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 with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the causes of changes in the level of transphobic hate crimes.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is clear that all forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable, and we have a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes which target transgender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, and disability. We expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.
Whilst part of the increase in transgender hate crime may be due to a genuine rise, the biggest driver is likely to be general improvements in police recording. The police are also better at identifying whether a crime is a hate crime, along with increased victim willingness to come forward. This is positive and reflects the hard work that has gone in to ensuring that police can target their resources, understand the scale of the challenge and ensure that victims get the support they need.
Our absolute priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. This has included the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.
The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these despicable offences.
The Government is providing over £3m of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate-related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic based bullying. The providers are the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Diversity Role Models, EqualiTeach, Anne Frank Trust and the Diana Award.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Biometric Residence Permits were issued within 10 days of a person receiving their decision confirming their refugee status since 1 August 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (FedEx) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
Since 1st April 2022, DVLA have produced all BRPs within 48 hours of the production request, with 99.5% being produced within 24 hours. Since 1st April 2022, our Secure Delivery Partners, FedEx and Royal Mail Group have attempted to deliver over 99% of BRPs within 48 hours, and delivered over 80% of BRPs successfully on first delivery attempt.
Information on incorrect or returned deliveries is not publicly available, and so we are unable to answer this question.
Statistics regarding the individual production time of each BRP from the time a decision is made is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Biometric Residence Permits have been reported as not received by those with newly granted refugee status since 1 August 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (FedEx) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
Since 1st April 2022, DVLA have produced all BRPs within 48 hours of the production request, with 99.5% being produced within 24 hours. Since 1st April 2022, our Secure Delivery Partners, FedEx and Royal Mail Group have attempted to deliver over 99% of BRPs within 48 hours, and delivered over 80% of BRPs successfully on first delivery attempt.
Information on incorrect or returned deliveries is not publicly available, and so we are unable to answer this question.
Statistics regarding the individual production time of each BRP from the time a decision is made is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of starting the 28 day notice period for the end of asylum support 10 days after the issue of a Biometric Residence Permit.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Following the service of an asylum decision, an individual continues to be an asylum seeker for the purpose of asylum support until the end of the relevant prescribed period, also known as the ‘grace period’ or ‘move on period’. This period is 28 calendar days from when an individual is notified of a decision to accept their asylum claim and grant them leave. There are no current plans to extend this period (of 28 days).
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as soon as they are served their asylum decision. We offer support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.
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 help reduce levels of (a) homophobic, (b) biphobic and (c) transphobic hate crimes.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that all forms of hate crime - including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime - are completely unacceptable. We have a robust legislative framework in place and expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.
Our absolute priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting police by providing them with the resources they need, including having recruited 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.
The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.
The Government Equality Hub is providing over £3m of funding, between August 2021 and March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, including those who are victims of hate-related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic based bullying.
The Government has also made hate crime a “priority offence” in the Online Safety Act, which received Royal Assent on 26 October. Under new legal duties of care, technology companies will need to prevent, identify and remove illegal content and activity online. This means less illegal content - including content that incites hate on the grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation - will appear online and, when it does, it will be removed more quickly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of neighbourhood policing levels in Portsmouth.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions about how neighbourhood policing is delivered, including the size, composition and prioritisation of neighbourhood policing teams are for operationally independent Chief Constables. They are best placed to use their local knowledge and experience to serve local communities. Democratically elected PCCs, or mayors with these functions are responsible for holding Chief Constables to account for their running of the force.
We are ensuring that policing has the resources it needs. As a result of the Police Uplift there are now almost 150,000 officers (headcount) in police forces across England and Wales - the highest number on record. As at 31 March 2023, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary recruited 582 additional officers against a total three-year allocation of 518 officers.
As a result of our investment in policing, the number of police officers within local policing roles in England and Wales is the highest since comparable data began. As at 31 March 2023, in Hampshire and Isle of Wight there were 1,596 full time equivalent police officers employed in local policing roles, a 5.4% increase on the previous year (1,514 FTE in March 2022).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to combat the rise in hate crimes following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that all forms of hate crime, including antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crime, are completely unacceptable. We expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.
In light of the horrific Hamas terrorist acts in Israel and related reports of increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, the Prime Minister has announced additional funding of £3 million for the Community Security Trust to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites. The Home Secretary also chairs the Jewish Community Crime, Policing and Security Taskforce. This meeting brings together Government, law enforcement and the Community Security Trust in order to address Jewish community security concerns.
The Government is also concerned about increased reports of anti-Muslim hatred. The Home Office has extended the deadline for the protective security for mosques scheme and invite mosques and Muslim faith community centres to register for protective security measures. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has allocated over £6m to Tell MAMA since their inception in 2012 for their vital work monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred.
We are continuing to support the police to ensure they have the resources and tools required to tackle any incidents relating to the ongoing conflict. Where people incite racial or religious hatred or where people’s conduct is threatening, abusive or disorderly and causes distress to others, we expect the police to take action to ensure perpetrators can be brought to justice.
More broadly, the Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people employed by the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner's Office; and if she will make an assessment of how that figure compares to Commissioners' offices responsible for a similar geographical area.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
PCCs are responsible for the totality of policing within their force area. This includes delivering an effective and efficient police service to meet the priorities of the local community. As the locally elected representative for policing, it is for PCCs, working with their Chief Constable, to set their priorities for policing in their area and hold their Chief Constable to account for their performance.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are funded by the Government for their functions and this is distributed based on the relative needs of the police force they oversee. As a locally elected and democratically accountable individual, it is up to them to decide how to balance their expenditure on delivery of their policing and crime priorities, including the size and composition of the Office of the PCC.
Ultimately, PCCs are directly elected by the communities they serve, and it is the public that can hold their PCC to account for their decisions and actions at the ballot box.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Model for Change.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
PCCs are responsible for the totality of policing within their force area. This includes delivering an effective and efficient police service to meet the priorities of the local community. As the locally elected representative for policing, it is for PCCs, working with their Chief Constable, to set their priorities for policing in their area and hold their Chief Constable to account for their performance.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are funded by the Government for their functions and this is distributed based on the relative needs of the police force they oversee. As a locally elected and democratically accountable individual, it is up to them to decide how to balance their expenditure on delivery of their policing and crime priorities, including the size and composition of the Office of the PCC.
Ultimately, PCCs are directly elected by the communities they serve, and it is the public that can hold their PCC to account for their decisions and actions at the ballot box.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of neighbourhood policing levels in Portsmouth South constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Improving visibility of policing in a targeted way should be a priority for all forces. That is why the Home Secretary and I wrote to all Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners in August 2023, asking them to set out their plans to increase visibility and confidence in local policing and report on their progress in this area by March 2024.
It remains vital that neighbourhood policing is tailored around the needs of local communities. Decisions about the deployment of officers, including in neighbourhood policing roles, are for operationally independent Chief Constables, as they are best placed to use their local knowledge and experience to best serve the public interest.
Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for setting strategic policing objectives and for holding Chief Constables to account for their running of the force to ensure the public receives the high-quality policing they are entitled to expect.
The Home Office does not hold constituency level data regarding officer numbers. However, as at 31 March 2023, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has the highest number of officers in local policing roles (which includes neighbourhood policing roles) since comparable data began (March 2015), at 1,596 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers. This represents a 5.4% increase compared to the previous year.