Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not yet formally responded to the recommendations in the report by the Right Reverend James Jones The patronising disposition of unaccountable power: A report to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated, published on 1 November 2017 (HC 511).
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The points of learning in the Bishop’s report made for the Government span a number of departments and organisations and the Home Office is coordinating the Government’s overarching response to his report.
Whilst the timing of the Government’s response has been impacted by the need to avoid risk of prejudice during the Hillsborough criminal proceedings, work has been underway within the relevant departments and organisations to carefully consider and address those points of learning directed at the Government.
The Government is committed to engaging with the Hillsborough families prior to publication of its full response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle disorder at football matches, given the reported increase the number of arrests at matches, and increase in banning orders issued by the courts.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are clear that law abiding fans should be able to enjoy football matches in safety and that violent and disorderly behaviour will not be tolerated.
We have extended coverage of football banning orders to persons convicted of Class A drugs offences at matches, elite domestic women’s football and online hate crime offences connected to football
We have also amended the threshold test to increase the likelihood that a court will impose a banning order following a conviction for football-related offences that are violent, disorderly or cause harm to others.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of policing football clubs in the coming season; and what comparison they have made with the previous season.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This information is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional funding to local authorities for early abuse interventions following increases in domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we fully recognise the devastating impact it can have on children and young people. That is why the Domestic Abuse Act recognises children as victims if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse.
In the past year the Home Office has provided over £3 million to specialist services for children who have experienced domestic abuse. The local services funded provide interventions such as therapy, counselling and education schemes.
The Home Office has also provided funding to roll out Operation Encompass nationally. This innovative scheme facilitates schools and police working together to provide emotional and practical support to children affected by domestic abuse. It currently operates in all 43 police forces across England and Wales, therefore ensuring vital early intervention in all local areas.
We are also committing £25 million to tackle perpetrators of domestic abuse. From this, I am pleased to confirm that on Friday 21st May we launched a new Perpetrator Programme Fund for Police and Crime Commissioners to bid into totalling £11.1m. The purpose of this fund is to support the introduction of more perpetrator programmes in local areas. We have specified that one area we are particularly interested in funding is dedicated provision for adolescents who perpetrate abuse in their adolescent relationships. The competition will be live for six weeks, closing on 2nd July.
Finally, councils across England have been allocated £125 million funding to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children. The money will fund a new duty on councils to ensure victims and their children are able to access life-saving support in safe accommodation – a key part of the government’s landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
More broadly across Government we are determined to ensure that support is available at an early stage for all victims of domestic abuse. Departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Justice are providing funding this financial year for accommodation-based support and wider victim services respectively.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of existing legislation in preventing the re-sale of football match tickets.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The unauthorised resale of tickets (also known as “ticket touting”) for regulated football matches is prohibited under the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994. This public order provision explicitly applies to football in view of the importance of segregation in reducing the potential for disorder between rival fans.
The police and courts can and do enforce the legislation in a proportionate and targeted way when breaches to the segregation of supporters might increase the risk to public order.
It is an operational decision for police match commanders whether it is appropriate to direct resources to deal with ticket touts.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 2 May of £76 million extra funding to support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and vulnerable children and their families and victims of modern slavery, when that funding will be fully rolled out to those in need.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) secured a £10 million fund for the provision of safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims and their children, which was first opened for applications on 7 May. Just over £8.7 million has already been paid to 122 successful charities. On 16 September MHCLG announced the final stage of the fund, with £971,207 allocated to 25 more successful charity bids. In total, the MHCLG £10 million Domestic Abuse COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund will re-open up to 344 bedspaces which were closed due to Covid-19 and will create up to 1,546 additional bedspaces.
The Ministry of Justice allocated £25 million to support local charities across England and Wales which support victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and £3 million to recruit more Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs). To date, over £22 million of that has been distributed for 548 charities in England and Wales, £19.5 million to Police and Crime Commissioners and £2.6 million via the Rape Support Fund. £3.6 million has been allocated to PCCs for 95 ISVAs. The remainder of the funds will be distributed in due course.
The Home Office received a £2 million fund to support national and regional charities in England and Wales which support victims of domestic abuse. £1.7 million has been allocated to 28 domestic abuse services. Almost all charities have been paid at least 50% of their allocations, with the remaining funds to be paid later in the funding period.
The Home Office received £1.76 million of funding for modern slavery services, to support those organisations which work directly with victims in the Victim Care Contract (VCC). On 5 May the Home Office informed The Salvation Army, as the Prime Contractor of the VCC, of the funding available to them and sub-contracting organisations. This funding, rather than being disbursed via grant mechanisms, is being drawn down through existing contractual invoicing processes as required to meet additional costs related to the provision of victim support during the pandemic.
A total of £34.15 million is being distributed by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Home Office to support vulnerable children’s charities/voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. Following a competitive assessment process, £7.6 million is being distributed through the joint Home Office and DfE Vulnerable Children National Charities Strategic Relief (VCNCSR) Fund. First payments (totalling over 50% of the amount) have been released to all successful applicants (Action for Children, Barnardo’s and The Children’s Society) with subsequent payments to follow later in the funding period.
DfE is funding £7.27 million for a new “See, Hear, Respond” service being led by Barnardo’s. The service is now live and is already supporting children struggling to cope with the impacts of Covid-19 through online counselling, face-to-face support and support to return to education. The funding will end in November 2020.
DfE are directly awarding £4.78 million of funding to charities providing key services to vulnerable groups, including the Family Fund, Grandparents Plus, Family Rights Group, FosterTalk, the Care Leavers Association, Become, Drive Forward Foundation and Adoption UK. £10 million has already been committed to the Family Fund, helping families with children who have complex needs and disabilities through grants for equipment which will make their lives easier.
The Home Office is directly awarding the remainder of its funding for supporting vulnerable children’s charities/VCSE organisations (not allocated through the VCNCSR Fund) to charities/VCSE organisations working with children facing specific risks including child sexual exploitation and abuse, criminal exploitation including by county lines gangs, missing episodes and serious violence. This includes funding to be distributed by our 18 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to small and micro charities. First payments to VRUs (for onward distribution) and the other vulnerable children’s VCSE organisations (totalling 75% of the amount) have been released with the remaining amounts to follow later in the funding period.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address inequality in the treatment of black people by the police.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The strength of policing in England & Wales lies in its relationships with the communities it serves. The measures being introduced by this Government to support officers, broaden representation and enhance accountability will help the police make these relationships even stronger.
We have put in place measures to ensure that policing is subject to appropriate levels of transparency and accountability – with regular inspections of the way forces engage with communities, frequent publication of data on use of police powers and strengthening the police complaints system. The public rightly expect police officers to meet high standards of professional conduct and the vast majority of officers do so.
We know that black people, particularly black men, are over-represented in the criminal justice system, and this Government is tackling the broader structural inequalities that lead to this.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they have made to assist the children of those illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel who have been separated from their parents.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
All unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) who arrive in the UK are treated in line with established processes. Upon arrival, an unaccompanied child will undergo a number of mandatory checks and will be interviewed in order to identify any safeguarding concerns. On completion, a child will then be handed to a local authority for them to provide the necessary support under their statutory duties as set out in the Children Act 1989.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their new post-Brexit fast track visa system on the availability of care workers in the UK; and what plans they have to ensure that those care workers currently resident in the UK who would not qualify for a visa under that system can continue to work in this country.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The social care sector is invaluable to our country. Social care workers have shown incredible dedication during this extraordinary time.
We truly value the work they are doing, which is why the Government set out steps in our Action Plan for Adult Social Care to support the workforce, ensuring we have the staff we need and that they feel both supported and valued.
However, the independent Migration Advisory Committee has been very clear that immigration is not the answer to the challenges in this sector. As we implement the new immigration system, we want employers to focus on investing in our domestic work force.
The Government is working with the sector in a number of ways to help support it during this difficult time and going forward, including extra funding and a national recruitment campaign.
Additionally, the EU Settlement Scheme means that all EU and EAA citizens, and their family members, already in the UK, many of them working in social care, can stay in the UK and we are encouraging them to do so.
We will keep labour market data under very careful scrutiny to monitor any pressures in key sectors, especially considering recent events.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise of cases of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what support they have provided to the victims of that violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Domestic abuse is unacceptable in any situation. We are working closely with domestic abuse charities, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the police to understand the impact of COVID-19 on domestic abuse incidents.
The Government has announced £28m of funding to support domestic abuse charities. The Home Office has announced an additional £2 million in funding to help bolster specialist helplines and on line services so that victims can continue to seek support.
We have also launched a campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and signpost victims to the support services available. The campaign, under the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone, aims to reassure those affected by domestic abuse that support services remain available during this difficult time. Details of these services can be found at www.gov.uk/domestic-abuse