Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of knife crime offences in England and Wales in 2018.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government is very concerned about increases in knife crime and its impact on victims, families and communities. The latest statistics published by the Office for National Statistics on 25 April for the year ending December 2018 show an increase of 6 per cent in police recorded knife crime.
The action we are taking to tackle knife crime is set out in our Serious Vio-lence Strategy and includes new legislation in the Offensive Weapons Bill to introduce Knife Crime Prevention Orders, to make it an offence to possess certain offensive weapons in private, and stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online unless the seller has arrangements with a delivery company to verify age.
We are also raising awareness among young people of the dangers of carrying a knife through our national media campaign - #knifefree – and supporting early intervention through the £22 million Early Intervention Youth Fund, which is already supporting 29 local projects, and we have also introduced the £200 million Youth Endowment Fund, which will be delivered over the next 10 years to support interventions with children and young people at risk of involvement in crime and violence, focusing on those most at risk. The charity Impetus, working in partnership with the Early Intervention Foundation and Social Investment Business, is now operating the Fund We also continue to support the police national weeks of action under Operation Sceptre.
In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Spring Statement on 13 March that there will be £100 million additional funding for the police in 2019/20 to tackle serious violence, including £80m of new funding from the Treasury. The majority of the investment will largely go towards supporting police forces most affected by the violence we are seeing, but the funding will also support Violence Reduction Units, bringing together a range of agencies, including health, education, social services and others, to develop a multi-agency approach to preventing serious violence.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the conditions of immigration detainees who are being detained for indeterminate lengths of time due to a lack of appropriate alternative accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government treats detainee welfare as a matter of the utmost seriousness and expects the highest standards from those who manage the detention estate on its behalf. Conditions at all detention facilities, are kept under regular review. Independent scrutiny is a vital part of assurance that our removal centres are secure and humane. We will continue to implement actions in response to recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and by the individual centre’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) in their published reports
Any asylum seeker, including foreign national offenders released from de-tention on bail, can apply for accommodation and other support if they would otherwise be destitute.
Asylum seekers who require support are housed where there is appropriate accommodation available. Agreements between the Government and participating local authorities are voluntary and our dispersal policy ensures a reasonable spread amongst UK local authorities
Decisions about accommodation and detention are made on a case by case basis. We work closely with the Police, HM Prison and Probation service to source and offer suitable accommodation as quickly as possible when it is required.
We are aware of some cases that are waiting for accommodation to be allocated and we are working closely with the accommodation providers, Police and HM Prison and Probation Service to source suitable accommodation. These are complex cases, as they relate mostly to Foreign National Offenders who have specific accommodation needs and restrictions that must be met before they can be released safely from detention.
Detention and removal of those with no lawful basis to stay in the UK are essential parts of effective immigration controls. However, we do not detain individuals indefinitely when people are detained, it is for the minimum time possible and detention is reviewed on a regular basis.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to combat the unauthorised urban exploration of and criminal trespassing in high profile buildings.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The police have a range of powers to deal with criminal activity, which includes public order offences, aggravated trespass and anti social behaviour. There are also measures that can be taken to combat trespass through civil courts. When criminal activity does occur, the decision whether to arrest individuals is an operational matter for the police in line with their duties to keep the peace, to protect communities, and to prevent the commission of offences.
The Home Office keep the available police powers under constant review and work closely with National Police Leads to ensure they are fit for purpose and allow the police to respond appropriately to a range of offences.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans Ofqual has to allow visas to be obtained for foreign students from countries in the emerging markets wishing to train for a professional pilot’s licence in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office is responsible for UK visa policy.
Flight training organisations can teach courses lasting up to six months to international students, under the short-term study visa route.
Alternatively, they may use the Tier 4 visa route where the course lasts longer than six months and they hold a Tier 4 sponsor licence. To qualify for a Tier 4 sponsor licence, an institution must have a track record of teaching UK or EEA students, and be teaching courses which meet Tier 4 requirements. To meet Tier 4 requirements, a course must lead to an approved qualification, as defined in the Tier 4 Guidance for Sponsors.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are considering to allow flight training organisations based in the United Kingdom to train overseas student pilots for a professional pilot’s licence.
Answered by Lord Bates
Flight training organisations can teach courses lasting up to six months to international students, under the short-term study visa route.
Alternatively, they may use the Tier 4 visa route where the course lasts longer than six months and they hold a Tier 4 sponsor licence. To qualify for a Tier 4 sponsor licence, an institution must have a track record of teaching UK or EEA students, and be teaching courses which meet Tier 4 requirements. To meet Tier 4 requirements, a course must lead to an approved qualification, as defined in the Tier 4 Guidance for Sponsors.