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1712712

	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	Crime: Rural Areas
	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 with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	22843
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.</p><p>The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces.</p><p>The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity. In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.</p><p>Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development during their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.</p><p>We have not recently held discussions with policing on the potential merit to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework and there are currently no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.</p><p /> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 22841 question first answered 30/04/2024 16:05:25 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1712688

	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	Wildlife: Crime
	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 on the potential merits of incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	22841
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.</p><p>The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces.</p><p>The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity. In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.</p><p>Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development during their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.</p><p>We have not recently held discussions with policing on the potential merit to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework and there are currently no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of crime on the economy in rural areas.</p><p /> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 22843 question first answered 30/04/2024 16:05:25 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1712860

	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	Tools: Theft
	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 help tackle the (a) theft of and (b) selling of stolen tools.
	tabling member constituency	Old Bexley and Sidcup
	tabling member printed	Mr Louie French
	uin	23075
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows that neighbourhood crime is down 48% when comparing findings from the Crime Survey to year ending September 2023 with the year ending March 2010.</p><p>The Government is tackling acquisitive crime as a priority and is committed to reducing the ability for criminals to profit from crime, making it less attractive for offenders to commit thefts of goods, including tools. The theft of tools can have a significant impact on victims, particularly those who rely on their tools to earn a living.</p><p>The Government supported the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which will require certain specified equipment to be marked and registered before it is sold to the first owner. The Home Office consulted on extending the legislation to include tradespeople's power tools to help prevent theft and assist police forces with identifying and proving ownership of stolen property. The Government's response to the consultation will be published shortly.</p><p>The Government is working with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the Combined Industries Theft Solutions to explore ways to prevent the theft of tools from tradespeople's vans. The NBCC and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Secured By Design) have also published crime prevention guidance to help tradespeople prevent theft: https://nbcc.police.uk/crime-prevention/crime-prevention-guides and https://www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/crime-prevention-advice/vehicle-crime/vans-tool-theft.</p><p>We are also working with partners to make tradespeople's vans more secure. Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research has agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van.</p><p>In addition, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 30/04/2024 16:04:03 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4932 label Biography information for Mr Louie French

1713202

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Families
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) increase the number of staff recruited to his Department's Family and Human Rights Unit in the context of trends in the proportion of people relying on their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in applications for family visas.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	23225
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Yes, we have both recruited new staff and redeployed existing staff to this area of work.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 30/04/2024 15:32:56 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1701629

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans currently in the UK and awaiting implementation of the family reunion scheme for those who supported British personnel in Afghanistan have wives and children in Pakistan who are in danger of being returned to Afghanistan.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
	uin	HL3860
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under both the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).</p><p>Data on the number of Afghans in the UK who are awaiting a route for separated families to be reunited is unavailable at this time.</p><p>Public data on the number of Afghans in Pakistan who are eligible to join family members already resettled under both the ARAP and ACRS is unavailable. However; the latest published statistics, summarised at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data" target="_blank">Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>, show that, at the end of December 2023, 14,423 people have been relocated to the UK under the ARAP so far, and a further 10,520 have been relocated under ACRS.</p><p>The Government is aiming to bring eligible persons (EPs) to the UK from Pakistan and other third countries as soon as reasonably practicable and has so far relocated over 3000 people since October.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 30/04/2024 14:37:42 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	3703 label Biography information for Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

1713851

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Cybercrime: Public Sector
	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 made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a ban on public sector bodies paying a ransom to criminal groups in exchange for decryption.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	23743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Cyber crime is a significant threat to the security and prosperity of the UK. The most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that there were 984,000 ‘computer misuse’ offences against individuals in England and Wales in the year ending December 2023. The Government recognises ransomware as the most significant national security cyber threat.</p><p>The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) discourages paying ransoms, noting that such payments rarely ensure data recovery. The UK Government neither pays ransoms nor condones the payment of ransoms to criminals, always advising against such substantial concessions to hostage-takers or extortionists.</p><p>At the Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) summit in Washington last year, we led a joint statement signed by 46 countries and Interpol, which pledged that “relevant institutions under the authority of our national government” should not be used to pay a ransomware demand. This was the first international statement of its kind. Our joint statement was a major milestone in achieving international consensus around the non-payment of ransoms.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 30/04/2024 14:34:35 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

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

1713472

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	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, whether his Department is taking steps to support (a) businesses and (b) other organisations whose numbers are used by (i) nuisance callers and (ii) criminals in number spoofing scams.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	23543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>A central pillar of the Government’s Fraud Strategy is blocking individuals and groups from attempting to impersonate other organisations and institutional bodies. As part of this work, the Government has introduced a new measure to the Criminal Justice Bill to strengthen law enforcement capabilities to tackle scam text messages. The Bill will create a new offence for supplying or possessing “SIM farm” devices (which allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of individuals and businesses at the same time), without good reason or undertaking adequate due diligence.</p><p>In addition, the Government and Industry have signed the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, a voluntary agreement to improve counter-fraud efforts. As a result of the Charter, the sector has introduced firewalls that detect and stop scam texts from reaching customers. Since January 2022, the firewalls have stopped 960 million scam text messages.</p><p>Law enforcement are also working tirelessly to tackle criminal number spoofing operations at source. Last year, Operation Elaborate led by the Metropolitan police took down iSpoof, a website that was used to make 10 million spoof calls impersonating individuals and businesses. The international joint action led to 142 arrests and the main administrator of the website was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months of imprisonment.</p><p>In April this year, in another successful joint operation codenamed Stargrew, the Met took down LabHost; a major criminal website, which fraudsters used to create over 40,000 fake phishing websites impersonating businesses. So far the operation has led to 37 arrests, and over 25,000 victims in the UK have been contacted.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 30/04/2024 13:59:44 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1712909

	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	Visas: Skilled Workers
	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 it his policy to exempt people who arrived in the UK before 1 January 2024 from the new earnings threshold for skilled worker visa applications.
	tabling member constituency	St Albans
	tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
	uin	23046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government position was originally set out on 8 December 2023. Updated details are available here: <a href="https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/01/reducing-net-migration-factsheet-december-2023/" target="_blank">homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/01/reducing-net-migration-factsheet-december-2023/</a>.</p><p>Those already in the Skilled Worker route before the Immigration Rules changes are exempt from the new median salary levels when they change sponsor, extend, or settle. We would, however, expect their pay to progress at the same rate as resident workers; therefore, they will be subject to the updated 25<sup>th</sup> percentiles using the latest pay data when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. This is in line with normal practice.</p><p>Anyone switching into the Skilled Worker category after 4 April will be subject to the new salary requirement. This includes those in the UK switching from other immigration routes.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 30/04/2024 13:55:21 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1713647

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Married People
	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 raise the minimum income threshold for the spouse/partner visa to (a) £34,500 and (b) £38,700.
	tabling member constituency	Selby and Ainsty
	tabling member printed	Keir Mather
	uin	23618
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>The first increase to the MIR took effect from 11 April 2024 when it was raised to £29,000. The dates for further increases to £34,500 and £38,700 will be announced in due course.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 30/04/2024 13:49:37 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4993 label Biography information for Keir Mather