Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase her Department's grant to Gloucestershire constabulary to pay for the cost of additional police officers recruited as a result of her policies; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Chancellor has announced that the Home Office will receive £750 million for investment in policing in 2020/21 to enable delivery of the year one officer uplift. The Chancellor also confirmed that the Home Office will receive an additional £45m of funding in 2019/20 to help forces to start recruiting as soon as possible.
As usual, force-level funding, including government grants and proposed precept referendum limits will be set out at the provisional police funding settlement later this year.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase the grant to Gloucestershire constabulary so that its reliance on local precepts is no greater than that of metropolitan areas; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Chancellor has announced that the Home Office will receive £750 million for investment in policing in 2020/21 to enable delivery of the year one officer uplift. The Chancellor also confirmed that the Home Office will receive an additional £45m of funding in 2019/20 to help forces to start recruiting as soon as possible.
As usual, force-level funding, including government grants and proposed precept referendum limits will be set out at the provisional police funding settlement later this year.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to implement measures outlined in the Government's response to the consultation on powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office is currently developing proposals announced by the Home Secretary to amend the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 that will enable the police to tackle unathorised encampments more effectively and are also conducting a review into criminalising unathorised encmapments.
The Home Office will soon launch a public consultation on these proposals.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps he is taking to increase the number of police officers in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Decisions on the numbers of police officers in a force are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, held to account by the communities they serve.
The Gloucestershire PCC has announced he will increased precept by £24 in 2019/20 meaning they will increase funding by £8.5 million compared to 2018/19.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of resource sharing across police forces; what assistance his Department provides to support that sharing of resources; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Decisions on the deployment and sharing of resources are matters for Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 placed a duty on chief officers and policing bodies to keep collaboration opportunities under review and to collaborate where it is in the interests of the efficiency or effectiveness of their own and other police force areas.
Through the Police Transformation Fund the Home Office is supporting the National Police Chief’s Council’s Specialist Capabilities Programme which is developing new approaches for the provision of specialist capabilities across police forces.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of weapons seized at the border were (a) prohibited firearms (b) 50 calibre firearms; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Border Force detects imports of firearms, detaining those which are prohibited, or ostensibly unlicensed or irregularly imported. In financial year 17/18 Border Force seized 2490 firearms.
All prohibited firearms that are detected are seized. Border Force figures do not distinguish between firearms seized as prohibited weapons and restricted weapons seized due to irregular importation. Our data also does not recordthe calibre of firearms seized.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance hisDepartment has issued to businesses on violence within the retail work place; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Violence is unacceptable wherever it takes place, and violence or abuse against retail staff should not be tolerated. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police whenever they occur so that they can be recorded and investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, we are working with our partners across government, the police and in the retail sector to explore what more can be done to prevent and tackle violence and abuse against retail staff. This includes sharing best practice and exploring whether there is more to be done to ensure consistency in training and in the reporting and response to these crimes, and whether there are additional steps that retailers can take to help reduce the risk of violence.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance hisDepartment has issued to businesses on violence within the retail work place; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Violence is unacceptable wherever it takes place, and violence or abuse against retail staff should not be tolerated. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police whenever they occur so that they can be recorded and investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, we are working with our partners across government, the police and in the retail sector to explore what more can be done to prevent and tackle violence and abuse against retail staff. This includes sharing best practice and exploring whether there is more to be done to ensure consistency in training and in the reporting and response to these crimes, and whether there are additional steps that retailers can take to help reduce the risk of violence.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to reduce the number of attacks on shop workers; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Violence is unacceptable wherever it takes place, and violence or abuse against retail staff should not be tolerated. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police whenever they occur so that they can be recorded and investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, we are working with our partners across government, the police and in the retail sector to explore what more can be done to prevent and tackle violence and abuse against retail staff. This includes exploring whether there is more to be done to ensure consistency in the reporting and response to these crimes, and whether there are additional steps that retailers can take to help reduce the risk of violence.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to (a) participate and (b) organise events for Respect for Shopworkers' Week.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are aware of the annual Respect for Shopworkers Week which is organised by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. We have no plans to organise any specific events during the next Respect Week. However, we are working with the retail sector and the police, through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, to explore what more can be done to tackle violence and abuse against retail staff. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers is represented on the Steering Group and contributes to its work.