Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent people under 18 years old from committing anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene early and ensure this cohort is identified and offered support in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for young people in their communities.
Prevention Partnerships will identify children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime and violence such as knife crime and ASB and divert them by offering them suitable support in a more systematic way.
The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, sets out our plan to reduce ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every police force across England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to bring back and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional officers are visibly out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make our streets safer.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support regional crime units to tackle (a) fraud and (b) cybercrime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A new National Fraud Squad (NFS) has been established, consisting of a network of 400 new investigators across the National Crime Agency, City of London Police and Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs). The NFS is transforming the law enforcement response by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters, domestically and overseas, jointly with government and industry.
The Home Office has provided funding to create a coordinated police Fraud Protect Network, made up of local, regional and national law enforcement officers and is designed to reduce the threat of fraud and revictimisation by providing consistent safeguarding advice to the public.
The Home Office also funds the Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) across England and Wales. These regional policing teams investigate and pursue serious cyber offenders, including supporting organisations during live ransomware attacks to get them back online as soon as possible. They also support businesses by providing cyber security support to help them reduce their vulnerability and threat of attack.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of processing times for manual Disclosure and Barring Service certificates; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding manual certificates to the DBS update service.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Manual certificates are only used in rare circumstances when an automated DBS certificate cannot be issued, for example if the applicants’ name or relevant information from the Police National Computer exceeds a certain number of characters, or for certain applications which are submitted via the Sensitive applications route.
DBS aims to complete them within the usual published processing standards which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK.
Given the small numbers involved and their alignment to the automated checks processing times, there are currently no specific concerns relating to manually processed certificates. As manual certificates are produced offline, they cannot be added to the Update Service as there is no automated facility to continuously monitor the certificate status.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent modern slavery in the care sector.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government believes that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy. We are aware of issues being raised in the adult care sector, including concerns about unethical employment practices by some sponsors of the 'Health and Care Worker' visa.
The Home Office has zero tolerance of sponsors who seek to exploit workers they sponsor and will take action against any found to be doing so. However, while the UKVI actively monitors the compliance of sponsors with their duties, they are not a labour market regulator, and their powers to redress concerns are limited to revoking a sponsor's licence. Furthermore, UKVI have no legal powers to police the recruitment chains used by sponsors and such recruitment often takes place outside of UK legal jurisdiction. The Home Office does, however, expect sponsors to recruit staff lawfully.
The Home Office also funds the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), which has specially trained officers with police-style powers to prevent, detect and investigate serious labour exploitation across the entire economy in England and Wales. The GLAA have a number of live investigations within the care sector currently.
The Home Office will continue to work closely with DHSC and other relevant departments to address these issues, including exploring further regulation through the Fair Work Agency, the forthcoming single enforcement body.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for tackling violence against women and girls in York Outer constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government will treat tackling violence against women and girls as a national emergency and will use every tool to target perpetrators and address the root causes of violence.
We will dramatically improve the police and wider criminal justice response, including a relentless pursuit of dangerous perpetrators and sustained support for victims.
We will tackle the root causes of these crimes, including supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help tackle anti-social behaviour in York Outer constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, and provide residents with a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.
We will also crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers via a Crime and Policing Bill, including a new Respect Order to tackle repeat offending.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of community police officers in York Outer constituency since 2010 on levels of crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest statistics on police workforce and crime, covering the period to 31 March 2024, were published on 24 July 2024. These statistics can be accessed at the following links:
Police workforce statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
Crime statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice
The Home Office does not hold this information at Parliamentary Constituency level and is unable to assess the impact of the number of community police officers in York Outer constituency on levels of crime. Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for holding their Chief Constable to account for policing in their area.
The Government is committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing as part of its Safer Streets mission. That is why we are introducing a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, providing a more visible police presence in town centres, recruiting thousands of additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables, and giving every community a named local officer.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to tackle business fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. We will tackle the criminals responsible for fraud at home and overseas, work with industry to make it much more difficult to commit fraud, and support victims across the UK.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of businesses in the Yorkshire and the Humber region that experienced fraud in the last financial year.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Home Office does not hold data on the number of businesses in the Yorkshire and the Humber region that experienced fraud in the last financial year.
The Economic Crime Survey 2024 is a representative survey of businesses, which is currently conducting fieldwork, and will build the evidence base on the incidents and nature of fraud against businesses in the UK.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take further steps to tackle consumer fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime.
We will tackle the criminals responsible for fraud at home and overseas, work with industry to make it much more difficult to commit fraud, and support victims across the UK.