Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider the potential merits of making identity theft a recordable crime.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Existing legislation, such as the Fraud Act 2006, the Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Identity Documents Act 2010, and the Data Protection Act 2018, already covers existing cases where criminals use stolen identities to commit crime, and the protection of personal data. As such, at this time, we do not intend to make identity theft a criminal offence.
We are aware of the harms caused by identity theft, and we recognise that the most effective way of preventing it is to improve the safety and security of the identity systems we use. We continue looking at what more can be done to ensure that identity systems remain secure and robust against potential attack.
Additionally, a central part of the Government’s new Fraud Strategy is to empower the public to further protect themselves from fraud by delivering clear, consistent and timely messaging which will helps millions more to prevent their data from being stolen.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many LGBTQI+ people are in immigration detention in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The management of and support for detained individuals that identify as LGBTQI+ is set out in published guidance. Detention Services Order 2/2016 ‘Lesbian, gay and bisexual detainees in the detention estate’, and Detention Services Order 11/2012 ‘Care and Management of Transsexual Detainees’. Each set out how individuals with these particular protected characteristics should be safeguarded and treated in detention.
The Home Office does not hold central data on the number of LGBTQI+ residents in immigration detention. It is not incumbent upon a detained individual to declare their sexuality. Consequently, even a manual trawl of cases will not necessarily be representative of the true number of LGBTQI individuals detained during any period.
The Home Office does however publish statistics on people in immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’. The number of people in detention at the end of each quarter are in table Det_D02 of the ‘Detention detailed datasets(opens in a new tab)’, where the data can be broken down by current place of detention. The latest data relate to as at the end of December 2022.
Data as at the end of March 2023 is scheduled to be published in late May 2023.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Metropolitan Police are taking steps to support the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office works closely with policing partners to support requests from international partners across the full spectrum of policing.
The Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command dispatched a team of specialists to Sri Lanka in 2019, including family liaison officers, to support the families of British victims and assist with the repatriation of deceased British nationals. A programme run by Interpol involved the training of 30 Sri Lankan forensic specialists and police officers by UK experts in disaster victim identification. MPS has not deployed any officers in support of the Sri Lankan investigation and will consider any request to support an overseas investigation where it is proportionate, necessary and legal.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to reports that HSBC acquired shares in a Chinese chemicals and plastics company Xinjiang Tianyen, what steps she is taking to extend Section 54 on transparency and supply chains of the Modern Slavery Act to regulate the activities of financial services institutions.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The UK was the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery. The landmark provision in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires organisations, including financial institutions, with a turnover of £36m or more, to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
The prevalence of modern slavery and complexity of global supply chains means that it is highly unlikely that any sector or company is immune from the risks of modern slavery, including those in financial services. The Government encourages companies to monitor their supply chains with rigour to uncover and remedy any associations they may find with forced labour or other labour abuses.
The Government has already committed to take forward an ambitious package of changes to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation, including mandating the specific reporting topics that statements must cover and introducing financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply.
To further bolster our approach to modern slavery, on 24 March 2021, the Government announced a review of the 2014 Modern Slavery Strategy. As part of the strategy review we will consider how to strengthen our approach to transparency in supply chains, including in relation to financial institutions. A revised strategy will allow us to build on the considerable progress we have made to date, adapt our approach to the evolving nature of these terrible crimes, and continue our international leadership in tackling modern slavery.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Urdu speakers are employed at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office to investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UKVI human resources do not compile information on the number staff employed in the British High Commission in Islamabad, or at the Home Office, who assess entry clearance applications and who speak Urdu.
In assessing applications for entry clearance, UKVI complies with the Home Office policy for the use of translators.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are employed as Urdu translators at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office to investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UKVI human resources do not compile information on the number staff employed in the British High Commission in Islamabad, or at the Home Office, who assess entry clearance applications and who speak Urdu.
In assessing applications for entry clearance, UKVI complies with the Home Office policy for the use of translators.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2018 to Question 196679 on Slavery: Victim Support Schemes, whether he plans to adopt directly the Human Trafficking Foundation’s slavery and trafficking survivor care standards or introduce standards based on those produced by the Human Trafficking Foundation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to ensuring minimum standards of care in the new victim care contract. Compliance with a minimum standard of care will be monitored using an inspection regime, which will be based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Slavery and Trafficking Survivor Care Standards.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2018 to Question 196680 on Human trafficking: victim support schemes, whether there will be a public consultation on any future decisions on subsistence rates paid to people supported through the Victim Care Contract.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Government is committed to ensuring that potential victims of modern slavery receive the right amount of financial and material support to meet their needs during their reflection and recovery period.
There are no current plans to do a public consultation on the future subsistence rates.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to provide additional funding to ensure the 2020 modern slavery victim care contract complies with the Human Trafficking Foundation's slavery and trafficking survivor care standards.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to introducing minimum standards of care in the new victim care contract.
These standards will be monitored using an inspection regime, based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Slavery and Trafficking Survivor Care Standards. The tender of the new contract will include the standards and any costs associated will be incorporated as part of the contact procurement process.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Office's national referral mechanism reform guidance published in October 2018 and the High Court judgement on AM & K versus SSHD, whether the plans to make the cuts proposed as part of the national referral mechanism reforms will still go ahead in February and March 2019.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Home Office has paused the staged implementation of the alignment of subsistence rates for potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers, which was due to start in February 2019, whilst it considers the implication of the judgment in AM and K vs SSHD.
We will work through the implications of the judgment in respect to our future approach to financial support, and will share further details as soon as we are able. The Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week whilst this work is carried out.
We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible