Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are considering implementing to (1) monitor, and (2) evaluate the progress of the post-Brexit border strategy, and what steps they are taking to share new information with affected companies and organisations across the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Progress against delivery of the 2025 UK Border Strategy can be seen through publication and subsequent implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). This has enabled us to bring together policy and process improvements through better use of technology and data, most notably with the development of a Single Trade Window.
We have continued to explore innovation at the border through our Ecosystem of Trust Pilots. The BTOM also outlines our plans for improving border processes for exporters. The Government will continue to monitor progress on specific BTOM policies in line with Magenta Book guidance on evaluation.
The Government worked extensively with traders to ensure current and future changes at the border are clear and that they have ample time to prepare. Engagement with businesses has been extensive, including: 10,000 participants registering for Government-led events before final BTOM publication; regular contact with around 30,000 importers to provide up-to-date information; the delivery of over 50 webinars to thousands of businesses; engagement with major supermarkets and their suppliers to provide training, and communication to 150k businesses in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support businesses in understanding and navigating the changes to visa eligibility rules, particularly in sectors heavily reliant on international talent.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the labour, education and legal sector to ensure they understand any changes that the department are making to the immigration system.
The Government is encouraging all sectors to adapt and make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.
We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities, including filling skills gaps and growing the economy.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the proposed new police powers concerning protests (1) maintain public order and, (2) protect the right to peaceful protest; and what steps they are taking to address concerns of potential misuse of those new powers against specific groups or causes.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Due to the announcement of a general election by the Prime Minister on 22nd May 2024 and the prospective dissolution of Parliament, the Criminal Justice Bill will not be progressed in this Parliamentary session.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) mitigate, the potential implications of the recent High Court ruling in Northern Ireland which ordered the disapplication of some provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government is considering the judgment carefully before deciding on next steps.
The Government has consistently made clear that the provisions in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement referred to in the Windsor Framework were developed specifically against the background of Northern Ireland's unique circumstances. They do not concern and should not be brought into the complex legal debate concerning illegal migration. The Government will take all steps to defend that position, including through appeal.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ireland concerning asylum seekers returning from that country to the UK; and what impact this has on the Common Travel Area agreement.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
There is a high level of cooperation on migration and border security between the UK and Irish Government. The Home Office regularly discuss asylum trends and work to respond to these trends with our counterparts in the Department of Justice in order to protect the Common Travel Area.
In 2020, we agreed non-legally binding operational arrangements which allow for the return and readmission of asylum seekers where this is agreed by both participants.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following news that they have rejected an offer by the European Commission for a youth mobility scheme, what factors they considered when deciding to reject the offer.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK notes the publication by the European Commission on 18 April 2024 setting out a proposal to EU Member States and seeking their agreement to negotiate a UK/EU wide Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS). This is currently a matter for the EU and its Member States and the UK has not been formally approached.
The UK currently operates 13 successful bilateral YMS schemes with international partners, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and continues to believe bilateral schemes with international partners are the most effective and efficient way of facilitating opportunities for young people.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic impact of the upcoming strikes by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport on (1) businesses, and (2) tourism.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Border Force has made no such assessment as to the strikes’ impact on tourism and business, as this is not within Border Force’s remit. Border Force will continue to work closely with Heathrow Airport to ensure we have robust plans in place to minimise any delays if strike action goes ahead. We will deploy suitable resources to meet critical demand and support the flow of passengers and goods through our border. Border Force’s priority during industrial action, as with at any other time, is to maintain the security of the UK border and nothing will compromise this.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent increase in cases of advance fee mortgage scams, what steps they are taking to prevent such scams.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
As part of our Fraud Strategy, we have worked closely with the financial services industry to protect customers against a variety of fraud types, including advance fee scams. This includes the Retail Banking Fraud Sector Charter which has delivered ambitious and innovative actions to prevent authorised fraud and protect customers. We have also agreed similar charters with the telecommunications, accountancy and online sectors.
According to the Crime Survey of England and Wales, ‘Advance fee fraud’ has decreased by 33% in the year ending September 2023 from 546,000 to 367,000 offences.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential role of technology in tackling theft and violence in convenience stores across the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, and supports the use of emerging technologies to prevent and detect crime where it is necessary, proportionate, and fair.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel.
The plan encourages the use of technology; where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this as standard through the Police National Database using facial recognition technology to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
Innovative technologies have huge potential to cut crime and reduce the cost of crime to businesses, as well as making workplaces and communities safer. The Government is keen to support increased adoption of these technologies, to prevent crime, recognising this must be done in a lawful and proportionate way with due consideration given to privacy. We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group to discuss how technology can be used to tackle retail crime.
The National Business Crime Centre has been running workshops with retailers and Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) providers to support the use of DEMS to help assist in sharing evidence with the police.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Migration Advisory Committee's report Rapid review of the Immigration Salary List, published in February, what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased salary threshold for the Skilled Workers Visa on the ability of UK employers to fill jobs in key shortage areas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making on the increases to the salary threshold for Skilled Workers, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.