Shop Workers: Protection

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

Wednesday 23rd January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the protections in place to prevent shop workers from being verbally abused, threatened with violence, or attacked.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, everyone has the right to feel safe at work. I have enormous sympathy for shop workers, who can face intimidation, threats and in some cases violence. I can confirm that, to understand this issue in more detail, the Government will take forward a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers. This is intended to help us fully understand the problem and look at all options for addressing it.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a depressing fact that too many shop workers suffer physical assault. USDAW, the shop workers’ union, says that shop workers are on the receiving end of 230 assaults each day. The recent measures announced by the honourable Member for Louth and Horncastle, such as the call for evidence, are a step in the right direction. However, they fall short in failing to recognise the need for specific legislation to make it an offence to assault a worker enforcing the new age-related restrictions on acid and knives, which are set to come into force as a result of the Offensive Weapons Bill. Will the Minister explain why the Government will not accept that new legislation is needed, in spite of the concerns expressed by many organisations and on all sides of this House? Will she agree to meet USDAW and other organisations representing the retail sector, ahead of Report on the Offensive Weapons Bill in this House, to discuss the issue in detail?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I am very happy to meet USDAW, which I fully expected might be one of the things I would do during the passage of the Offensive Weapons Bill. The noble Baroness will know that attacking a person serving the public is already an aggravating factor in sentencing guidelines. The Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability will be discussing the way forward on the call for evidence with the national retail crime steering group. We do not have a closed mind on a way forward and I look forward to meeting USDAW and hearing its concerns about this serious matter.

Children: Gangs

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

Thursday 10th May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action are they taking to stop children being recruited into gangs.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy was launched on 9 April. The strategy sets out our response to serious violence, including gangs, and focuses in particular on the importance of early intervention to provide young people with the skills and resilience to lead productive lives, away from crime and violence.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, the Serious Violence Taskforce has had its first meeting, and I am pleased to see that it focused on county lines activity. However, many people are concerned that the strategy section on county lines is quite limited, with few new commitments and very little on safeguarding. As we know, thousands of children, some as young as 12, are trafficked and enslaved by county lines gangs. They need safeguarding; moreover, their evidence is critical in securing convictions. Why does the Serious Violence Taskforce have no representation from the anti-trafficking sector, and why is the Children’s Commissioner on the task force but not the Anti-Slavery Commissioner? Can this oversight in membership be corrected, and can the Minister give the House assurances that the new national county lines centre will focus as much on safeguarding as it plans to do on law enforcement?

Trafficked Children: Asylum

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

Monday 19th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, over the last 10 years, how many children trafficked into the United Kingdom who have subsequently applied for asylum have had their applications approved.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, the Home Office does not publish data on the number of child victims of modern slavery who subsequently successfully claim asylum. To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office prefers to refer to published data, as these have been subject to vigorous quality assurance prior to publication. The Home Office publishes data on the number of asylum claims from unaccompanied children. The latest published statistics can be found in the quarterly immigration statistics published on GOV.UK. These show that, in 2017, 1,212 children were granted leave; in 2016, this figure was 1,396.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Since the Court of Appeal’s decision in PK (Ghana) was handed down, the Government have had to issue interim guidance on discretionary leave to remain for victims of modern slavery, but this is a policy of no policy. It just puts decisions on hold, leaving vulnerable adults and children in limbo and in fear of losing their NRM support, as the waiting time for decisions now extends beyond the time for support afforded to them. What is the Government’s timetable for consideration of this judgment? Can they guarantee that all victims waiting for a decision on discretionary leave to remain will remain in receipt of NRM support until they receive a decision?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

We are considering the implications of the judgment. While we consider the next steps, interim guidance has been issued to caseworkers to put on hold any refusals of discretionary leave to remain for confirmed victims of modern slavery. Grants of discretionary leave are continuing. Clearly, we will come to a view as quickly as possible.