Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle drug dealing and drug houses in local communities.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is committed to tackling the illicit drug trade, protecting the most vulnerable and helping those with a drug dependency to recover. That’s why the Government have invested £65m to tackle drug supply and county lines so far, including £40m this year as part of the wider £148m package announced in January to tackle drugs misuse, supply and county lines.
Through our County Lines Programme investment we have expanded the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre; established dedicated county lines task forces in London, Merseyside, the West Midlands and British Transport Police; invested in new technology including Automatic Number Plate Recognition; and increased specialist support for victims of county lines. Since November 2019, this has already resulted in more than 1,100 lines closed, over 6,300 arrests, over £2.9 million in cash and significant quantities of drugs seized, and more than 1,900 vulnerable people safeguarded.
We recognise that the use of cuckooed addresses remains a feature of county lines gangs’ activities which is why we work closely with law enforcement partners on this issue through the Home Office-funded county lines programme.
In addition, we have invested £59m until March 2023 on Project ADDER trail-blazing a whole-system response to combating drug misuse with the enforcement, diversion and treatment and recovery in areas hardest hit across England and Wales.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent the members of Police Misconduct Panels being held personally liable for awards made in (a) Employment Tribunals and (b) County Courts for breaches of the Equality Act 2010 arising as a consequence of those misconduct proceedings.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Indemnity against such action is currently provided by Police and Crime Commissioners as part of the terms and conditions of Legally Qualified Chairs when they are appointed
The Home Office is currently considering a request to legislate for indemnity but a decision on how to proceed has not yet been made.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the number of animals used in experiments relating to the covid-19 outbreak will be included in the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain for 2020.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The number of animals used in experiments relating to the Covid-19 outbreak will be reported in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain for 2020.
However, data will not be collected that identifies the number of animals used in experiments specifically related to the Covid-19 outbreak. The use of animals for Covid-19 research falls within a range of purposes in the published data and may be recorded under the categories of basic research, translational research or regulatory research.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of animals that will be used in experiments relating to the covid-19 outbreak based on the details provided in the project licences that have so far been granted or amended for that purpose.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The number of animals used in experiments relating to the Covid-19 outbreak will be incorporated in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain for 2020. However, data will not be collected that identifies the number of animals used in experiments specifically related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Home Office project licences last for 5 years and set the maximum number of animals that are authorised for use during that licence period, making estimates very difficult to calculate accurately.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) that UK borders prevent the transmission into the country of covid-19 and (b) border security and airport staff (i) adequately check people who pass through e-gates and (ii) enforce the completion of passenger locator forms by all passengers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Border Force are working closely with PHE to implement all published guidance on passengers entering the UK.
We also working with carriers to ensure passengers are aware of the requirements when they book flights and that passengers fill out the passenger location form prior to travel. The vast majority of arriving passengers are complying with all the requirements of the Covid-19 related health regulations at the border. All travellers, including those from exempt destinations, are required to show a complete passenger locator form on arrival into the UK unless they fall into a small group of exemptions. If travellers refuse to provide their contact details, they could be fined up to £100 in the first instance.
All passengers going through the UK border, including those using eGates, are required to adhere to the PHE requirements. On arrival Border Force conduct spot checks on passenger locator forms which include contact details, passport number and address while in the UK