Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of experiments carried out on animals each year; and if she will make it her policy to phase out the use of cats in scientific procedures.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), cats (together with dogs, horses, and non-human primates) are specially protected species. This means that greater oversight is required of establishments holding these species and of projects using these species.
Government policy is to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that Replace, Reduce and Refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved through funding UK Research and Investment who fund the National Centre for the 3Rs and fund further research through Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council into the development of alternatives.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure the safety, security and reliability of technology (a) during and (b) following the upgrade of the Police National Computer; what processes have been followed to ensure value for money from money spent from the public purse on adopting a new computer system for the police; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police National Computer (PNC) hardware and software support contracts have been extended through to March 2026 to ensure the continued safety, security, and reliability of this nationally critical operational policing data service.
The upgrade of the PNC mainframe computer hardware completed in August 2022. 19 of 21 recommendations resulting from the Lord Hogan-Howe review into the ongoing support and protection of the PNC service have been closed with the remaining 2 recommendations anticipated to be closed in the coming weeks.
The replacement of the PNC with a new and modern Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) has commenced with some services already live and being used by policing. The replacement is planned to complete in 2025, allowing PNC to be retired in advance of its formal end of life.
LEDS is delivered via a diverse supply chain including a combination of civil service and contingent labour, Home Office central contracts and 3rd party contract mechanisms each of which are fully underpinned by formal commercial governance supported by the both the Home Office Commercial Directorate and by the Cabinet Office, ensuring fair and open competitive tendering processes.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the current prevalence of metal cable theft from telecommunication networks including in rural areas; and what further steps she plans to take to deter such thefts.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government is concerned at the current prevalence of metal cable theft and is working closely with police and industry partners to drive down acquisitive crime, including metal theft.
The Home Office provided seed corn funding in 2021 to set-up the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP). The NICRP ensures national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle crime affecting infrastructure companies including telecommunications and utility companies, rail networks, agricultural and construction companies. The NICRP shares intelligence between police and industry partners to understand emerging trends and share best practice; as well as working with police to target offenders. The NICRP also alerts its members to crimes in local areas to ensure companies can implement crime prevention measures.
The British Transport Police, through the NICRP, has conducted three national weeks of action targeting scrap metal dealers, focused on metal theft, catalytic converter theft and money laundering in the waste industry. This action has resulted in 92 arrests, over 2,000 site visits and recovery of over 1,000 stolen catalytic converters. The NICRP has also trained over 1,600 officers in enforcement powers to deal with scrap metal dealers.
Policing partners have plans for further weeks of actions and we will continue to support the NICRP and NPCC lead for acquisitive crime, ensuring effective prevention and enforcement against metal theft and other crime affecting infrastructure companies.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the National Economic Crime Centre to conclude its investigation into alleged signatory fraud by banks; what steps she is taking to help ensure that the investigation is concluded in a timely way; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen McPartland
The National Economic Crime Centre received a significant amount of material from the Bank Signature Forgery Campaign and is continuing to assess the material submitted to them.
The National Crime Agency does not routinely confirm or deny whether an investigation is taking place.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure HM Passport Office is effectively tackling the current administrative delays that are impacting the time taken to process (a) new and (b) renewal passport applications.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ahead of unrestricted international travel returning, HM Passport Office prepared extensively to serve an unprecedented number of customers, with 9.5 million British passport applications forecasted throughout 2022.
These preparations, which include the recruitment of 650 additional staff since April 2021 and with plans in place to recruit a further 550 by this summer, have ensured that passport applications can be processed in higher numbers than ever before. This was demonstrated in March and April 2022 when HM Passport Office achieved record outputs by completing the processing of two million applications.
Ministers continue to meet regularly with officials to monitor performance, and to explore further options that will help to ensure that people receive their passports in good time.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cats have been used in experiments in Britain in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office annually publishes statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2020. Data relating to the request can be found in tables 1.2. and 1.3.
The number of procedures carried out in a year does not equal the number of animals that have been used in procedures that year. This is because there are some intances of multiple procedures on on eanimal. These instances are counted as separate, additional, procedures. As a result, the number of procedures is usually slightly higher than the number of animals used.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce rural crime.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are committed to driving down rural crime, which is why the Government is providing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit. We have also tabled amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to introduce tougher sentencing and improved police powers for hare coursing.
Furthermore, to help ensure that the public are protected against crime, including rural crime, this government has recruited 9,814 additional police officers with 176 of these being recruited by Humberside Police, as of 30 June this year.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions are in place to ensure that drug policy and its enforcement are consistent and uniform across the country; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government’s recently published Drug Strategy and the significant funding made available to implement the Strategy provide a strong foundation for consistent policy and enforcement across the country. The Strategy emphasises a partnership approach to tackling illicit drugs. We work closely with the National Crime Agency, the National Police Chiefs Council and with police forces across the country, as well as with the devolved administrations, on tackling illicit drugs and to share best practice.
In relation to the enforcement of drug-related offences, the police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with these. How police forces choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for chief constables, but we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) undertake a review of the monitoring process in place for adherence to licenses issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and (b) bring forward legislative proposals to improve that process; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Home Office Regulator has, on a number of occasions this year, presented to stakeholders and duty holders on its regulatory reform programme that includes changes to the monitoring processes in place for adherence to licences under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
In July of this year the Regulator initiated a new operating model that delivers a more structured and integrated framework aligned with leading regulatory practice. The assessment of compliance in this new model is achieved through a variety of methods including full system audits, thematic audits, for cause audits, determination and follow up of action plans, review of reports, investigations and management of cases of potential non-compliance.
In October of this year the Regulator commenced a new system of full system audits that form part of an integrated system to assess compliance across the regulated community. Full details of the full system audit process and the evidence for assessment of compliance against the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and associated licence conditions, are available here: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of e-scooters being used illegally; what steps she plans to take to tackle that unlawful use; and what guidance has been issued to police forces to support the consistent enforcement of road traffic law on this matter throughout the UK.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police to determine in conjunction with local policing plans. Decisions on how to deploy available resources is a matter for Chief Officers, who will take into account any specific local problems, pressures and demands.
Electric scooters are classed as a motorcycle as defined in Section 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and, because of their low speed, within the subclass of moped. This means that electric scooters must abide by the same road traffic legislation as mopeds and motorcycles.
Legislation was amended in July 2020 to allow for rental e-scooter trials in selected areas with different rollouts that will each run for 12 months. The primary aim of the trials is to inform decision making as to the potential to legalise e-scooter use in future. Before being used on the road, the pilot rental e-scooters are required to meet all the requirements such as compliance with stringent construction regulations, registration, road tax, insurance and MOT testing.
Riding a powered scooter on a pavement, as with pedal cycles, is an offence under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835.
The police can deal with illegal e-scooter use by fixed penalty notices and penalty points for no insurance, ‘not in accordance’ or riding on pavement offences. Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the power to seize privately owned e-scooters for driving without insurance or a driving licence. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to investigate and to decide upon the appropriate offence and enforcement action.
The Home Office has not issued guidance to police forces on the enforcement of road traffic law with regards to illegal e-scooter use, nor does it hold data on the number of e-scooters being used illegally.
We will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation including those relating to electric scooters.