Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent instructions her Department has given to management at (a) Brook House and (b) Tinsley House immigration removal centres on changes to operational regimes.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Brook House and Tinsley House immigration removal centres (IRCs), located near Gatwick airport, are operated through private contract, with Home Office oversight. This oversight includes daily operational monitoring by Detention and Escorting Services (DES) Compliance teams and second line assurance carried out by DES Audit and Assurance team. Quarterly, high level oversight is carried out by senior Home Office officials and Commercial leads. Cumulatively, this oversight framework ensures the delivery of services and provisions in line with the supplier’s contract, statutory instruments, Home Office policies and published guidance.
In order to support the management of the arrival of migrants, we have temporarily accommodated people under the provisions of the Short-term Holding Facility (STHF) Rules 2018 in a small number of IRCs, including Tinsley House.
Additionally, the Home Office works closely with our providers and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the immigration removal estate, which includes making sure anyone who may have been exposed self-isolates. As part of these safeguards, operational regimes may be adapted to mitigate the spread of the virus. All residents continue to have access to necessary provisions during this time.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when findings on the police and CPS response to prosecuting rape offences from the first phase of Project Soteria, which was announced in the cross-Government end-to-end rape review published in June 2021, will be made public.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Operation Soteria is a joint police-Crown Prosecution Service programme designed to drive improvements in the handling of rape cases, with an overarching aim to build a new national operating model for the investigation of rape and serious sexual assault.
The Home Office is providing funding for five police forces – Avon and Somerset, the Metropolitan Police Service, Durham, West Midlands and South Wales - to participating in intensive academic research, and the resulting recommendations, tools and techniques are embedded in each force.
Research has concluded in Avon and Somerset and the Metropolitan Police Service and recently commenced in Durham.
Findings from the research are shared with police and prosecutors nationally as soon as they are available, including through the National Rape and Sexual Offences Learning Network events. The most recent national learning event took place on the 11 January and outlined findings from research in Avon and Somerset and the Metropolitan Police Service. This event was attended by close to 300 practitioners, with 39 forces represented.
In addition, progress updates on Operation Soteria form part of the Government’s regular rape review progress updates, the first of which was published on 9 December 2021.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the data she holds on the number of people reporting offences under the Offences against The Person Act 1861, section 23, and section 24 in each year since 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Information on the number of crimes recorded under the Offences against The Person Act 1861 section 23 and section 24, including the offence subcodes “Administering poison so as to endanger life” and “Administering poison with intent to injure or annoy” for each financial year from 2015/16 to 2020/21 can be found in the attached annex.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have reported street flashing as part of the recorded crime statistics for exposure and voyeurism for each year since 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects information on the number of Exposure and Voyeurism offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. However whether or not these offences involved street flashing is not separately identifiable.