Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether specific training is given to Metropolitan Police Officers on procedures to be followed (1) before, and (2) upon entering, public places of worship.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for the training of individual officers. The Home Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all applicants to police forces in England undergo (1) psychological, and (2) behavioural, assessment as part of the recruitment process; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The standards, assessment and selection framework for police recruitment are managed by the College of Policing. Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for local recruitment into forces and are supported by this national framework and guidance. All forces are currently using the College Online Assessment Centre as part of the recruitment process which has been designed to maintain the same high standards as set by the College of Policing. Candidates are required to pass each stage of the recruitment process and this includes the assessment centre, vetting, medical assessment and fitness.
All new recruits are subject to a rigorous vetting and assessment process to assess suitability for the role of police officer, including testing against core behaviours and values. This does not currently include psychological assessment as standard and it would be for the College of Policing to assess if additional elements of assessment are required. Following national assessment, some forces may choose to run additional assessments locally to further refine the field of candidates.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the response by different faith groups in England and Wales to historic cases of child abuse.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In 2015, the Government set up the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) to consider the extent to which institutions in England and Wales have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The Inquiry operates independently of Government and decides for itself what it investigates and how. As part of its work programme, the Inquiry held three investigations into child sexual abuse in religious institutions:
The Inquiry held an investigation into the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Anglican Church in England and the Church in Wales. The investigation considered the adequacy of the Past Cases Review of the Church of England and the Historic Cases Review of the Church in Wales. It considered two case studies: The Diocese of Chichester, where there have been multiple allegations of sexual abuse, and numerous investigations and reviews; and the case of Peter Ball, formerly Bishop of Lewes and subsequently Bishop of Gloucester. This investigation is now complete and a report setting out the Inquiry’s findings was published in October 2020, and can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/anglican-church
Separately, the Inquiry investigated the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Inquiry examined the English Benedictine Congregation and the Archdiocese of Birmingham, which have been the subject of numerous allegations of child sexual abuse. This investigation is now complete and a report with the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations was published in November 2020, and can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/roman-catholic-church
More recently, the Inquiry investigated the current child protection policies, practices and procedures in religious institutions that have a significant presence in England and Wales, including non-conformist Christian denominations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. The public hearing into this investigation concluded in August 2020. An investigation report will be published in summer 2021, and more details can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/investigation/child-protection-religious-organisations-and-settings
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of illegal immigrants living in (1) England, (2) Northern Ireland, (3) Scotland, and (4) Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population and so we do not seek to make any official estimates.
The Government is focused on making it harder for people to enter and live in the UK illegally, whilst ensuring those who have the right to reside in the UK can do so. Exit checks introduced in April 2015 will, over time provide more detailed insights into the behaviour of migrants and how they comply with the restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK, but the data obtained does not provide the total number of illegal migrants currently in the UK. In June 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a note on measuring illegal migration.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of Sri Lanka's new Counter Terrorism Act, what assessment they have made of risks to Tamil returnees to Sri Lanka who have been refugees in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
To clarify, the UK does not return refugees to a country where they have a well-founded fear of persecution.
Given that Sri Lanka’s new Counter Terrorism proposals have yet to be passed into law, it is too early to evaluate how it will be used in practice or what, if anything, this means for Tamil returnees.
However, counter-terrorism legislation is not new to Sri Lanka. The Home Office and the courts have both considered this issue previously and concluded that the existence and use of such legislation does not create a risk to Tamil returnees in and of itself.
We continue to monitor the situation, and will consider how this law is used. Cases continue to be considered on their individual facts and merits. The Home Office’s guidance on this is available on the Gov.Uk website.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer (1) advice, and (2) assistance, to help the Turkish authorities to control the flow of immigrants from that country into the European Union, following reductions in the strength of the army and security forces.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is taking an active role in supporting those countries affected by the increased flow of migrants towards the European Union.
In Turkey, the UK is supporting capacity building activities with the Directorate General for Migration Management (DGMM). Over £3.2 million of funding has been made available to deliver a number of projects aimed at strengthening Turkey’s ability to manage migratory flows and supporting migrants in Turkey. This includes strengthening visa and border management capacity, supporting the integration of migrants in Turkey and tackling smuggling and trafficking across the Aegean.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether they have taken, or intend to take, actions following the Home Office Consultation on the future regulatory regime for the Private Security Industry carried out in 2012.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Further to the consultation of 2012, a review of the SIA was carried out in 2016 and the review report will be laid before Parliament. The Government will carefully consider the Review and its recommendations to inform future action on the regulatory regime of the SIA.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for greater regulation of the private intelligence industry.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Firms operating in the private intelligence industry must operate within the law of the state(s) in which they are conducting their business.
Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry and this includes private investigations. The regulation of private investigators was included within the scope of the recent review of the Security Industry Authority.
Once the findings of the review have been published, the Government will carefully consider any recommendations in relation to private investigators.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of weapons smuggled into the UK from Albania, Bosnia and Serbia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Criminals from a wide range of countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, attempt to smuggle weapons into the UK and other EU countries illegally.
Border Force works with partners, including law enforcement agencies from the UK and overseas, to disrupt the increasingly sophisticated attempts to smuggle prohibited goods into the UK. Border Force uses intelligence generated from a wide variety of sources and state of the art technology to seize weapons and other prohibited goods at ports of entry across the country.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 22 January (HL4915), what is the longest period that any individual detainee has been held in an immigration detention centre.
Answered by Lord Bates
Information on the length of detention has been published since quarter 1 (January to March) 2010.
The longest time a person has been detained in the immigration estate - a foreign criminal who left detention and was returned to Algeria in Q1 2012 - was 2,319 days. The individual in this case had accumulated 14 convictions from 32 offences committed between 1998 and 2004, including - but not limited to - convictions for firearms/ shotguns/offensive weapons, drug offences, offences relating to police/courts/prisons and theft. He was continuously non-compliant with the Home Office and Algerian authorities, using a false identity and nationality, which frustrated attempts to obtain travel documentation to facilitate his deportation. His continued non-compliance, deception and a history of absconding led to detention being prolonged. This information does not include those held in prisons solely under Immigration Act powers.
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release