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1290007

registered interest
date	25/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Telephone Services: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fraudulent calling.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	158910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2021 answer text <p>Fraudulent calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. Nuisance calls and cold calling can be a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.</p><p>The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls - it has banned cold calls from personal injury firms and pensions providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. It has introduced director liability for nuisance calls and has supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding has helped protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.</p><p>However, the Government recognises there is more to do and is working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider further legislative and non-legislative solutions.</p><p>The Government is also aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes.</p><p>We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can currently be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 158911 158912 question first answered 02/03/2021 17:06:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1290008

registered interest
date	25/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Telephone Services: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to strengthen measures to prevent fraudulent calling.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	158911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2021 answer text <p>Fraudulent calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. Nuisance calls and cold calling can be a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.</p><p>The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls - it has banned cold calls from personal injury firms and pensions providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. It has introduced director liability for nuisance calls and has supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding has helped protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.</p><p>However, the Government recognises there is more to do and is working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider further legislative and non-legislative solutions.</p><p>The Government is also aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes.</p><p>We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can currently be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 158910 158912 question first answered 02/03/2021 17:06:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1290009

registered interest
date	25/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Telephone Services: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of changes in the level of incidents relating to fraudulent calling during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	158912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2021 answer text <p>Fraudulent calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. Nuisance calls and cold calling can be a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.</p><p>The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls - it has banned cold calls from personal injury firms and pensions providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. It has introduced director liability for nuisance calls and has supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding has helped protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.</p><p>However, the Government recognises there is more to do and is working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider further legislative and non-legislative solutions.</p><p>The Government is also aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes.</p><p>We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can currently be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 158910 158911 question first answered 02/03/2021 17:06:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1172572

registered interest
date	22/01/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Iraq
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq were refused an entry visa to the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	6653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish the information requested. Available information on entry clearance visa applications can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2019</a>.</p><p>Our commercial partner, TLS Contact, operates the User Pay application point in Erbil which operates five days a week (Sundays to Thursdays) between 0900 and 1600 and offers 42 appointment slots each day. The operating frequency of our outsourced operations are dictated by demand.</p><p>The UK keeps its visa system under regular review. Decisions on changes are always taken in the round and reflect key facets of the bilateral relationship with the country concerned. These will vary globally, but often include security, compliance, returns, reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals, logistics and prosperity.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 6654 question first answered 03/02/2020 17:42:02 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1172573

registered interest
date	22/01/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Iraq
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to improve the visa application system in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	6654
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish the information requested. Available information on entry clearance visa applications can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2019</a>.</p><p>Our commercial partner, TLS Contact, operates the User Pay application point in Erbil which operates five days a week (Sundays to Thursdays) between 0900 and 1600 and offers 42 appointment slots each day. The operating frequency of our outsourced operations are dictated by demand.</p><p>The UK keeps its visa system under regular review. Decisions on changes are always taken in the round and reflect key facets of the bilateral relationship with the country concerned. These will vary globally, but often include security, compliance, returns, reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals, logistics and prosperity.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 6653 question first answered 03/02/2020 17:42:02 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon