Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) police forces and (b) local partnerships to protect (i) hospitality and (ii) high street businesses during peak seasons.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government wants town centres to be vibrant, welcoming places where businesses thrive and people feel safe and come to shop, socialise and live.
Police and Crime Commissioners are leading on targeted action to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour that blights our town centres and high streets as part of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative. The work is being delivered in partnership with councils, schools, health services, business, transport providers and community groups all playing a role over the summer. Under the initiative, partners have used targeted enforcement, visible policing and place-based interventions to reduce retail and street crime and anti-social behaviour in over 500 town centres and high streets across England and Wales.
Devon and Cornwall Police have listed 30 locations as part of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative and have delivered interventions to tackle retail crime including Safer Business Action Days, targeted training for police and shop staff, and wider adoption of ShopWatch and DISC radio communication systems.
In addition, the Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of this funding, Devon and Cornwall Police are in receipt of £1m.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of modern slavery and labour exploitation in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government takes reports of labour exploitation in the hospitality sector very seriously, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery – wherever it occurs.
The Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) has a statutory duty under the Immigration Act 2016 to undertake an annual assessment of the scale and nature of non-compliance in the labour market. Sectors which include hospitality were not identified as a high risk for non-compliance in the DLME’s 2025-26 annual Labour Market Enforcement Strategy.
The Government is establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Bill. The FWA will bring together the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Team. This will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation. The Fair Work Agency will have strong powers to investigate and take action against a range of labour market abuses, including serious exploitation and modern slavery in the hospitality sector. Once established, the FWA will take on the DLME’s role of assessing non-compliance in the labour market.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of seasonal visitor surges on levels of (a) shop theft and (b) antisocial behaviour in rural and coastal constituencies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the great harm and misery that anti-social behaviour (ASB) and shop theft causes our communities, including during seasonal visitor peaks in coastal and rural areas.That is why tackling anti-social behaviour and shop theft are top priorities for this Government, and at the heart of our Safer Streets Mission.
We are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police tackle retail crime. We are supporting the implementation of the new ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together’ strategy, published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
As part of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for ASB, who will work with communities to develop a local ASB action plan.
And we are legislating through the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen powers available to the police to tackle ASB and shop theft. This includes new Respect Orders to tackle persistent adult ASB offenders, powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence and introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps to support the use of the Cornish language on official documents.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK Government recognises Cornish as a minority language under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
There are no statutory requirements for the Home Office to provide official documents in Cornish. Responsibility for promoting and supporting the Cornish language sits with Cornwall Council, with UK-wide policy oversight led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with civil society organisations on the proscription of Palestine Action.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Every proscription decision is made through careful consideration by the Home Secretary and follows advice from the cross-government Proscription Review Group, which involves technical assessments and deep engagement with subject matter experts including policy officials and law enforcement.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been granted for experiments using (a) dogs,(b) cats and (c) primates since 4 July 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Since 4 July 2025 to the present day, no new project licences have been granted that authorise the use of dogs, cats or primates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Worker visa scheme to support labour availability for longer crop cycles.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Seasonal Worker route is already available to growers throughout the full year but there are no plans to extend the maximum visa grant beyond the existing six months.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the Seasonal Worker visa route beyond 6 months.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Seasonal Worker route is already available to growers throughout the full year but there are no plans to extend the maximum visa grant beyond the existing six months.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the (a) supply and (b) use of sodium nitrite.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Certain chemicals can be used in the illicit manufacture of explosives or to cause harm. These are called explosives precursors and poisons.
The Poisons Act 1972 sets out the legal obligations in relation to the sale, purchase, and use of these chemicals for suppliers, professional users, and members of the public.
Sodium nitrite is a reportable poison listed in Part 4 of Schedule 1A of the Poisons Act 1972; this means it is lawful to sell this substance in Great Britain without further controls, however suppliers have a legal obligation to report any suspicious transactions.
The Home Office work with retailers to raise awareness and emphasise their legal obligation to report suspicious activity for regulated and reportable substances.