Operation Deter Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con) 1. What
recent discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of Thames
Valley Police on the effectiveness of Operation Deter. (902154) The
Secretary of State for the Home Department (Suella Braverman)
Before I answer, on behalf of the UK may I pass on my thoughts and
prayers to all those affected by the terrible attack in Istanbul
yesterday? I am sure that the whole House will join me, on behalf
of the...Request free trial
Operation Deter
(Milton Keynes South)
(Con)
1. What recent discussions she has had with the Chief Constable
of Thames Valley Police on the effectiveness of Operation Deter.
(902154)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
Before I answer, on behalf of the UK may I pass on my thoughts
and prayers to all those affected by the terrible attack in
Istanbul yesterday? I am sure that the whole House will join me,
on behalf of the UK Government, in saying that the UK stands with
Turkey in the fight against terrorism. We send our condolences to
all those affected.
Last month, I visited Thames Valley police to meet the chief
constable, force leaders and student officers. A number of topics
were discussed, including the delivery of Operation Deter. I am
always keen to discuss interventions that the chief constable and
local partners believe to be effective in reducing knife
crime.
The police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, , introduced Operation Deter
as a zero-tolerance approach to knife crime. It started in Milton
Keynes and is now being rolled out in the force in other areas.
It is already delivering some very encouraging signs in reducing
knife crime. Will my right hon. Friend review it further and
encourage other forces to replicate it in their areas?
I have met the excellent police and crime commissioner, to whom
my hon. Friend refers, on two occasions now—perhaps more—and I
really welcome all initiatives that show measurable impacts
against violent crime. I am determined that interventions that
are proven to work are delivered across our forces. I am also a
big supporter of violence reduction units. I am very keen to look
at the verified results of Operation Deter, alongside all
innovative approaches. I am clear that all options should be
explored and that we should support operations that work.
Hate Crimes
(Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
3. What steps she has taken to tackle hate crimes. [R]
(902156)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( )
Hate crime is a scourge on communities across the country. We
expect the police to fully investigate hateful attacks and ensure
that the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the
law.
The Home Secretary said that the public want the police to tackle
crime, yet the Home Office cut the number of police officers and
left Islamophobia to increase over the last five years. Year
after year, Home Office figures show that British Muslims are the
victims of the highest number of hate crimes. This Islamophobia
Awareness Month, will the Home Secretary take any steps to root
out this insidious hatred, which impacts our British Muslim
community?
Miss Dines
There is a cheeky two-part question there. In relation to police
numbers, I remind the hon. Gentleman that in his own area we have
already recruited 804 new officers and there will be lots more
coming in that space. On religious hate crimes against Muslims,
my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is working
hard in this area. I remind him that this Government have done
more than any other to tackle anti-Muslim hatred. We have
provided extra money—over £4 million between 2016 and 2022—to
monitor and combat anti-Muslim hatred. I remind him that, in
addition, the Home Office allocated £24.5 million to protect
mosques and Muslim faith schools through the Places of Worship:
Protective Security Funding Scheme in May 2022. A new Muslim
faith schools protective security scheme will also be delivered
this year. The Government are thoroughly committed to stamping
out this evil crime.
New Police Officers: Entry Pay Rates
(Carmarthen East and
Dinefwr) (Ind)
4. What discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and
(b) relevant stakeholders on the adequacy of entry pay rates for
new police officers. (902157)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
The independent Police Remuneration Review Body makes
recommendations to the Government on the pay and allowances for
police officers. In July, we announced that we had accepted the
review body’s recommendation to award a consolidated increase of
£1,900 at all pay points with effect from 1 September, targeted
at the lowest-paid to provide an uplift of up to 8.8%.
Police officers inform me that they have faced a 20% real-terms
pay cut over the past decade, and there seems to be a particular
problem with new recruits. My local federation tells me that some
of its officers are using food banks and that a potential new
recruit decided to continue his career with a fast food chain
because he had been offered a pay rise. Does the Secretary of
State admit that pay and remuneration for police
officers—professionals who put their lives in danger on our
behalf—is a real problem?
The Government recognise that increases in the cost of living are
having a significant impact on the lower-paid. In that context,
and after careful consideration, we chose to accept in full the
review body’s recommendations to award the consolidated increases
that I mentioned. We want to ensure that there is support for our
officers, who play a vital role in this country.
(Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
(Con)
Given that on the streets of London alone, entry pay rates have
already attracted 4,734 more police officers to join the
Metropolitan police, and given how vital it is to continue to
provide the right place for those new recruits to be properly
trained, does the Home Secretary agree that Uxbridge remains the
most sensible place in Hillingdon to have a place station? Will
she join me in passing that view to the present Mayor of
London?
My right hon. Friend speaks a lot of sense, as usual. He is
absolutely right and he has a huge amount of which to be proud
when it comes to increasing the numbers of police officers on the
frontline fighting crime and standing up for victims, which
Labour has opposed at every opportunity. If I may make a humble
request of him, will he give up some of his precious time to
advise the current Mayor of London who is wholly failing on
fighting crime, having seen a 9% increase in crime in London? The
Mayor really could take some advice from his predecessor.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Croydon Central) (Lab)
New statistics published today reveal that the mini-Budget cost
even more than we first thought—a staggering £30 billion. That
comes on top of 12 years of austerity, which has seen a
real-terms pay cut for police and staff, thousands of jobs lost
and prosecutions plummet. The Home Secretary was in the Cabinet
and the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire was No. 2 in the
Treasury at the time of the mini-Budget. Will they both now
apologise to our police for the damage they have done?
The Government are clear that policing must have a modern pay
structure that recognises and rewards skills and competence,
rather than time served. In line with that approach, chief
constables have the discretion to pay an officer a starting
salary of between £23,556 and £26,682 depending on qualifications
and experience. The settlement is fair. We want our police
officers to be empowered and strong in the fight against
crime.
Neighbourhood Crimes: Effectiveness of Police Community Support
Officers
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
5. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness
of police community support officers in tackling neighbourhood
crime. (902158)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The Government are determined to reduce neighbourhood crime, and
I am pleased to report that, since 2019, neighbourhood crime has
reduced by about 20%. It is up to chief constables to decide on
the level of PCSOs that they choose to recruit, but as the House
will be aware, we are in the process of hiring an extra 20,000
police officers, after which we will have a record number of
uniformed officers serving.
Police community support officers have a vital role to play in
tackling neighbourhood crime and building trust and confidence in
policing at a community level, because they are often the most
visible officers to our communities. Will the Minister therefore
confirm how many fewer officers are assigned to neighbourhood
roles in England and Wales today compared with 2010? How long
does he expect it to take until police officer and staff numbers
in neighbourhood roles reach the same number again?
I can confirm that neighbourhood crime is about 20% lower than in
2019, as I said a moment ago. I can confirm that after the 20,000
officers have been recruited in April next year, we will have a
record number of uniformed officers serving in this country. I
can also confirm that the Metropolitan police area, which
includes the hon. Lady’s constituency, the shadow Policing
Minister’s constituency and my own, already has a record number
of uniformed officers.
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
PCSOs play a vital role in London wards’ safer neighbourhoods
teams, which perform a vital function. Will the Minister ask the
Mayor of London why he is starving boroughs such as Barnet of the
officers needed to make up SNTs to tackle crime and antisocial
behaviour?
The Metropolitan police already have more uniformed officers than
at any point in their history, and in the current financial year
they have had a funding increase of £170 million on last year, so
I think my right hon. Friend asks a very reasonable question.
(Brent North) (Lab)
In the London Borough of Brent, 320 hours of safer neighbourhoods
teams’ police time has been abstracted in the past three months.
The figures are not routinely made public, but it is important
for communities to have access to that information because they
need to know that their safer neighbourhoods teams are there to
act for them. Will the Home Secretary undertake to publish
abstraction figures as a matter of routine?
Such operational matters are for the police, but I share the hon.
Gentleman’s concern about the level of abstraction owing to the
unjustified Just Stop Oil protests. In October and early
November, about 11,000 Metropolitan police officer shifts were
lost as a result of having to police those outrageous and
unnecessary protests. That is a matter of concern, and that is
why it is so important that we see an end to these protests as
soon as possible.
(Chelmsford) (Con)
I usually get very positive feedback about Chelmsford’s pubs,
clubs and nightclubs, but in recent weeks there has been a flurry
of emails and comments on social media about suspected spiking
incidents at one establishment. I have been in touch with our
excellent city centre policing team, who are among the hundreds
more police we have had in Essex in the past five years. Will the
Minister join me in encouraging all those who think they may have
been victims of spiking to come forward and report the incidents
to the police so that the perpetrators can be caught and held to
account?
My right hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. I
certainly join her in calling on victims to report these very
serious and damaging offences as quickly as possible. The
Government are committed to producing a report on the prevalence
and nature of spiking and the action needed to tackle it by April
next year.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Bradford West) (Lab)
Neighbourhood policing and PCSOs should be at the heart of
communities, providing proactive policing to keep communities
safe, yet after cutting thousands of neighbourhood police
officers from our streets, the Tories have cut 8,000 PCSOs.
Labour has made a commitment to hire thousands more PCSOs as part
of a fully funded neighbourhood policing programme. Will the
Minister match that commitment, or will further cuts be coming
after Thursday’s Budget?
As the hon. Lady knows, the total funding going into policing
this year is £16.9 billion, which is a £1.1 billion increase on
last year. I have said it once or twice before, but I will say it
again: come April next year, when those 20,000 extra officers are
hired, we will have a record number of uniformed officers serving
on our streets.
Families with Leave to Remain: No Recourse to Public Funds
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
6. When she plans to publish improved data on families with leave
to remain but no recourse to public funds. (902159)
The Minister for Immigration ()
The Home Office now publishes an extensive range of data in
respect of NRPF change of conditions applications, including data
on age, gender and nationality. We are open to other avenues to
obtaining further NRPF-related data; plans for doing so have been
set out in published correspondence with the UK Statistics
Authority.
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
At present, the Home Office does not know how many people it
gives leave to remain with no recourse to public funds attached.
For months, Ministers and officials at the Department have been
saying that a new IT system is about to be introduced and will
give us that information. The chair of the UK Statistics
Authority, whom the Minister mentioned, told me in a letter in
February that the new system would be operational some time this
year, rather than last year as previously announced. When will
the Department take back control and switch on its new system so
that it can provide this completely basic information?
I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s long-standing interest in
this issue. We have made it clear on a number of occasions that
we also want to deepen and enrich the level of data that is
available. We have been speaking to our stakeholders to see what
further steps we might be able to take, and I shall be happy to
keep the right hon. Gentleman informed.
Asylum Application Backlog
(Bosworth) (Con)
7. What steps her Department is taking to tackle the asylum
application backlog. (902160)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
We are clear about the fact that the asylum system needs to do
better and cases need to be processed more quickly. The aim of
the asylum transformation programme is to bring the system back
into balance and modernise it. Its focus is on increasing
productivity by streamlining and digitising processes to speed up
decision making and increase efficiency and output.
Dr Evans
A hotel in Earl Shilton, in my constituency, has twice been
identified as a way of trying to deal with the backlog, but has
failed in that regard owing to health and safety concerns about
fire in particular. I was therefore surprised when constituents
wrote to me saying that they had seen asylum seekers in the
hotel. I contacted the borough council, the county council and
the police, but none of them knew anything about it, so I checked
social media and found that the story had been corroborated and
was true. When I contacted the Home Office, it took 72 hours for
it to be confirmed that they had been placed there. This is
completely unacceptable. What is the Home Secretary doing to
ensure that it does not happen in other constituencies, and will
she meet me to discuss the situation in Earl Shilton so that
communication can be improved?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We have
experienced unprecedented pressure on the system recently, and
responding to it has been challenging for our operational
partners. We have a statutory duty to provide destitute asylum
seekers with accommodation. We do inform local partners of our
actions, but despite our ambitions to do that expeditiously,
owing to the recent incredible pressure on the system we have
sometimes fallen short. I understand that a direct communication
has been sent to my hon. Friend, but I can say to him now that we
want to improve our engagement to ensure that there is much
better understanding and much better support for local
communities that are affected.
(Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
We now know of at least four sexual assaults on children who have
been left in these hotels for months because of the backlog. In a
meeting with MPs last week, the Home Secretary’s officials
committed themselves to providing details of the safeguarding
requirements for private contractors if Ministers gave them
permission. If the Home Secretary is so confident that she is
doing everything she can to fulfil the duty of care for these
vulnerable children, will she give that permission and will she
publish those details?
I have been very straight in saying that our asylum system does
need improvement. The Immigration Minister and I are working
intensively and improving our processes, and the duties to those
in our care and how they are discharged, whether those concerned
are adults or children, or other vulnerable people. There has
been unprecedented pressure on the system, but we are working
apace to procure alternative accommodation, and have been doing
so for several months. As I have said, we are working
intensively, and we hope to secure everyone’s support in that
effort.
(North Thanet) (Con)
Clearing the processing backlog is clearly one of the keys to
solving the whole asylum problem, and we need to get on with it
and make sure that it is done as fast as possible. The other key
is, of course, controlling the source of the problem. I was
pleased to learn of the measure signed by my right hon. Friend in
Paris this morning, which is a modest step towards solving a much
greater problem. Does my right hon. Friend agree that rather than
populist policies which may grab headlines, the only way to solve
this problem will be through painstaking hard work of the kind
that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Mr Macron have
instigated?
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his support and input
on this challenging issue, and I was pleased to visit Manston
with him a few weeks ago. He is absolutely right; there is no
single solution to this problem, and international co-operation
is a vital part of the solution. That is why I am very grateful
to French partners for their effective work to date and also for
their support for the positive step forward in the new deal that
I signed this morning with my opposite number in France, which
will greatly deepen our co-operation and further our response to
illegal migration in the channel.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
In Hounslow there are more than 3,500 asylum seekers waiting for
a determination on their applications in, at the last count, 12
interim or contingency hotels. They have been waiting not weeks,
not months, but even years. They are existing in accommodation
and eating food unfit for animals, and Clearspring Ready Homes
and a network of unaccountable subcontractors are skimming off
vast profits and ripping off the accommodation providers, the
vulnerable asylum seekers and, of course, the taxpayer. As the
Home Secretary admits, the Home Office has a challenge here, so
why will she not contract with local authorities that have
expertise in procuring accommodation and that will ensure the
basic standards that the hon. Member for Bosworth (Dr Evans) is
concerned about, and ensure safeguarding as well—
Mr Speaker
Order. That is an important point but I have to get other Members
in as well. We cannot have speeches; we must have short
questions. I think the Home Secretary has got the drift of this
one.
There are many plans afoot to try to improve the processing of
asylum claims, and one of those relates to procuring alternative
accommodation for those seeking asylum. We need to reduce our
reliance on hotels, improve our productivity within the asylum
processing system and ensure that people stop making the journey
in the first place. There are huge levels of work ongoing, and I
would encourage the hon. Lady to support those plans and our
work.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Aberavon) (Lab)
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 establishes a new category
of asylum seekers that the Government claim are not permitted to
claim asylum in Britain and should therefore be removed, but
because the Government have failed to secure a returns agreement
with France, and because their Rwanda policy is completely
unworkable, 16,000 people in this category have been stuck in
limbo waiting an additional six months for a decision, at huge
cost to the British taxpayer. Of those 16,000 waiting in limbo,
only 21 have been returned since the Act came into force. Do
Ministers therefore accept that their own legislation is adding
further delays, cost, chaos and confusion to an already broken
system while doing next and nothing to remove failed asylum
seekers who have no right to be here?
I find it staggering that Labour Members seem to love complaining
about the system but when we introduced laws to fix it, what did
they do? They opposed them every step of the way. We wanted to
make it easier to deport foreign national offenders; Labour voted
against it. We wanted to fix our asylum system; Labour voted
against it. We secured a ground-breaking agreement with Rwanda;
Labour would scrap it. Labour Members are very good at
complaining, but they have absolutely no solution at all.
Visitor Visa Applications: Potential Barriers
(Bradford East) (Lab)
8. What steps she is taking to reduce potential barriers for (a)
family, (b) spouse and (c) visitor visa applications.(902161)
The Minister for Immigration ()
Our immigration system allows people from across the globe to
come to the United Kingdom to visit and join family here. Over 2
million entry clearance visas were issued in the year ending June
2022, but it is also right to ensure that visitors intend to
leave at the end of their stay and that those coming to join
their family can be supported by the family and not by the
British taxpayer.
According to the Home Office’s own figures, just under 20% of the
total accepted and rejected visitor visa applications ended up
being rejected, yet when it comes to those of Pakistani and
Bangladeshi nationality, the figure suddenly, dramatically and
inexplicably rises to 30%. Does the Minister really expect us to
believe that there is no racial or religious bias at the Home
Office?
The hon. Gentleman is completely wrong, and he makes a baseless
slur against my officials at the Home Office. All visa
determinations are based on objective criteria, and I would add
that 303,000 visas and permits were granted for family members in
the year ending June 2022, which is 61% more than in 2019. The
Home Office is granting record numbers of these visas, and we do
so in an entirely objective fashion.
(Thornbury and Yate) (Con)
My constituent Mary Samuels is the legal guardian of her niece
Faith, who is currently in Sierra Leone. Mary submitted a visa
application for Faith as a non-British child of a parent who has
permission to be in the UK, as Faith’s lack of parents or
guardians in Sierra Leone is putting her at serious and
substantial risk. Although I am grateful for our conversations
with the Home Office, those conversations have been ongoing since
July 2021. I know that the Minister cannot comment on this case
on the Floor of the House, but will he commit to personally
reviewing the case and to meeting me to discuss how we can ensure
that this intolerable situation for Mary and Faith is concluded
as quickly as possible?
My hon. Friend has been following this exceptional case
assiduously. I can say that the application is in its final
stages of consideration, and the applicant will be notified of
the outcome as soon as a decision has been made. I am of course
happy to meet him if that would be helpful.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Halifax) (Lab)
In contrast to family, spouse and visitor visas, golden visas
were available until February 2022 to all who could afford them,
including the world’s super-rich, with next to no background
checks. Spotlight on Corruption has found that, of all the golden
visas issued, around half—that is more than 6,000—have been
reviewed for possible national security risks. When he was Chair
of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Minister for Security
called for the 2018 review of golden visas to be published. Can
the Government confirm when we will finally see that review?
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Security has been clear
that we will publish that report at the earliest available
opportunity, but I would add that this is the Government who
brought an end to golden visas and who led the world in economic
sanctions in support of the people of Ukraine.
Knife Crime and Serious Violence
(Harrow East) (Con)
9. What steps she is taking to tackle knife crime and serious
violence.(902164)
(Milton Keynes North)
(Con)
13. What steps she is taking to tackle knife crime and serious
violence.(902169)
(Stockton North) (Lab)
19. What steps her Department is taking to tackle serious violent
crime.(902176)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The Government have taken a dual approach to tackling serious
violence, combining tough enforcement with programmes steering
people away from crime. Since 2019, we have invested £170 million
in the areas most affected by violence to boost the police
response, and we have invested a further £170 million in
developing violence reduction units to tackle the root causes of
violent crime. These programmes together have been assessed as
preventing 49,000 violent offences in their first two years.
Harrow is, generally speaking, a safe borough in which to live,
but we have seen an 18% increase in knife crime this year. There
were 41 major incidents last month, and only last week there was
a major incident in which three people were stabbed and put into
hospital. Does my right hon. Friend agree that what is needed is
not just extra police officers, but apprehending people who carry
knives, punishing them by taking them to court and imprisoning
them so they cannot cause damage to other people?
I agree with my hon. Friend that a robust police response is
essential, as is the courts making robust use of the two-strikes
rule requiring a mandatory prison sentence on a second conviction
for possessing a bladed article. Those are very important, and I
am happy to look with him at how they are working and whether
they need to be pushed a bit further. I am sorry to hear about
the knife crime statistics in Harrow. Nationwide, knife crime, or
knife-enabled crime, is down about 9% compared with pre-pandemic
levels. If my hon. Friend feels that more needs to be done in his
area, I would be happy to discuss it with him.
The two-strikes strategy is not something we have done in Milton
Keynes. The Home Secretary has heard about Operation Deter, under
which people caught with a knife in Milton Keynes will spend time
behind bars. Along with the right legislation and the right
policing strategies, such as Operation Deter, we need to work
with local communities. Will my right hon. Friend join me in
welcoming the Knife Angel to Milton Keynes as we work with
communities to raise awareness of the consequences of knife
crime?
I completely agree with my hon. Friend; the Knife Angel and other
organisations do fantastic work, and I strongly commend them. It
is exactly that kind of initiative that some of the funding
streams I mentioned earlier are designed to support.
A couple of weeks ago, I watched film from a security camera in
Stockton showing two men; one used a chainsaw to cut through the
door of a house while the other set about smashing all the
windows in a bid to get to the resident. Who knows what would
have happened if they had got in? That is another example of
terrifying attacks by dangerous, organised criminals determined
to silence our communities as they fight to control their illegal
drug businesses on Teesside. The Government love to spin a story
about police recruitment, but will Cleveland police ever get back
the hundreds of police officers cut since 2010 and the resources
needed to protect our communities and catch these criminals?
I certainly agree with the hon. Gentleman that the kind of crime
he describes is despicable and that those who commit it should be
pursued, prosecuted and imprisoned. I met the excellent police
and crime commissioner for Cleveland, , just a short time ago—
He won’t give us the resources.
I also met the chief constable, Mark Webster, just a week ago.
The hon. Gentleman mentions resources, and of course Cleveland
this year is receiving an extra £7.8 million compared with what
it received last year and it has been allocated 239 extra
officers as part of the police uplift programme, 197 of whom are
already in post.
(Leeds Central) (Lab)
In September, I asked a then Home Office Minister why it is still
legal for anyone aged 18 and over to walk into a shop and buy a
machete. I was told, because the incidence of the use of machetes
on our streets is increasing, that the serious weapons review is
looking at this matter. Will this Minister tell us when that will
be concluded and when the Government will act to ban the sale of
machetes in this country?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question and I have a
lot of sympathy for the point he is making. In the two or three
weeks since I have been in this position, I have met the Met’s
Deputy Assistant Commissioner McNulty, who has particular
expertise in this area and is the National Police Chiefs’ Council
lead on this topic. He has made a number of interesting proposals
that are consistent with what the right hon. Gentleman just
suggested. I am studying those carefully and sympathetically, and
hope to have more to say on this topic in the near future.
Biometric Residence Permits
(Romsey and Southampton
North) (Con)
10. What steps she is taking to tackle delays in the processing
of biometric residence permits.(902165)
The Minister for Immigration ()
There are currently no material delays in the physical production
or delivery of biometric residence permits. We aim to deliver a
BRP within seven working days of the immigration decision. All
BRPs are currently being produced within 48 hours of receipt of a
production request at the secure printing facility. Our secure
delivery partner, FedEx, is attempting to deliver 99% of BRPs
within 48 hours of their production and is successfully
delivering nearly 80% of them first time.
I thank my right hon. Friend for those statistics, which appear
to be somewhat at odds with the experience of my constituents:
Oksana Vakaliuk, a refugee from Ukraine, has been waiting since 1
May for her BRP; Adnam Hameed was granted his tier 2 visa in May
and was still waiting for his BRP last month; and Mohammed
Poswall has been waiting since July for his wife to receive the
spousal visa stamp in her passport. I really appreciate the work
that my right hon. Friend is doing in this respect, but the
challenge is that these individuals could be working in our
economy, contributing to meeting our skills shortages and paying
tax. Will he meet me to go through these and other cases to help
understand what is causing the delays, which may be specific to
my region?
I would be happy to meet my right hon. Friend. As I said in
answer to her initial question, the data suggests that the vast
majority of customers are receiving their BRPs within seven days
and the system is working in an acceptable fashion. But if cases
are falling through the cracks, it is of course right that we aim
to fix that, and I would be pleased to meet her.
(Cardiff West) (Lab)
Biometrics are obviously important, but going back to spousal
visas, which have also been mentioned, the wife of my constituent
is an Afghan citizen who is stuck in Iran. As we know, Afghan
refugees are not being treated well in Iran, but the Home Office,
in reply to me, says that it will not particularly expedite this
case. Will the Minister afford me the same courtesy that he did
to the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North () and look into the case that
I have mentioned if I write to him after this session?
I would be very happy to do so.
Ingredients Scheduled under Drug Legislation: Review
(Warrington North)
(Lab)
11. Whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure
that the potential health benefits of ingredients scheduled under
the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations
2001 are kept under review.(902167)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
Drug control seeks to strike a balance between preventing
criminality on the one hand and allowing access for legitimate
use, such as medicines development, on the other. The Government
are guided in their decisions by the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs as a well-established process for taking these
decisions, and of course we follow the expert advice.
Psilocybin should never have been designated a schedule 1
substance, but this position by the Home Office has become even
more untenable following publication this month of the largest
multi-site phase 2b trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant
depression. The study found rapid and enduring reductions in
depression symptoms on a 25 mg dose. The further, very promising
research in the UK is being severely hindered by psilocybin’s
schedule 1 status and the prohibitive associated costs for our
academic researchers. Will the Home Secretary finally commit to
rescheduling psilocybin and related compounds to schedule 2, to
allow more research into mental health treatment paradigms that
could see a happier, healthier and more productive country and a
growth boom for our science, innovation and pharmacology
sectors?
The drug to which the hon. Lady refers is an MDMA-based medicine.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is currently
considering the barriers to legitimate research that are posed by
controlled drugs. Once we have had its advice on the topic,
including the implications for psychedelic drugs, such as MDMA
and psilocybin, we will obviously take an appropriate decision in
relation to research. In relation to more widespread
availability, we will follow the decisions made by the Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence before reaching any such
decision ourselves.
Illegal Cross-channel Movements: Discussions with French
Counterpart
(Lichfield) (Con)
12. What recent discussions she has had with her French
counterpart on illegal cross-channel movements.(902168)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
The Prime Minister and I are committed to reducing dangerous
illegal migration into the UK, which is why I was in Paris today
with my French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, to agree a new joint
strategy and operational plan, which will drive forward our next
phase of co-operation and make this route unviable
eventually.
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her agreement in Paris
today but, as she herself has said, there is no silver bullet.
Given that there are so many hundreds of miles of French
coastline to be policed, will this agreement be a game
changer?
As my hon. Friend says, on its own, this agreement will not fix
the problem—it is important that everyone is clear about that.
However, I am very proud of the co-operation that the UK and
France have led in recent years. This deal represents a step
change and a big step forward in our joint challenge. For the
first time under this new integrated approach, UK officers will
join law enforcement colleagues in France as embedded observers
to share real-time information relating to small boats. The deal
will include significant investment in intelligence capability
and information sharing that all agencies will use, including
the National Crime
Agency and Europol. I believe that this is a big step
forward and I encourage everyone here to get behind it.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
The Home Affairs Committee’s report on small boat crossings,
published in the summer, made a series of recommendations, one of
which was more engagement with the French, so we very much
welcomed the announcement this morning. Of course, it is the
fifth announcement on arrangements with the French in four years,
and there is not a single one thing that will solve this problem.
That is why we made a series of recommendations, including:
securing an agreement with the EU on the return of failed asylum
seekers; and piloting the provision of initial UK asylum
applications at facilities within French reception centres. That
would mean that individuals wanting to seek asylum in the UK
could do so without having to get into those awful dinghies and
make that treacherous journey across the channel. Will the Home
Secretary look again at the whole suite of recommendations that
the Select Committee made after two years of looking at this
subject?
I read with interest the report from the Select Committee, which
makes several important points about greater collaboration and
deeper co-operation with our friends in France. Last year our
joint efforts saw more than 23,000 dangerous and unnecessary
crossings prevented, and this year to date more than 30,000
crossing attempts have been stopped by the French. Joint working
has also resulted in the dismantling of 55 organised crime groups
and secured more than 500 arrests since its inception in 2020.
That operational collaboration is absolutely integral to solving
this common challenge.
(Dover) (Con)
Regrettably, the modest French agreement falls short of what is
needed to address the scale, impact and urgency of the channel
crossings issue. We do not need more observation—we need action
taken on the French side. Even today, as the ink dried on this
new deal, small boats crept through the sea-mist and one even
landed on a beach in a residential coastal village in my
constituency. Will my right hon. Friend meet me and Kent leaders
to discuss the dreadful impact on local services, which they
described in a letter to her two weeks ago as being at breaking
point?
I thank my hon. Friend for all her work on this issue over
several years. As I said, I am not going to overplay this
agreement. It is an important step forward and provides a good
platform on which to secure deeper collaboration, and it
represents progress. For the first time, UK officers will be on
the ground in France, working hand in hand with their French
counterparts. They will be working side by side in the command
HQ. They will be working with intelligence and surveillance
material together. They will be partners in a very material sense
in the fight against this challenge. Is that going to solve the
problem on its own? It will not, but I encourage everybody to
support the deal we have secured.
Mr Speaker
The Home Secretary might not like it, but if I may give her some
positive advice, when you answer a question you are meant to look
to the Chair. That is all I will say.
(Hackney North and Stoke
Newington) (Lab)
The Home Secretary insists that the agreement announced today
represents a step forward, but is she able to tell the House
whether it will mean fewer small boats crossing the channel?
A large win from the agreement is that there will be more French
gendarmes patrolling the French beaches. There is a 40% uplift to
the number of personnel that the French are deploying. That must
be a success, and I encourage the right hon. Lady to welcome
it.
Mr Speaker
We come now to the shadow Home Secretary, .
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab)
It is astonishing that the Home Secretary has not made an oral
statement on this subject, given the number of people who want to
ask questions. She is preventing full scrutiny of this deal.
Could that be because her written statement admits that there
have been only 140 smuggling-related convictions across all of
Britain and France in 35 months? Can she confirm that that means
there have been on average just four convictions a month for
those dangerous crimes, even though last month alone nearly 7,000
people arrived in the UK as a result of organised criminals
profiting from putting lives at risk? Why is the Government’s
action against criminal smuggler gangs so pitifully weak?
Why is the Government’s action so pitifully weak? We introduced
legislation—an extensive Bill designed specifically to deal with
the problem occurring on our shores—and on every occasion, what
did Labour Members do? They voted against it. If they were really
serious about solving this problem, they would be supporting our
proposals, not carping from the sidelines.
That is a totally nonsense answer. The Home Secretary obviously
is not aware that former chief constables have warned that her
Nationality and Borders Act 2022 makes it harder to prosecute
people traffickers, and that in fact it is adding six-month
delays to the asylum system and pushing up the costs.
Patrols and intelligence sharing are welcome but long overdue,
but will the Home Secretary match Labour’s funded policy for a
major expansion of additional specialist officers in
the National Crime
Agency as part of a proper plan to work with other countries
to investigate and crack down on those gangs? Or is she actually
preparing for cuts in policing and security operations on
Thursday because her party’s disastrous management of the economy
has let everyone down?
Of course we need to go further and faster in the fight against
illegal migration. I am very disappointed and concerned by the
unprecedented numbers of people arriving here illegally. We are
taking steps to fix it. The reality is, as I said, that this year
alone more than 30,000 attempts have been prevented by the
French. I have come back today from securing a deal that will
increase the number of French patrols on the French coastline,
which will reinforce our collaboration and intelligence work and
strengthen our joint fight, but what do Labour Members do? They
criticise. They criticise because the simple truth is that this
is not about the French deal or our response, but about their
abject failure to speak on behalf of the British people. They do
not care about illegal migration; they want an open-doors
migration policy, as they always have.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson, .
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
Of course, we all welcome closer co-operation with the French,
but the Home Secretary is absolutely right to temper her
expectations given that previous deals were signed in 2010, 2014,
’15, ’16, ’18, ’19, ’20 and, indeed, ’21. What discussions has
she had with the French about safe legal routes for those with
clear links to the United Kingdom, linked if necessary with an
appropriate returns agreement? Surely she must see that only a
deal that includes safe legal routes can make a significant and
lasting impact.
I am not going to repeat myself, but I think the deal is a good
step forward and a great platform from which to build deeper
co-operation. I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that his
question would have much more credibility if Scotland stepped up
further and took a better share of those who come here seeking
refuge and asylum.
Topical Questions
(North East Bedfordshire)
(Con)
T2. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(902179)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
The UK is working closely with France to reduce illegal small
boat crossings over the channel. Over the past year, those
efforts have produced results. Today, I was in Paris with my
French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, to agree a more integrated
and strengthened approach aimed at making that lethally dangerous
route unviable, with world-class law enforcement teams from both
countries working even more closely together. That is a positive
step forward.
For the first time, UK officers will join French law enforcement
teams as embedded observers, sharing real-time information on the
ground and in command HQ. We will provide investment of up to £62
million this year, supporting cutting-edge surveillance
technology, the expansion of the UK-France joint intelligence
cell, and more French officers patrolling the French coast. This
is an international problem; it requires an international
solution.
May I raise a question about the Afghanistan citizens
resettlement scheme on behalf of a constituent whose father has
played a prominent role in women’s education, achieving
recognition and awards from the United Nations? The ACRS is a
clearly structured scheme, but may I request a meeting with my
right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to discuss the very special
circumstances of my constituent’s father?
The Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, which commenced on 6
January 2022, will see up to 20,000 at-risk people resettled to
the United Kingdom. If my hon. Friend sends me the details, I
will ask the relevant teams to look at that case.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson, .
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
On Friday, a commission established by Refugees for Justice and
led by Helena Kennedy KC concluded that the 2020 stabbings and
shooting at asylum accommodation in Glasgow’s Park Inn could have
been avoided, and recommended important asylum reforms. Will the
Home Secretary or the Minister for Immigration agree to meet
Baroness Kennedy—with whom I spoke this morning—and Refugees for
Justice to discuss that important report?
The Minister for Immigration ()
I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and the Baroness to
discuss her report. We take safety at immigration removal centres
extremely seriously. If I may, I take this opportunity to pay
tribute to the immigration enforcement officers and others who
responded to the recent disturbance at Harmondsworth in London.
Their hard work in difficult circumstances was much appreciated
by all of us.
(Ashford) (Con)
T5. I welcome the agreement that the Home Secretary has signed
with the French Government. It is a contribution to dealing with
the asylum crisis and therefore allowing hundreds of hotels,
including some in my constituency, to go back to doing their
proper job. Does she recognise that we also need an asylum system
that can process applications quickly? If the figures remain at
1.5 decisions per week per decision maker, as they are now, or at
four a week, as in the Government’s latest pilot, we will never
see an end to the backlogs and delays, so may I urge the
Government to be more ambitious?(902182)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his question and his
advice on this matter. We want to increase the productivity of
our Home Office staff so that cases are not being decided to the
tune of one per person per week, but at four, five or six per
person per week, as they were a few years ago. We have had a
positive pilot in our Leeds office, and we now intend to roll
that out at pace across the country.
(Sefton Central) (Lab)
T3. We have 8,000 fewer PCSOs, 6,000 fewer neighbourhood police
officers, and people can see for themselves that there are fewer
uniformed officers on our streets. No doubt the Home Secretary
will deny yet again that the Government have cut police. In the
vain hope that the public might be reassured by something that
this Government say, I will ask again: will she commit to
matching Labour’s plan to recruit 13,000 more neighbourhood
police officers? No more smoke and mirrors: yes or
no?(902180)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
There is no need for smoke and mirrors when the police budget
this year is £1.1 billion higher than last year, and there is no
need for smoke and mirrors when on completion of the police
uplift programme in just a few months’ time, there will be more
uniformed police officers on our streets than at any time in this
country’s history.
(Bury North) (Con)
T7. What steps are the Government taking to increase charging
rates for offences of rape, serious sexual offending and
harassment against women and girls?(902184)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( )
I thank my hon. Friend for his serious question, and I know he
works hard in Bury North to talk about the issue. The Government
are committed to tackling violence against women and girls. We
are taking action through the rape review and the tackling
violence against women and girls strategy and tackling domestic
abuse to improve the police’s response to these crimes. Charge
volumes for rapes are up 8%. It is not enough, and there is a lot
more to do, and we are working hard with schemes such as
Operation Soteria in the hope that these good practices will
progress throughout the country.
(Glasgow South West)
(SNP)
T6. We have cases marked urgent not responded to within two
months and weekly phone calls with MPs’ offices being cancelled
at short notice. When will Ministers get a grip of officials and
make sure that Members of this House are treated with respect, so
that we can represent our constituents?(902183)
The hon. Gentleman and I have already spoken about this matter,
and it is absolutely right that officials at the Home Office
treat Members of Parliament and their staff with the respect they
deserve and that we ensure they get the relevant meetings and
decisions. Anything I can do to facilitate that—for him or any
other colleague—of course I will do.
(Dewsbury) (Con)
T9. Having completed the course, I thank Sergeant Richard Neeves
and West Yorkshire police for organising my participation in the
parliamentary police and fire service scheme. Does the Minister
agree that Members from across the House should be encouraged to
take part in the scheme if they want to gain a greater
understanding of the pressures and challenges our police officers
face day-to-day?(902186)
I join my hon. Friend in thanking Sergeant Richard Neeves for the
work he did in encouraging and helping my hon. Friend to
participate in the parliamentary police and fire service scheme.
Yes, I do agree: Members from right across the House should
engage in that scheme.
(Ealing Central and Acton)
(Ind)
T8. When 172 men, women and children who were asylum applicants
in Acton were bussed suddenly to Ashford in Kent, 80 miles away
from their schools, NHS networks and faith communities, it made
the TV news. It happened because the private provider of hotel
accommodation wanted it back. Will the Home Secretary look into
that case, because there is a human cost to uprooting families at
the drop of a hat, as well as the waste of taxpayer money in
shifting people from hotel to hotel when they could be
contributing and paying in if they were processed
faster?(902185)
The reality is that the accommodation pressure that we are seeing
today is a symptom of the broader problem of unprecedented
numbers of people arriving here illegally, at a level that we
have not seen before. That is putting pressure on the system to
find and provide accommodation for these people, as we have a
duty to accommodate them. We need to stop the crossings, which
will ease pressure on accommodation.
(Crawley) (Con)
I recognise the agreement reached this morning with the French to
stop illegal migrants crossing the English channel in small
boats, but what else will my right hon. Friend do to take lessons
from other European countries? Germany and Sweden, for example,
do not recognise refugee applications from Albania. Countries
such as Italy and Poland are physically stopping people from
crossing their border illegally. What more will be done to tackle
this problem?
My hon. Friend is right that there is a real need for a
multi-pronged approach. It is not quite right that countries like
Germany or Sweden do not accept asylum applications; rather, they
may have higher burdens of proof or thresholds that need to be
met. We need to change some of the regimes that govern asylum and
some of the rights being claimed, in a large number of cases,
unmeritoriously. We will make an announcement on the measures
that we are taking in due course.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
T10. I welcome the Minister for Immigration to his place. Will he
meet me to discuss an Afghan spousal visa case that I have been
dealing with for over a year? Pakistan will not grant her a visa
so that she can travel to her biometrics appointment.(902187)
I would be very happy to look into that case for the hon.
Lady.
(Bromsgrove) (Con)
Of all the issues that the Home Secretary has to deal with, few
are more harrowing than child sexual abuse. The independent
inquiry into child sexual abuse recently reported that there were
8.8 million attempts to access such imagery online in the UK in a
single month. May I ask my right hon. Friend whether the Online
Safety Bill will include a provision for UK companies to report
such content to the National Crime Agency
Will she work with her colleagues to bring forward the Bill this
year?
Miss Dines
This issue is very close to my right hon. Friend’s heart and to
mine. The Government are committed to tackling all forms of child
sexual abuse to keep children safe at home, outside and online.
There is a lot of good work being done by the NCA and GCHQ. In
relation to timing, I am hopeful that we will have some news
imminently.
(West
Dunbartonshire) (SNP)
When it comes to immigration policy, it is “Oui, oui, oui” to
working with the French Republic, but when it comes to bespoke
policies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to deal with
demographics and labour shortages, it is “Non, non, non.” What is
the difference? Why are we not allowed bespoke policies in his
Government, working with the Scottish Parliament, to enable us to
do that?
Because we are all blessed to live in one United Kingdom. There
is no material difference: Scotland’s unemployment rate was 3.3%
and its economic inactivity rate was 21% in recent figures,
compared with the UK average of 3.5% and 21%, respectively. It is
more important that we work together as one UK. Those are exactly
the terms on which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has
just concluded this very important agreement.
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
While co-operation with the French is no doubt welcome, is it not
the case that since 2015 the British taxpayer has subsidised the
French police force to the tune of £200 million? Since then, a
record number have been intercepted but an even higher record
number have made it across the channel. Will my right hon. Friend
confirm that there is nothing in the agreement that obliges the
French police to detain and arrest anyone they intercept and
that, therefore, they are free to come back the following night
and try again? Are we not throwing good money after bad?
I do not believe that this is throwing good money after bad
because, as I said, this year alone we have seen 30,000
successful interventions by the French to stop attempts to leave
France and come here illegally. That is a very impressive record
but is not enough, because it is not fixing the problem.
Increasing the number of gendarmes as agreed under the deal, the
embedded observers, and joint working at a real level on the
ground between the UK and the French, will, I believe, take us
forward in combating the scourge.
(Battersea) (Lab)
There is a huge problem with the over-policing of black children
due to adultification, which is where minors are treated as
adults. Some 799 children aged between 10 and 17 were
strip-searched by the Met between 2019 and 2021 without any being
arrested. We need an urgent independent investigation into the
over-policing of black children. Will the Minister commit to
one?
Miss Dines
I know this issue is dear to the hon. Member’s heart. The police
must use their powers carefully to target the right sort of
offenders. It is of concern that that can sometimes appear to be
disproportionate. Nobody should be stopped and searched because
of their age, race or ethnicity. There are codes of conduct in
the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and there is the use of
body-worn video data. About 40% of stop-and-searches that take
place in London are of young men—
Mr Speaker
Order. Minister, sit down.
(Haltemprice and Howden)
(Con)
The announcement today is clearly a good thing, but is the Home
Secretary entirely confident that she will have sufficient aerial
surveillance assets in place so that we can do our half of the
job properly?
I have visited our clandestine command and control team, headed
up by Dan O’Mahoney and Border Force officials, and we have a
military presence. Some very impressive technology is being used,
such as surveillance drone technology, to enable and facilitate
better co-operation with the French.
(Kingston upon Hull East)
(Lab)
Why do the Government continue to extend the temporary offshore
wind workers concession? The industry is not even asking for it.
Will the Minister meet me to discuss the issue?
Mr Speaker
A quick yes or no will do.
I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman. The extension was
reviewed by the Government and, on the basis of the
representations made to us by the industry, we extended it to
April 2023. If he has heard other representations, I would be
pleased to hear about them.
(Ipswich) (Con)
On Friday, we found out that Ipswich Borough Council’s temporary
injunction to prevent the Novotel being used for up to 200
economic migrants was unsuccessful. More to the point, the owners
are now saying they might have them for 12 months not six months.
I heard in the media that the Government might move away from
hotels to temporary accommodation such as Pontins. Can the
Minister give me an update on the plan for moving away from
hotels to much more basic and cheaper accommodation?
We want to exit hotels as soon as possible, including in my hon.
Friend’s constituency, and move to simple but decent
accommodation that does not provide an additional pull factor to
the UK. The challenge is considerable, however, as 40,000 people
are making that perilous crossing every year, which places
immense pressure on our asylum system and prevents us from
providing the kind of humane and compassionate response that we
want to provide to people coming here in genuine peril.
(Twickenham) (LD)
Last week, the new Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley came
to Twickenham to meet community representatives. He said that one
of the biggest pressures facing his officers is dealing with
large numbers of mental health cases; sometimes, multiple
officers are spending entire shifts with people in mental health
crisis because the NHS does not have a bed for them. Will the
Minister outline what his Department is doing to work with the
NHS to ensure that provision is in place so that officers can be
out dealing with burglaries and catalytic converter theft, which
is what my constituents are worried about?
The hon. Lady makes an important and valid point. I had a similar
conversation with Sir Mark a couple of weeks ago and I was out
with officers in my borough of Croydon the week before last where
the emergency response team told a similar story. Sir Stephen
House is looking at this topic as part of his review into police
productivity, but I also plan to have discussions with colleagues
across Government, including in the Department of Health and
Social Care and NHS England, to find out what more we can do. The
issue that she raises is certainly real.
(Crewe and Nantwich)
(Con)
It is vital that our police forces draw on the best talent in our
communities, including people who excel outside the classroom.
Following our discussions, can the Home Secretary update the
House on future plans for entry routes into policing?
I thank my hon. Friend and other honourable colleagues for their
important campaigning to ventilate this issue. He speaks not only
with passion, but with a deep understanding of the issue. I very
much agree with him. I think that there are people from all walks
of life who do not necessarily have a degree or want one who can
be very good police officers. That is why I have asked the
College of Policing to consider options for a new non-degree
entry route to complement the existing framework. The current
transitional arrangements will be extended in the meantime, and I
am very clear that the police force must be open to those who
neither have or want a degree.
(Batley and Spen) (Lab)
In Batley and Spen, we continue to face serious problems of
antisocial behaviour, reckless driving and dangerous parking.
Ultimately, behaviour change is key, but in the short term,
neighbourhood police and local councils need the resources to
catch and punish those who show no respect to our communities.
When will the Government properly invest in neighbourhood
policing, and when will they stop cutting already stretched
council budgets so that councils can use their power to tackle
dangerous parking?
Council budgets are obviously a matter for the Department for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and they will be set out
in the local government funding settlement in a few weeks’ time.
When it comes to police budgets, which are the Home Office’s
responsibility, as I have said once or twice already, the budget
this year is £1.1 billion higher than it was last year—it stands
now at £16.9 billion—and by April next year, when the police
uplift programme is complete, we will have more uniformed police
officers recruited than at any time in our country’s history.
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