Dec. 20 2023
Source Page: MDP celebrates six years of Project ServatorFound: Following its initial launch in 2017, Project Servator remains a vital policing and counter-terrorism
May. 15 2024
Source Page: £4 million boost to fight knife crimeFound: This is part of wider funding which aims to tackle serious violence through hotspot policing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to tackle antisocial behaviour in train stations (a) nationally and (b) in Romford constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
a) The Government published its ASB Action Plan in March 2023, which included a pilot to extend Transport Safety Officers to outside the West Midlands. In addition, the British Transport Police’s Integrated Security and Policing pilot ran from April 2022-23 focussing on harnessing the collective energy of policing and non-policing partners in tackling crime and disorder, vulnerability, and disruption on the network.
b) We have contacted the British Transport Police for information specific to Romford and will reply once this has been received.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to hold chief officers of police to account for the appropriate vetting of adverse information on police recruits regarding (1) security, (2) public safety, and (3) the confidence of the community.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Police forces carry out their vetting independently of government and in line with the College of Policing’s vetting code of practice and vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance, which are both continually reviewed. The code sets out the role that a thorough and effective vetting regime has in helping to ensure public trust and confidence in those working in policing.
The College’s most recent code, published in July 2023, sets out how adverse information should be considered in vetting decisions, as well as provides a number of requirements on chief officers, including the need to assess the risks posed by the individual undergoing vetting both to the public and the police service.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) hold forces to account by routinely carry out independent inspections of forces’ effectiveness and efficiency, which include assessments on vetting. The inspectorate has recently set up a new rolling inspection programme on integrity which will look at the work of professional standards units alongside force vetting and counter-corruption arrangements.
The government is supporting policing by creating a statutory requirement for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance, as well as creating a new set of regulations which will govern how those who fail vetting can be dismissed. In January this year, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) also published outcomes from its exercise ensuring all officers and staff were checked against the Police National Database (PND).
Mentions:
1: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con - Life peer) of weeks ago and which provides protective security measures at Jewish schools, colleges, nurseries - Speech Link
2: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (XB - Life peer) My Lords, does the Minister agree that it would enhance the image and security of the wonderful Jewish - Speech Link
3: Baroness Sherlock (Lab - Life peer) I will not try to second-guess policing decisions and I would not expect the Minister to do so, but I - Speech Link
4: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con - Life peer) The noble Baroness is quite right; public order policing is very complex and obviously very challenging - Speech Link
Apr. 15 2024
Source Page: UK Defence Minister affirms support to Black Sea securityFound: UK Defence Minister affirms support to Black Sea security
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how long, on average, it takes for security vetting to be completed in (1) security and policing jobs, and (2) other public service jobs which require security clearance.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office responsible for United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). Police Vetting and NSV remain two separate and distinct processes. Whilst all police personnel are required to undertake a level of police vetting, only police personnel within certain specific roles are required to undertake NSV. Whilst UKSV acts as service providers for NSV, they have no involvement in processing police vetting. This remains the responsibility of police authorities.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
Security roles are based across many departments and partner agencies and therefore it is not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to these specific roles. In relation to the police requirement for NSV specifically, I can confirm that UKSV are meeting the KPIs across the SC and initial DV products.
In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
Report Feb. 27 2024
Committee: Home Affairs Committee (Department: Home Office)Found: Third Report - Policing of protests HC 369 Report
Special Report Mar. 08 2024
Committee: Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)Found: During international tournaments, the Home Office works closely with policing and security stakeholders
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of funds to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in (1) the current, and (2) previous, financial year; and what proportion of those funds in each period was allocated to the War Crimes Unit.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Budget allocations are set by Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters, who work with the Home Office and police forces to advise on funding for the counter-terrorism police network, including for specific units. Breakdowns of allocations to police forces or specific units are not provided publicly for national security reasons.