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1700975

	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations have been tested for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
	tabling member constituency	Orkney and Shetland
	tabling member printed	Mr Alistair Carmichael
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	21578
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.</p><p>Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 21579 question first answered 19/04/2024 09:18:31 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1442 label Biography information for Mr Alistair Carmichael

1700976

	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations has reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete been identified in.
	tabling member constituency	Orkney and Shetland
	tabling member printed	Mr Alistair Carmichael
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	21579
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.</p><p>Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 21578 question first answered 19/04/2024 09:18:31 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1442 label Biography information for Mr Alistair Carmichael

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
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	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

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
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	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
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	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

1699007

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Demonstrations: Loughborough
	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 (a) safe and (b) peaceful protests can take place outside the Envigo laboratory in Loughborough.
	tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
	tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	20632
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2024 answer text <p>It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. This government supports these rights, including the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest. However, a balance must be struck between the rights of protesters and the rights of others to go about their lives without serious disruption or intimidation.</p><p>The management of protests is an operational matter for the police. The government expects the police to act where necessary to maintain public safety. In certain circumstances, the police will have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect those who want to exercise their rights peacefully.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/04/2024 15:29:59 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

1699139

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to respond to the letter of 21 February 2024 from the Hon. Member for Hull West and Hessle on behalf of a constituent regarding protocol for notifiable associations.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
	tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	20754
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire responded on 16 April 2024.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 18/04/2024 10:56:56 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1699205

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Fire Brigades Union
	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 has had discussions with representatives of the Fire Brigades Union on the Firefighters’ Manifesto published on 1 November 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
	tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	20719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office has not met with the FBU regarding the specific document, but continues to work with our partners, including all fire unions, to push for meaningful change for the benefit of both the sector and the public.</p><p>Minister Chris Philp has had a number of meetings with Matt Wrack and the Department meets the FBU regularly to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern.</p><p>The Government is committed to reform in the fire sector and published the response to the Fire Reform White Paper on 12 December setting out plans.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/04/2024 12:53:50 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1700644

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Detection Rates
	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 reduce the number of unsolved crimes.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	902331
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring all partners across the Criminal Justice System (CJS) work better together to increase the number of cases being charged and prosecuted and improve case progression.</p><p>We welcome the commitment from police forces across England and Wales to pursue all leads where there is a reasonable chance it could result in catching a perpetrator and solving a crime.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/04/2024 14:51:37 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1700645

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Police: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps he has taken to help recruit and retain police officers.
	tabling member constituency	Maldon
	tabling member printed	Sir John Whittingdale
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	902332
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>We delivered our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak in 2010. Forces have been fully funded to maintain this uplift.</p><p>Retention is a key priority. Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors and 72% of new recruits say they intend to stay until retirement.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/04/2024 14:52:57 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale