Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle drink spiking.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The reports of the spiking of drinks with illegal substances, and of other attacks on individuals in night time venues, are of course concerning. This is an ongoing matter which the police are investigating. We would encourage anyone who is a victim or a witness of the offences to report the information to the police.
The Government is supporting the rollout of pilot initiatives to improve the safety of women in public spaces at night, including in the night-time economy. We have committed to delivering a £5 million ‘Safety of Women at Night’ fund, in addition to the £25 million Safer Streets Fund Round 3. These funds will support projects that target potential perpetrators, seek to protect potential victims, or deliver programmes intended to address offending behaviour. This includes, but is not limited to, policing interventions such as enforcement activity.
Licensing authorities have a number of options available to them to manage the night-time economy through a range of powers to tackle existing individual premises which are causing problems including the use of conditions, licence reviews and closure powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
The SIA is running a long-term public safety campaign targeted at the private security industry on this issue. The SIA has sent out a direct communication to all front-line licence holders (over 300,000) reminding them of the vital role they can play in preventing violence against women and girls. This includes identifying and preventing predatory behaviour. The note also reminds them of their training and duty of care required of them, and guidance on how to help and support individuals in vulnerable situations. The SIA will be running a social media campaign that reinforces these messages and signposts licence holders to best practice and guidance. We know this communication is getting traction from the industry feedback the SIA have been getting; they have also received early feedback from training providers who are looking at how they can support the campaign in their training.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to add HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list to make it easier for skilled workers to obtain visas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
For an occupation to be placed on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), it needs to be eligible under the Skilled Worker route of the Points Based System.
The independent Migration Advisory Committee found the occupation of HGV driver did not meet the requirements under the Skilled Worker route to be eligible. We therefore will not be adding this occupation to the SOL.
In response to the current exceptional circumstances, we have made provision for poultry workers, pork butchers and HGV drivers in food distribution to enter the UK on a short-term basis to support the food and haulage sectors. Yet long term solutions to recruitment issues relating to HGV drivers lie with employers in the sector, where investing in training and offering competitive terms and conditions should be the focus, rather than looking to immigration.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create new flexible immigration routes in order to allow more people to work in the social care sector helping people wth disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The introduction of the Health and Care visa in August 2020 has made it quicker and cheaper for regulated health and care professionals, including Senior Care Workers, and their dependants to secure their visa.
In July, the Government commissioned the MAC to review the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector. The MAC have issued a call for evidence with stakeholders and we look forward to receiving their report in April 2022.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct a public inquiry into how the police deal with reports of missing Black people.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is focused on improving the police response to missing people from all backgrounds and on addressing racial and ethnic disparities, wherever these exist, and has no plans for a public inquiry at this time.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to remove the proposed restrictions on protests from the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government.
However, Recent events, including the ongoing protest action around the M25 and elsewhere, have shown how the actions of a selfish few can cause disproportionate amounts of disruption to regular hardworking people going about their daily lives.
.A recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Fire Services (HMICFRS) found that sometimes the balance between protesters’ rights and the rights of local residents and businesses tips too readily in favour of the protestors. These powers will ensure that an appropriate balance can be maintained.
These new measures will balance the rights of protesters and the rights of others to go about their business unhindered by enabling the police to better manage highly disruptive protests.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the issue of transparency in police misconduct hearings during the public inquiry into issues raised by the murder of Sarah Everard.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Since 2016, misconduct hearings have been chaired independently of forces by Legally Qualified Chairs.
The Police (Conduct) Regulations set out that the presumption is for misconduct hearings to be heard in public. There are however a number of legitimate reasons why Legally Qualified Chairs may decide to hold a hearing in private. These decisions are taken independently and following consideration of representations by all interested parties, including the force, the officer, witnesses and the media.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to lift the No Recourse to Public Funds rule for one year to support migrants who were put in accommodation under the Everyone In scheme and are no longer eligible.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office has no plans to lift the No Recourse to Public Funds condition for one year to support migrants who were put in accommodation under the Everyone in Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow EU drivers to return on temporary visas as skilled workers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK Government is closely monitoring labour supply and working with sector leaders to promote jobs, training, and a range of other initiatives to get more people into HGV driving. Similar challenges are being faced by other countries around the world, with shortages of truck drivers being reported in the EU and the United States of America.Following the UK leaving the EU and ending free movement, our points-based immigration system looks at what skills and talent people have, rather than whether they hold an EU or Non-EU passport.
Like other sectors the focus for transport should be on training and recruiting from the UK based workforce in the first instance. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work. The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and investment, plus dealing with the reasons behind the long term under representation of women in parts of the workforce. Immigration policy is not about providing an alternative to these necessary actions
The Government therefore has no plans to introduce a temporary visa scheme for heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Resolve Taking back our communities - working together to make communities safe, published on 19 July; and what plans they have to develop and deliver effective victim centred strategies to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour. We know the serious impact that persistent anti-social behaviour can have on individuals and wider communities.
That’s why we have provided police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. It is for local areas decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.
Home Office statutory guidance, which was updated in January 2021, supports local agencies to work together to prevent and respond to anti-social behaviour, as well as ensuring a victim-centred approach to tackling ASB.
The Beating Crime Plan published on 27 July laid out the Government’s commitment to working with local agencies and partners to drive down anti-social behaviour using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’
The Home Office supported Resolve’s ASB Awareness Week, which took place the week commencing 19th July.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with UK businesses regarding the need for more EU nationals to be permitted to work in the UK; and what steps they are taking as a result.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office regularly engages with other Government Departments and stakeholders on departmental business.
Employers should focus on investing in our domestic workforce and, in the first instance, raise general recruitment issues with the Department for Work and Pensions, rather than the Home Office. This is especially relevant at a time when many face the need to look for new employment as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic.
Our Points Based System does not judge people based on whether they hold an EU or Non-EU passport, but based on the requirements of the system, including skills and salary thresholds, being met.
Modelling by the independent Migration Advisory Committee suggests these thresholds strike a reasonable balance between controlling immigration and business access to labour.