Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to tackle trends in the incidence of the drug known as Spice.
Answered by Sarah Newton
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to tackle trends in the incidence of the drug known as Spice
Use of new psychoactive substances has fallen significantly since we introduced the Psychoactive Substances Act, hundreds of retailers have shut and the first offenders have been convicted.
However, the Government recognises how dangerous synthetic cannabinoids, such as those found in spice, can be and the devastating impact that they can have on those taking them. That is why we acted to control these substances as class B drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act and give the police the powers they need to take action, including making possession illegal and delivering longer sentences for dealers
Our new Drug Strategy, emphasised the importance of a joined up approach to tackling the harms caused by drugs to prevent substance misuse, restrict the supply of drugs and support people from drug dependency. We strongly support the multi-agency approach being taken in areas to respond to this issue to reduce burden on public services and to prevent harm to the individuals themselves.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental welfare of officers in the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
Answered by Mike Penning
The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of firefighters rests with individual fire and rescue authorities. The Chief Fire Officers’ Association supports them in this work through its lead on fire and rescue service occupational health matters.
The Government announced in October last year the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through LIBOR fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training for leaders and line managers, peer learning events and resources to promote better mental health in the work place.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental welfare of officers in the Greater Manchester Police Service.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Government recognises the importance of police welfare. In October 2014 we allocated £10m to help support emergency services personnel and volunteers, focused on mental health, physical recuperation and bereavement support for those who need it. Policing, by its nature, can be a stressful and demanding job and it is the responsibility of chief officers, supported by the College of Policing, to ensure that good management systems are in place to support police in their work.
The Home Office is working with the national policing lead on wellbeing and engagement on the development of his strategy but this must remain a sector led initiative.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers have been moved to the Tameside local authority area in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on those asylum seekers who are in receipt of section 95 support. The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support are available broken down by Local Authority.
As at the end of June 2015, there were 253 asylum seekers receiving Section 95 support from Tameside Local Authority. Similarly, as at the end of June 2014 there were 200 and as at the end of June 2013 there were 184 asylum seekers receiving Section 95 support from Tameside Local Authority.
These figures exclude any asylum seekers who may be living in Tameside but are not receiving support, as figures are not held. These figures also exclude refugees (i.e. those who have been granted asylum) as these figures are not held.
The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of section 95 support, broken down by Local Authority, are published on a quarterly basis by the Home Office in Table as_16_q of the Immigration Statistics release. The latest publication is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release .
We do not disclose the details of where refugees are resettled upon their arrival in the UK under the Government resettlement schemes as this may undermine the privacy and recovery of this vulnerable group of people.