Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on (a) recruiting and (b) appointing a new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.
The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the role of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and has committed to running a new open competition to recruit for this role; the process will begin shortly.
The competition will be conducted as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring we take the necessary steps to recruit the best person for the role.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the minimum unit pricing for sales of alcohol in Scotland in reducing alcohol consumption; and what plans the Government has to introduce a similar policy in England.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no plans to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) in England at this time. MUP has been in place in Scotland for less than three years and the Scottish Parliament will not consider its extension until April 2024 when more will be known about its overall impact on consumption.
Public Health Scotland have commissioned a study to assess the impact of minimum unit pricing on areas of crime, public safety and public nuisance.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum price for alcohol.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government continues to monitor the impact of minimum unit alcohol pricing in Scotland and Wales as it emerges. Minimum unit pricing has been in place in Scotland for less than two years. The Scottish Parliament will not consider its extension until April 2024.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are suspended pending investigation; how many of those investigations have taken longer than 12 months to resolve; and what steps her Department is taking to improve the time taken to reach a resolution for such investigations.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold information on how many police officers are suspended pending investigation or how many investigations where an officer has been suspended have taken longer than 12 months to complete.
The chief officer of a police force has the discretion to suspend an officer during an investigation, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The average investigation by police forces into complaints took 158 days (2018/19) – a fall from 173 days the previous year. Since the launch of the Independent Office for Police Conduct in January 2018, the IOPC has completed 93% of its investigations in under 12 months.
On 1 February 2020 the Government implemented reforms to improve the efficiency, accountability and proportionality of the police discipline system. The reforms require greater transparency by placing a duty on the IOPC or the police to provide a clear explanation should an investigation go beyond 12 months.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of electrical fires in the home.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Home Office officials routinely discuss electrical safety issues with the NFCC to ensure opportunities to drive down electrical fires and promote electrical safety are utilised.
The Department has facilitated close links between the National Fire Chiefs Council, product safety officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the sector-led Register My Appliance initiative to promote electrical fire safety messages and encourages fire and rescue services to increase the focus on electrical and product safety within their engagement with members of the public.
The Home Office’s national Fire Kills campaign, run in partnership with the NFCC, collaborates with Electrical Safety First to run the annual Electrical Fire Safety Week. The Week is used by fire and rescue services and others to promote electrical fire safety messages.