Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many first-time passport applications his Department has received since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The number of applications for a first British passport received between 23 June 2016 and 31 March 2019 was 3,267,038.
Passport intake data is reported within Home Office transparency data. The information is therefore provided up to the most recent date published (31 March 2019).
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help skilled workers in farming industry get short-term work visas after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
In December 2018, the Government set out its proposals in “The UK’s future Skills-based Immigration System” White Paper. The White Paper proposals include a new route for skilled workers which will be open to anyone at RQF level 3 and above, irrespective of where they are applying from. This route will not be capped allowing all of those who meet our requirements to come to the UK and we intend to abolish the existing Resident Labour Market Test for highly skilled roles.
The White Paper also includes, as a transitional measure, a temporary workers route which will be open to anyone from qualifying countries, wishing to fill positions at any skill level, for up to 12 months. We do not intend to impose a cap on the number of people wishing to use the route.
The Government is undertaking an extensive programme of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, throughout 2019, including with the private, public and voluntary sector and local government, as well as industry representatives and individual businesses before taking final policy decisions on the future system.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applicants were refused entry to the UK due to criminal convictions in each of the last two years.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UKVI do not publish statistics detailing reasons for refusal of visa applications. With regard to criminal convictions, there are different grounds under which visa applications may be refused, see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/general-grounds-for-refusal-modernised-guidance
The available information on grants and refusals of entry clearance visas, are published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics, Visas volume 1 tables vi_01_q, latest edition at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is his Department taking to tackle gangs using diggers to rip out ATM machines from rural shops.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Justice and policing is devolved to Northern Ireland and Scotland and policing priorities are determined by these areas.
Across England and Wales, the Government has ensured that, through the election of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), communities have a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them, including those in rural areas. Chief Constables and PCCs are responsible for setting priorities in tackling crime in their areas.
The Government is determined to prevent and defend against serious and organised crime. Our new strategy, published in November 2018, sets out how we will mobilise the full force of the state and align our collective efforts.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cars were reported stolen in the last two years.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office does not hold data specifically on the number of cars that were reported stolen. However, information about all stolen vehicles recorded by police in the last 2 years is available and have been released in the Police Recorded Crime Open Data tables, which can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were arrested for carrying a dangerous weapon in 2018.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests at the offence group level, including ‘possession of offensive weapons’ offences.
Data on the number of arrests for ‘possession of offensive weapons’ are published annually, on a financial year basis, in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The latest data, covering the period up to March 2018, can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2018
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle prank calls made to the emergency services.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police and fire and rescue services. It is for Chief Constables, elected Police Crime Commissioners and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Fire and Rescue Services and Authorities to decide how best to manage their communications and response to the public.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help prevent British citizens who leave the UK to join proscribed foreign terrorist organisations from re-entering the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Government is committed to protecting the UK from the threat of terrorism. Section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so, provided such action does not leave the individual stateless. Removal of citizenship serves to remove the individual’s right to re-enter the UK.
Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs) enable the disruption and control of returning British citizens who are reasonably suspected of involvement in terrorism-related activity abroad. A TEO makes it unlawful for a subject to return to the UK without engaging with the UK authorities. TEOs place conditions upon return, including regular reporting to a police station and mandatory attendance on a deradicalisation program.
There are a number of other powers available to investigate such individuals and prosecute them, where evidence of criminality exists. The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act, which became law on 12 February 2019, extends extra-territorial jurisdiction to both existing and new terrorism offences, as well as closing gaps and updating offences for modern technology and modern terrorist activity. It also creates a new offence of entering or remaining in an area outside the United Kingdom that has been designated by the Home Secretary if it is necessary for protecting the public from terrorism.
Decisions on prosecutions are taken by the CPS.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is his Department is taking to tackle the exploitation of children in gangs for drug related criminal activity.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises the devastating impact of county lines activity on children and vulnerable people.
The Government has provided £3.6m to establish the new National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) to enhance our cross border intelligence and activity on county lines and to better safeguard and protect victims of county lines. Work is ongoing to protect the exploited and target the offenders, and the Centre has carried out two weeks of operational intensification in October and January leading to over 1100 arrests and over 1300 individuals safeguarded.
In addition, the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including: funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to provide help and support for young people exploited through county lines; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million over two years to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines; and funding through the Early Intervention Youth Fund to support six projects that will specifically address those at risk of involvement in county lines and criminal exploitation.
In addition, last October the Home Secretary announced a new £200m youth endowment fund which will provide support over the next 10 years for those young people most at risk of serious violence. A competition was launched to identify a suitable organisation or consortium to run the new Fund and proposals submitted by bidders are now being assessed. Further information will be made available shortly.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to prevent people from overstaying the terms of their visa.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
All visas are assessed by fully trained Entry Clearance Officers. Every application is considered on its individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance. The visa is endorsed with the date of expiry.
When someone has no legal right to remain in the UK they should return to their home country. We will help people who wish to leave voluntarily but will enforce the removal of those who refuse.