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 to tackle the illegal possession of firearms in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by the illegal possession of firearms. Our approach is centred around:
The Government keeps firearms controls under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists. The Firearms Act 2023 responds to concerns from law enforcement and extends licensing controls to miniature rifle ranges and extends the criminal law to cover possessing component parts of ammunition with intent to manufacture.
The Online Safety Act 2023 includes Firearms Offences in the list of priority offences. In addition, the recently introduced Criminal Justice Bill includes measures relating to the possession of 3D printed firearms templates.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of Chagossian descent have been refused British nationality in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are unable to provide this data as we do not record data relating to an individual’s ancestor.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of Chagossian descent have been granted British nationality since November 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are unable to provide this data as we do not record data relating to an individual’s ancestor.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to bring forward legislative proposals to allow the Government to ban protests in absence of a request from the requisite police commissioner.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been in regular contact with the police over the use of their powers to manage protests. Where we identify gaps in the legislation, we will seek to address them.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of firework-related crime; and what steps her Department is taking to help tackle firework-related crime.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Recent reports of protesters firing fireworks are wholly unacceptable. In some cases, fireworks have been aimed towards police and have injured officers. The Government fully condemns this behaviour and supports police in their robust use of powers to tackle disruptive activity of this kind.
It is a criminal offence for any person to throw, cast or fire a firework in a street or public place. The police have the power to arrest anyone who breaks this law. The Government has been in regular contact with the police over the use of their powers to manage disruption during protests.
The Government regularly reviews legislation to ensure it safeguards the public and adequately reflects challenges that are likely to be faced today. As such, where gaps in legislation are identified, we will seek to address them.
More generally, the Government's intention has always been to minimise any negative impact of fireworks and we support their considerate use, reducing the risks and disturbances to individuals, animals, and property.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to increase the number of border officials at UK airports.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Border Force will continue to adjust their workforce according to demand.
Border Force keeps its resourcing and staffing numbers under constant review in light of passenger arrival data provided by carriers and port operators.
Resource and staffing requirements at every port are continually reviewed by Border Force and resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required. The Home Office’s priority is to deliver a safe and secure border and we will never compromise on this.
Border Force does not hold the cost of running the UK’s border policy for each of the last 10 years in an easily accessible format.
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) contains information on Border Force staffing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK border force officers have been recruited in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Staffing and financial figures for Border Force from 2018 to 2022 can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts.
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2018 to 2019 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Office annual report and accounts: 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes into the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Khat is a Class C Drug and therefore Border Force seek to prevent its importation into the UK by interdicting it at the border.
As part of our ten years drugs strategy, the Home Office is investing 300 million over three years to mobilise a robust plan that attacks every phrase of the supply chain. Together with NCA partners we will continue to protect our borders and bring justice to those who attempt to smuggle drugs into the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the smuggling of khat from the Middle East.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Khat is a Class C Drug and therefore Border Force seek to prevent its importation into the UK by interdicting it at the border.
As part of our ten years drugs strategy, the Home Office is investing 300 million over three years to mobilise a robust plan that attacks every phrase of the supply chain. Together with NCA partners we will continue to protect our borders and bring justice to those who attempt to smuggle drugs into the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help increase police charging rates for burglaries.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows a 55% per cent fall in the level of domestic burglary when comparing the Crime Survey to year ending March 2023 with the year ending March 2010. This represents a fall from 917,000 incidents to 409,000 incidents. While this is clearly good news, the Government recognises the significant impact invasive crimes such as domestic burglary can have on individuals and the wider community, and we are committed to tackling and preventing these crimes.
In her open letter to police leaders in September 2022, the Home Secretary made it clear the public want to know the police will visit them when a home burglary has been committed. We therefore welcome the announcement made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the 8 June that all 43 police forces in England and Wales have been implementing this policy since March. We are working with police leaders to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public. https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-now-attending-scene-of-every-home-burglary
The commitment to attend home burglaries is being supported by specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations. https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary Setting the standard in respect of the initial response and the subsequent investigation, the guidance sits alongside the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on Investigations.
As part of this back-to-basics approach, police forces across England and Wales have committed 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. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pursuing-all-reasonable-lines-of-enquiry-letter-to-police-leaders/pursuing-all-reasonable-lines-of-enquiry-letter-to-police-leaders
Furthermore, the Home Secretary has made it clear she expects forces to work with partners across the justice system to see more criminals charged and prosecuted.
To help ensure the police have the resources they need to fight crime and tackle anti-social behaviour, we have delivered on our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers by the end of March this year. As of 31 March, a total of 20,947 additional officers had been recruited across England and Wales through the Police Uplift Programme, raising the number of police officers in England and Wales to 149,566, the highest number on record since comparable records began.