Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what initial steps her Department is taking to progress the Government’s objective to halve knife crime in a decade.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a moral mission for this Government and we are already taking a range of initial steps to realise this ambition.
We implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes approved by Parliament in April. It is now illegal to manufacture, supply, sell or possess these dangerous weapons. We will also introduce a ban on Ninja swords as soon as possible. We will be launching a consultation shortly and plan to introduce the legislation afterwards when Parliamentary time allows.
Intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime is a fundamental part of our approach and that is why we are creating a new Young Futures Programme. It is vital that we have a system to identify and support this cohort who need it most and we will be introducing Local Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs to help deliver this.
The Prime Minister launched a Coalition to tackle the scourge of knife crime last month. The Coalition will bring together key stakeholders to work with experts to develop an extensive understanding of what causes young people to be dragged into violence.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on tackling violence at football games.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing violence and disorder at football matches and tournaments in England, Wales and overseas. Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Government funds the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU), a unit designed to reduce violence, antisocial behaviour and disorder at football events involving UK football teams. The UKFPU undertakes various statutory and operational national policing functions, including maintaining oversight of the football banning order regime, working with overseas policing counterparts and coordinating policing deployment at international matches, and coordinating policing’s football disorder strategy.
The Home Office works closely with the UKFPU, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Football Policing and other police stakeholders to ensure the police are supported to tackle football-related violence and disorder.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) recruitment and (b) retention in rural police forces.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is important that all forces recruit and retain the skills they need. Decisions about police recruitment, including how recruitment and selection processes are run, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces.
We recognise the importance of tackling rural crime. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing, and stronger laws to prevent farm theft and fly tippers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to monitor the adequacy of policing in city centres.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will include restoring patrols to town centres.
This will also involve the addition of thousands more neighbourhood police personnel, as part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) police chiefs, (b) other statutory bodies and (c) third party bodies and community organisations to progress the her Department's objective to halve knife crime in a decade.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government has launched a coalition to tackle knife crime with campaign groups, charities and victims’ families alongside key partners.
The coalition will bring together key stakeholders and work with experts to develop an extensive understanding of what causes young people to be involved in knife crime as well as holding government departments to account for progress in halving knife crime in a decade
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to decolonise the (a) artwork and (b) heritage assets in her Department; and what guidance she issues to her Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies on decolonisation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the Hon. Gentlemen is welcome to put forward his proposals on this matter, our immediate priorities remain the protection of national security, the restoration of neighbourhood policing, tackling the smuggling gangs responsible for small boat crossings,and clearing up the chaos left by the previous government.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and we will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers, including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent organised crime groups advertising victims of trafficking and other sexual exploitation offences on websites advertising prostitution in Lowestoft constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the scale of commercial sexual exploitation in Lowestoft constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has taken steps to ensure (a) police and (b) security services receive adequate training to (i) identify and (ii) tackle instances of transnational repression of (A) people from Hong Kong with BNO status and (B) other people in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK does not tolerate any attempt to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK and overseas, including people from Hong Kong with BNO status. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. This involves taking a proactive approach to countering the most acute forms of state-directed threats to individuals.
The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our legal powers to counter foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats. As we implement the Act we are ensuring all relevant authorities have a good understanding of the threats many foreign powers present.
Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact their local police in the first instance. In the event that a person believes they are subject to an imminent threat, they should call 999.