Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department will announce the pilot areas for Respect Orders.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
In February, we introduced new Respect Orders through our Crime and Policing Bill. The Bill recently completed Second Reading in the House of Lords, with Committee Stage expected to begin in November.
Respect Orders will be tough behavioural orders aimed at tackling the most persistent adult anti-social behaviour offenders. Further details on next steps for the Respect Order will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to launch its consultation on changes to indefinite leave to remain for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders; and how long her Department expects to run that consultation for.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.
I welcomed the opportunity to listen to the views of Members around these subjects in the recent 8th September Westminster Hall Debate on settlement.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year, and the length of the consultation will be announced at that point. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation.
We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of exempting people with experience of transnational suppression from proposals to increase the qualifying time for Indefinite Leave to Remain to ten years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation.
Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals, and we will continue to ensure that robust systems are in place to detect, deter and counter such activity.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will work with (a) housing associations, (b) police authorities, (c) mayors, (d) local authorities and (e) other landlords to introduce fast track courts to tackle antisocial behaviour cases.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. Every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for ASB, who will work with communities to develop a local ASB action plan.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to the police and other relevant agencies to tackle ASB quickly and effectively. We will crack down on those making neighbourhoods feel unsafe and unwelcoming by introducing the new Respect Order, which will carry tough sanctions and penalties for persistent adult offenders. Breaching a Respect Order will be a criminal offence, allowing police officers to immediately arrest offenders and disrupt ongoing ASB. We are also extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 to 72 hours and enhancing the powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.
There are currently no plans to introduce fast-track courts for ASB.
This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. We have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days for this year to tackle the outstanding caseload, including in relation to ASB cases.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ask the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation to publish guidance on what constitutes terrorism in the event of an attack by a hostile state.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
To declare an attack as a terrorist incident is an operationally independent decision for the Police, taken in line with the definition of terrorism as set out in Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the published criteria for exceptional circumstances in leave to remain decisions to include (a) exceptional community work and (b) acknowledgement or honours from the British Government recognising community contribution.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people employed by the Metropolitan police in (a) counter terrorism and (b) other national responsibility areas are based outside London.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office does not hold the requested information. Details of the numbers of Metropolitan Police Services employees in different locations are a matter for the service itself.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Metropolitan Police employees are based outside London.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office does not hold the requested information. Details of the numbers of Metropolitan Police Services employees in different locations are a matter for the service itself.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the No Recourse to Public Funds policy on trends in the level of child poverty.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
The government is working to develop a strategy to drive forward short and long-term actions to reduce child poverty.
The strategy will consider levers to alleviate poverty experienced by all children in the UK, regardless of immigration status, including children either subject to or impacted by the No Recourse to Public Funds policy.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating guidance issued to police authorities to allow officers to knock suspected criminals off push bikes, in line with moped guidance.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The College of Policing has issued guidance on when a roads policing pursuit is justified and proportionate, the Home Office has no plans to issue its own updated guidance on roads policing pursuits involving push bikes.
Any decision on when it is appropriate to use tactical contact is an operational matter for the police as outlined in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice on Police Pursuits.