Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) coronavirus extension concession and (b) exceptional assurance concession on the average length of decision periods for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 April 2024 a change was made to the Immigration Rules to provide that:
(a) Time spent in the UK during the Coronavirus extension concession grace period (1 August and 31 August 2020) would be considered as lawful presence where an applicant’s permission expired immediately before the grace period; and
(b) Overstaying in the UK when a person held an exceptional assurance concession would be disregarded during the period of grant of exceptional assurance.
Following this Immigration Rules change, decisions on applications for settlement where the person spent time in the UK for a period covered by these concessions are now being prioritised.
Where cases fall outside service standards, the Home Office write to the applicant to inform them of this.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new policies to help improve protection for people at risk of domestic homicide in all regions.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
In the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan the government outlined a package of measures to reduce domestic homicides and reform the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) process.
DHRs are reviews into deaths related to domestic abuse which seek to identify what lessons can be learnt and implemented to prevent future deaths.
In June 2023, we launched the online DHR Library to help ensure police and partners have easy access to material to learn from previous homicides and prevent future deaths linked to domestic abuse.
The implementation of reforms to DHRs will improve our understanding and drive down the frequency of domestic homicides.
The Home Office also funds the collection of data on deaths related to domestic abuse through the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project. The project brings together data and information on prior agency knowledge of victims and risk factors to improve the evidence base and subsequent policy responses for preventing domestic homicides.
To gain protection from domestic abuse a protective order can be applied for. Police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order, victims can apply for a Non-Molestation Order and criminal courts can impose a Restraining Order on acquittal or conviction of a criminal offence. The introduction of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, will help simplify and strengthen the protection for victims avaliable, introducing new features like mandatory notification requirements and electronic monitoring (“tagging”). The new order will be piloted in Greater Manchester, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley, and with the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how his Department monitors compliance with bail conditions in domestic abuse cases; and what measures are in place to intervene when violations occur.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Setting and monitoring pre-charge bail conditions is a matter for policing and the Home Office does not collect data on how this is achieved. This data may be held at force level.
Where a suspect breaches their conditions, the police may arrest this individual, hold them in custody and charge them with a separate offence or progress their original case. The 2020 bail reforms introduced a 3 hour pause on the custody clock to ensure that arrests for breach of bail do not have a negative impact on the overall case.
The Home Office have recently funded the development of a new module of the ‘Domestic Abuse Matters’ training for police, developed by the College of Policing and the sector. The new module of police training is targeted specifically at officers investigating domestic abuse offences to enable further improvement in police responses to domestic abuse incidents.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are an adequate number of firefighters with (a) adequate and (b) reliable equipment to tackle fires in cities in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.
Decisions on how FRSs are run, and how their resources are allocated, including crewing numbers and the procurement of equipment, are for the local Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected FRA. They are responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met and are able to direct their resources where they are needed most.
All FRAs have a statutory duty to produce a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) in which they set out the key challenges and risks facing their communities and how they intend to meet and reduce them. This is in line with the Fire and Rescue National Framework, which is the document by which the Home Office sets strategic requirements for the FRA.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to enhance the enforcement capabilities at borders to prevent the smuggling of puppies and kittens into the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this. Border Force officers work tirelessly, working closely with law enforcement agencies to share intelligence.
Border Force has extensive powers to examine and control traffic for a wide variety of purposes, and through its work at the border is able to examine vehicles and freight and ensure detections of illegal imports are referred to the most relevant authority or enforcement agency for action.
If live animals are detected, Border Force is responsible for the detention of the animals and vehicle, and then referring to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at the appropriate border control post for further enforcement action.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is aware of delays in casework decisions where further advice on policy is sought.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Our priority is to consider claims as efficiently and fairly as possible. This is best for claimants, but also reduces the number of people on asylum support, and in turn, the burden on taxpayers. There may be circumstances which may delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding a claim, or a change in country situation requiring an update in country and policy information notes leading to a pause in deciding cases.
In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the claim cannot be progressed. As soon as the reason why the claim cannot be progressed is lifted, consideration of the claim is continued.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to (a) assess and (b) improve the effectiveness of existing legal measures designed to protect (a) minority ethnic women and (b) all people from domestic abuse.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The government has taken a number of measures to strengthen legislation and protections for victims of domestic abuse.
This includes the measures set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which is helping transform our response to victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
Controlling or Coercive Behaviour within an intimate or family relationship was made a criminal offence under the Serious Crime Act 2015. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 removed the requirement for the parties to be ‘living together’ for the offence to occur, meaning it applies to intimate partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.
The Domestic Abuse statutory guidance contains detailed sections setting out specifically how victims from ethnic minority backgrounds may experience additional barriers to identifying, disclosing, seeking help or reporting abuse.
The government continues to offer migrant victims in the UK who have, or last had, permission to be in the UK under the family Immigration Rules to apply for access to the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC).
The government will continue to work with the police and criminal justice agencies to ensure the law is used to maximum effect to protect victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a knife amnesty.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Many police forces provide amnesty bins all year round to provide the public with a facility to safely dispose of unwanted knives and other offensive weapons. It is for Chief Constables, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.
The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps of hotspot areas, surrender of knives, including through amnesty bins, test purchases of knives from retailers, and educational events. The latest phase of the operation took place between 13 to 19 November 2023 and saw 12,149 knives surrendered or recovered.
On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. Subject to parliamentary approval, this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes in England and Wales from 24 September 2024. From 26 August 2024 to 23 September 2024 we will be running a surrender and compensation scheme so that those who own zombie-style knives and machetes which will be banned, can surrender them and receive compensation.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to introduce legislation protecting shopworkers from serial or abusive shoplifters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, and includes a new standalone offence for assaults on retail workers and electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters. This builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023.
We will legislate through the Criminal Justice Bill, currently before Parliament, to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops.
The new bespoke offence of assaulting a retail worker will also be introduced via the Criminal Justice Bill. The offence will have a maximum penalty of six months in prison, or an unlimited fine – and upon conviction, it is expected that courts will make a Criminal Behaviour Order, which could bar offenders from visiting affected shops or premises. Breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order is a criminal offence and carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.
Those who repeatedly assault retail workers will be electronically monitored after their third offence, to crack down on reoffending and ensure those continuing down a path of violent behaviour will be met with further consequences. For the most serious violent offenders of assault, custodial sentences of up to five years in prison are already available.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the Independent review of Border Force by Alexander Downer, published on 20 July 2022, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of Heathrow Border Force Officers that have been informed of changes to their reasonable adjustments since that report was published.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
No members of staff have had their reasonable adjustments changed as a consequence of the Heathrow Change Programme.