Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) refugee, (b) asylum seeker and (c) human rights charities his Department consulted on the drafting of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Department undertakes routine engagement with a range of stakeholders, on a range of topics, in the development of its immigration policies. As part of the Bill's passage through Parliament there are also opportunities for engagement through the parliamentary process.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on a new standalone criminal offence to protect retail workers from violence and abuse.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
We keep all legislation under review. Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the shoplifting of goods of a value of £200 or less is a summary offence unless the defendant, if an adult, elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution. There is a misconception this is used as a threshold by police forces, so that if the value of goods stolen is under £200, police will not respond. No police force has such a policy and this summary offence for shoplifting does not prevent police taking action against shoplifters.
The Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime. In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a valued part of the police workforce, as a key liaison point to help resolve local issues and foster good community relations.
Decisions around recruitment and retention of PCSOs and the powers and duties they have are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of theft from a shop of goods with a value of £200 or less being a summary-only offence on detection rates for low value shop theft.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
We keep all legislation under review. Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the shoplifting of goods of a value of £200 or less is a summary offence unless the defendant, if an adult, elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution. There is a misconception this is used as a threshold by police forces, so that if the value of goods stolen is under £200, police will not respond. No police force has such a policy and this summary offence for shoplifting does not prevent police taking action against shoplifters.
The Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime. In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a valued part of the police workforce, as a key liaison point to help resolve local issues and foster good community relations.
Decisions around recruitment and retention of PCSOs and the powers and duties they have are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of police community support officers on shoplifting charge rates in the last 10 years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
We keep all legislation under review. Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the shoplifting of goods of a value of £200 or less is a summary offence unless the defendant, if an adult, elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution. There is a misconception this is used as a threshold by police forces, so that if the value of goods stolen is under £200, police will not respond. No police force has such a policy and this summary offence for shoplifting does not prevent police taking action against shoplifters.
The Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime. In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a valued part of the police workforce, as a key liaison point to help resolve local issues and foster good community relations.
Decisions around recruitment and retention of PCSOs and the powers and duties they have are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of including measures to tackle shoplifting in the Criminal Justice Bill.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
We keep all legislation under review. Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the shoplifting of goods of a value of £200 or less is a summary offence unless the defendant, if an adult, elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution. There is a misconception this is used as a threshold by police forces, so that if the value of goods stolen is under £200, police will not respond. No police force has such a policy and this summary offence for shoplifting does not prevent police taking action against shoplifters.
The Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime. In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a valued part of the police workforce, as a key liaison point to help resolve local issues and foster good community relations.
Decisions around recruitment and retention of PCSOs and the powers and duties they have are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to increase the presence of police community support officers in town centres.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
We keep all legislation under review. Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the shoplifting of goods of a value of £200 or less is a summary offence unless the defendant, if an adult, elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution. There is a misconception this is used as a threshold by police forces, so that if the value of goods stolen is under £200, police will not respond. No police force has such a policy and this summary offence for shoplifting does not prevent police taking action against shoplifters.
The Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime. In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a valued part of the police workforce, as a key liaison point to help resolve local issues and foster good community relations.
Decisions around recruitment and retention of PCSOs and the powers and duties they have are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will undertake a post legislative review of section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 to help assess the potential effectiveness of the introduction of an offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship in (a) preventing, (b) prosecuting and (c) punishing coercive control.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Department works closely with and promotes organisations that seek to improve the employer's response to domestic abuse, including with the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC).
In addition, through the Employers Engagement Fund, The Survivors Trust has been awarded funding in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to work with employers to raise awareness of domestic abuse, train their employees on how to identify, better understand and respond to domestic abuse disclosures in the workplace.
Our national communications campaign ‘Enough’ was launched in 2022, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society. Campaign advertising has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales, and thousands of clicks on the website through to organisations that support victims of these crimes.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to encourage workplaces to (a) promote positive cultural change and (b) prevent harmful attitudes and behaviours that lead to violence against women.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Department works closely with and promotes organisations that seek to improve the employer's response to domestic abuse, including with the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC).
In addition, through the Employers Engagement Fund, The Survivors Trust has been awarded funding in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to work with employers to raise awareness of domestic abuse, train their employees on how to identify, better understand and respond to domestic abuse disclosures in the workplace.
Our national communications campaign ‘Enough’ was launched in 2022, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society. Campaign advertising has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales, and thousands of clicks on the website through to organisations that support victims of these crimes.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his department is taking to promote programmes that engage directly with men and boys to prevent violence against women and girls.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Department works closely with and promotes organisations that seek to improve the employer's response to domestic abuse, including with the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC).
In addition, through the Employers Engagement Fund, The Survivors Trust has been awarded funding in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to work with employers to raise awareness of domestic abuse, train their employees on how to identify, better understand and respond to domestic abuse disclosures in the workplace.
Our national communications campaign ‘Enough’ was launched in 2022, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society. Campaign advertising has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales, and thousands of clicks on the website through to organisations that support victims of these crimes.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to implement Articles 12.1 and 12.4 of the Istanbul Convention.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Department works closely with and promotes organisations that seek to improve the employer's response to domestic abuse, including with the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC).
In addition, through the Employers Engagement Fund, The Survivors Trust has been awarded funding in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to work with employers to raise awareness of domestic abuse, train their employees on how to identify, better understand and respond to domestic abuse disclosures in the workplace.
Our national communications campaign ‘Enough’ was launched in 2022, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society. Campaign advertising has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales, and thousands of clicks on the website through to organisations that support victims of these crimes.