Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) on tackling the theft of number plates.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.
We work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council to find solutions to all types of vehicle theft. We do this via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focus on the prevention and deterrence of theft of vehicles.
Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities, and we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.
This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on combatting the theft of number plates.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.
We work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council to find solutions to all types of vehicle theft. We do this via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focus on the prevention and deterrence of theft of vehicles.
Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities, and we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.
This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle number plate theft.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.
We work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council to find solutions to all types of vehicle theft. We do this via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focus on the prevention and deterrence of theft of vehicles.
Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities, and we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.
This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the risk of modern slavery in hand car washes.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery across all sectors, including hand car washes.
The Home Office funds the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), which operates a national licensing scheme in certain high-risk sectors to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation. The GLAA has specially trained officers with police-style powers to prevent, detect, and investigate serious labour exploitation across the entire economy in England and Wales.
The Government is improving the enforcement of employment rights by establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Bill. The FWA will bring together the GLAA, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Team. This will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation.
The FWA will have strong powers to investigate and take action against a range of labour market abuses, including serious exploitation and modern slavery. This includes new powers to investigate under the Fraud Act 2006.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children who remained in the UK without a deported parent were taken into care in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. This is subject to several exceptions, including where to do so would be a breach of a person’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.
The deportation of a foreign national offender is considered on its individual merits, including assessment of a genuine and subsisting relationship with a child and the effect of deportation on the child.
In every decision, Home Office staff will have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the best interests of any children in line with our duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children whose parents were deported in each of the last 10 years are British citizens.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. This is subject to several exceptions, including where to do so would be a breach of a person’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.
The deportation of a foreign national offender is considered on its individual merits, including assessment of a genuine and subsisting relationship with a child and the effect of deportation on the child.
In every decision, Home Office staff will have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the best interests of any children in line with our duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of people subject to Deportation Orders who had children in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. This is subject to several exceptions, including where to do so would be a breach of a person’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.
The deportation of a foreign national offender is considered on its individual merits, including assessment of a genuine and subsisting relationship with a child and the effect of deportation on the child.
In every decision, Home Office staff will have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the best interests of any children in line with our duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the extent of unwitting employment by UK firms of hoax remote workers who have concealed the fact that they are North Korean.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On Thursday 12th September 2024, The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an advisory notice on North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers. OFSI assessed that it is almost certain that UK firms are currently being targeted North Korean IT workers disguised as freelance third-country IT workers to generate revenue for Designated Persons (DPs) operating on behalf of the North Korean regime. DPRK IT workers have skills in areas including, but not limited to, software development, IT support, graphic design, and animation.
The advisory identifies six key threats linked to North Korean IT workers’ activity affecting UK firms, lists red flag indicators for UK firms to identify North Korean IT workers, and makes recommendations for mitigation measures for UK firms to better protect themselves against this threat.
OFSI continues to work with wider Government and international partners to track the deployment of DPRK IT workers abroad and map the development and evolution of this threat of proliferation financing in light of increased industry awareness. OFSI will take robust, proportionate action in response to breaches of financial sanctions. In the most serious cases, we will not hesitate to impose civil monetary penalties or refer cases for criminal investigation where appropriate.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) businesses and (b) sectors on how businesses can protect themselves from the inadvertent employment of hoax remote workers who conceal their North Korean identity.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On Thursday 12th September 2024, The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an advisory notice on North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers. OFSI assessed that it is almost certain that UK firms are currently being targeted North Korean IT workers disguised as freelance third-country IT workers to generate revenue for Designated Persons (DPs) operating on behalf of the North Korean regime. DPRK IT workers have skills in areas including, but not limited to, software development, IT support, graphic design, and animation.
The advisory identifies six key threats linked to North Korean IT workers’ activity affecting UK firms, lists red flag indicators for UK firms to identify North Korean IT workers, and makes recommendations for mitigation measures for UK firms to better protect themselves against this threat.
OFSI continues to work with wider Government and international partners to track the deployment of DPRK IT workers abroad and map the development and evolution of this threat of proliferation financing in light of increased industry awareness. OFSI will take robust, proportionate action in response to breaches of financial sanctions. In the most serious cases, we will not hesitate to impose civil monetary penalties or refer cases for criminal investigation where appropriate.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to protect Iranian (a) dissidents, (b) activists, and (c) journalists residing in the UK from (i) harassment, (ii) surveillance (iii) and intimidation by agents of the Iranian regime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK and its people against any threats from the Iranian state. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.
The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our legal powers to counter transnational repression and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats. In March, I announced a package of measures to tackle state threats from Iran. This included our decision to place Iran on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).
I also announced new training for all frontline police officers on state threats; further sanctions against Iranian-linked criminal groups; an independent review of the parts of our counter-terrorism framework which could be applied to state threats; continued support to the Jewish community; and strengthened enforcement of our immigration measures to protect the UK from Iranian interference. Finally, the National Protective Security Authority and Counter Terrorism Policing will continue to provide protective security advice and support to individuals and organisations threatened by the Iranian regime and its criminal proxies, including Persian language media organisations.
In line with recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Transnational Repression Review, new guidance is available on GOV.UK to provide those who believe themselves to be at-risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.