Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of rural police task forces in reducing rural crimes; and what plans they have to encourage rural task forces in areas they do not exist.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for rural communities. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime and disorder in rural areas. Under our reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers, across England and Wales, including in rural areas, to speed up response times and build public confidence.
It is for Chief Constables and PCCs, as operationally independent leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to deploy resources to manage and respond to individual crimes and local crime priorities, including rural crime. The National Rural Crime Unit provides police forces across the UK with specialist operational support in their responses to rural crime.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in shoplifting; and what steps they will take to reduce these offences.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023.
We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many fines or other penalties have been imposed for breaches of road traffic laws by (1) e-bikes, and (2) e-scooters, in each of the past six months.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, the Home Office does not centrally collect data on the type of vehicle involved in the offence.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many privately owned e-scooters have been confiscated in each of the last three months for the offence of being driven in a public area.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on Fixed Penalty Notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the “Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE powers” statistical bulletin. The most recent data, for 2021, are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, data are not collected on the type of vehicle involved in the offence. Additionally, the Home Office does not hold information on the number of e-scooters confiscated.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many penalties have been issued for (1) e-scooters, (2) e-bikes, and (3) bicycles, in each of the past three months for the road traffic offence of riding on a pavement.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on Fixed Penalty Notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the “Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE powers” statistical bulletin. The most recent data, for 2021, are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods
However, data are not collected on the type of vehicle involved in the offence. Additionally, the Home Office does not hold information on the number of e-scooters confiscated.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Youth Mobility Scheme to allow applicants from EU countries.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories including EU Member States. However, each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement and, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Border Force regarding problems encountered by passengers at e-gates with the new UK passports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Passengers may be referred from the e-Gates to an officer at PCP desks for a variety of reasons. There are well defined processes for updating UK border systems when new documents are introduced and the performance of new British passports through UK border controls is being monitored. We are receiving feedback there may be higher levels of referrals with some of these passports and are working to determine root cause.