Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government will publish its response to the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation which closed in September 2019.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In response to recommendations of the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, (published on 22 May 2019), the Home Office ran a public consultation ahead of potential changes to section 54 (transparency in supply chains requirements) of the Modern Slavery Act. The consultation ran from 9 July to 17 September 2019 and sought views on a range of proposals intended to strengthen the reporting requirement. The Government is currently considering the findings of this consultation and will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the classification of drugs following the June 2019 recommendations of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has considered the recommendations of the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s report of June 2019. We keep drug control under constant review and work in consultation with our independent experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), to consider any new evidence of misuse and harms.
Following any advice or recommendation from the ACMD, the Government will act to classify substances in the appropriate way, based on an assessment of harm or potential harms.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for asylum the Home Office has received from Uighurs since 2015; and what proportion of those applications have been successful.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is unable to report on how many applications for asylum from Chinese Uighurs it has received since 2015; and what proportion of those applications have been successful, as to obtain this information would require a manual trawl of records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We do, however, publish data on those who have been granted asylum in the UK, with main applicants broken down by country of nationality. The latest release, published 24th May 2019, can be found in tab as_01 at volume 1 of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#asylum
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Where someone establishes a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country they are normally granted protection and are not expected to return there.
Our assessment of the situation for Uighurs in China is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on the Gov.uk website
All asylum and human rights claims from Chinese nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting Uighur asylum seekers the automatic right to remain in the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is unable to report on how many applications for asylum from Chinese Uighurs it has received since 2015; and what proportion of those applications have been successful, as to obtain this information would require a manual trawl of records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We do, however, publish data on those who have been granted asylum in the UK, with main applicants broken down by country of nationality. The latest release, published 24th May 2019, can be found in tab as_01 at volume 1 of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#asylum
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Where someone establishes a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country they are normally granted protection and are not expected to return there.
Our assessment of the situation for Uighurs in China is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on the Gov.uk website
All asylum and human rights claims from Chinese nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the International Civil Aviation Organisation's permitting of the use of X (unspecified) on passports, for what reasons the Government does not issue non-gendered X passports for people who do not identify as either male or female.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
United Kingdom legislation only recognises two legal sexes or genders; male and female. There is no legal recognition of a third gender. Her Majesty’s Passport Office can therefore only issue passports indicating ‘male’ or ‘female’.
The Government is aware of an increasing number of people who identify as neither exclusively male nor female. We have committed to carrying out a call for evidence on the experiences of people who have a non-binary gender identity. The evidence gathered from this exercise will inform the Government’s next steps in this area.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what policing budget funds have been allocated to the protection of mosques.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for setting local priorities and allocating budgets accordingly. Therefore, this information is not collected centrally
However, we know the Police and Crime Commissioner and their Chief Constables continue to place a high priority on protecting places of worship as part of their core activity particularly in relation to hate crime. Fol-lowing the attacks in New Zealand local police have increased patrolling and security measures around mosques and other places of worship to enhance safety and reassure the public
In addition, protective security advice is provided by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO), and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI). NaCTSO have published sector specific protective security advice and guidance for owners and operators of crowded places sites such as places of worship, to allow them to identify key risks and consider what steps to take.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much Government funding is allocated to the protection of (a) mosques, (b) synagogues, (c) churches, d) Hindu Temples, e) Gurdwaras and (f) other places of worship.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Under the 2016 Hate Crime Action Plan, we committed £2.4m over three years to the Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme to provide protective security measures to places of worship who have been victim of or are vulnerable to hate crime attacks. Last week, we announced an uplift of funding for 2019/20 of the scheme to £1.6 million. This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19. Following the Finsbury Park terror attack in June 2017, we also announced a one year £1m fund to protect vulnerable faith institutions.
Both the Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme and the Vulnerable Faith Institution Scheme are/were open to Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths. There are no specific allocations of funding per faith group, with decisions on funding being based on eligibility criteria and the recommendations of the multi-faith independent advisory panel (with security expertise).
We provide funding for the security of Jewish sites separately through the Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant, which is delivered by the Community Security Trust. Funding to synagogues is allocated on a risk assessed basis, and is as follows:
2015-16 - approx. £800k
2016-17 - approx. £900K
2017-18 - approx. £1.3m
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in attacks on mosques; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Attacks on any place of worship are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our communities. We know there have been incidents at mosques following the New Zealand attacks, and we are aware of anxieties within communities around safety and security at places of worship.
The police continue to protect places of worship as part of their core priorities, and following the recent attacks on mosques, these patrols have been increased to provide enhanced safety and reassurance to all places of worship.
We recently announced an increase in funding for the Places of Worship Protective Security Fund to £1.6 million for 2019-20. This is double the amount awarded last year. This is the fourth year of the scheme, with just under 50 mosques granted funded over the first three years. In addition, we have committed £5 million over three years for the provision of security training to places of worship. We will be consulting with communities and faith groups to develop and deliver this new scheme as well as review what more should be done.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing the funding for the protection for mosques in line with that provided for the protection of synagogues via the grant administered by the Community Security Trust.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant was introduced in 2015 following a series of terrorist attacks against Jews and Jewish locations across Europe and the West, including Paris, Copenhagen, Brussels and Marseilles.
International terrorist propaganda, particularly by Daesh has repeatedly highlighted Jews as targets for terrorist attacks. The grant mainly funds security guarding at Jewish schools, nurseries and some synagogues
The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme is specifically for the provision of protective security measures such as access control, fencing and lighting for places of worship that are vulnerable to hate crime attacks.
The Home Secretary announced a boost in funding for the hate crime Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme to £1.6 million for 2019/20. This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19. In addition, £5 million over three years has been committed to providing security training to places of worship in England and Wales.
This funding marks a significant change in our funding for protective security for places of worship. We also committed to consult with communities on what more can and should be done to protect faith communities. If the threat changes or there is a sense that more money is needed, we will always look at how we should respond.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to help safeguard mosques since the attacks on mosques in Birmingham on 20 March 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Police continue to protect places of worship as part of their core activity partic-ularly in relation to hate crime. Following the events in New Zealand and the attacks on mosques in Birmingham, local police have increased patrolling and security measures around mosques and other places of worship to enhance safety and reassure the public.
Last week, we announced an uplift of funding for the next year of the Places of Worship Protective Security Fund to £1.6 million. This is double the amount awarded last year. Under the 2016 Hate Crime Action Plan, we committed £2.4m over three years to provide protective security measures to places of worship who have been victim of or are vulnerable to hate crime attacks, and so far we have awarded grants to just under 50 mosques. The Government has also just announced a new £5 million fund over 3 years to provide security training for Places of Worship. We will be working closely with communities and faith leaders to develop this new scheme and deliver it effectively.
Protective security advice is provided by the National Counter Terrorism Secu-rity Office (NaCTSO), and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastruc-ture (CPNI). NaCTSO have published sector specific protective security ad-vice and guidance for owners and operators of crowded places sites such as places of worship, to allow them to identify key risks and consider what steps to take. Government continues to work closely with community groups, includ-ing Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group and Tell MAMA, as well as through counter extremism coordinators in local authority areas, to provide reassur-ance to communities and develop understanding of tensions and issues.