Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the policy justification is for permitting a confidential DBS checking service for transgender applicants which does not disclose details of sex; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) services require that applicants disclose all previous names and addresses so that they can process an application correctly and return accurate results.
The DBS provides a confidential service for transgender applicants in order to help protect their identity, via a dedicated ‘Sensitive’ application team. This process allows applicants to disclose previous gender/name information only to DBS so that the previous names are checked, but are not disclosed on the completed certificate unless criminal record information exists in that name.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take towards students affected by the TOEIC fraud cases in light of the judgement handed down from the Upper Tribunal in respect of RK and DK, reference [2022] UKUT 00112.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On 25 March 2022, the Presidential Panel of the Upper Tribunal, concluded in their determination that: “It is amply sufficient to prove the matter on the balance of probabilities, which is the correct legal standard… we do not consider that the evidential burden on the respondent in these cases was discharged by only a narrow margin (as in SM and Qadir v SSHD)”.
In view of this, we do not believe there is a need to make any major change in our approach to ETS cases.
We believe the changes the Home Office has made since 2019 have already brought significant redress this includes grant leave to many who might have otherwise been refused.
The Department will now look to update the casework guidance in light of RK and DK to ensure applicants are signposted to their right to obtain the voice recording of their TOEIC test from ETS. We believe, in light of the Upper Tribunal’s findings, this to be fairest and most objective way in which an individual can challenge the allegation before them.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to encourage recruitment of special constables by using financial incentives.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government recognises and values the professionalism, dedication and sacrifice shown by volunteers involved in policing. Special constables, along with the full range of police volunteers, make a vital contribution to keeping our communities safe. They bring diverse and valuable skills that complement the roles officers and staff play in delivering the best service to the public.
It is up to Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to decide how best to recognise and reward their contribution and they have the flexibility to do so.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many special constables have been recruited by each constabulary in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Information on the number of special constable joiners in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, covering the situation to 31 March each year, from 2007 onwards can be found in the ‘Joiners Open Data Table’ available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005766/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners-280721.ods
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many PIN notices have been issued by each constabulary in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
PINS are non-legislative tools and the Home Office has not collected information centrally on the number issued.
Responsibility for the publication of information by a police force sits with the Chief Constable. However, on the basis of information provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Home Office considers that the number of PINs issued since 2020 is likely to have been close to zero.