuals from travelling here. Since the original introduction of the DATV there has been a noticeable fall in transit passengers destroying their travel documents before claiming asylum. The visa process means that we are able to collect pre-travel information as part of the application process which makes identification and checks more robust.

The situation in Syria continues to pose a serious concern to us and the wider international community. Libya and Egypt are emerging from a period of instability. We therefore assess that requiring nationals of these countries to obtain a visa for transit through the UK is both a sensible and proportionate response to the threat posed to the UK’s national and border security.