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Written Question
Electronic Surveillance
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate on the report entitled Pegasus and similar spyware and secret state surveillance, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2023.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The UK’s National Cyber Strategy commits the UK to countering the proliferation of high-end cyber capabilities and reducing the opportunity for states and organised crime groups to access them via commercial and criminal marketplaces, as well as tackling forums that enable, facilitate, or glamorise cyber criminality.

With respect to spyware specifically, it is vital that all cyber capabilities are used in ways that are legal, responsible, and proportionate to ensure cyberspace remains a safe and prosperous place for everyone. In March 2023, the United Kingdom signed the Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware alongside 10 other like-minded countries, including the United States. As part of this, the UK and other signatories recognised the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware, such as Pegasus, and the need to strictly control its proliferation at both a domestic and international level.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides a legal framework for the use of investigatory powers by UK law enforcement and the intelligence community where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. The Act also contains strong safeguards, including a ‘double lock’, which requires warrants for the most intrusive powers to be authorised by a Secretary of State (or Chief Constable in case of Law Enforcement) and approved by a Judicial Commissioner, as well as rigorous independent oversight of their use by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.


Written Question
Migrants and Refugees: Resettlement
Tuesday 4th July 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate on the Integration of migrants and refugees at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 21 June 2023.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those that need it. Since 2015, over half a million people have been offered safe and legal routes into the UK. This includes those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as well as family members of refugees.

This Government is committed to ensuring that refugees arriving through safe and legal routes can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK.

All refugees and those granted protection in the UK have immediate access to the labour market and to mainstream benefits and services that support their integration. We are already working successfully with local authorities, strategic migration partners and community sponsors to implement measures that assist integration and enable self-sufficiency. The Home Office provides local authorities with funding to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

We are further delivering on our commitment to strengthen support for refugees through our Refugee Transitions Outcomes Fund (RTOF) and Refugee Employability Programme (REP) helping them to move into work, learn English, access housing and build links in their local communities.

We monitor and evaluate our programmes of support, to better understand refugee needs and integration outcomes.


Written Question
COE Parliamentary Assembly
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled The Istanbul Convention, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 25 January 2023.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The UK ratified the Istanbul Convention on 21 July 2022, demonstrating our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). The Convention came into force in the UK on 1 November 2022.

The Government recognises the crucial work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the involvement of all members of the UK delegation. We know of the important PACE debate which took place on the Istanbul Convention on 25 January, during which there was a discussion, amongst other things, about how we need societal attitudes to change and the importance of educating everyone, in particular men and boys, that VAWG is unacceptable. We recognise this and that is why in March 2022, we launched a national communications campaign, ‘Enough’, to target and challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support. The second phase of the campaign launched in October 2022 and focuses on the range of safe ways a bystander can safely intervene if they witness VAWG.

Our Tackling VAWG Strategy and complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan aim to transform the response to these crimes with actions to prevent abuse, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to ensure the right systems are in place to tackle them.


Written Question
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Wednesday 16th November 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to prevent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from interfering in British political, cultural and religious life.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

Though we do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats, the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations. We will use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.

I recognise the importance of tackling all threats to, and interference in, the functioning of our democracy and our civil society.

As I announced in this House on 1 November, the Prime Minister has asked me to lead a taskforce to drive forward work to protect UK democratic processes. This taskforce will consider the full range of threats, including interference, to build further resilience within our democratic institutions and safeguard against physical, personnel and cyber threats.


Written Question
Schengen Agreement: ICT
Tuesday 25th October 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled Misuse of the Schengen Information system by Council of Europe member States as a politically-motivated sanction, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2022.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The management of the external Schengen border, including through the application of the second generation of the Schengen Information System, is a matter for the European Union.


Written Question
Asylum
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications to her policies of the debate entitled Safe third countries for asylum seekers, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 12 October 2022.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

We are aware of the debate on third country processes and the subsequent non-legally binding resolutions arising from it by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as adopted on 12 October.

Our inadmissibility policies in respect of safe third countries, which are longstanding, and were recently strengthened in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, are the consequence of full and careful consideration of the legal and operational context. We are confident that these policies and the processes they underpin, are compliant with relevant domestic and international laws and agreements, including the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.


Written Question
Proceeds of Crime
Wednesday 18th May 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has been made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled How to put confiscated criminal assets to good use?, which took place at the Council of Europe on 27 April 2022.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The UK has mature policies in place relating to the disposal of confiscated criminal assets. Domestically, confiscated assets are disposed of in line with the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), under which operational agencies are allocated a portion of the assets recovered.

The use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency. However, in the spirit of the Scheme, incentive payments should be used to drive up performance on asset recovery and, where appropriate, to fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community.

Internationally, the UK is fully committed to recovering and returning corruptly obtained assets. HMG has recently published its first ever Framework for Transparent and Accountable Return, which details HMG’s process for returning assets in line with UNCAC, including the involvement of civil society actors in this process.


Written Question
Police: Violence
Tuesday 17th May 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled Fighting and preventing excessive and unjustified use of force by law enforcement officers, which took place at the Council of Europe on 27 April 2022.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The government is committed to the principle that all police use of force must be reasonable, proportionate and necessary and this is set in law.

We recognise the crucial work of the Council of Europe and in particular the Parliamentary Assembly in this sphere, noting that recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers in due course for appropriate review.


Written Question
Migration
Friday 4th February 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which took place at the Council of Europe between 24 and 28 January 2022; and what steps she plans to take to assess its conclusions.

Answered by Kevin Foster

A: The UK government is aware of the debate entitled European Pact on Migration and Asylum, during the recent session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and notes the resolution agreed by PACE on the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact.

The UK Government is committed to increasing cooperation with European member states to strengthen borders and to deter secondary movement to the UK.

The Nationality and Borders Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will drive forward reform of the UK’s asylum system.


Written Question
Honour Based Violence
Wednesday 20th October 2021

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the debate on so-called honour crimes at the Council of Europe on 28 September 2021.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

So called 'honour’-based abuse (HBA) is a terrible form of abuse, and we are clear that we will not allow political or cultural sensitivities to get in the way of tackling it. No-one should suffer because of who they are or what community they are born into.

Our focus remains on preventing these crimes from happening, supporting and protecting survivors and those at risk, and bringing perpetrators to justice. The Home Office is providing up to £150,000 to the charity Karma Nirvana this year to run its national HBA helpline; between April and September 2021 the helpline provided assistance to 1,212 users of the service. The joint Home Office/Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Forced Marriage Unit has provided advice and support for thousands of victims of forced marriage and delivers regular training to police officers and social workers.

The Government’s recent Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy set out a number of further actions to tackle HBA, including that the Home Office will seek out community advocates who can talk to community audiences to explain why HBA practices are wrong, that the College of Policing will produce advice for police officers to advise both first responders and investigators on how to deal with cases of HBA, and that the Department for Health and Social Care will work to criminalise ‘virginity testing’ to send a clear message that this practice is wholly unacceptable in our society.

We welcome the insights communicated in the debate at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last month. The Government pays close attention to the experiences of our international partners in tackling HBA and works closely with them in tackling it. For example, in 2018 the Government signed a protocol on female genital mutilation (FGM) with the United States to increase collaboration and the sharing of intelligence between the two countries. This enabled the UK and the United States to run Operation Limelight (a joint operation between border staff and the police which seeks to raise awareness of FGM and forced marriage at the border in order to safeguard potential victims) concurrently at several ports in the two countries.