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1717997

registered interest
date	14/05/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Email
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the use of e-mail to communicate with his Department's customers.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	26076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>DWP utilises technology which allows encryption with most providers of personal email services, such as Gmail or Outlook, helping this stay secure. As such, email communication with customers is currently permitted in certain circumstances, for example, where the customer has a reasonable adjustment in place.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is keen to utilise the benefits provided by email communication, as part of its work in modernising customer contact channels to deliver modernised services. The department is currently exploring a number of specific possibilities to expand its use of outbound email to communicate with customers, recently testing sending of notifications via email to overseas customers in areas where the postal system is unreliable.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/05/2024 12:09:44 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1715334

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	Immigration: Translation Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	24398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.</p><p>Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.</p><p>The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.</p><p>Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24399 question first answered 07/05/2024 12:49:50 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1715335

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	Immigration: Translation Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation services are provided by his Department when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	24399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.</p><p>Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.</p><p>The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.</p><p>Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24398 question first answered 07/05/2024 12:49:50 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1714945

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	Repatriation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was for the conclusion of an application for a voluntary return through the Voluntary Returns Service in (a) Wales and (b) the UK, in the most recent period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	24199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>Information on processing times for voluntary return applications is not held centrally and is not currently captured in a publishable form.</p><p>Our priority is to consider applications as efficiently and fairly as possible. There may, however, be circumstances which delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding an application, or a need to obtain documentation to enable travel. In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the application cannot be progressed.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24200 question first answered 07/05/2024 12:55:59 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1714946

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	Repatriation
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 (a) financial and (b) other impacts of delays in assessing voluntary return applications by the Voluntary Returns Service on applicants remaining in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	24200
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>Information on processing times for voluntary return applications is not held centrally and is not currently captured in a publishable form.</p><p>Our priority is to consider applications as efficiently and fairly as possible. There may, however, be circumstances which delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding an application, or a need to obtain documentation to enable travel. In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the application cannot be progressed.</p> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24199 question first answered 07/05/2024 12:55:59 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1700947

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Israel and Palestinians: Aid Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the safety of aid workers operating in (a) Israel and (b) Palestine.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	21568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.</p><p>The Prime Minister set out the need for more aid to enter Gaza in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, and that far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell grouped question UIN 21569 21570 question first answered 18/04/2024 16:18:49 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1700948

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help implement effective deconfliction in Gaza in order to facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	21569
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.</p><p>The Prime Minister set out the need for more aid to enter Gaza in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, and that far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell grouped question UIN 21568 21570 question first answered 18/04/2024 16:18:49 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1700950

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of reports that a UNICEF humanitarian convoy was hit by live ammunition in northern Gaza on 9 April 2024.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	21570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.</p><p>The Prime Minister set out the need for more aid to enter Gaza in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, and that far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell grouped question UIN 21568 21569 question first answered 18/04/2024 16:18:49 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

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