Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of From Harm to Hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives published in December 2021 and the Government's statement that it has closed down more than 1,500 deal lines, how the Government defines a deal line being closed down; and if she will publish a breakdown of the geographical locations of the lines which that have been closed down.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Since November 2019, through our County Lines Programme, police have closed more than 1,500 lines, made over 7,400 arrests and engaged with more than 4,000 people through safeguarding interventions. The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) determines a line to be closed where there is evidence that the controlling line holder is no longer capable of distributing drugs using that telephone number.
Information on geographic breakdown of lines is held by NCLCC and not publicly available due to operational sensitivities, however NCLCC do publish a strategic assessment of county lines which sets out the latest threat. The latest NCLCC strategic assessment (published in April 2021) shows a reduction in the total number of potentially active lines per month, with numbers reported to have fallen between 800-1,100 in 2019/20 to 600 in 2020/21. The reduction in potentially active lines is believed to be linked to a change in reporting and enhanced operational activity, the latter of which indicates the positive outcomes from the investment in addressing the county lines drug supply model.
We do not centrally collect the information requested on vulnerable people safeguarded through the Programme.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of From Harm to Hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives, published in December 2021, how many and what proportion of the 4,000 vulnerable people safeguarded through the County Lines Programme are children who (a) are in care, (b) are on the register, (c) have a protection order, (d) are at risk, (e) already had a referral through the NRM and (f) have previously been through the NRM.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Since November 2019, through our County Lines Programme, police have closed more than 1,500 lines, made over 7,400 arrests and engaged with more than 4,000 people through safeguarding interventions. The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) determines a line to be closed where there is evidence that the controlling line holder is no longer capable of distributing drugs using that telephone number.
Information on geographic breakdown of lines is held by NCLCC and not publicly available due to operational sensitivities, however NCLCC do publish a strategic assessment of county lines which sets out the latest threat. The latest NCLCC strategic assessment (published in April 2021) shows a reduction in the total number of potentially active lines per month, with numbers reported to have fallen between 800-1,100 in 2019/20 to 600 in 2020/21. The reduction in potentially active lines is believed to be linked to a change in reporting and enhanced operational activity, the latter of which indicates the positive outcomes from the investment in addressing the county lines drug supply model.
We do not centrally collect the information requested on vulnerable people safeguarded through the Programme.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on tackling county line drugs gangs.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is determined to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and have a devastating impact on our communities. On 6 December the Government published a ten-year Strategy to combat illicit drugs which sets out a whole-system approach of how the Government is doing more than ever to cut off the supply of drugs by criminal gangs.
Through the Strategy, we will bolster our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over the next three years to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen. By 2024, we expect this to result in over 2,000 more county lines closed, through a sustained attack on the distribution model.
This new funding will build on our progress in tackling drugs supply and county lines. Since November 2019, through our programme, the Police have already closed more than 1,500 lines, made over 7,400 arrests, seized £4.3 million in cash and significant quantities of drugs, and safeguarded more than 4,000 vulnerable people.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders in connection with county lines child criminal exploitation have been (a) applied for and (b) granted (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) in total since 31 July 2015.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Information on the number of Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders in connection with county lines child criminal exploitation cannot be separately identified from the overall number of Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders. Information on county lines involvement may be held on court records but to identify this would require access to individual court records which would be of disproportionate costs.
The Ministry of Justice has published information on outcomes at court, up to December 2020, available in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx
Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders are counted within the category “otherwise dealt with”.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling the British Transport Police to access train operating companies' on board CCTV in real time for the purposes of tackling county lines drug trafficking.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is determined to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and have a devastating impact on our communities.
We are aware that rail networks remain a key method of transportation for county lines gangs. As part of our County Lines Programme investment, we have increased disruption on the rail networks through the British Transport Police’s (BTP) dedicated County Lines Taskforce. BTP work collaboratively with national police forces and rail industry partners to grip the national rail network, providing targeted disruption to help tackle the lines and safeguard vulnerable individuals involved in this exploitative and violent model of drug distribution.
The Department for Transport has no plans to mandate BTP being able to access on-board CCTV on trains, but BTP are currently in the process of connecting to real-time forward-facing train cameras with several operators. This is being delivered this financial year with the ambition that, if expected benefits are proved, this would be rolled out across the industry.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the illegal traffic into the UK of (1) drugs, (2) firearms, and (3) people, originating in or going via the Western Balkans.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Western Balkan organised crime groups are involved in the production and supply of cannabis into the UK. The Western Balkans is a major transit route for heroin shipments into Europe. Some of these shipments will be destined for the UK. The scale of Organised Immigration Crime in and through the region has reduced but remains problematic. More generally the Western Balkans is a transit route for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. The Western Balkan region is highly likely to be a key source for criminal firearms in many states across Europe. However, the UK sees very few Original Lethal Purpose firearms from the region. We are continuing to reduce the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK. Alongside the threat to the UK posed by drugs, firearms and people coming from or going through the region, OCGs based in or originating from the region pose a threat through their activities in the UK or transporting illicit commodities into the UK from other parts of the world.
The Government’s response to the threat posed by these groups is set out in the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy launched in November 2018. Our approach has been to work closely with international partners, including those in the Western Balkans, to ensure we leave no safe spaces for criminals and their associates. We have mobilised a robust international response using multilateral channels, and have increased our international presence by deploying liaison officers to the region.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the national county lines operation reported by the National Police Chiefs Council on 21 October 2021, how many people have been charged with criminal offences in respect of the act of cuckooing; and of those charged, how many charges have been brought under section (a) one and (b) two the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As a part of our County Lines programme we are supporting the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) which has been established to strengthen the law enforcement response and enable police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.
The NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. As reported by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the most recent of these took place between 11-17 October and resulted in more than 1,400 arrests, nearly £2m worth of class A drugs, over £1m in cash and nearly 300 weapons seized, more than 2,600 vulnerable people safeguarded, and 894 cuckooed addresses visited.
The NPCC do not report on charges for the week of intensification. However, the NCLCC have identified all national law enforcement initiatives in relation to ‘cuckooing’ and are sharing best practice. Examples include working with local authorities and housing associations to disrupt this malicious crime and signpost vulnerable victims to support.
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 integrate her Department's work on the safety of women and girls and their exploitation by county lines.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
County lines gang activity and the associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation has a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities. That is why we launched our County Lines Programme in November 2019 with activity concentrated at targeting county line holders while appropriately safeguarding and supporting the vulnerable to exit their involvement.
This financial year we are providing up to £1m for specialist support to under 25s from London, the West Midlands and Merseyside who are criminally exploited through county lines, to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement, which includes supporting women and girls involved in this exploitation. We have also provided almost £400k of funding in 2021-22 for Young People’s Advocates who provide one-to-one support to young women and girls at risk of or experiencing all forms of exploitation by gangs. In 2020/21 they supported over 800 young women and girls.
The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education as we recognise that engagement in education is a powerful protective factor against children’s vulnerability and risk to involvement in county lines. The cross-Government Beating Crime Plan published in July this year (2021) announced an investment of over £45m in specialist support in both mainstream and Alternative Provision schools in serious violence hotspots to support young people at risk of involvement in violence to re-engage in education.
Finally, in July this year, the Government published a new and ambitious cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy that sets out our ambition to prioritise prevention, support survivors, pursue perpetrators and create a stronger system, with an objective of reducing prevalence.
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 recent discussions she has had with the Education Secretary on the link between children excluded from schools and their engagement with county lines.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
County lines gang activity and the associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation has a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities. That is why we launched our County Lines Programme in November 2019 with activity concentrated at targeting county line holders while appropriately safeguarding and supporting the vulnerable to exit their involvement.
This financial year we are providing up to £1m for specialist support to under 25s from London, the West Midlands and Merseyside who are criminally exploited through county lines, to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement, which includes supporting women and girls involved in this exploitation. We have also provided almost £400k of funding in 2021-22 for Young People’s Advocates who provide one-to-one support to young women and girls at risk of or experiencing all forms of exploitation by gangs. In 2020/21 they supported over 800 young women and girls.
The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education as we recognise that engagement in education is a powerful protective factor against children’s vulnerability and risk to involvement in county lines. The cross-Government Beating Crime Plan published in July this year (2021) announced an investment of over £45m in specialist support in both mainstream and Alternative Provision schools in serious violence hotspots to support young people at risk of involvement in violence to re-engage in education.
Finally, in July this year, the Government published a new and ambitious cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy that sets out our ambition to prioritise prevention, support survivors, pursue perpetrators and create a stronger system, with an objective of reducing prevalence.
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 work with other Cabinet colleagues to identify people vulnerable to county lines and ensure that pro-active steps are taken to prevent exploitation by county lines.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
County lines gang activity and the associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation has a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities. That is why we launched our County Lines Programme in November 2019 with activity concentrated at targeting county line holders while appropriately safeguarding and supporting the vulnerable to exit their involvement.
This financial year we are providing up to £1m for specialist support to under 25s from London, the West Midlands and Merseyside who are criminally exploited through county lines, to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement, which includes supporting women and girls involved in this exploitation. We have also provided almost £400k of funding in 2021-22 for Young People’s Advocates who provide one-to-one support to young women and girls at risk of or experiencing all forms of exploitation by gangs. In 2020/21 they supported over 800 young women and girls.
The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education as we recognise that engagement in education is a powerful protective factor against children’s vulnerability and risk to involvement in county lines. The cross-Government Beating Crime Plan published in July this year (2021) announced an investment of over £45m in specialist support in both mainstream and Alternative Provision schools in serious violence hotspots to support young people at risk of involvement in violence to re-engage in education.
Finally, in July this year, the Government published a new and ambitious cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy that sets out our ambition to prioritise prevention, support survivors, pursue perpetrators and create a stronger system, with an objective of reducing prevalence.