Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle the sale of unlicensed drugs online.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Drugs ruin lives and devastate communities. The Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online, including on the dark web.
We are clear that tech companies must take responsibility for embedding public safety in their system designs in order to prevent harmful material on their platforms. We expect tech companies to have robust processes in place to swiftly remove illegal content.
Our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms to remove content relating to the sale of drugs online. This ground-breaking piece of legislation will compel tech companies to consider the risks associated with all elements of their services and take action to keep users safe. This means that tech companies must proactively tackle this type of content from their platforms and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Online Safety Act delivers the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The Act is a vital piece of legislation, designed to ensure that tech companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.
We work closely with the National Crime Agency, which in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally is mapping and targeting key offenders operating online, including the dark net markets. Dedicated teams use a range of tools and techniques generally unavailable to most investigators and we make sure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe.
Law enforcement agencies continue to work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
We recognise that gangs are increasingly using social media to sell drugs and exploit vulnerable people to help move their illicit commodities. Through the County Lines Programme, we are developing a better understanding of how these platforms are being used and how to disrupt them.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) pickpocketing and (b) illegal street gambling in London.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are ensuring police forces have sufficient resources to respond to the challenges they face, delivering on our manifesto commitment to recruit an extra 20,000 police officers by March 2023. As a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme, as at 31 March 2023, the Metropolitan Police had a headcount of 35,411 officers, higher than the pre-PUP peak of 33,820 in March 2010.
However, decisions on how resources are utilised are an operational matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience. This will include activity such as Operation London Bridge, which involved the Metropolitan Police working in partnership with others to tackle the issue of illegal gambling, and crimes such as pickpocketing which can occur when people stop to watch, on Westminster Bridge.
Moreover, the public rightly expects police to respond when these crimes occur, working with partners across the justice system to see more criminals charged and prosecuted. We therefore welcome the police commitment to pursue all ‘reasonable lines of enquiry’ where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. This commitment, announced on 28 August, has been worked up and agreed by the Home Office, in tandem with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the (a) importation, (b) manufacture, (c) sale and (d) distribution of nitazenes.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drug strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drugs supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats.
The NCA, the Police and Border Force are delivering a robust multi-agency response to detections of nitazenes, ensuring lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of illicit synthetic opioids to and within the UK. This approach sends a clear message to serious and organised criminals that supply of these dangerous substances will not be tolerated in the UK.
We have also established a cross-Government Taskforce to lead and co-ordinate the UK’s strategic response to the risk from synthetic opioids. Members include the Home Office, the Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, National Crime Agency, HM Prisons and Probation Service, Border Force and the police.
The Government recently laid a draft affirmative Order in November 2023 to control 20 substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, including 14 nitazenes as Class A drugs. This will likely come into force in March. The maximum sentence for possession or supply of a Class A drug is up to life imprisonment, a fine, or both.
On 15 December 2023, the ACMD recommended an updated generic definition for nitazene variants. The Government will respond to this recommendation shortly.
Additionally, through the Criminal Justice Bill, we are introducing new powers for the police to take action against criminals who intend to use pill presses and encapsulators to manufacture illicit drugs like nitazenes and other synthetic opioids.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to use Taser X3 units in police forces.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office approves less lethal weapons for police use following extensive technical and medical assessments. Decisions about the selection and purchase of approved less lethal weapons are primarily for chief officers.
There are no plans to introduce the X3 to police forces in England and Wales.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to improve police training.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to improving standards in policing and ensuring that the police workforce remains fit for the future in serving our communities. The College of Policing is the professional body for policing in England and Wales and is an operationally independent arms-length body of the Home Office. It was established in 2012 to set and improve standards for excellence in policing, including recruitment, leadership, professional development and assessment.
Training standards and the national policing curriculum are set by the College of Policing. The College regularly reviews the policing curriculum, to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
Forces also provide local training and development at several different levels ranging from initial entry, leadership and ongoing development to reflect and reinforce organisational values. Decisions on how to use funding and resources for police training are an operational matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to support male victims of domestic abuse in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, published in March 2022, invests up to £230 million of cross-government funding in to tackling this crime, including up to £140 million to support victims. The plan sets out our ambition to reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse, regardless of who it affects, and to support all victims, including men.
In 2019, we published the first ever cross-Government Male Victims’ Position Statement, a dedicated statement to recognise the support needs of male victims and to clarify and strengthen our response.
This statement affirms the Government’s support for male victims of crimes that disproportionately impact women and girls.
In 2023/24, the Home Office funded £200,000 for the national Men’s Advice Line run by Respect. This service offers advice and emotional support to male victims of domestic abuse and signposts to other vital services that help keep them, and their children, safe.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue guidance to the police on (a) identifying and (b) tackling anti-Semitic hate crime; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Jewish communities are protected during Hanukkah celebrations.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The police are operationally independent and work in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance to respond to hate crime; we expect them to enforce the law where appropriate to protect communities and maintain public order. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need, including having recruited 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.
Since 7 October, police with Jewish and Muslim populations have increased community engagement and neighbourhood patrols to provide reassurance. Forces – including the Metropolitan Police Service – have dedicated plans in place for Hanukkah celebrations.
The Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant provides protective security measures at Jewish community sites including education facilities and many synagogues.
In response to increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, as a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the Prime Minister has announced additional funding of £3 million to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other Jewish community sites. This brings total protective security funding for the Jewish Community to £18 million in 2023/24. This level will be maintained at £18 million for 2024/25.
The Government is also providing £7 million over the next three years to ensure that more support is in place for schools and universities to tackle antisemitism.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle knife crime in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling knife crime is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.
As a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme (PUP) the Metropolitan Police Service now has over 35,000 officers (35,411), the highest number on record.
On 31 January, the Government confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £313.8 million when compared to 2022/23. The Metropolitan Police’s funding will be up to £3.3 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £102.3 million when compared to 2022/23.
Since 2019, we have provided over £43 million to develop and run the London Violence Reduction Unit, which covers Havering, including Romford. Violence Reduction Units deter people, particularly young people, from becoming involved in serious violence by bringing together partners from health, probation, policing, housing and beyond and investing in the best evidence-based interventions.
Since 2019 we have provided the Metropolitan Police, who serve Havering, with over £61 million to deliver targeted enforcement action to tackle serious violence. The Grip programme suppresses and prevents serious violence by using data to identify the top violence hotspots and targets visible police activity in those areas.
We recently consulted on new legislative proposals to tackle knife crime and as a result, in the Criminal Justice Bill, we have introduced provisions to provide more powers for police to seize knives held in private that could be used in crimes, increase the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s. When Parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to introduce a new ban on zombie-style machetes and knives that have no practical use.
Finally, we are also providing £200 million over 10 years for the Youth Endowment Fund, to test and evaluate what works to ensure those young people most at risk are given the opportunity to turn away from violence. This includes a variety of projects across London.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle AI-generated (a) child abuse and (b) pornography images online.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse online and in our communities across the UK and internationally.
The law in the UK is very clear with regards to production of child sexual abuse material. It is an offence to produce, store, share or search for any material that contains or depicts child sexual abuse, regardless of whether the material depicts a ‘real’ child or not. This prohibition also includes pseudo-imagery that may have been computer-generated.
Home Office investment supports the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, safeguard children and remove the most horrific child sexual abuse material from the internet, including on the dark web.
Furthermore, as part of the Government’s work to tackle child sexual abuse offences, the Government has driven forward the Online Safety Act which puts in place the strongest protections for children and all companies in scope of the legislation will need to tackle child sexual abuse as a priority.
In October, the Home Office, in partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation, hosted an AI Safety Summit event to discuss the growing threat of generative artificial intelligence creating child sexual abuse material. As part of the event, the Home Office issued a joint statement on tackling the proliferation of AI generated Child Sexual Abuse Material, with 33 signatories including tech companies such as Snapchat, TikTok and Stability AI.
On 27 June, the Government announced amendments to the Online Safety Act related to intimate image abuse, based on the recommendations made in the Law Commission’s report. The amendments included offences for the sending, sharing, and threatening to share ‘deepfake’ pornography, as part of a new ‘base offence’ that criminalises someone for sharing an intimate image without consent.
Deepfake material will fall into scope of the illegal content duties where it is linked to a priority offence, for example material that contains an incitement to violence against individuals or extreme or revenge pornographic deepfakes. All services in scope will need to proactively seek out and remove this and other illegal content listed in Schedule 7. They must also prevent their services from being used to facilitate priority offences, including where the targets of these offences are women and girls.
Separate to the Online Safety Act, on 1 December the government announced the terms of reference and the Lead Reviewer for its review of pornography regulation, legislation, and enforcement. The objectives for this Review include assessing the impact that legal pornography, including AI generated pornography has on viewers and whether law enforcement and the criminal justice system have the tools they need to effectively respond to child abuse content on pornographic sites.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the most common reason for rejecting an application for asylum was in each year since 2016.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release[ND1] ’. Data on outcomes of [ND2] asylum applications at initial decision, including refusals, is published in table Asy_D02 of the Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2023. Please note that reason for refusal is not published but the data is broken down by type of refusal (e.g. third country refusal, certified refusal). Definitions of the types of refusals can be found in the ‘Definitions’ page of the workbook.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar[ND3] ’.
Please link to Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [ND1]
I believe this PQ relates to 'refusals' rather than 'withdrawals' of asylum applications. [ND2]
Please link to immigration - Research and statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [ND3]