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1712621

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	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that online sales representatives, working for illicit Chinese pharmaceutical and chemical companies, are producing and smuggling illegal drugs into the UK, what action they are taking to combat the sale and advertisement of such drugs on the internet, and what response they have received from any representations they have made to the government of China in this regard.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL3982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>Illicit production of synthetic drugs is a growing global concern, and we assess that criminal groups involved in illicit production are present in numerous countries around the world, including China. UK law enforcement agencies regularly engage with counterparts in countries where websites supplying and advertising illicit drugs are hosted. We have provided additional resources to the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Home Office international networks in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt criminal groups who seek to exploit the UK. We are also working closely with partners to monitor developments in source countries, to assess how changes are likely to affect the drugs threat to the UK.</p><p>With regards to action being taken to combat the sale of illicit drugs on the internet, our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms to remove content relating to the sale of illegal drugs online and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom.</p><p>Additionally, the NCA, along with policing colleagues across the UK target key offenders operating online and work to ensure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe. For example, proposals are being taken forward in the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new power enabling law enforcement to suspend IP addresses and/or domain names being used for criminal purpose, including the sale of illicit drugs. This new power will allow agencies to obtain a court order to formally request action by organisations both domestically and outside of the UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 07/05/2024 14:35:25 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1712622

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	Devon and Cornwall Police: Community Policing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) police officers, and (2) police community support officers, were employed in neighbourhood policing in Devon & Cornwall Police in each year from 2010 to present.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL3983
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the function of police workers, 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>Since 2012, the Home Office has published statistics on the functions of police workers which includes a “neighbourhood policing” function. From 31 March 2015 onwards, the Home Office replaced the ‘old’ functions framework with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework. The POA framework also includes a “neighbourhood policing” function although the two frameworks are not directly comparable.</p><p>Data on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in neighbourhood policing roles, collected under the CIPFA POA framework, in Devon and Cornwall, between 31 March 2015 and 2023, can be found in Tables F1 and F3 of the data tables accompanying each publication. The Home Office do not hold directly comparable data on the number of police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles for years prior to 2015.</p><p>Table 1 shows the number of FTE police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall between the 31 March 2015 and 2023. As at 31 March 2023, there were 264 FTE police officers employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall, an increase of 1.6% (4 FTE) compared to March 2015. The number of officers in neighbourhood policing roles had been declining between 2015 and 2018, when it reached a low of 220 FTE, before increasing year on year to levels seen in March 2015. Whilst the number of officers in neighbourhood police officers is similar to 2015, the proportion has decreased by 1.2 percentage points from 8.9% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2023.</p><p>As at 31 March 2023, there were 129 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, a decrease of 61.2% (204 FTE) compared to March 2015 when there were 333 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles. Whilst the number of PCSOs has been declining, the proportion of PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles has remained consistent.</p><p><strong>Table 1: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and Cornwall</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>As at 31 March</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Police officers</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>PCSOs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion (%)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion (%)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>260</p></td><td><p>8.9</p></td><td><p>333</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>240</p></td><td><p>8.4</p></td><td><p>339</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>231</p></td><td><p>8.2</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>220</p></td><td><p>7.7</p></td><td><p>245</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>228</p></td><td><p>7.9</p></td><td><p>203</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>228</p></td><td><p>7.7</p></td><td><p>189</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>236</p></td><td><p>8.0</p></td><td><p>164</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>253</p></td><td><p>7.9</p></td><td><p>154</p></td><td><p>99.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023</p></td><td><p>264</p></td><td><p>7.7</p></td><td><p>129</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><br> </strong>Some forces are not able to make a clear distinction between certain subfunctions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. This is particularly apparent for the ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ (1a) and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ (1b) functions, so the Home Office recommends using the wider function of “Local Policing”. Data for local policing is shown in Table 2 below.</p><p><strong>Table 2: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in local policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and Cornwall</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>As at 31 March</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Police officers</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>PCSOs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion (%)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion (%)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>1,393</p></td><td><p>47.5</p></td><td><p>333</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1,310</p></td><td><p>45.8</p></td><td><p>339</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,259</p></td><td><p>44.9</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,291</p></td><td><p>45.5</p></td><td><p>245</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>1,304</p></td><td><p>45.0</p></td><td><p>203</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>1,416</p></td><td><p>47.6</p></td><td><p>189</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>1,459</p></td><td><p>49.5</p></td><td><p>164</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>1,522</p></td><td><p>47.7</p></td><td><p>154</p></td><td><p>99.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023</p></td><td><p>1,679</p></td><td><p>48.8</p></td><td><p>129</p></td><td><p>100.0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Data for the ‘as at 31 March 2024’ publication will be published in July 2024 as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 07/05/2024 12:45:20 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1712636

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	Counter Terrorism Command: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of funds to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in (1) the current, and (2) previous, financial year; and what proportion of those funds in each period was allocated to the War Crimes Unit.
tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
uin	HL3997
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>Budget allocations are set by Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters, who work with the Home Office and police forces to advise on funding for the counter-terrorism police network, including for specific units. Breakdowns of allocations to police forces or specific units are not provided publicly for national security reasons.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 07/05/2024 15:13:03 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1712652

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	Identity Cards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have given any consideration to the use of ID cards.
tabling member printed	Lord Swire
uin	HL4013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office is not considering ID cards at this time.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 07/05/2024 14:21:12 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire

1702389

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Overseas Students: English Language
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 ensure that universities are following English proficiency requirements for foreign students.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	22818
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2024 answer text <p>UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), as part of their compliance activities, conduct on-site audits of sponsors and check what assessment methods sponsors have used and their relevant evidence. Where there are any compliance breaches, UKVI take compliance action which can include formal action plans or revocation of the sponsor licence. English language assessments are also considered as part of the Basic Compliance Assessment which sponsors are required to pass on an annual basis.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 26/04/2024 09:13:14 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1702394

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Amnesties
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 potential merits of introducing a knife amnesty.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	22701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>Many police forces provide amnesty bins all year round to provide the public with a facility to safely dispose of unwanted knives and other offensive weapons. It is for Chief Constables, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.</p><p>The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps of hotspot areas, surrender of knives, including through amnesty bins, test purchases of knives from retailers, and educational events. The latest phase of the operation took place between 13 to 19 November 2023 and saw 12,149 knives surrendered or recovered.</p><p>On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. Subject to parliamentary approval, this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes in England and Wales from 24 September 2024. From 26 August 2024 to 23 September 2024 we will be running a surrender and compensation scheme so that those who own zombie-style knives and machetes which will be banned, can surrender them and receive compensation.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/04/2024 16:25:18 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1702418

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Internet: Cryptography
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 plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the removal of illegal content on platforms with end-to-end encryption.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	22802
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>The Online Safety Act 2023 places legal obligations on tech companies to prevent and rapidly remove illegal content.</p><p>The Act’s illegal content safety duties mean that in-scope services will have to prevent users from encountering illegal content, such as child sexual exploitation and abuse. These provisions will come into force in due course.</p><p>The Online Safety Act is “technology agnostic” and focuses on the outcomes and behaviours it's trying to regulate, rather than targeting specific technologies, platforms and services. The Online Safety Act requires digital services to put in place proportionate systems and processes to make their platforms safe, whatever the design of the platform, informed by their own risk assessment of their service and its functionalities.</p><p>The UK Government supports strong encryption provided that it can be implemented safely and in a way that does not undermine legitimate law enforcement. But there does not necessarily need to be a choice between protecting children and privacy and it is right to require companies to keep children safe.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/04/2024 15:58:05 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1702519

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to issue his Department's guidance on the circumstances in which exceptions will be made for asylum seekers from countries on the safe list.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	22772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>Section 80A(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and section 6(5) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 set out some examples of what may constitute exceptional circumstances, relevant to the substantive consideration of asylum claims and to removal under the Illegal Migration Act to s.80AA(1) listed states (respectively). These examples are neither exhaustive nor relevant to all cases, and do not purport to be.</p><p>Exceptional circumstances are not defined or limited in legislation, but will be considered and applied on a case-by-case basis where it is appropriate.</p><p>When we commence and implement the wider measures as set out in section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, we will provide updated guidance to assist caseworkers in their consideration of exceptional circumstances, and the wider provisions.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 29/04/2024 16:23:29 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1702541

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Offensive Weapons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the provisions on knives in the Criminal Justice Bill will also extend to weapons used for historical re-enactments.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Charlotte Nichols
uin	22823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>In the Criminal Justice Bill 2023 we are introducing three measures to tackle knife crime:</p><ul><li>Increasing the maximum penalty for selling knives to those under 18 or selling prohibited weapons to 2 years imprisonment.</li><li>Giving the police a new power to seize any bladed article if they are lawfully on premises and suspect that the relevant article would be likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.</li><li>Creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence.</li></ul><p>These measures will apply to all pointed or bladed articles, including those used for historical re-enactment.</p><p>On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. The Order has now been approved by both Houses of Parliament and this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024.</p><p>Zombie-style knives are defined in the Statutory Instrument and to fall under the legislation would need to be a bladed article with a plain cutting edge and a sharp pointed end, with a blade of over 8 inches in length, which also has one or more of, a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, spikes or more than two sharp points in the blade.</p><p>Items which match this criteria will fall under the legislation including those used for historical re-enactment; however, there is a defence in the legislation for in scope items which are blunt.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/04/2024 15:53:08 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4799 label Biography information for Charlotte Nichols

1702548

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what entitlements and restrictions will be attached to leave granted under section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971 prior to the commencement of section 2(1) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	22744
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>The length and conditions associated with leave granted under section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971 prior to commencement of section 2(1) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will be set out in full by Ministers in due course.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 29/04/2024 15:59:01 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss