Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1700841

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	Anti-corruption Champion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 126744, when he expects to appoint a new anti-corruption champion.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	21605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>A new Anti-Corruption Champion will be appointed in due course.</p><p>Please refer to the recent Question 902335 by the Member for North East Fife, for information on the Anti-Corruption Strategy.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 18/04/2024 10:51:26 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1701025

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	Biometrics: Privacy
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 that facial recognition systems are used in a way that maintains the right of the privacy for members of the public.
tabling member constituency	Stockport
tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
uin	21864
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>Facial recognition technology is used by the police as an identification tool to search an image of an unknown suspect against the images of people taken on arrest and get results in minutes, or to locate people in an intelligence-led way, by scanning live crowds and comparing them with the images of wanted people on a specific watchlist instantaneously, with very high levels of accuracy.</p><p>The Government supports police use of the technology, which has been helping them to catch criminals, including murderers and rapists, more quickly and accurately. But it is important that the police use it appropriately and there are safeguards in place to ensure this.</p><p>There is a comprehensive legal framework governing its use. This includes the Data Protection Act 2018, Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, national guidance, and published police policies. This means that it can only be used for a policing purpose, where necessary, proportionate and fair.</p><p>We have ensured that there is effective oversight in this space. The Information Commissioner’s Office, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is responsible for upholding data privacy rights. It has issued guidance on facial recognition and has enforcement powers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, is responsible for upholding equality and human rights and is also active in this space. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire &amp; Rescue Services is responsible for inspecting, monitoring and reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces. The courts system also provide oversight in this area.</p><p>We supported the College of Policing to publish an Authorised Professional Practice (APP) setting out how police forces should use live facial recognition and minimise interference with data privacy, equalities and human rights. The APP includes details on when the police can use it, the categories of people they can look for, the requirement for immediate deletion of unmatched biometric data, and the need to explain how issues such as privacy and equality are addressed.</p><p>We published a factsheet on police use of facial recognition and explained the different use cases, the safeguards, success stories and legal basis. <a href="https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/29/police-use-of-facial-recognition-factsheet/" target="_blank">https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/29/police-use-of-facial-recognition-factsheet/</a></p><p>We also provided funding to the National Physical Laboratory to independently test the algorithms being used by South Wales Police and the Metropolitan Police Service. They found that the algorithms both forces have been using to be highly accurate and fair at the settings they use.</p><p>We are also undertaking more evaluation work to enhance our understanding of the impact of facial recognition and ensure we are able to continue to balance the benefits against the potential intrusion on privacy.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 18/04/2024 14:12:57 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1701076

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	Migrant Workers: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including hospitality roles on the immigration salary list.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	21709
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government intend to commission the MAC to undertake a full review of the Immigration Salary List. The Government will carefully consider their recommendations once received.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/04/2024 09:54:40 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1701077

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	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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing minimum income thresholds for spouse/partner visas.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	21710
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>We do not intend to remove the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) for spouse / partner visas under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules.</p><p>The purpose of the MIR, implemented in July 2012 along with other reforms of the family Immigration Rules, is to ensure family migrants are supported at a reasonable level so they do not become a burden on the taxpayer and they can participate sufficiently in everyday life to facilitate their integration into British society.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/04/2024 12:52:01 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1701083

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	Passports: Adoption
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 effectiveness of the passport application process for adopted people who do not have access to parental birth records.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	21731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>His Majesty’s Passport Office engages with customers on a case-by-case basis where they tell us they are unable to obtain supporting documents, including adopted persons who are unable to access birth records.</p><p>Published HM Passport Office guidance provides advice to customers and passport examiners in considering these cases and what alternative evidence can be accepted when required.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/04/2024 12:48:33 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1699947

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Offences against Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2024 to Question 17274 on Offences against Children, on what evidential basis the National Crime Agency has stated that the number of child sex offenders in the UK is between 550,000 and 800,000.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	20851
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The National Crime Agency publishes an overview of the Child Sexual Abuse threat annually as part of the National Strategic Assessment. This includes an estimate of the number of UK based adult offenders who pose varying degrees of risk to children. An explanation of the CSA Scale Methodology has been <a href="https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/images/campaign/CSA_Scale_Methodology_2023.pdf" target="_blank">published as an Annex</a> to the National Strategic Assessment.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 17/04/2024 14:20:33 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1700021

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals held in the prison estate have previously been deported.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	20835
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The information requested is not available from published statistics.</p><p>Our Nationality and Borders Act became law in April 2022. A factsheet can be viewed here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fthe-nationality-and-borders-bill-factsheet%2Fnationality-and-borders-bill-factsheet&amp;data=05%7C01%7CLinda.Tedder%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C28f7739bc99d43787b6508dabc00c0aa%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638029008651374997%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=I16GkOIiBa6k8MichG%2FxQasE6clcJsKPuvm%2FBlkUrHI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>The same act also amended legislation which means a foreign offender who returns to the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order can be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Anyone who enters the UK without leave, or without a visa, also faces a maximum penalty of four years.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 17/04/2024 14:13:59 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

1700023

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Offenders: Foreign Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders of which nationality were deported in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	20837
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office does publish statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders by nationality and year. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending December 2023; which are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#returns" target="_blank">Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>The term ‘deportations’ refers to a legally defined subset of returns, which are enforced either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is beneficial to the public good. The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 17/04/2024 14:15:29 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

1700079

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Sales
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 a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the enforcement of regulations on the sale of bladed items (a) to and (b) by persons under the age of 18.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	20903
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £5 million of funding for a Violence Reduction Unit in Wales (known as the Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)) which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime. Over the same period, we have invested c.£3.5 million (including c.£535k in 2023/24) in ‘hotspot policing’ to boost the policing response to serious violence in South Wales. In 24/25, we are providing c.£4.4 million of funding to all force areas in Wales under the Hotspot Response fund to deliver high-visibility patrols and problem-solving tactics in the streets and neighbourhoods worst affected by serious violence and Anti Social Behaviour.</p><p>The Wales VPU is tasked with investing in evidence-based approaches designed to steer vulnerable young people away from involvement in violence. As part of this approach, the VPU is funding local interventions including A&amp;E Navigators, delivering advice, support and guidance to patients of any age who have experienced violence with injury, with the aim of engaging with those injured whilst they are in hospital to help break the cycle of violence at the point of crisis. The VPU is also funding youth workers to deliver sessions to young people within both education and community settings covering issues such as knife crime. Additionally, just under £1m was awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty across Wales.</p><p>We have also introduced new legislation which, subject to parliamentary approval, will ban zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024. Through the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.</p><p>It is an offence to sell bladed articles to people under the age of 18 and with measures in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we strengthened the requirements for age verification, and made it an offence to send bladed articles to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. This legislation is enforced by Trading Standards and the police. The Home Office does not hold enforcement data in relation to breaches of this legislation.</p><p>The Online Safety Act 2023 has finished its parliamentary passage and received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Government's intention is to have the regime operational as soon as possible.</p><p>Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. The Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024. These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective. Tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker.</p><p>Schedule 7 of the Act sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to take particularly robust action to prevent the proliferation of this content online and ensure that their services are not used for offending. This means companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 20904 question first answered 17/04/2024 15:22:25 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1700080

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Wales
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 help tackle (a) knife crime by and (b) the online sale of bladed weapons to people under the age of 18 in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	20904
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £5 million of funding for a Violence Reduction Unit in Wales (known as the Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)) which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime. Over the same period, we have invested c.£3.5 million (including c.£535k in 2023/24) in ‘hotspot policing’ to boost the policing response to serious violence in South Wales. In 24/25, we are providing c.£4.4 million of funding to all force areas in Wales under the Hotspot Response fund to deliver high-visibility patrols and problem-solving tactics in the streets and neighbourhoods worst affected by serious violence and Anti Social Behaviour.</p><p>The Wales VPU is tasked with investing in evidence-based approaches designed to steer vulnerable young people away from involvement in violence. As part of this approach, the VPU is funding local interventions including A&amp;E Navigators, delivering advice, support and guidance to patients of any age who have experienced violence with injury, with the aim of engaging with those injured whilst they are in hospital to help break the cycle of violence at the point of crisis. The VPU is also funding youth workers to deliver sessions to young people within both education and community settings covering issues such as knife crime. Additionally, just under £1m was awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty across Wales.</p><p>We have also introduced new legislation which, subject to parliamentary approval, will ban zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024. Through the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.</p><p>It is an offence to sell bladed articles to people under the age of 18 and with measures in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we strengthened the requirements for age verification, and made it an offence to send bladed articles to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. This legislation is enforced by Trading Standards and the police. The Home Office does not hold enforcement data in relation to breaches of this legislation.</p><p>The Online Safety Act 2023 has finished its parliamentary passage and received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Government's intention is to have the regime operational as soon as possible.</p><p>Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. The Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024. These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective. Tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker.</p><p>Schedule 7 of the Act sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to take particularly robust action to prevent the proliferation of this content online and ensure that their services are not used for offending. This means companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 20903 question first answered 17/04/2024 15:22:25 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams