Found: The Home Affairs Select Committee recommended to amend the Statement of Requirements to require accommodation

Found: In 2020 we raised this with the Home Affairs Select Committee as part of their investigation into

Found: London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office 21 May 2024 Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP Chair , Home

Found: SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office 21 May 2024 Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP Chair , Home

Found: Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson MP Chair, Home

Found: However, I can reassure you and members of the Public Affairs Committee and Home Affairs Select Committee

Found: Q40 James Daly: I completely understand that, but we are asking you our questions as the Home Affairs

Found: Q20 Yasmin Qureshi: Leading on from there, when you appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Ninth Report of Session 2021–22 of the Home Affairs Select Committee entitled Spiking, HC967, whether her Department plans to follow the recommendations of that report.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office has already implemented a number of the recommendations, or is in the process of doing so. This includes:

- The rollout of an online spiking reporting and advice tool across the UK to encourage more and better reporting of spiking, including anonymously. This is intended to improve data on the prevalence and scale of spiking.

- Providing funding for the development of spiking training to ensure that night time economy staff are trained to respond effectively to reports of spiking and co-ordinate with security staff and the emergency services.

- The government has committed in its manifesto to introduce a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime. This will form part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

- The formation of a rapid testing capability for spiking to gather more accurate results in a quicker time frame (2-3 weeks opposed to 6-8). This is being supported by research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits which aim to provide results in a matter of minutes. At this stage however, I urge anyone who believes they have been spiked to contact the police as soon as possible to provide a report and a urine sample for lab testing.

Many of these measures were designed with the aim of addressing the key barriers to prosecution which we have identified as lack of evidence, and identification of perpetrators.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to implement Section 8 of the Public Order Act 2023.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Section 8 of the Public Order Act 2023.

This section came into force on 3 May 2023.

In addition, the previous Government committed to carrying out post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 two years after it received Royal Assent rather than the usual three to five years, in line with the recommendation made by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 18 July 2024 on Prison Capacity, Official Report columns 175-177, if she will commission a review into the adequacy of (a) the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b) the Public Order Act 2023 and (c) sentencing guidelines for protesters arrested following climate protests.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is currently preparing a report on the operation of a number of the public order measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act). This was a commitment made in parliament when the Act was passed. All other measures in the PCSC Act 2022 will be subject to the standard post-legislative scrutiny period, which will be carried out according to the standard timeframe of three to five years after Royal Assent.

In addition, the previous Government committed to carrying out post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 two years after it received Royal Assent rather than the usual three to five years, in line with the recommendation made by the Home Affairs Select Committee. That work will begin in May 2025.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. The Sentencing Council is independent of parliament and Government, and therefore set its own workplan; an indicative business plan is published annually online.

Found: Home Office (HO) In June 2023 the Home Affairs Select Committee and Parliamentary Scrutiny Unit requested

Found: previous Government published a draft Bill which underwent pre- legislative scrutiny conducted by the Home

Found: previous Government published a draft Bill which underwent pre-legislative scrutiny conducted by the Home

Found: Dame Diana Johnson (Lab), chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, noted that “women can still face

Found: Chris Philp 20/03/2024 His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services Home Affairs

Found: This main estimate memorandum is made available here in lieu of its publication on the Home Affairs Select

Found: of the C riminal Finances Act 2017 and has been prepared by the Home Office for submission to the Home

Found: government/publications/an- inspection-of-visit-visa-operations-december-2022-to- january-202365 to the Home

Found: , the report of which was published in April 2023.37 In November 2023, he provided evidence to the Home

Found: London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office 21 May 2024 Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP Chair , Home

Found: Speaking in December 2016 before the Home Affairs Select Committee, the campaigner against Islamophobia