Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the (a) effective management and (b) monitoring of serial preparators of domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This government has committed to using every tool available to target prolific perpetrators of domestic abuse from early intervention to the counter-terror style targeting of the most serious offenders by the police.
The government has committed to using the approaches normally reserved for counter terrorism and serious organised crime to target perpetrators and keep victims safe. Working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing, the Home Secretary will oversee the development of a new national approach to the use of data-driven tools to identify and manage the most harmful and prolific perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
The Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund currently provides up to £39 million over two years until April 2025 to 27 Police and Crime Commissioners to commission domestic abuse and stalking perpetrator behaviour change intervention programmes in their local areas. The fund aims to support sustainable behaviour change and robust disruption to reduce reoffending and stop perpetrators of domestic abuse and stalking moving from one victim to the next.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect the right to peaceful protest.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to protecting and preserving the fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression because peaceful protest is a vital part of our democratic society.
The Government committed to undertake expedited post-legislative scrutiny on all aspects of the Public Order Act 2023 next year. That review will also consider the Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) charge rates of people accused of crime and (b) support for victims of crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office recognises that charge volumes and rates have been persistently low for too long. That’s why we have set out our Safer Streets mission to rebuild confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.
The Home Office is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to improve criminal justice outcomes and to support collaboration between the two agencies in order to increase the number of cases being charged and prosecuted, and reduce the time taken to reach this point.
The Government is committed to ensuring victims of crime have the information and support they need. That is why we will implement the reforms in the Victims and Prisoner Act 2024; making sure that victims know about their rights in the Code and that agencies deliver them and placing greater responsibility on local commissioners to collaborate on funding for support services.
The Ministry of Justice provides funding for vital victim and witness support services, to help victims cope and recover from the impact of crime, through a mix of local and nationally commissioned services.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to proceed with the recruitment process for members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, as announced by the previous government on 2 August 2023.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Appointments to the Advisory Council and the Misuse of Drugs are made by Ministers in accordance with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Governance Code on Public Appointments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Ministers are considering the recruitment options, and a decision will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial behaviour.
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 to take back our streets.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.
We will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers via a Crime and Policing Bill, including a new Respect Order to tackle repeat offending.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to repeal Part III of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Sections 73, 74 and 79 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act 2022) are currently being reviewed by the Government in line with commitments made in Parliament when the Act was passed. In addition, the Act itself will be subject to post-legislative parliamentary scrutiny between 3 and 5 years after Royal Assent, i.e., between April 2025 and April 2027.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of levels of neighbourhood policing.
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 includes the addition of thousands more neighbourhood police personnel, as part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission. Funding for 2025/26 will be subject to the Spending Review.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen the right to peaceful protest.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Peaceful protest is a vital part of our democratic society, which must be protected. The Government keeps all relevant legislation under regular review.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
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 Washington and Gateshead South 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 committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and will use every lever available to deliver this.
We must ensure law enforcement relentlessly pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse. 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 (NRM, 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 Washington and Gateshead South. 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 Tyne and Wear.
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 includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider 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.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
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 Washington and Gateshead South 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 committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and will use every lever available to deliver this.
We must ensure law enforcement relentlessly pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse. 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 (NRM, 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 Washington and Gateshead South. 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 Tyne and Wear.
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 includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider 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.