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Written Question
Drugs: Blackpool
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of project ADDER in combating drug crime in Blackpool.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary

Through Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) we are trail-blazing a whole-system response to combatting drug misuse in 13 hardest hit areas across England and Wales.

Project ADDER is underpinned by a robust monitoring and evaluation framework. Our internal monitoring shows positive early signs. Between January 2021 and September 2022 across all sites, Project ADDER boosted activity and supported: over 1,600 Organised Crime Gangs disruptions; £7m in cash seized; nearly 20,500 arrests; over 12,400 Out of Court Disposals offered; and over 28,500 drug treatment interventions.

Partner feedback in Blackpool is positive with increased partnership working between the police, Local Authority and service providers to address drug related crime and support people into treatment and wider services.

The Home Office have also commissioned Kantar Public to undertake an independent evaluation of Project ADDER, and this is due to report in late 2023. The evaluation will look at how Project ADDER has been implemented across all Project ADDER sites and the overall impact of the programme in meeting the aims and objectives to reduce drug use, drug-related offending and drug-related deaths.


Written Question
Undocumented Migrants: Albania
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative estimate of the number of Albanian nationals who (a) crossed the Channel in a small boat and (b) were involved in serious organised crime in each month in each of the last three years.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the 'Irregular Migration to the UK statistics' report. Data on small boat arrivals by year for the top 20 nationalities in the latest year (January to September 2022) are published in table Irr_02b of the 'Irregular migration to the UK data tables' with the latest data up to the end of September 2022.

Data up to the end of December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023. Future irregular migration publication release dates can be found on the research and statistics calendar.

There are no published statistics on nationalities involved in serious organised crime.


Written Question
Undocumented Migrants: English Channel
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people crossing the English Channel in small boats were found to be children in each of the last three years.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ report. Data on small boat arrivals by age are published in table Irr_02c of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK data tables’ with the latest data up to the end of September 2022.

Data up to the end of December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023. Future irregular migration publication release dates can be found on the research and statistics calendar.


Written Question
Public Spaces Protection Orders: Prayer
Thursday 19th January 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders to prohibit (a) silent and (b) other forms of prayer.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary

The Home Office does not collect any data on breaches of Public Space Protection Orders.

Public Space Protection Orders are designed to stop individuals or groups committing anti-social behaviour in a public space. Decisions regarding what restrictions are imposed are matters for the local authority which is required to consider people’s rights under the European Convention.


Written Question
Abortion: Demonstrations
Thursday 19th January 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted of breaching a Public Space Protection Order around an abortion clinic in each year since 2018.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary

The Home Office does not collect any data on breaches of Public Space Protection Orders.

Public Space Protection Orders are designed to stop individuals or groups committing anti-social behaviour in a public space. Decisions regarding what restrictions are imposed are matters for the local authority which is required to consider people’s rights under the European Convention.


Written Question
Speed Limits
Thursday 12th January 2023

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the average cost of policing a 20mph zone in the last 12 months.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary

The Home Office does not hold or collect information on the average cost of policing a 20mph zone, nor are there any current plans to do so.

The enforcement of speed limits is an operational matter for the police and any costs associated with enforcement activity will inevitably vary between forces.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 16 Nov 2022
Migration

"Senior police officers in my constituency tell me that the majority of the serious organised crime and the drugs trade in Blackpool is now orchestrated by Albanian gangs. Does the Minister recognise that some of those who cross in small boats and subsequently abscond when they arrive in this country …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Migration

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 07 Nov 2022
Asylum Seekers Accommodation and Safeguarding

"My constituents are becoming sick and tired of this ridiculous narrative of economic migrants somehow being mistreated at Manston. The fact of the matter is that after a short time at the processing centre, these economic migrants will receive free food and free accommodation in hotels—something that my constituents, who …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Asylum Seekers Accommodation and Safeguarding

Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 03 Nov 2022
Police Service: HMI Report

"It is vital that lessons are learned, and I thank the Minister for confirming that the recommendations in the report will be delivered in full, but does he agree that 99.9% of our police officers in this country do a brilliant job in keeping our communities safe, and that it …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Police Service: HMI Report

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 31 Oct 2022
Western Jet Foil and Manston Asylum Processing Centres

"May I welcome the Home Secretary back to her rightful place on the Front Bench? She has the support of the millions of Britons who are just hoping that one day we may finally get a grip on the small boats crisis. The Home Affairs Committee has been told that …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Western Jet Foil and Manston Asylum Processing Centres