Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how private, public and voluntary sector employers in each constituent part of the UK will be consulted as part of the programme of engagement with sectors as pledged in the December 2018 white paper entitled The UK's Future Skills-Based Immigration System.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government is committed to ensuring that a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, particularly businesses, have an opportunity to contribute their views on the future immigration system for EU and non-EU citizens alike. We are engaging in all regions and nations of the UK through regional and sector focussed events.
We are establishing advisory groups that will have detailed discussions with private, public and voluntary sector employers and industry representatives as the policy and system is developed. Engagement will include roundtable discussions with private, public and voluntary sector employers and industry representatives.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on public safety of the decision to release Abu Bakar Bashir from prison.
Answered by Ben Wallace
It is government practice not to comment on individual threat assessments. We are committed to working with our international partners, including the Indonesian Government, to tackle the threat from terrorism. HMG’s assessment of the risks to British nationals traveling overseas including the threat from terrorism is reflected in our Foreign Office Travel Advice.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what agri-food related occupations will be eligible under the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendations to expand Tier 2 migrant access after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government recognises the valuable contribution that overseas workers make to the UK economy and to our society. We are currently developing options for the future system which will be designed to work in the national interest.
On the 18 September, the Migration Advisory Committee published their final report on the current patterns of EEA migration into the UK. We are carefully considering their fourteen recommendations. We plan to publish a White Paper setting out more detail on the future arrangements later in the Autumn.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on agricultural labour as part of Government changes to controls on immigration and visas after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
On 27 July 2017, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on our future immigration system after the UK leaves the EU. We will await their report, which is due in September, before making any decisions about the future immigration system.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the most recent reports of the EU Devolved Administration Migration Analysis Group.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government is aware of the reports of the EU Devolved Administration Migration Analysis Group and it considers a wide range of views when assessing the implications of policies.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been convicted of driving whilst using a mobile phone in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office does not hold data on convictions. This data is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many NCA-led arrests there have been in each country of the UK in each year since 2015.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The breakdown for NCA-led arrests in each country of the UK since 2015 is as follows:
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
England and Wales | 1,436 | 1,337 | 753 |
Northern Ireland | 34 | 28 | 16 |
Scotland | 10 | 10 | 12 |
UK Total | 1,480 | 1,375 | 781 |
The lower number of NCA's recorded arrests in 2017 is attributable to several factors, including the Agency's wider strategic intent to increase the focus on all forms of disruptive activity and targeting those criminals engaged at the highest end of offending.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many automatic number plate recognition cameras are in operation in Northern Ireland for intelligence-led policing and customs purposes.
Answered by Ben Wallace
For security reasons, we do not disclose in detail technical measures deployed.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of progress in tackling the production and distribution of illegal psychoactive substances.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Section 58 of the Act commits the Secretary of State to review the operation of the Act, prepare a report of the review, and lay a copy of the report before Parliament 30 months after the commencement of the Act. The 30 month review of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 will be published in November 2018.
Early evidence since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (2016 PSA) came into effect shows that it is working. It has removed psychoactive substances from open sale.
Since the Act came into force, over 300 retailers across the United Kingdom have either closed down or are no longer selling psychoactive substances, police have arrested suppliers and action by the National Crime Agency has resulted in the removal of these drugs for sale on UK based websites.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects the final Migration Advisory Committee report assessing the impact on the UK labour market of the UK's exit from the EU to be published.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
In July 2017, the then-Home Secretary, my Rt. Hon Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU, and to report by September 2018. The commission can be found online here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/633321/Commission_to_the_MAC.pdf
MAC published an interim report on 27 March which is also available here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694494/eea-workers-uk-labour-market-interim-update.pdf