Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they had, if any, with survivors of modern slavery prior to the (1) design, and (2) implementation, of the Recovery Needs Assessment, published on 8 November 2021.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to delivering tailored, needs-based support to assist victims of modern slavery in their recovery.
The Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) was introduced on 27 September 2019. Throughout the design and implementation of the Recovery Needs Assessment we engaged with our primary support provider, The Salvation Army, and our network of specialist support providers who work closely with victims on a daily basis.
We are committed to embedding survivor voice in our policy development. In 2020 we undertook work engaging with survivors directly, to better understand their recovery needs and their experiences of the National Referral Mechanism.
We are engaging with survivors, as well as the broader sector, on a new government strategy to tackle modern slavery, alongside ongoing work to improve the victim journey through the RNA process.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they had, if any, with survivors of modern slavery prior to the (1) design, and (2) implementation, of the Recovery Needs Assessment, published on 8 November 2021.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) poses a terrorist threat to the UK; and what assessment they have made of the ruling by the Court of Cassation in Belgium that the PKK is not a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Partiya Karkeren Kurdistani (PKK) has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK since 2001. The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including the threat posed by specific proscribed organisations.
The Terrorism Act 2000 allows the Home Secretary to proscribe a group if she has a reasonable belief that it is currently concerned in terrorism and proscription is proportionate action to take. It is this statutory test which the Government applies when considering whether to proscribe an organisation or maintain an extant listing.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with police forces in England and Wales about ensuring that all police officers undertake unconscious bias training.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The public rightly expect police officers to meet high standards of professional conduct. In this country, the power of the police to fulfil their duties is wholly dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain this public respect.
The College of Policing, which sets and maintains training standards for policing, published the Code of Ethics in 2014. This includes a set of principles for policing, including that all officers and staff should take active steps to oppose discrimination and make their decisions free from prejudice. This is a cornerstone of police training and development.
The College of Policing’s foundation training for all those entering the service includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding, including the effects of personal conscious and unconscious bias. Initial training covers hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias.
Forces also provide local training and development at several different levels ranging from initial entry, leadership and ongoing development to reflect and reinforce organisational values.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that financial pressures on local authorities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic do not lead to cuts to local police force funding.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government has been clear that the police will get the financial support they need to keep our communities safe through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government took immediate steps to increase the availability of funding for forces to meet cashflow pressures caused by the pandemic. We flexed half of the £168 million Police Uplift ringfenced grant to include expenditure on COVID-19 related pressures for the first six months of the financial year. We also brought forward payment of the £142.6 million police pensions grant, which forces received in April this year.
The Government also recently announced that council tax and business rates collection fund deficits accumulated 2020-21 can be phased over three years rather than paid off in 2021-22. This will give police and other local authorities in England a breathing space when setting their budgets for next year.
The Home Office continues to gather evidence of forces’ additional Covid-19 related expenditures since the introduction of social distancing measures, de-veloped in close consultation with policing sector finance leads. We will use this evidence base to inform cross-Government decisions on the police’s fu-ture funding needs.