Extracts from end of day adjournment debate on Crime and
Antisocial Behaviour: Stockton South The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Victoria
Atkins):...The hon. Gentleman made particular reference to serious
violence. The measures that we are taking include £17.7 million for
29 projects endorsed by Police and Crime
Commissioners under the early intervention youth fund—part of
the £22 million that has been committed overall—and a new
£3.6...Request free trial
Extracts from end of day
adjournment debate on Crime and Antisocial Behaviour: Stockton
South
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the
Home Department (Victoria Atkins):...The hon. Gentleman
made particular reference to serious violence. The measures that we
are taking include £17.7 million for 29 projects endorsed
by Police
and Crime Commissioners under the early
intervention youth fund—part of the £22 million that has been
committed overall—and a new £3.6 million national county lines
co-ordination centre led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and
the National Crime Agency, which launched last September. In the
few months that the centre has been operating, it has seen more
than 1,000 arrests and over 1,300 vulnerable people safeguarded,
which perhaps underlines the fact that many of the crimes that the
police now have to deal with involve not only criminality, with
serious organised crime gangs and so on, but the manipulation of
vulnerable people. Tackling that forms part of our approach under
the serious violence strategy...
...The hon. Gentleman mentioned police funding and—I almost
hesitate, because I know hon. Members know this—I will give a
little history lesson on why very difficult decisions had to be
made at the beginning of this decade. We inherited a terrible
economic mess and had to make very difficult decisions not just in
policing but in a number of areas to live within our means and to
try to repair some of the damage. It is precisely because of that
stewardship that we are now in a better position financially and we
are able to increase police funding, as we did last year, thus
ensuring, with the help of Police and Crime Commissioners, that there
is more money for local police forces, counter-terrorism and those
officers who tackle serious and organised crime. Nationally,
funding will increase by more than £1 billion in 2019-20,
including, as I say, with the help of council tax, extra funding
for pensions costs and the serious violence fund announced by the
Chancellor in the spring statement. Interestingly, this funding is
already enabling the police to recruit to fill key gaps and to meet
the financial pressures they face next year...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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Extracts from Lords
statement on Domestic Abuse
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local Government and Wales Office (Lord
Bourne of Aberystwyth) (Con):...Through the course
of the review, we have engaged with specialist domestic abuse
service providers and their representative bodies, local
authorities, Police
and Crime Commissioners and other organisations
which support victims to fully understand the challenges in
commissioning and delivering these vital services and the positive
features of the current system. We are grateful for their
engagement and extensive input into our work...
...Our proposals would place a new statutory duty on
upper-tier local authorities—county councils, metropolitan and
unitary authorities and, in the case of London, the Greater London
Authority—to convene a local partnership board for domestic abuse
accommodation support services. The local partnership board should
include representation from Police and Crime Commissioners, health
bodies, children’s services and housing providers, along with
specialist domestic abuse service providers. The board would be
required to assess need for domestic abuse services, develop
domestic abuse strategies, commission services to meet the support
needs of victims and their children and report progress to
MHCLG...
...The detailed consultation will look at how we can ensure
that we make properly funded provision across the country on a
consistent basis. The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, referred to the
importance of early intervention. Certainly, prevention is better
than cure and we need to look at this. Again, that is what the
system is designed to ensure. Partnership working through local
partnership boards will be key to this. The noble Lord also asked
if this would involve police officers. Certainly it will; indeed,
they are central to it, along with health professionals. Through
the involvement of Police
and Crime Commissioners, specialist agencies and
professionals, we can ensure that we go forward with the
appropriate cover for what is a very serious issue, given that
there are 2 million victims every year. While they are twice as
likely to be women, obviously it means that a significant number of
men are victims as well. All of this needs to be taken care of and
that is why we are carrying out the consultation until early
August...
...The noble Baroness is right that there are often safeguarding
issues, which is why we are particularly keen to have this
partnership approach whereby Police
and Crime Commissioners and police forces are
represented as well as emergency services and health services so
that we can look at this in the round. She is right that this is
not just a question of protecting the victim and children, although
that is vital, but of dealing with the perpetrator. It is no good
dealing with one and not the other, particularly when we know where
the person is. That should be a high priority...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
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