Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle cyber-related crime in (a) Cardiff Central constituency, (b) Cardiff local authority area and (c) Wales.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Tacking cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022-25, which is supported by £2.6 billion of investment through the National Cyber Fund.
Key to delivery is ensuring that local policing has the resources needed to deal with the cyber threats we face. In 2023/24, the Home Office is receiving £18 million from the National Cyber Fund to provide a range of capabilities and resource to tackle and respond to cyber crime. This funding is supplemented by a further £16 million of Home Office funding through the Police Settlement Programme.
This funding continues to build law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional, and local levels to ensure they have the capacity and expertise to deal with the perpetrators and victims of cyber crime. We directly fund a specialist Cyber Crime Unit at South Wales Police, and more specialist teams at the TARIAN Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). This ROCU team is integral to our response to high-harm, high-impact crimes like cyber extortion, and is a multi-disciplinary team of police officers and police staff seconded from the three forces of South Wales, Gwent and Dyfed-Powys.
TARIAN ROCU works closely with South Wales Police Cyber Crime Unit and work to intervene if people are deemed at risk of becoming involved in cyber offending. This includes working with young and vulnerable individuals offering other intervention and diversion opportunities to young people outside of cyber education, such as life skills, and job interview skills. South Wales Police Cyber Crime Unit engage with all local authorities within the area to ensure effective delivery.
Businesses and organisations based in Wales work closely with ROCUs across the private and public sectors, and at community level. Additionally working collaboratively with the Welsh Government to support the offer of funding to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) for Cyber Essential training, which is a government backed scheme that helps protect organisations against a range of cyber attacks.
We have also rolled out Regional Cyber Resilience Centres in Wales and in each of the other nine policing regions. The Centres are a collaboration between the police, public, private sector and academic partners to provide cyber security advice to SME’s so that they can protect themselves better in a digital age. Details of the Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales can be found at www.wcrcentre.co.uk
All vulnerable victims of fraud and cyber crime in Wales receive contact and PROTECT advice from law enforcement, specifically aimed at helping them to protect themselves in future from revictimization.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle fraud-related crime in (a) Cardiff Central constituency, (b) Cardiff local authority area and (c) Wales.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
In May 2023, the Government published the Fraud Strategy which set out a national response to address the threat of fraud. This includes steps to block fraud, improve the law enforcement response and empower victims.
Through the Online Safety Act and the Online Fraud Charter, we are taking robust action to tackle online fraud. We have invested £100m in law enforcement, including the launch of the new National Fraud Squad - with 400 investigators now in post - and the replacement of the current Action Fraud reporting service. This new service, which covers Wales, will improve support and reporting for victims and allow great prevention and disruption of fraud.
On 12th February 2024, we launched ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ our new national campaign against fraud, which encourages the public to be aware of potential fraud. Impactful adverts will be prominent across the UK, on billboards, radio, TV and social media. The campaign is expected to reach over 95% of population in Wales.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of changing its guidance on Allocation of asylum accommodation policy to ensure that asylum seekers enrolled on higher education courses are accommodated within a commutable distance of the institution that they are studying at.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Our current asylum system is under extreme pressure and allocation of asylum accommodation is on a ‘no choice basis’. Any exceptional circumstances raised are taken into consideration when allocating accommodation. There are currently no plans to amend the Allocation of Asylum Accommodation policy guidance for asylum seekers who are in higher education.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme have been (a) received from Ukrainian nationals wishing to join a family member based in Cardiff Central constituency and (b) granted for Ukrainian nationals to join family members residing within Cardiff Central constituency as of 11 May 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where applications are made under the Ukraine Family Scheme, information on the area of the UK the UK family member is residing in is not recorded on UKVI systems and not published.
Published data on Ukraine Schemes can be found here Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme have been (a) received from Ukrainian nationals wishing to join a Cardiff-based family member and (b) granted for Ukrainian nationals to join family members residing within Cardiff as of 11 May 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where applications are made under the Ukraine Family Scheme, information on the area of the UK the UK family member is residing in is not recorded on UKVI systems and not published.
Published data on Ukraine Schemes can be found here Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme have been (a) received from Ukrainian nationals wishing to join a Wales-based family member and (b) granted for Ukrainian nationals to join family members residing within Wales as of 15 May 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where applications are made under the Ukraine Family Scheme, information on the area of the UK the UK family member is residing in is not recorded on UKVI systems and not published.
Published data on Ukraine Schemes can be found here Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central of 22 October 2021, 24 November 2021 and 8 December 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
I apologise for the delay. A response was sent on 2 February.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what qualitative data her Department (a) holds and (b) has commissioned on the benefits of Tier 5 Visa rules for EEA musicians and artistic performers to the UK music industry.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Overseas musicians and performers make an important contribution to the UK's creative sector and remain welcome in the UK and take part in events.
Our existing arrangements provide a number of routes for creatives to enter the UK and undertake work on a temporary basis. The Home Office continues to engage with the creative sector to ensure the future points-based immigration system will enable the UK’s cultural life to thrive.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that immigration rules support the needs of the music industry.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Non EEA visiting artists, entertainers and musicians can currently perform at events, take part in competitions and auditions, make personal appearances and take part in promotional activities for up to 6 months without the need for formal sponsorship or a work visa. They can also receive payment for appearances at permit free festivals for up to 6 months, or for up to one month for a specific engagement, under the Visitor route.
In future Artists wishing to come to the UK for longer-term work will need to do so under the points-based system. Under this system there will continue to be special arrangements for creative workers, which in future will encompass both EEA and non-EEA citizens.
The Home Office continues to engage with the creative sector to ensure the future system will enable the UK’s cultural life to thrive.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometric residence permits have been returned to her Department within 10 days of issue as a result of (a) a mistake and (b) a defect with the permit.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office do not capture data relating to how many biometric residence permits have been returned to the department within 10 days of issue. The department is therefore, unable to answer this question.