Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour caused by the use of e-scooters in (a) town centres and (b) neighbourhoods.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office does not centrally hold data on the number of illegally modified or off-road bikes that have been seized by police in England and Wales, and could only collate that information for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing. This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB.
The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including e-scooters and off-road and illegally modified bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. The Government also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to shotgun licensing on clay pigeon shooting.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government intends to have a public consultation later this year seeking views on the alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that police officers have the (a) time and (b) resources to seize (i) illegally modified and (ii) off-road bikes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office does not centrally hold data on the number of illegally modified or off-road bikes that have been seized by police in England and Wales, and could only collate that information for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing. This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB.
The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including e-scooters and off-road and illegally modified bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. The Government also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) illegally modified and (b) off-road bikes have been seized by (i) Greater Manchester Police and (ii) all police forces in the last 12 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office does not centrally hold data on the number of illegally modified or off-road bikes that have been seized by police in England and Wales, and could only collate that information for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing. This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB.
The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including e-scooters and off-road and illegally modified bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. The Government also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided guidance to police forces following the proscription of Palestine Action on the policing of protests.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The police are operationally independent of government and have significant experience in policing protests and ensuring proscription orders are implemented and in line with legislation while facilitating peaceful and lawful protest.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department has considered making identity theft a police recordable crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At present, identity theft is not a standalone criminal offence, but criminal acts which exploit stolen identities are already covered under existing legislation such as the Fraud Act 2006, Computer Misuse Act 1990, and Data Protection Act 2018. However, we recognise the evolving nature and increasing prevalence of identity-related crime and are taking additional proactive steps to address it. That is why the Independent Review of Fraud Offences will also consider whether a specific offence for identity theft is needed.
Alongside this, we will also consider whether to include further initiatives to prevent the misuse of stolen identities and strengthen protections for the public as part of the Government’s upcoming Fraud Strategy.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former Seasonal Workforce officers for the UK Border Force were successful in gaining employment through regular recruitment processes after their contracts were ended in 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, all recruitment of this nature is conducted using a sifting process where identifying information is removed, and all appointments are made on merit through open and fair competition. As a result, it is not possible to determine whether any candidates were previously part of the seasonal workforce.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister for Migration and Citizenship plans to respond to the correspondence of 2 May 2025 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, Ref LS06151.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A response will be sent to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove’s letter (ref LS06151) in due course to reflect the latest position on the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024.
As per The British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024 (Commencement) Regulations 2025, the Act will come into force on 22 July 2025.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on appointing a permanent Independent Prevent Commissioner.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
An open competition to recruit the permanent Independent Prevent Commissioner is underway, and an update will be provided once an appointment has been made.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce a (a) fast-track and (b) expedited process for applications to the Displaced Talent Mobility Scheme for people seeking refuge from (i) war zones and (ii) crisis situations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, announced a review of the UK’s existing refugee resettlement and sponsorship schemes. This will ensure that there is a framework which will allow businesses, universities and communities to sponsor refugees to live, work and study in the UK. Further details will be set out in due course.