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Written Question
Gender Based Violence
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to tackle (a) violence and (b) intimidation against young women and girls.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

We have made significant progress since we published the Tackling VAWG Strategy in July 2021 and the complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in March 2022.

In the Tackling VAWG Strategy, the government committed to invest £3 million to better understand what works to prevent violence against women – to invest in high quality, evidence-informed prevention projects, including in schools, aiming to educate and inform children and young people about violence against women, healthy relationships and the consequences of abuse.

Our Domestic Abuse Act became law in April 2021. This is a landmark piece of legislation which includes important new protections and support for victims. Abusers are no longer be allowed to directly cross-examine their victims in the family and civil courts, and victims have better access to special measures in the courtroom to help prevent intimidation – such as protective screens and giving evidence via video link.

To improve the police response to tackling these crimes, we have supported the introduction of a new full-time National Policing Lead for VAWG, DCC Maggie Blyth, and have added violence against women to the Strategic Policing Requirement, meaning it is now set out as a national threat for forces to respond to alongside other threats such as terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse.

The Government also supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023, which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. The Act will come into force as quickly as reasonably possible.


Written Question
Asylum: Hotels
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress his Department has made on ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers in seaside towns.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

We are making significant progress in closing hotels, with 50 due to be closed by the end of January, and more in the coming months.

We are also working to move asylum seekers into alternative, cheaper accommodation and have successfully cleared the legacy backlog by deciding more than 112,000 cases, while maintaining the integrity of the system.


Written Question
Merseyside Police: Recruitment
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional police officers Merseyside Police has recruited since the the Police Uplift Programme was announced in July 2019.

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

During the Police Uplift Programme, the Home Office published data on the number of police officers in post and police officer recruits in England and Wales in the 'Police Officer Uplift’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics.

Table U2 of the data tables accompanying the final ‘Police Officer Uplift’ release, covering the position as at 31 March 2023, provides a breakdown of additional officers recruited through the Police Uplift Programme by month since October 2019. These data can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1171838/police-officer-uplift-final-position-as-at-march-2023-tables-260723.ods. Data are provided on a headcount basis and broken down by Police Force Area.

As at 31 March 2023, Merseyside Police have recruited 724 additional police officers attributable to the Police Uplift Programme. This is against an allocation to recruit 665 additional police officers for the three-year programme.


Written Question
Visas: Sudan
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a safe route for visa applications from Sudanese nationals fleeing conflict.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees. Since 2015, we have offered a safe and legal route to over half a million people seeking safety in the UK. The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing resettlement schemes which include the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.

The UK is proud to have welcomed Sudanese nationals through both our UK Resettlement Scheme and Community Sponsorship in 2021 and 2022, and we also welcome eligible Sudanese nationals through our refugee family reunion route.

While our safe and legal routes are some of the most generous anywhere, we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to come to the UK, and we are not able to open a bespoke route for every situation. The UK has no plans to introduce a designated resettlement scheme for Sudanese refugees.

It is our long-standing principle that those in need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.


Written Question
Drugs: Organised Crime
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent county lines gangs operating in (a) Southport and (b) other coastal communities.

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

This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen.

Through the Programme, we support a concentrated law enforcement response in the largest exporter areas. This includes funding Merseyside Police’s Project Medusa to tackle county lines originating in Merseyside.

County lines is a national issue which affects all forces which is why we also fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces, including those in coastal areas. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund to help other local police forces tackle the scourge of county lines.

Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 4,300 line closures, over 14,200 arrests and over 6,300 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 1,300 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, against the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 by April 2025.


Written Question
National Fraud Intelligence Bureau
Wednesday 24th May 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on dealing with cases referred to it by Action Fraud.

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

Reports submitted to Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).

The NFIB consider a number of factors, including whether there are any linked reports and the information provided about the suspects. Where there is sufficient evidence then the report will be analysed by a crime reviewer and sent to the appropriate police force to be considered for investigation.

We are replacing the Action Fraud service to create a more efficient new system that will provide better intelligence to forces. Improvements include:

  • Increasing the number of staff in the call centre
  • Expanding the reach of victim care services, including for the most vulnerable
  • Sending cases to forces faster and better progress updates on cases

These improvements, which have been tested across the victim support landscape, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant bodies, will improve the support services and reporting tools for victims, provide greater intelligence and insight to policing for investigations, and allow for greater proactive work to prevent and disrupt fraudsters at scale.


Written Question
National Fraud Intelligence Bureau
Wednesday 24th May 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

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 mandating that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau must assess and action all legitimate cases referred to it by Action Fraud.

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

Reports submitted to Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).

The NFIB consider a number of factors, including whether there are any linked reports and the information provided about the suspects. Where there is sufficient evidence then the report will be analysed by a crime reviewer and sent to the appropriate police force to be considered for investigation.

We are replacing the Action Fraud service to create a more efficient new system that will provide better intelligence to forces. Improvements include:

  • Increasing the number of staff in the call centre
  • Expanding the reach of victim care services, including for the most vulnerable
  • Sending cases to forces faster and better progress updates on cases

These improvements, which have been tested across the victim support landscape, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant bodies, will improve the support services and reporting tools for victims, provide greater intelligence and insight to policing for investigations, and allow for greater proactive work to prevent and disrupt fraudsters at scale.


Written Question
Asylum: Housing
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of housing aylum seekers on the local economies of towns which have received levelling up funding.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with accommodation and support whilst their claim is under consideration.

The record number of people that have crossed the Channel in small boats in recent years has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure. The enduring solution is to stop the boats and that is why the government has brought forward the illegal migration bill alongside a range on non-legislative measures to restore deterrence to the system.

Central to our focus is the impact on local communities, including access to public services, community cohesion and public order; delivering value for money for the taxpayer; and reducing pull factors to enter the UK illegally. It is against these criteria that we will consider further contingency accommodation options.

In recognition of these pressures the Government has announced an increase in funding for local authorities who help to support asylum seekers and encourage councils to bringaccommodation online more quickly.


Written Question
Asylum: Housing
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of housing asylum seekers on the economies of towns due to receive levelling up funding.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with accommodation and support whilst their claim is under consideration.

The record number of people that have crossed the Channel in small boats in recent years has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure. The enduring solution is to stop the boats and that is why the government has brought forward the illegal migration bill alongside a range on non-legislative measures to restore deterrence to the system.

Central to our focus is the impact on local communities, including access to public services, community cohesion and public order; delivering value for money for the taxpayer; and reducing pull factors to enter the UK illegally. It is against these criteria that we will consider further contingency accommodation options.

In recognition of these pressures the Government has announced an increase in funding for local authorities who help to support asylum seekers and encourage councils to bringaccommodation online more quickly.


Written Question
Visas: Applications
Wednesday 22nd March 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce the time taken to process visa applications.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

UK Visas and Immigration are currently operating within their global customer service standards across all of the main legal migration routes for customers who make an entry clearance application from overseas.

Details of current performance against these customer service standards are updated regularly and can be found at:

Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).