Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps with the French authorities on the development of an app for remote registration at the Short Straits crossing following the rollout of the EU Entry Exit System.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We continue to engage Member States, including France, on the use of technology for remote EES registration. Ultimately, this is a matter for the European Commission and Member States.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend eligibility for the National and International Capital City Grant to more cities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National and International Capital City (NICC) grant is paid to the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police to reflect the unique demands of policing in London, a major international capital city.
Decisions on the allocation of NICC funding are taken at the time of the Police Settlement. The NICC is partially funded from a reallocation of the core funding for all police forces and as such, decisions on the level of the funding must consider its impact on wider policing.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which cities are receiving funding through the National and International Capital City Grant.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National and International Capital City (NICC) grant is paid to the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police to reflect the unique demands of policing in London, a major international capital city.
Decisions on the allocation of NICC funding are taken at the time of the Police Settlement. The NICC is partially funded from a reallocation of the core funding for all police forces and as such, decisions on the level of the funding must consider its impact on wider policing.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the list of accepted occupations for counter signatories of passports.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The current list of recognised professions is set out in guidance here: Confirming ID: referees (accessible) - GOV.UK. The guidance explains that these are examples of accepted professions rather than a definitive list. Similar professions will be considered.
Customers can call the Passport Adviceline if they have questions about a passport application.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
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 the roll-out of facial recognition surveillance in Cardiff on (a) residents and (b) visitors.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All police forces must comply with legislation and published guidance when they use facial recognition technology. This includes carrying out their Public Sector Equality Duty. South Wales Police has published equality and data protection impact assessments on live facial recognition technology on their website.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to South Wales Police on the roll-out of facial recognition surveillance in a city-wide CCTV network.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All police forces are expected comply with existing legislation and published guidance when they use facial recognition technology. In particular, when forces use live facial recognition, they must comply with the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice. Its use must always be justified and pass the tests of necessity, proportionality and use for a policing purpose.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to provide additional support to police forces impacted by increased volumes of disclosure applications.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent from the Home Office and works directly with police forces to process disclosure applications.
Overall, police performance remains strong: the DBS sends approximately 3 million checks each year to the 52 police forces and law enforcement agencies commissioned to carry out checks on DBS's behalf. The DBS regularly published updates on performance for their enhanced checks. Thelatest data set can be found here: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK
A small number of forces are currently experiencing delays in completing checks. The DBS supports police forces by funding additional staff to handle increases in volumes of checks where necessary, and funding overtime. Police forces with capacity are also helping other forces with outstanding cases, where shared IT platforms allow.