Metal Theft
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 3 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
I am announcing today our intention to lay a Government amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to tackle metal theft.
The Government consider that legislation is the only sustainable, long-term solution to the growing menace of metal theft. There is an urgent need to make stealing metal less attractive to criminals, and tackling the stolen metal market will act as a significant deterrent.
That is why I can confirm that we will lay amendments to:
create a new criminal offence to prohibit cash payments to purchase scrap metal; and
significantly increase the fines for all offences under the existing Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 that regulates the scrap metal recycling industry.
Cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or proof that the individual legitimately owns the metal being sold. This leads to anonymous, low-risk transactions for those individuals who steal metal. In addition, the widespread use of cash facilitates poor record keeping by the metal recycling industry and can support tax evasion activity.
Today’s announcement follows the commitment outlined in the national infrastructure plan published in November 2011 when the Government announced £5 million to establish a dedicated metal theft taskforce to enhance law enforcement activity in this area.
These amendments are part of our wider attempts to tackle all stages in the illegal trading of stolen scrap metal, and we shall bring forward further measures in due course.
Police (Financial Management Code of Practice)
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 3 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
I am today presenting to Parliament a revised financial management code of practice for the police service in England and Wales to reflect the Government’s reform of policing through the introduction of police and crime commissioners. The code provides clarity around the financial governance arrangements within the police service in England and Wales and builds on the policing protocol issued by means of the Policing Protocol Order 2011. Copies of the code of practice are available from the Vote Office.
This code is issued under section 17 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and section 39A of the Police Act 1996, which permit the Secretary of State to issue codes of practice to police and crime commissioners (“PCCs”) and the Mayor’s office for policing and crime (“MOPC”), chief constables and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. As set out in section 17(4) of the 2011 Act and section 39A(7) of the 1996 Act, PCCs, the MOPC, chief constables and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner must have regard to this code in carrying out their functions.
This new code will apply to the MOPC and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner from today. The existing financial management code of practice for the police service in England and Wales, issued under section 39 of the Police Act 1996 and presented to Parliament on 24 October 2000, will continue to apply to police authorities outside London until their replacement by PCCs on 22 November 2012. From that date, this new code will apply to PCCs and chief constables.
Rules of Engagement (HMIC Review of August 2011 Disorders)
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
On 15 August I wrote to ask Her Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Denis O’Connor, to undertake a review of public order policing and to consider further work to support clearer guidance to forces on the size of deployments, the need for mutual aid, pre-emptive action, public order tactics, the number of officers (including commanders) trained in public order policing and an appropriate arrests policy. I am pleased to be able to tell the House that HMIC has concluded its review and have today published its report, entitled “The Rules of Engagement: A Review of the August 2011 Disorders”.
HMIC recognises that the events of August 2011 were
“unparalleled in terms of speed, scale and geographical spread of disorder”.
HMIC also recognises the achievements of the police in bringing the disorder under control and in particular, the individual acts of bravery displayed by police officers across the country.
The report confirms that the initial response, in particular to the disorder which broke out in Tottenham, was too slow. This has been acknowledged in the interim reports released by the crime and victims panel and by the Metropolitan police themselves.
This review makes a number of interrelated recommendations which will require careful and serious consideration by the Government and the police service working together. This work will be aligned with the development of the strategic policing requirement.
The way in which the police respond to public disorder is a matter of key public interest. The August disturbances brought havoc to some of our cities and communities. HMIC has, in a short period of time, produced a wide-ranging and detailed report and this is to be commended. The report contains a significant amount of detail and evidence which will require detailed assessment by the Government and the police service as a whole.
A copy of this report will be placed in Library of the House.
Control Orders
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
Section 14(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of the control order powers during that period. Paragraph 5 of schedule 8 to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament covering the period that begins immediately after the end of the last three-month period and ends immediately before commencement.
The level of information provided will always be subject to slight variations based on operational advice. This report covers both reporting periods.
The transition to TPIMs
The 2011 Act commenced on 15 December 2011. A copy of the Act can be found on Parliament’s website. The home page for the Act is:
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/23/contents/enacted.
The 2005 Act has now been repealed but the control orders in force at the time of commencement of the 2011 Act will remain in effect for a 42-day transitional period concluding on 25 January 2012 unless revoked before then. This is to allow for an orderly, managed and—above all—safe transition to the new system.
The exercise of the control order powers in the relevant periods
As explained in previous quarterly statements, control order obligations are tailored to the individual concerned and are based on the terrorism-related risk that individual poses. Each control order is kept under regular review to ensure that the obligations remain necessary and proportionate. The Home Office continues to hold Control Order Review Groups (CORGs) every quarter, with representation from law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to keep the obligations in every control order under regular and formal review and to facilitate a review of appropriate exit strategies. During the reporting periods, two CORGs were held in relation to the control orders in force at the time. Other meetings were held on an ad hoc basis as specific issues arose.
During the period 11 September 2011 to 10 December 2011, no non-derogating control orders were made or served. Two control orders were revoked during this period and two control orders have been renewed in accordance with section 2(6) of the 2005 Act. No non-derogating control orders were made, served, revoked or renewed during the period 11 December 2011 to 14 December 2011.
In total, as of 10 and 14 December, there were nine control orders in force, all of which were in respect of British citizens. All of these control orders were non-derogating.
Two individuals were charged with breaching their control order obligations during this period. One further individual was acquitted of two counts of breaching a control order; the jury failed to return a verdict on the remaining 13 counts against the same individual.
During the period 11 September 2011 to 10 December 2011, 76 modifications of control order obligations were made. Nineteen requests to modify control order obligations were refused. No further modifications were made or requests refused during the period 11 December 2011 to 14 December 2011.
Section 10(1) of the 2005 Act provides a right of appeal against a decision by the Secretary of State to renew a non-derogating control order or to modify an obligation imposed by a non-derogating control order without consent. Two appeals have been lodged with the High Court during this reporting period under section 10(1). A right of appeal is also provided by section 10(3) of the 2005 Act against a decision by the Secretary of State to refuse a request by a controlled person to revoke their order or to modify any obligation under their order. During this reporting period one appeal was lodged with the High Court under section 10(3), and then withdrawn.
One judgment has been handed down by the High Court during this reporting period in relation to a control order case.
On 3 October 2011, the High Court handed down a judgment in relation to five appeals brought by a controlled individual under section 10(3) of the 2005 Act. In AM v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 2486 (Admin) the High Court upheld the Secretary of State’s decisions.
Most open judgments are available at http://www.bailii.org/.
National Policing Improvement Agency
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
As part of the wider reform of policing, I wish to update the House on plans to phase out the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), to transfer its critical national functions and to establish a police professional body and a new IT company. I am also, today, placing in the Library a summary of the responses that were received in relation to Peter Neyroud’s report, “Review of Police Leadership and Training”.
I am committed to a methodical and careful phase-out of the NPIA in 2012. Good progress is being made. The NPIA’s headcount has reduced by 25%. The NPIA has announced its departure from its site at Harrogate. Some of NPIA’s procurement functions have already transferred to the Home Office, and important detailed work has been done to identify successor bodies for the NPIA’s critical national functions and services that are required to support an effective and modern police service.
In response to the policing leadership challenge set out by Peter Neyroud’s review (which I placed in the House Library in April 2011), I intend to create a new police professional body. This is a unique opportunity to further professionalise policing, creating a body that directly supports police officers at all ranks and civilian policing professionals. It will also create opportunities to open up the closed system of leadership within the police service, to harness greater diversity and experience at a senior level, and to equip the service with the skills it needs to deliver effective crime fighting in a changing, leaner and more accountable environment.
Peter Neyroud, in his review, outlined a policing professional body which held chartered status. This will be an issue for the professional body itself to pursue when it has developed a body of evidence demonstrating it reaches the rigorous criteria required.
Whilst the police professional body will focus on policing in England and Wales, it will be important that it takes into account, and works closely with, forces in Scotland and Northern Ireland, particularly on cross-border issues.
The police professional body will develop policing as a single profession; it will represent the entire service and will act only in the public interest. Chief constables also need to come together for discussion, focusing on key operational issues, when it is in the public interest for them to do so. I envisage a need for a chiefs’ council, and I am working with ACPO and key partners to consider the precise remit of the chiefs’ council and its relationship with the police professional body.
As announced in July, the Government also intend to establish an information and communications technology (ICT) company. The company will be responsible for the procurement, implementation and management of complex contracts for information technology, related business change and outsourcing services, supplying both national and local services for police. The company will be owned by police authorities and subsequently police and crime commissioners, with the police service as its customer. It will provide:
better value to forces for their ICT spend;
greater innovation in police ICT, so that operational officers have better systems;
freedom for chief constables to focus on fighting crime rather than managing ICT;
services and products that support forces and other customers in their drive for inter-operability.
We are discussing the key design elements of the new company with representatives of forces and authorities to ensure that it meets their needs first and foremost. It will operate in such a way that forces can more quickly, easily and efficiently collaborate and procure IT solutions which meet local requirements.
Turning to plans for other NPIA functions, not in scope for either the police professional body or the ICT company, I intend to:
transfer key national critical operational functions to the National Crime Agency (NCA), which naturally fit with its new national crime fighting remit. Those areas already identified include the Central Witness Bureau, Crime Operational Support, the National Missing Persons Bureau, the Serious Crime Analysis team, and the Specialist Operations centre. In the short term, these important functions will move to the Serious Organised Crime Agency, one of the major precursor bodies to the NCA;
transfer responsibility for the 101 non-emergency phone service, crime mapping, pathology services, forensic and other non-ICT procurement and the programme for implementing Schengen Information System (II) (SIS II), to the Home Office. These moves follow the non-ICT procurement transfers that were completed in October 2011;
hand over, to a lead force, the hosting of the new National Police Air Service;
end the work NPIA currently does advising on value for money by November 2012. In its place, police and crime commissioners will drive value for money in the police service, with further support where necessary.
All other NPIA functions are the subject of further detailed analysis and consultation with the wider police service. I expect to be able to make an announcement about the future of the NPIA’s estate in the spring of 2012.
Of particular note will be reviews into the future viability of Bramshill House and the utilisation of Hendon Data Centre (HDC), which provides vital IT services at the very heart of policing. The HDC review will consider how services should be delivered in the future, by whom, and any transitional arrangements that will be necessary to ensure public safety is protected.
Domestic Violence
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
I am launching today a consultation on the cross-Government definition of domestic violence. The consultation will run until 30 March 2012 and a consultation paper is available on the Home Office website. A copy of the consultation document will also be placed in the House Library.
The ambition of this Government is nothing short of ending violence against women and girls. As we set out in our strategic vision—“Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls”—prevention will be key to achieving that ambition. Effective prevention can only happen when it involves all agencies, working together to common goals and common understanding. That is why we are now consulting on a definition of domestic violence that all agencies and all parts of Government should use.
There are a number of aspects to the definition that this consultation considers. We are seeking views on whether the current cross-Government definition of domestic violence is working and should remain. We are also consulting on whether the definition of domestic violence should include younger victims below 18 years of age, including boys, and whether coercive control should also be reflected in the definition.
Integrity in the Police Service (HMIC Report)
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 5 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
On 18 July, I informed the House that I was asking Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to consider instances of undue influence, inappropriate contractual arrangements and other abuses of power in police relationships with the media and other parties and to make recommendations as to what needs to be done. I am pleased to tell the House that HMIC have concluded their review and have today published their report: “Without Fear or Favour: a review of police relationships”. A copy will be placed in the House Library.
The integrity of the men and women who work in the police service of England and Wales is critical to public trust in policing. Real or perceived conflicts of interest dent that trust and make policing by consent more difficult. The vast majority of police officers behave appropriately and conscientiously and I welcome HMIC’s conclusion that corruption is not endemic in the police service. HMIC do however identify a range of integrity issues on which the service is neither robust enough nor consistent in its approach. HMIC found that police force and authority leaders have, on the whole, failed to grasp the importance of integrity and are therefore insufficiently compelling in setting the values and standards that should apply across all aspects of policing, as well as in setting a personal example to their staff.
Where forces and authorities get this right and police officers and staff operate to the highest standards of integrity, it is because of the presence of strong and effective leadership by example, setting both the direction and the tone. I want all forces and authorities to recognise this and to aspire to the standards of the best. I welcome HMIC’s work and accept the recommendations they have made. It is now time for all police service leaders to work together urgently and constructively to agree and apply a coherent set of national standards of integrity and behaviour for police officers and staff.
HMIC’s findings will be supplemented in the next few months by the work that Elizabeth Filkin has been undertaking in the Metropolitan Police Service and by the view of the Independent Police Complaints Commission as to whether there are further powers necessary to enhance their ability to be able to hold the police service to account. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will also be concluding a review next summer into the extent of corruption by organised criminals operating in the public and private sectors, including recommendations for addressing this. The police service’s leaders should draw on these, as well as the findings that will emerge next year from the inquiry being led by Lord Justice Leveson. The standards they set need to give the public confidence in the integrity of those who police their communities, and the service’s leaders themselves. I will expect a clear set of proposals to be ready for wider consultation by spring 2012.
To support police leaders in this, the Government have been consulting on establishing a national professional body for policing, the scope of which I intend to say more on to this House shortly. This is in addition to legislating to make the inspectorate itself more robust, better equipped to act and to shine an expert light on policing.
I intend to accept the offer made by HMIC to re-visit these issues next October. In doing so, they will be able to offer the public, and the police and crime commissioners who will be elected in November 2012, a clear view as to the effectiveness of the service’s leadership on these matters, as well as the progress made towards both operating, and being clearly seen to operate, to the highest standards of integrity.
Oral Answers to Questions
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 5 months ago)
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Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)
1. What steps she is taking to tackle violence against women.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
A comprehensive cross-Government action plan on tackling violence against women and girls was published on 8 March this year. It includes 88 commitments from 12 Departments to improve the provision of services for victims of violence and to prevent violence from happening in the first place. We have already delivered 22 of those commitments.
Claire Perry
I thank the Home Secretary for that reply. Also part of this Government’s work is a pilot scheme running in Swindon and Wiltshire in which perpetrators of domestic violence are effectively banned from the family home, rather than the family and the women being forced to move out, as happened previously. My right hon. Friend will be pleased to know that, since July, under the terms of the scheme, 82 abusive perpetrators have been removed from family homes. The head of Wiltshire victim support unit said that the programme is reaching women who have never been helped before. Will my right hon. Friend please tell us when the pilot might be rolled out nationally?
Mrs May
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. She is absolutely right that domestic violence protection orders do what hon. Members across the House have always felt is right: ensure that when a domestic violence incident takes place it is the perpetrator who is not able to stay in the home, rather than the victim being forced out, as has happened so often in the past. We commenced a pilot in Greater Manchester, West Mercia and Wiltshire, and a second wave of pilot areas started in October in Grater Manchester and West Mercia, which we are looking to run for at least a year before we assess them properly.
Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
The Opposition welcome press reports this weekend that the Deputy Prime Minister wants to widen the definition of domestic violence. Let me also offer Home Office Ministers our support if they wish to challenge the actions of their colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, who are seeking to restrict access to legal aid for victims of domestic violence. Does the Home Secretary agree that that should happen, so that we send a strong message to victims that they should not have to wait until the first punch is thrown before they get help?
Mrs May
The hon. Lady is right that we need to ensure that we have the right definition of domestic violence. That is why the Government are consulting on the appropriate definition and ensuring that we have a cross-Government definition, which, sadly, the previous Labour Government did not have.
Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)
I thank my right hon. Friend for her answer to the excellent opening question and urge her to look at the Home Affairs Committee report on domestic violence from the previous Parliament. If she implements its recommendations, a lot of the issues will be resolved.
Mrs May
I thank my hon. Friend for his reference to the work previously done by the Home Affairs Committee on this important issue. The Government are looking across the board at sources of proposals for dealing with this problem. As I have said, our cross-Government action plan included 12 Departments and made a significant number of commitments to ensure that we do what all in the House would want: end violence against women and girls.
Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) (Con)
2. What her policy is on the designation of (a) target sports clubs where historical pistols are studied and shot and (b) other target sports clubs.
Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)
3. What recent assessment she has made of the operational effectiveness of the UK Border Agency.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
I should like to pay tribute to the many dedicated and hard-working staff of UKBA, who do a good job, working day in, day out to keep our border secure and enforce immigration rules. There is certainly more to be done. The agency’s new chief executive, Rob Whiteman, has a vision to make further improvements. I share that vision.
Gavin Shuker
Has the Home Secretary yet received the interim internal report on this summer’s security lapse, and if so can she tell me how many people were wrongly allowed into Luton airport in my constituency?
Mrs May
As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have made available some figures from the early assessment of the success rate of the pilot that was run in the summer. We are of course awaiting the independent investigation by the chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, which will not be available until the end of January.
Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)
There has been a warm welcome in the House and the country for the firmer approach being taken by this Government, but can the Home Secretary give us any further information on the ending of the bogus colleges scam, and to what extent the Government are able to influence events in the Mediterranean to ensure that better naval patrolling takes place to turn back boats carrying illegal immigrants?
Mrs May
I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that there are now more than 450 colleges that have not been accredited under the scheme or did not apply to be accredited, which gives us a clear message about whether they were actually providing education. On his second point, it is important for this country to work with other countries and help them to improve their border security, so that the problem of people entering Europe and then the United Kingdom is reduced.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)
I understand that some 98,000 cases have been put in what the Home Office calls the “controlled archive section”, and it claims that many of the people involved cannot be found or located. As a constituency MP, I have many such people coming to see me, and they are living here and going through an application or appeal, and simply waiting for a reply from the Home Office. Will the Home Secretary look again at the whole system and ensure that proper efforts are made to find people who are legitimately trying to continue their stay here?
Mrs May
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue and I remind him and other hon. Members that the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee asked Members of Parliament to write to the Home Office to say whether they had any cases of the sort that the hon. Gentleman mentions. The work that we have been doing is of course clearing up the chaotic mess in the asylum system that was left, sadly, by the last Government.
Mr Don Foster (Bath) (LD)
With tourism vital to places such as Bath, it is worrying that the more and more people who travel abroad from countries such as India and China tend not to come to this country because they think that the UKBA is unwelcoming. Should we not at least have a special visa for 2012 to commemorate the Olympics and the diamond jubilee, and have the application forms in the language of the tourist rather than in English?
Mrs May
I fully understand the benefits and importance of tourism to certain parts of the United Kingdom such as my right hon. Friend’s constituency. I assure him that special arrangements have been put in place by the UKBA for those who are travelling to be part of or to view the Olympics next summer.
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
Last month, the Home Office claimed that seizures of class A drugs by the UKBA were up. That was described by the chair of the UK Statistics Authority as
“highly selective in its choice of statistics, in order, it seems, to show the UK Border Agency in a good light”.
In reality, official statistics show that UKBA seizures of class A drugs fell last year. Overall, there were barely half the number of seizures than in 2008-09. Given that 452,000 people take ecstasy in the UK each year, does the Home Secretary think that seizing only 300 ecstasy tablets is good enough?
Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)
4. What steps she is taking to tackle domestic violence against men.
Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)
5. What recent progress she has made on the introduction of police and crime commissioners.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
The first PCC elections will take place on 15 November 2012. I recently tabled a protocol setting out how the new policing governance arrangements will work and issued the shadow strategic policing requirement, which sets out the national threats that the police must address. Subject to parliamentary approval, London will move to the new PCC model in January.
Michael Ellis
I congratulate the Home Secretary on her achievement in this flagship legislation and on the fact that in a year’s time PCCs will be rolled out across the country. What steps can the Government take to ensure that prospective candidates for this important position will come from a wide diversity of backgrounds?
Mrs May
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. I add to his congratulations the name of my right hon. Friend the Policing Minister, who played a significant role in ensuring that the legislation was steered through Parliament for it to be in place in September. I am keen to ensure that we have a diversity of candidates. We are now looking into a number of ways in which we can promote an understanding of the role of the police and crime commissioners. My right hon. Friend marked the one year to go to PCCs on 21 November with a speech on a new era in policing. We will be publishing a consultation, setting out proposals that PCCs act as commissioners for victim support services.
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)
Given that the Home Secretary has made it clear that she wants police commissioners to have authority with respect not just to policing but to the criminal justice system, will she heed the important advice of the Association of Chief Police Officers that antisocial behaviour orders should still be part of the things at the disposal of police commissioners, the police and the criminal justice system?
Mrs May
I note the rather clever way in which the hon. Gentleman weaved the antisocial behaviour order into that question. As he knows, we consulted on replacing the current regime of ASBOs with a new regime that is clearer, less bureaucratic and easier to use. We will be introducing legislation in due course.
Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)
One of the key features of the checks and balances that will operate on the police and crime commissioners are the police and crime panels. Will the Home Secretary confirm that the effectiveness of the police and crime panels will not be hindered by arbitrary restrictions such as a lack of access to senior police officers or experts or a budget that is so tight that it will restrict the PCPs’ ability to meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the police and crime commissioners?
Mrs May
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. I recognise the interest that he has consistently shown in ensuring that the police and crime panels have the powers necessary to scrutinise the work of the police and crime commissioners. They will be different from police authorities, so their role will not be the same. We have set out clearly the interaction that they should have with the police and crime commissioner and with the chief constable of the police force area. As for budgets, our overall aim is that the new regime will cost no more than police authorities do today.
Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) (Con)
6. What steps she is taking to improve efficiency within police forces.
Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)
7. What steps she is taking to prevent vulnerable young people from being drawn into gang-related crime.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
In November, I presented the “Ending Gang and Youth Violence” report to the House. Today, I have notified 22 areas that they will be offered targeted funding and support by the new ending gang and youth violence team, details of which I will place in the Library. I will shortly extend gang injunction powers to prevent gang violence by 14 to 17-year-olds and will launch a consultation on the penalties for illegal firearm supply and importation.
Christopher Pincher
I am obliged for that answer. Chief Inspector Ian Coxhead, Tamworth police and other agencies have launched Project Turnaround to identify potential problem youngsters early and to help them to keep on the rails, rather than going off them. Will my right hon. Friend commend that initiative, which has been rolled out across Staffordshire, and consider it as best practice for other chief constables?
Mrs May
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing Project Turnaround to the notice of the House and I congratulate Chief Inspector Coxhead and all those who work with him on their work. It seems to be a good example of what we talked about in the “Ending Gang and Youth Violence” report—of police working with other agencies to find the best solutions for individuals and either prevent them from becoming gang members or turn them away from gangs.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Home Secretary agree that this is a key area for a joined-up approach across Government? By that I mean a Government who believe in keeping youth services active and working in our communities, and a Government who believe that 1 million unemployed people is unacceptable and will lead to trouble later.
Mrs May
The Government do indeed have a joined-up approach on that. The report was the result of work by an inter-ministerial group that I chaired, working closely with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and with representations from several Departments, including the Department for Education and the Department for Communities and Local Government. I am pleased to say that the inter-ministerial group will continue to meet to monitor the work that the team are doing as a result of the report. Indeed, we held our first such meeting last week.
Gloria De Piero (Ashfield) (Lab)
Last week, the ringleaders of a gang of youths were given antisocial behaviour orders after making the lives of shoppers and businesses in Rochdale a misery. If they breach the ASBO, these youths will get a criminal record, but according to page 18 of the Government’s consultation document, “More Effective Responses to Antisocial Behaviour”, a breach of the Government’s proposed crime prevention injunction
“would not result in a criminal record.”
Will the Secretary of State confirm that that is the case?
Mrs May
The hon. Lady is well aware that we will be implementing several proposals to deal with antisocial behaviour and gangs, and I remind her that I have referred already this afternoon to what we are doing with gang injunctions. In the case to which she referred and similar cases, gang injunctions will be available.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
9. What progress she has made on implementing the recommendations of the report of the coroner’s inquests into the London bombings of 7 July 2005; and if she will make a statement.
Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)
10. What progress she has made on the establishment of the National Crime Agency.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
We are on course to establish the National Crime Agency in 2013, subject to the passage of legislation. To drive early progress, work on the four operational commands is under way. The Organised Crime Co-ordination Centre, which is part of the intelligence hub, is now established, and the UK cyber-security strategy sets out the role of the cybercrime unit. Keith Bristow, the NCA director general, is in post and will drive progress further.
Stephen Mosley
One of the concerns raised when the Home Secretary announced the launch of the NCA in the summer was about the future of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. Is my right hon. Friend confident that CEOP’s role in protecting children will be enhanced and improved by its inclusion in the NCA?
Mrs May
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising an issue that was raised when the NCA was announced. I am pleased to say that CEOP is indeed one of the commands in the National Crime Agency. Peter Davies, the chief executive office of CEOP, has made it clear that
“we know that we will go into that future”—
that is, as part of the NCA—
“with our brand, purpose and operating model intact.”
Indeed, Peter Davies sits on the programme board and will work closely with Keith Bristow on the agency’s operating model. As part of the NCA, CEOP will not only be able to continue doing what it does today, but will be able to enhance its work, improving the vital work of protecting children.
Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)
The Home Secretary will recall that on 21 October she wrote to me saying that she would write to the Select Committee on Home Affairs shortly with the full details of which functions would be transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency to the National Crime Agency. It is now six weeks since that letter, and in 12 weeks’ time the NPIA will be abolished. When will she be in a position to write to me with a full list of the functions that will be transferred, or will she accept the Committee’s recommendation that she should delay the NPIA’s closure until all the functions are properly transferred?
Mrs May
The right hon. Gentleman may have misspoken in his question. He referred to the NPIA closing in 12 weeks. It will not be closing in 12 weeks: we have already made it clear that the NPIA will be closed by the end of December 2012, to allow time for the full and proper transfer of its functions, where necessary, to other organisations. We will inform Parliament of the transfer of those functions shortly.
Mr Adam Holloway (Gravesham) (Con)
11. What steps she is taking to tackle metal theft.
Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
As the House just heard, this Government are committed to controlling immigration and reducing net migration. We have already introduced an annual limit on the number of non-EU workers, overhauled the student visa route and increased enforcement activity. Our next steps are to break the link between temporary and permanent migration by restricting settlement rights and to reform family migration. Members of this House have played a crucial role in shaping these reforms and I welcome the opportunity for further such contributions in this afternoon’s Government debate, which will be ably led by my hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration.
Mr Amess
While I recognise that my right hon. Friend has a very tough job as Home Secretary, does she understand my disappointment? When I first became MP for Basildon, we had one police station; by the time I left we had three and Lord Mackay of Clashfern had opened a magnificent courthouse. I then became the Member of Parliament for Southend West, where there are a huge number of elderly people and where I started off with three police stations, and I will shortly have none.
Mrs May
I feel the need not to let it rest there, Mr Speaker, but to respond to the question that my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Mr Amess) asked. I am sure that he will agree that what matters is accessibility to police. That is why one thing the Government are doing is reducing the amount of bureaucracy that the police have to deal with so that they can get out on the streets more. It is also why a number of forces up and down the country are considering accessibility in a different way, rather than simply having fixed police stations. I understand that Essex, for example, has seven mobile police stations that go to areas where people congregate, such as supermarket car parks, to increase accessibility to the police for members of the public.
Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)
At the end of this month, the control orders legislation expires and the police and security services will have just six weeks’ transition to get the new weaker terrorism prevention and investigation measures and extra surveillance in place. The assistant commissioner of the Met, in a recent letter placed in the Library of the House, confirms the Met’s position last summer that
“it would take at least a year to recruit and train additional surveillance teams”.
She also says that
“not all the additional assets will be immediately in place”.
Why, then, is the Home Secretary so determined to push ahead with weaker counter-terror powers so quickly? Why does she not delay them and avoid piling extra pressure and risk on to the Met in the new year?
Mrs May
The right hon. Lady knows full well that the Metropolitan Police Service and the Security Service will not have just six weeks to put transitional arrangements in place. They have been aware for some time that TPIMs would come in and extra funding would be available for extra surveillance. Subsequent to the letter sent by the assistant commissioner, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has written to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee to make it absolutely clear that effective transitional arrangements from control orders to TPIMs will be in place to ensure that we continue to do what we want to do and what everybody wants us to do: that is, maintain the security of people in this country.
Yvette Cooper
The Met has been put in a very difficult position. This is Olympic year and it will have considerable additional pressures from policing the games, from counter-terrorism and from an £80 million budget gap. There are no guarantees that it will not have to stump up for some of the riot compensation, too. The letter from the Met says that
“it is not possible to assess fully how the measures will work with the additional capability until both are fully in place and bedded in.”
The Home Secretary is forcing the police to conduct an experiment with security in Olympic year. The letter says:
“We will…seek to ensure that there is no substantial increase in overall risk to the UK.”
Why does this Home Secretary want to be personally responsible for any increase in the overall risk to the UK in Olympic year as a result of the timing of her legislation? Why does she not think again?
Mrs May
The right hon. Lady knows that when we introduced TPIMs we were able to give assurances about the mitigation of risks in relation to TPIMs and their replacement of control orders. I ask her to reflect on why the coalition Government reviewed counter-terrorism legislation when we came to power. It was because of a concern about the impact of some of the legislation that her Government had introduced. It was a rebalancing of the necessary role of ensuring national security and maintaining civil liberties that led us to review that legislation. We have in place measures that I believe will enable us to provide the security that we need to provide. The package of measures includes TPIMs and extra money for surveillance for both the Security Service and the police, and I am confident that that package will give them the degree of cover they need to ensure that we maintain security.
Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)
T2. My constituent Altaf Sadique had his car registration plate cloned earlier this year. He reported that to the police, who accepted the report and are aware that his car remains in west Yorkshire, but he continues to get fines from all around the country and the police say it is nothing to do with them. Will the Minister look seriously at having a national strategy to ensure that police forces co-operate to deal with this serious problem?
Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)
T8. Despite the tough settlement for the Metropolitan police, our borough commander in Croydon has found the resources for a dedicated team to tackle gangs. Given that gang members played a key role in the riots in Croydon on 8 August, can my right hon. Friend confirm that Croydon is one of the 22 areas to which she referred that will benefit from Government funding?
Mrs May
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity of doing just that. I can confirm that Croydon is one of the 22 areas that will be receiving funding. That funding will be distributed according to the proportion of 10 to 24-year-olds in each of the 22 areas, and I can tell him that on that basis Croydon has the fourth highest proportion and will therefore receive the fourth highest sum of funding.
Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)
The weekend before last, 13 British citizens including, disgracefully, a Member of this House, were present at a party in a French restaurant where members of that group—[Interruption.] It is no laughing matter—where members of that group toasted the Third Reich and chanted “Hitler, Hitler, Hitler,” behaviour which, I understand, is illegal in France. Will the Home Secretary give me her assurance that she will be contacting her French counterparts and giving them every promise that the matter will be dealt with?
David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)
T9. I welcome plans to set up a professional body for policing. Does my right hon. Friend agree that such a body would be an ideal opportunity to promote the importance of high-quality training, which is very much in the interests of our police officers?
Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)
May I draw attention to the Merseyside police force and how it has handled staffing changes and efficiency savings over the past year? Not only has the force hit all its targets, but crime is down 3%, antisocial behaviour is down 6%, and public confidence is up 5%, so despite the scaremongering from the Opposition, it is possible to have efficiency savings and a decrease in crime.
Mrs May
I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the work that is being done by the Merseyside force in relation to the savings that it is making in its budgets. As Chief Constable Jon Murphy has said,
“It’s not salami slicing but re-engineering the whole organisation.”
As my hon. Friend has shown, that can be done effectively, saving money but providing a good service to the public. [Interruption.]
Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)
The Home Secretary is aware that women prisoners will only ever move between women’s prisons, and similarly young people will only move through young offenders institutions. What discussions has she had with her counterparts at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that we look at prison education for women as a cluster and for young people as a cluster, instead of relying on local arrangements?
Mrs May
My hon. Friend raises an important issue, and behind it lies the important issue of the number of women who go to prison. For many women, an alternative arrangement might be more appropriate, which is something Baroness Corston raised in her report on women in prison. I will certainly take on board my hon. Friend’s point and ensure that it is put to the Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and for Justice.
Justice and Home Affairs Pre-Council Statement
Theresa May Excerpts(12 years, 5 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
The Justice and Home Affairs Council is due to be held on the 13 and 14 December in Brussels. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, the Scottish Solicitor-General, (Lesley Thomson) and I will attend on behalf of the United Kingdom. As the provisional agenda stands, the following items will be discussed.
The Council will begin in mixed Committee with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (non-EU Schengen states). There will be an update, supported by a written report, on the Commission-led project to implement the central element of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II); the UK will continue to reiterate its support for the continuation of the current SIS II project.
There will also be a state of play on certain issues regarding the draft regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 which lists the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. The UK is not bound by this regulation as we do not participate in the migration aspects of the Schengen acquis.
The presidency will invite an exchange of views by member states on the EU response to increased migration pressures. This item builds on discussions at the last two Councils; it will include combating illegal migration in the context of migration flows from the south-east (including the Greek-Turkish border) and the southern Mediterranean. The UK supports increased efforts to combat illegal flows across the external border and within the EU, including closer co-operation between Frontex, the European Asylum Support Office and Europol. We believe this should be linked to further work “upstream” in countries of origin and transit, using the tools of the EU’s global approach to migration, as well as joint efforts to combat the abuse of free movement.
Over lunch the presidency will seek a steer from Ministers on the key issues blocking negotiations regarding Schengen governance, namely the choice of legal base for the Schengen evaluation mechanism and the role the Commission should play in taking decisions to reintroduce border controls.
In both mixed Committee and main Committee there will be a presentation by the Commission and first exchange of views on proposals for new JHA funding programmes under the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020. The package includes a communication and proposals for four regulations establishing a new internal security fund and the asylum migration fund (AMF). While the Government welcome the flexibility and potential efficiency that will be offered from merging the six existing funding programmes into two programmes, we are concerned about the size of the overall budget proposed by the Commission. We will also need to consider our participation under the JHA opt-in arrangements.
The presidency will seek support for its proposal on a process for early warning, preparedness and management of asylum crises. Instead of a clause allowing transfers under the Dublin regulation to be suspended, the proposal would envisage a provision in the Dublin regulation requiring member states to provide data about their asylum system to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and for action plans to be drawn up if it appears that their systems may be facing difficulties. The Government can support this in principle provided the action plans are drawn up by the member states themselves, acting through EASO, and not by the Commission.
The Commission will then present its proposals on the global approach to migration and mobility. The current global approach provides the overarching framework for much of the EU’s work with third-country partners on migration. The UK welcomes the Commission’s proposals for a renewed global approach, which should provide additional opportunities to work in conjunction with EU and international partners on migration, including combating illegal immigration. While we welcome a more comprehensive global approach, it is essential that it remains non-binding, and allows member states to decide on participation in various initiatives on a case-by-case basis. The Government will continue to ensure that any participation is compatible with the UK’s immigration policy.
The presidency may attempt to secure agreement on the date for the removal of controls on Bulgaria and Romania’s sea and air borders with countries in the Schengen area. This is dependent on the outcome of discussions at the European Council on 9 December. The UK will not have a vote at this Council on this issue as it concerns borders elements in which we do not participate.
The Council will be presented with a package of counter-terrorism (CT) items covering the EU action plan on combating terrorism, the EU CT strategy and the report on the implementation of the strategy on terrorist financing. The UK welcomes the work that is being done at an EU-level to mitigate the terrorist threat, in particular the work around data-sharing and aligning internal and external CT activities. It will be important moving forward that the member states stay focused on the implementation of the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) and air cargo security action plans.
The presidency will want to adopt the Council decision and to sign the EU-US passenger name records (PNR) agreement, which was published on 24 November. The agreement will provide an unequivocal basis in EU law for the transfer of PNR data by EU-based carriers to the US Department of Homeland Security. The Government support this proposal and have agreed to waive our treaty rights to three months consideration of opt in so that the Council can proceed without us. However, the text remains subject to scrutiny in Parliament and we have therefore not exercised our opt-in in order to give the Committees an opportunity to consider the agreement.
There will be a discussion on cross-border itinerant criminality. The issue of “mobile itinerant organised crime groups” was identified as one of the eight EU crime priorities for 2012-13 and is being addressed as one of eight projects under the EU policy cycle (on tackling organised crime), being overseen by the Standing Committee on operational co-operation on internal security (COSI). The UK has decided not to participate in this project at this time as the UK does not focus on itinerant criminals as a distinct group (“itinerant groups” do not feature in the UK threat assessment as we consider all organised crime by crime-type and threat area).
The Justice day will begin with the presidency seeking to obtain general agreement on the provisions of the proposed regulation on succession and wills. As the UK has not opted in to this proposal it will not participate in any vote on these guidelines.
The presidency will also be looking to reach agreement on certain elements of the proposal to modify the regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I). The regulation lays down rules governing the jurisdiction of courts and the recognition and enforcement of cross-border judgments in civil and commercial matters in the member states. The Government opted-in to the proposal in March.
Next there will be a debate of specific issues of the regulation on a EU common sales law. This proposal was presented at the October JHA Council where the Commission confirmed it would offer an alternative contract law regime that would form part of the law of each member state but would not harmonise national contract law systems.
The Council will discuss the European Investigation Order (EIO). The EIO is a draft directive aimed at streamlining the process of mutual legal assistance between participating EU countries. The UK has opted in. The presidency will be seeking to reach a general approach (agreement) on the EIO. A partial general approach to articles 1-18 was achieved at the June JHA Council. There have been significant improvements to the original draft of the EIO and we are considering our position in relation to the current text. The EIO also remains subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
There will then be a debate on the draft directive on establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The presidency will be looking to agree a general approach and a scrutiny waiver has been granted by both Houses.
The presidency will then provide an update regarding the draft directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and on the right to communicate upon arrest. This is the third proposal on the EU’s criminal procedural rights road map which sets minimum standards for the rights of the defence. This presidency also gave an update on this directive at the October JHA Council.
Next, the Commission will present proposals for two new funding programmes in the area of justice, rights and citizenship for the period 2014-2020. These are to replace the existing funding programmes in the current fundamental rights and justice framework. The overall objectives of the proposed justice programme are to promote judicial co-operation in civil and criminal matters, facilitate access to justice and to prevent and reduce drug supply and demand, while the objective of the rights and citizenship programme is to contribute to the creation of an area where the rights set out in the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, and in the charter of fundamental rights are promoted and protected.
Finally, the presidency will be providing a state of play update to Council on the negotiations on EU accession to ECHR. The negotiating mandate was agreed at the JHA Council in June 2010, and a draft version of an accession agreement was produced by experts with knowledge of the convention system in June 2011. This is now subject to further consideration.
G6 Meeting (Paris)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
The informal G6 group of Ministers of the Interior from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK held their most recent meeting in Paris on 1 December under the French presidency of the group. The meeting was chaired by the French Interior Minister Claude Guéant. The meeting was divided into two working sessions which were attended by the G6 Ministers of the Interior. Additional guests included the US Attorney-General, Eric Holder; the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström.
The first working session of G6 Ministers and the Commission considered Schengen governance, asylum and itinerant (mobile) criminality. Delegates agreed on the need for a stronger political governance of the Schengen area that would preserve the achievement of the border-free zone while retaining the necessary safeguards. G6 Ministers agreed that member states should retain the possibility of re-imposing internal border controls in the event of a major failure of the external border or a large, unexpected migratory pressure. They called for an early warning mechanism to alert Schengen states in this regard, as well as a strengthening of the Schengen evaluation mechanism. On asylum, the meeting recognised the need for the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) to provide those member states taking part in it with the tools and procedures to respond quickly and effectively to asylum claims. Delegates noted the European Council’s desire to conclude the CEAS negotiations in 2012, and as far as possible before the end of Denmark’s EU presidency. I underlined the need to deal with asylum cases as swiftly as possible and to ensure that decisions were made properly to distinguish between those claims that were genuine and those that were not. On itinerant criminality, Ministers discussed the need to direct more effectively existing EU resources, such as Europol and Eurojust, to tackle the threat of mobile organised crime groups. I raised the issue of metal theft which affects G6 countries as well as the UK.
The second session, including the US representatives, focused on the recovery of criminal assets and transatlantic data sharing. Delegates discussed the ongoing difficulties associated with recovering the proceeds of organised crime, and agreed on the need for greater international co-operation and more robust asset recovery procedures. The US Attorney-General underlined the importance of civil procedures in asset recovery. I emphasised that financial investigation skills and techniques were not an addition but rather an essential part of the wider armoury of techniques required to investigate criminality. Delegates then discussed the progress of negotiations around the EU-US PNR and EU-US data protection agreements.
In addition to the two plenary sessions, I spoke about the preparations under way for the 2012 Olympic games, and presented the UK’s plans to reform the European Court of Human Rights under our chairmanship of the Council of Europe. I also held separate bilateral meetings with some of the other heads of delegation to discuss a range of issues including extradition, illegal migration, passenger name records and data protection. The next meeting of the G6 is expected to be held in Germany in June.