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1717581

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Harassment: Internet
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of arrests for online harassment in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	25855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data up to the year ending March 2023 is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales" target="_blank">Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p>However, the data is collected by broader offence group e.g. “violence against the person”, therefore data on more specific offences such as online harassment is not available.</p><p>The number of harassment and stalking offences reported to police which were flagged as online crime is available in table F11 of the ‘Crime in England and Wales: Other related tables’ dataset:</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesotherrelatedtables" target="_blank">Crime in England and Wales: Other related tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/05/2024 15:45:30 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1715993

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Shoplifting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to protect retailers from shoplifting.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	24917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft from the person down 48% and overall violent crime down 44%, and more police officers on the streets than in 2010.</p><p>However, there has been a worrying rise in shoplifting and violence towards retail workers, which we are taking action to address. The Government’s plan – <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fighting-retail-crime-more-action" target="_blank">&quot;Fighting Retail Crime: more action&quot;</a> was launched on 10 April. It includes a new standalone offence for assaults on retail workers, which will be introduced via the Criminal Justice Bill, currently before Parliament.. We are working with police and businesses to roll out the latest facial recognition to catch these perpetrators; championing good practice to design out crime; and making it easier for retailers to report crime.</p><p>We will also legislate through the Criminal Justice Bill, to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops.</p><p>The Government’s action plan builds on the police-led <a href="https://news.npcc.police.uk/resources/e6e5n-gfsgg-qru39-qjnkc-dbait" target="_blank">Retail Crime Action Plan</a>, launched in October 2023, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. Early indications suggest that there has been improved police attendance at the retail crime incidents prioritised. This has been echoed by major retailers.</p><p>Police forces across England and Wales have also committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime and this includes shoplifting. These are substantial operational policing commitments, which I am overseeing delivery of through the National Retail Crime Steering Group.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/05/2024 15:11:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1715159

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling underage drinking in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	24466
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>Crime and policing in Northern Ireland are devolved matters and fall within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Executive.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 13/05/2024 16:52:26 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1715278

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Theft: Retail Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many thefts from retail businesses there have been in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	24474
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>Since 2010 theft offences experienced by the general population has fallen by 48%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, but shoplifting has been increasing in the last three years, as shown in the table.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Calendar Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Shoplifting offences</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>256,199</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>315,040</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023</p></td><td><p>430,104</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source: ONS Crime in England and Wales: year ending December 2023, Appendix Table A4.</em></p><p>There must be a zero tolerance approach to such crime which is why, alongside key partners, this Government is taking concerted action to address the menace of retail crime. The Government’s plan – &quot;Fighting retail crime: more action&quot; was launched on 10 April, and highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:</p><ul><li>Introducing a standalone offence for assaults on retail workers;</li><li>Additional electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters;</li><li>Working with police and businesses to roll out the latest facial recognition to catch these perpetrators;</li><li>Championing good practice to design out crime; and</li><li>Making it easier for retailers to report crime.</li></ul> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 13/05/2024 16:53:09 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1714882

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of convictions for class (a) A and (b) B drug possession in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	24237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2024 answer text <p>No specific assessment on trends in convictions for drug offences as a result of policy changes has been made, but the Government takes the matter of harmful drugs very seriously. Our approach to them remains clear - we must prevent drug misuse in our communities and support people through treatment and recovery.</p><p>The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences, such as illegal possession, and how police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables, but we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law. We expect police to take a zero tolerance approach to drug possession, and this can include sanctions other than prosecution. This includes referrals to treatment, as well as sanctions to make offenders understand the impact of their actions and opportunities for them to change their behaviour. However, we are clear prosecution remains an option to deal with repeat offenders.</p><p>We keep the classification of drugs under review. Ministers are subject to a statutory obligation to consider advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent scientific advisory body, before making legislation on the classification of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Legislative changes are accompanied by a robust impact assessment where we set out the potential impacts of such changes.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 08/05/2024 15:25:44 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1712661

registered interest
date	22/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Republic of Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the border between the UK and Republic of Ireland is secure against the passage malign foreign actors.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	22945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>We continue a high level of cooperation on border security with Ireland; working closely together to identify and tackle those who seek to abuse arrangements from entering the Common Travel Area.</p><p>Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 allows a Counter-Terrorism Police Officer to stop, question and, when necessary, detain and search, individuals and goods travelling through UK ports and the “border area” for the purpose of determining whether the person (or the goods) appears to be someone who is, or has been, engaged in hostile activity.</p><p>In Northern Ireland, a place is within the “border area” if it is no more than one mile from the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland or it is the first place at which a train travelling from the Republic of Ireland stops to let passengers off.</p><p>Individuals who seek to abuse the Common Travel Area arrangements are liable to be detained, and if unlawfully entering the UK, removed.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 30/04/2024 14:25:09 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1700795

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Early Retirement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have retired due to ill health in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	21667
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service and their reasons for leaving, including medical retirements, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales</a>.</p><p>Information on the number of police officers leaving the police service by reason for leaving, including medical retirements, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2023 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba76662059dc000d5d27c0/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba76662059dc000d5d27c0/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods</a></p><p>The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers taking medical retirement in Scotland or Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/04/2024 09:15:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1698376

registered interest
date	25/03/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Slavery: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national referral mechanism.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	20312
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government is focussed on improving National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making timescales. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the volume of referrals in the NRM; a 625% rise between 2014 and 2022. In 2023, 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, the highest annual number since the NRM began in 2009. Despite this, since January 2023 the number of decisions outstanding has been coming down for the first time ever, showing that what we are doing is working.</p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that genuine victims are identified and introduced legislation under the Nationality and Borders Act to ensure that there is a robust system which supports victims and reduces the opportunity for misuse.</p><p>The Home Office holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the government. We continue to monitor the effectiveness of the NRM accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 19/04/2024 12:16:28 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1693745

registered interest
date	05/03/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Human Trafficking and Sexual Offences: Women
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice on tackling female (a) trafficking, (b) exploitation and (c) sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	17090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>Criminal justice is devolved in Northern Ireland, with responsibility for the policy and legislative response to modern slavery resting with the Northern Ireland Executive. However, we recognise that trafficking can involve the movement of vulnerable individuals across borders, and we work closely with our partners in the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that our response to modern slavery across the UK is joined-up and the legislation is complementary.</p><p>This includes, at official level, regular engagement with representatives from the Devolved Administrations, through quarterly meetings and the Modern Slavery Engagement Forums. These Forums focus on key policy areas, including enforcement, prevention, adult victim support, and child and victim support policy. Officials also engage in quarterly meetings with representatives on commercial sexual exploitation.</p><p>The Home Office also engages with First Responder Organisations, across the whole of the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland this includes the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Health and Social Care trusts and Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid. First Responders are trained by their respective organisations to identify indicators of modern slavery and refer potential victims into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). In 2023, there were 462 NRM referrals sent to the PSNI for investigation, accounting for 3% of all referrals received, as published in the National Referral Mechanism statistics on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 13/03/2024 17:53:22 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1692343

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has taken recent steps with the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on tackling domestic abuse in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	16116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2024 answer text <p>As the question rightly implies, responsibility for tackling domestic abuse is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive.</p><p>But just as domestic abuse is a society wide issue, so is it an issue for the whole of the UK. The jurisdictions routinely share progress, ideas and collaborate on projects.</p><p>This includes the current pilot of a codeword scheme that provides a discreet way for victims of domestic abuse to signal that they need emergency help in 19 Jobcentres across the UK including 4 Jobs and Benefit Offices in Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 06/03/2024 16:16:46 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon