Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the new migrant camp being built in Dunkirk does not have a negative effect on UK-bound lorries.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Any proposals for accommodation for migrants in Dunkirk, or elsewhere in Northern France, are a matter for the French authorities.
The haulage industry is hugely important to UK trade and prosperity and the Government takes the security of UK-bound traffic, as well as the safety of hauliers and tourists using the ports in Northern France, very seriously.
The Government has listened to industry concerns and continues to work closely with the French authorities at both political and operational levels on a package of measures to bolster the security of the ports. Action has been taken to improve the flow of traffic at the Juxtaposed Controls; and a new secure waiting area at Calais for UK-bound lorries with capacity for 230 vehicles will be completed by spring 2016. In the interim, Border Force has worked with the Calais port operator and introduced a secure freight circulation and waiting area for around 200 vehicles.
Border Force advice for drivers - published on gov.uk - is to alert the authorities of the country they are in as soon as they suspect persons may be seeking to enter their vehicle. The website also provides hauliers and drivers with emergency contact details for the relevant French authorities and is applicable at all the ports in Northern France.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what jurisdiction the police have to investigate allegations of fraud relating to the falsification of documents and declarations of a spouse's estate and other matters relating to wills.
Answered by John Hayes
There are a number of offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 that would relate to the falsification of a document such as a will, or other testamentary documents. There are also offences under the Fraud Act 2006 that may be applicable depending on what action is taken subsequent to such falsification. Police have powers conferred on them to investigate these offences under legislation such as the Police Act 1997 and Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many commercial drivers (a) have been and (b) are in the process of being fined for bringing people illegally into the UK via North East France in (i) the last month, (ii) between the last one and six months and (iii) between the last six and 12 months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Border Force issued penalties for those attempting to enter the UK as follows:
i) Last Month (May 2015) – 268 penalties issued
ii) Between the one and six months (November 2014 – April 2015) – 1,407 penalties issued
iii) Between last six and twelve months (October – May 2014) – 1,891 penalties issued
Figures are not yet available for June 2015.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when full details of the new police pension scheme CARE 2015 were communicated to serving police officers.
Answered by Mike Penning
The 2015 Police Pension Regulations were laid before Parliament on Thursday 5
March to allow the new pension scheme for police officers to come into force on
1 April. The Home Office is publishing guidance for members of the scheme
alongside this which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/police-pension-reform
Information about the principles of the reforms has been in the public domain
for some time. This includes: the Reform Design Framework which was published
on the Home Office Website in September 2012; an online calculator which allows
officers to determine what benefits they might receive under the new
arrangements; and guidance that specifies which officers qualify for
transitional protection.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she next plans to meet her French counterpart to discuss immigration controls at Calais.
Answered by Baroness May of Maidenhead
I last met the French Interior Minister bilaterally on 6 November, and we and our officials have a strongly collaborative relationship. It is in the interests of both the UK and France to work together to tackle the migration pressures at Calais. We are working closely and collaboratively with the French authorities on all matters of border security and cross border criminality to maintain the integrity of our joint border controls and we have regular discussions to support this work.