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Written Question
Firearms: Licensing
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police forces in England are following guidance on the processing of shotgun licence applications.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep our controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists and to minimise the risk to public safety.

The Coroner at the Inquest into the fatal shootings at Keyham issued Prevention of Future Deaths Reports on 8 March with recommendations for the Government to consider in relation to firearms licensing legislation. In addition, we are also considering recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in relation to their investigation in respect of the Keyham shootings, and recommendations from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting on the Isle of Skye.

On 1 November 2021, we published new Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. Police forces have a legal duty to have regard to this guidance when carrying out their firearms licensing function. The Statutory Guidance provides guidance to the police on assessing the suitability of applicants to possess firearms, including applications made for shotgun certificates, and is helping to improve the quality of police firearms licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces.

A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was reissued in February this year. This followed a first-year review of the guidance.


Written Question
Firearms: Licensing
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation on the ownership of firearms.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep our controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists and to minimise the risk to public safety.

The Coroner at the Inquest into the fatal shootings at Keyham issued Prevention of Future Deaths Reports on 8 March with recommendations for the Government to consider in relation to firearms licensing legislation. In addition, we are also considering recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in relation to their investigation in respect of the Keyham shootings, and recommendations from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting on the Isle of Skye.

On 1 November 2021, we published new Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. Police forces have a legal duty to have regard to this guidance when carrying out their firearms licensing function. The Statutory Guidance provides guidance to the police on assessing the suitability of applicants to possess firearms, including applications made for shotgun certificates, and is helping to improve the quality of police firearms licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces.

A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was reissued in February this year. This followed a first-year review of the guidance.


Written Question
Nitrous Oxide: Sales
Thursday 9th February 2023

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to ban the sale of nitrous oxide canisters.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 3 September 2021, the Government asked the independent statutory advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), to provide an updated assessment of the harms of nitrous oxide, including advice on whether it should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The ACMD is independent of Government and can provide a broad range of recommendations, including advice on regulatory or legislative changes. The Government will consider the ACMD advice carefully before deciding how to proceed.


Written Question
Terrorism: Victims
Monday 5th December 2022

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make it an offence to harass the victims of terror attacks.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

This Government is determined to make sure that victims of terrorism receive the support they deserve. Victims of terrorism are provided with practical and emotional support from specialist service providers, enabling them to cope with the immediate impact of a terrorist attack and to recover from the longer-term consequences.

No victim should ever have to face harassment after experiencing trauma. The Government is determined to do everything possible to protect all victims of harassment and stop perpetrators at the earliest opportunity. Anyone who thinks they are being harassed should report any incidents to the police.

In addition, under the online safety bill, any company whose services host user-generated content (those which allow users to post their own content online or interact with each other), and search engines, will need to proactively remove and prevent users from encountering the most serious and prevalent illegal content - including content relating to harassment and stalking offences. They will need to swiftly take down any illegal content where they become aware of it. Users will be better able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform.


Written Question
Visas: Serbia
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing visa free travel for people wishing to visit the UK from Serbia.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The UK keeps its visa system under regular review. Decisions on changes reflect a range of factors. These will vary globally, but often include security, compliance, returns and prosperity.


Written Question
Electric Scooters
Wednesday 22nd June 2022

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the penalties are for people found using e-scooters illegally.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

There are various offences relating to illegal e-scooter use that the police can enforce with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN): uninsured driving can result in a FPN of £300 and 6 penalty points on a driving licence; riding without a driving licence can result in a FPN of £100 and 3-6 penalty points on a driving licence; while riding on the pavement can result in a FPN of £50. Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the power to seize privately owned e-scooters for driving without insurance or a driving licence.

Enforcement of road traffic law and deployment of available resources to tackle illegal riding of e-scooters is an operational matter for Chief Officers according to local policing plans.


Written Question
Hate Crime: LGBT+ People
Thursday 19th May 2022

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the reporting of LGBT+ hate crimes.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Increases in police recorded hate crime have been partly driven by general improvements in crime recording, better identification of what constitutes a hate crime by the police and increased victim willingness to come forward.

This is positive and reflects the hard work that has gone in to ensuring police can target their resources and understand the scale of the challenge, and that victims get the support they need.

The Government’s new strategy for tackling hate crime will be published shortly. This strategy will set out steps to increase the reporting of all forms of hate crime – including hate crimes targeting sexual orientation or transgender identity – building on our achievements under the 2016-20 Hate Crime Action Plan.


Written Question
Nitrous Oxide: Misuse
Thursday 20th January 2022

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of restricting the sale of nitrous oxide capsules to prevent their illegal use.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Government takes the supply of substances for their psychoactive effect seriously. There are legitimate uses for nitrous oxide, such as in medicine, dentistry and as a propellant for whipped cream canisters, but those who supply nitrous oxide who know, or who are reckless as to whether, it will be used for its psychoactive effect may be subject to a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.

On 3 September, the Government asked the independent statutory advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, to provide an updated assessment of the harms of nitrous oxide, including whether it should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The ACMD is independent of Government and provides a broad range of recommendations, including advice on legislative changes. The Government will consider the ACMD’s advice carefully before deciding how to proceed.


Written Question
Hate Crime
Thursday 18th November 2021

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle the increase of violent hate crimes in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

All forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable.

Whilst the biggest driver for the increase in recorded crime is general improvements in police recording, along with increased victim willingness to come forward, we cannot be complacent. That is why we have committed to publishing a new Hate Crime Strategy this year to set out the Government’s plan for tackling these abhorrent crimes.

The Government will continue to work with the police and stakeholders to understand what more can be done to address hate crime trends.


Written Question
Crime: Rural Areas
Tuesday 14th September 2021

Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support she is providing to police forces to help tackle rural crime.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

We are committed to driving down rural crime, which is why the Government provides funding for the police’s National Wildlife Crime Unit and fully supports the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Rural Affairs Strategy, which helps provide a better rural focus in policing. Delivery of the Strategy is supported by the Government’s recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers over the next three years to ensure that the public are protected against crime, including rural crime. As of 30 June, this year Leicestershire have recruited 206 additional officers and have been allocated a total of 177 additional officers for years one and two of the uplift.

It is the responsibility of Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables, who understand the priorities of their communities, to ensure that resources, including these new officers, are deployed accordingly.