Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for estimating costs to (a) the police and (b) her Department for the grant and renewal of authorities under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government set out the process for estimating costs to the police and the Home Office for the grant, renewal and variation of section 5 licences in the impact assessment accompanying the consultation on firearms fees, which was published on 12 January. The impact assessment explains that the Home Office costs were calculated by assessing the full cost of the licensing firearms service, and then estimating the cost of each application type through a costing exercise that assessed the time taken for each application. Police costs were estimated based on the unit costs used to set new fees for police administered firearms licences in April 2015. The impact assessment is available on www.gov.uk
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the Government has taken to eliminate the circulation of indecent images of children online; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Online Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is an appalling crime that this Government is committed to stamping out. The Government’s response includes law enforcement agencies taking action against online offenders and working with the internet industry to remove illegal images.
We have significantly increased resources to the National Crime Agency leading to a near doubling of the CEOP Command’s investigative capability and have committed an additional £20 million over the spending review period to maintain this capability. Furthermore, the launch in 2015 of the Joint Operations Cell, a collaborative venture between the NCA and GCHQ, is targeting the most sophisticated online offenders.
All UK police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) are connected to the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) that was launched in 2014. CAID provides law enforcement agencies with effective tools to search seized devices for indecent images of children (IIOC), reduce the time taken to identify such images and increase the ability to identify victims.
Since 2015, nearly 36,000 known child sexual abuse images from CAID were assessed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and shared with 6 major global technology companies, to enable their removal, and prevent the sharing, of images from their platforms and services.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the use of drones in connection with rural crime.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office has not made an assessment of the use of drones in connection with crime committed in rural areas. Overall, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victims of crime compared to those in urban areas, and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given all communities a much stronger voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce rural crime.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Police reform is working and crime has fallen by well over a quarter since 2010, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales. Overall, people in rural areas are two thirds as likely to be the victim of crime as those in urban areas. The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities, including those in rural areas, a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available for victims of sexual abuse under the age of 13.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government is committed to providing support for both victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. In 2016-17 we have made £7 million available to organisations working with victims and survivors of sexual abuse. £4.74 million has been provided to Police and Crime Commissioners to distribute to organisations working with victims and survivors locally. £600,000 was allocated directly from the Home Office to six organisations working with victims and survivors across the country.
The Government is committed to transforming mental health services for children and young people, and £1.25 billion has been provided to support this. It is expected that by 2020 an extra 70,000 children and young people will be helped every year.
On 13 September, I announced that £7.2 million had been provided by the Home Office to pilot two ‘Child Houses’ in London. The Houses will provide child-oriented multi-agency support for child victims under one roof. We are currently considering how, if the pilot is successful, we can make this model more widely available.
The Government is continuing to work with local areas to ensure that children of any age who are victims, or at risk of, abuse, can receive the support they need in a timely fashion.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to consult farmers and the agricultural sector on its firearms policy.
Answered by Mike Penning
Home Office officials recently met the Countryside Alliance, along with other interested groups, to discuss the proposed revisions to the European Firearms Directive. In 2014-15, the Home Office consulted widely on the increase to the firearms fees administered by the police made in 2015. From the consultation responses received, 8% of respondents identified as farmers and 6% as gamekeepers. We are also aware that the Countryside Alliance contributed to the Law Commission consultation on the review of firearms law.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requirement there is for a person to reveal their identity when requested to do so by a police officer.
Answered by Mike Penning
There are various requirements for a person to provide their name and address to reveal their identity to the police.
These include:
- the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988, for example, Section 164 gives constables the power to require the production of a driving license; and Section 165 RTA 1988 gives constables the power to obtain names and addresses of drivers and others, and to require production of evidence of insurance or security and test certificates. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/contents
- the Police Reform Act, which also gives powers to Police Community Support Officers to require the provision of a name and address in certain circumstances. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/schedule/4/paragraph/1A -
- the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which can require a person to reveal their identity in certain circumstances in connection to suspecting them of a specific offence and arrest. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/contents
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to continue with the visa scheme which allows Filipino nurses to come to the UK to work on its current basis; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration - the skilled work route - allows non-EEA workers to fill graduate level occupations, and is the main route used by Filipino nurses wishing to work in the UK.
In June 2015, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC has now reported and the Government is currently considering the MAC’s advice.
In October 2015, the Home Secretary agreed, exceptionally, to place nurses on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) as an interim measure, pending a full review of the evidence by the MAC. The MAC will advise separately on whether nurses should remain on the SOL by 15 February and we await their recommendation with interest. Skilled jobs which are not on the SOL may still qualify for Tier 2, provided the sponsoring employer has carried out a Resident Labour Market Test.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with chief constables about the prevalence of rural crime and the measures they are taking to counter it.
Answered by Mike Penning
Police reform is working and crime has fallen by more than a quarter over the last five years, according to the Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales. This means less victims of crime in rural areas as well as urban areas. Overall, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victim of household crime as those in urban areas, according to the Crime Survey. In addition, the 2014 Commercial Victimisation Survey found that crime against the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was considerably lower than crime against the other sectors surveyed, the wholesale and retail sector and the accommodation and food sector.
The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities - including those in rural areas - a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them. I see this through the work the National Rural Crime Network, which is funded by the Police Innovation Fund, is leading to ensure police forces respond to crime in rural areas, as well as specific activity being taken by police forces across England and Wales
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 make the register of deaths of UK residents available online.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Under present legislation, the register of deaths in England and Wales contains details of all deaths which have taken place there, regardless of whether the deceased was a UK resident. Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Civil registration is a devolved matter.
In England and Wales, information from the register of deaths is made available in the form of a certificate, on payment of the appropriate fee. Currently, there are no plans to change this process.