Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2024 to Question 12970, what options he is considering.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We are in the process of developing options for publication.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of non-crime hate incidents have been recorded by police forces since the new code of practice was announced in March 2023.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
As provided for in the Police, Crime, and Sentencing Act 2022, in 2023 the Government introduced the statutory Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice on the Recording and Retention of Personal Data in order to make the processes surrounding the recording and retention of personal data more transparent and subject to stronger safeguards. The new code came into effect on 3 June 2023 and applies to police forces across England and Wales.
Whilst recognising the operational importance of NCHI recording for the police in protecting vulnerable people and communities from harm, the code clarifies that the police should only record NCHIs when it is necessary and proportionate to do so and not simply because someone is offended.
The College of Policing also updated its operational guidance for the police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), to ensure that its guidance on NCHI recording aligns with the code.
Prior to the code and updated APP coming into effect, the College communicated with forces about the changes introduced by the code and revised APP. The College also developed an e-briefing pack on NCHIs which is available to forces. It is for individual police forces to ensure that they comply with the law and must have regard to the statutory code of practice and all the relevant operational guidance.
The Home Office does not collect data from forces on the number of NCHIs recorded by the police. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with police forces on removing non-crime hate incidents from people's records.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
As provided for in the Police, Crime, and Sentencing Act 2022, in 2023 the Government introduced the statutory Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice on the Recording and Retention of Personal Data in order to make the processes surrounding the recording and retention of personal data more transparent and subject to stronger safeguards. The new code came into effect on 3 June 2023 and applies to police forces across England and Wales.
Whilst recognising the operational importance of NCHI recording for the police in protecting vulnerable people and communities from harm, the code clarifies that the police should only record NCHIs when it is necessary and proportionate to do so and not simply because someone is offended.
The College of Policing also updated its operational guidance for the police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), to ensure that its guidance on NCHI recording aligns with the code.
Prior to the code and updated APP coming into effect, the College communicated with forces about the changes introduced by the code and revised APP. The College also developed an e-briefing pack on NCHIs which is available to forces. It is for individual police forces to ensure that they comply with the law and must have regard to the statutory code of practice and all the relevant operational guidance.
The Home Office does not collect data from forces on the number of NCHIs recorded by the police. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle hate crime in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Whilst the Government is pleased to see the overall reduction in police-recorded hate crime across forces in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023, we are clear that any instance is one too many and we remain committed to tackling these appalling offences. We are also committed to tackling the abhorrent crimes linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to provide expert advice to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime.
We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. Part of this necessitates police recruitment and training – there are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak before the Police Uplift Programme, in March 2010. As of 30 September 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has over 35,000 officers (35,006). This is higher than the pre-PUP peak in the MPS of 33,820 in March 2010. The MPS is working hard to attract and recruit new officers and replace officers that leave, for example through retirement or voluntary resignation. Ultimately, responsibility for recruiting and maintaining officers lies with the Mayor of London and the Commissioner who are accountable to the people of London. The MPS’s funding will be up to £3538.1million in 2024/25, an increase of up to £118.9million when compared to 2023/24.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle transphobic hate crimes.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Our absolute priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. Part of this necessitates police recruitment and training. We delivered our commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023 and there are over 149,000 officers England and Wales, which is higher than the previous peak in March 2010 before the Police Uplift Programme.
The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to provide expert advice to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help tackle (a) sexism, (b) misogyny and (c) abuse in football.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There is no place for sexism, misogyny or abuse of any kind in sport, including football, and it is vital that football authorities continue to work together to tackle it.The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the relevant football leagues, the FA, and organisations such as Women in Football and Kick it Out in challenging discrimination and breaking down inequalities between the sexes.
Following a bombardment of abuse directed towards female sports broadcasters, footballers and other athletes on social media, I wrote to X and Meta to understand whether they are aware of any abuse towards women in sport on their services which violates their policies, and, if so, what action they have been taking to address it. Both X and Meta have now responded to my letter setting out the action they are taking including enforcement, reporting processes and safety settings.
We continue to liaise closely with all the police and football authorities about their work to tackle discrimination. This includes actions targeted at and around football grounds, such as improving reporting systems, providing better training and support for referees and stewards, and improving the quality of CCTV around stadia.
Fans can also be charged with a Football Banning Order and fined if found to use derogatory language at football games, with the possibility of more severe sentences if it has been recorded as a hate crime. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been working with the FA, Premier League and English Football League to determine what evidence is required to charge an incident as a hate crime.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 5245 on Hate crime: research, if he will publish the final reports of the research projects commissioned from (a) IPSOS UK and (b) RAND Europe.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We are considering options to publish the final reports of the commissioned research projects in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what funds the Commissioners allocate to churches for (a) cameras, (b) alarms and (c) other security equipment.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
All churches are eligible to apply for the Home Office hate crime scheme if they need support with new or upgrading equipment or facilities.
The Benefact Trust has funded alarms for churches. More details are available on the Church of England website about how to support parishes with resources and advice: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/security-and-crime-prevention
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Second Report of the Women and Equalities Committee of Session 2023-24 on Misogyny in music, what steps is her Department taking to tackle (a) misogyny and (b) sexual harassment in the music industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government welcomes the publication of the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on Misogyny in Music, and thanks the committee for their work. My department is carefully considering the recommendations made by the committee and will respond in full by the deadline provided.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that non-custodial sentences command public and judicial confidence by ensuring that, when offenders undertake such interventions, they are demanding, well organised, purposeful, and with the clear intention of reducing recidivism.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to the effective delivery of non-custodial sentences, and it is important that both judges and the public have confidence in the delivery of these sentences.
Courts have the power to impose a range of requirements to sentences served in the community. All community orders must have a compulsory punitive element to ensure that offenders are punished for their crime, and to deter further reoffending. For example, Unpaid Work (UPW) ensures offenders are making visible reparations for their crimes, such as cleaning graffiti. We have invested up to £93m in Community Payback over a three-year period to boost delivery of UPW hours. We have also relaunched the UPW nominations website on GOV.UK to make it easier and more accessible for the public to have a say in how and where UPW hours should be used.
Electronic monitoring is a well-established tool available to courts and probation staff to strengthen offender management in the community. We are increasing the number of defendants and offenders that can be tagged at any one time to 25,000 by March 2025.
Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs) can also be imposed as part of a community sentence for offenders with mental health, drug or alcohol issues, offering a robust alternative to custody which addresses the root causes of offending. We have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators across all probation regions to ensure strong links between probation and healthcare to support these requirements.
Public confidence is maintained by ensuring our staff are equipped with the right tools so that they can make the most of their expertise and judgement. We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit record levels of staff, so that we can bring down caseloads, and deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community.
We recognise the importance of ensuring the public is properly informed about sentencing as a whole and that the public has access to a range of information to enable this. We are also building and maintaining the confidence of the judiciary by improving arrangements to increase understanding and transparency in probation delivery at national, regional and local levels.