Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent children from purchasing knives and other weapons online.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.
We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will meet with the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss banning the sale of zombie knives.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.
We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of reductions in funding made between 2010 and 2015 on police forces that have been rated as outstanding for efficiency by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Answered by Mike Penning
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have found that there is no simple link between funding and efficiency. As the Home Secretary has previously set out, it is often the need to make savings that drives innovation and change for the better.
In future, we believe that the allocation of core Government funding to the police should be on the basis of relative need, and that is why the Government has committed to replacing the current, outdated arrangements.
HMIC set out in their latest PEEL inspection report (October 2015), that there remain significant efficiencies to be delivered from ICT, collaboration and improving workforce capability.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide further financial support to police forces that have been rated as outstanding for efficiency by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Answered by Mike Penning
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have found that there is no simple link between funding and efficiency. As the Home Secretary has previously set out, it is often the need to make savings that drives innovation and change for the better.
In future, we believe that the allocation of core Government funding to the police should be on the basis of relative need, and that is why the Government has committed to replacing the current, outdated arrangements.
HMIC set out in their latest PEEL inspection report (October 2015), that there remain significant efficiencies to be delivered from ICT, collaboration and improving workforce capability.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the efficiency of West Midlands Police.
Answered by Mike Penning
It is the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which is charged in statute with inspecting the efficiency and effectiveness of all police forces in England and Wales. In October 2015 HMIC, rated West Midlands Police as ‘outstanding’ as part of their PEEL Efficiency Inspections.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Passport Office plans to inform the hon. Member's constituent of the outcome of their passport application, reference 681 355 476.
Answered by James Brokenshire
It is not Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office) normal practice to discuss individual cases in a PQ. However, HM Passport Office confirms that they will be contacting the Honourable Member by 18 September to advise him of the progress of this application. HM Passport Office can also confirm that they are attempting to contact the constituent to update him.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will meet the hon. Member for Dudley South and a delegation of civic, faith and business leaders from Dudley to discuss the effect that demonstrations by far-right organisations are having on community life and trade in that town.
Answered by Mike Penning
Protestors’ rights need to be balanced with the rights of others to go about their business without fear of intimidation or serious disruption to the community.
As set out in the Public Order Act 1986, the police have a range of powers to manage the impact of demonstrations, including the ability to impose conditions on assemblies and public processions to prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property, or serious disruption to the life of the community.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the dates are of the oldest applications currently being processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service is currently processing 36 applications that were received more than 12 months ago. No case is older than 19 months.
There are a number of reasons why some cases may take longer than others to process.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many and what proportion of Disclosure and Barring Service applications were returned to applicants within (a) 20, (b) 40, (c) 60, (d) 80 and (e) 100 days and (f) more than 100 days in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The number and proportion of disclosure applications completed within 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 days, and the number and proportion completed in more than 100 days, for each month from February 2014 to January 2015 is provided in the table below.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of application backlogs at the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) receives around 4 million disclosure
applications a year and provides the Home Office with monthly updates on its
performance. Latest data for the 2014-15 operational year, covering the period
from April 2014 to January 2015, shows that 95.4% of disclosure certificates
were issued within 40 working days - well above the DBS service standard to
issue 88% of all disclosures within this time.
A key aspect of DBS administration is to ensure that disclosure checks are both
accurate and completed within service standard timescales. In the small
proportion of cases where checks have not been completed within these
timescales, the DBS is expected to take the necessary steps to progress the
case including, as appropriate, working with the police and other parties
involved in the checking process.