Small Boat Channel Crossings
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
1. What progress she has made on reducing the number of illegal
small boat crossings in the channel. (905030)
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
6. What progress she has made on reducing the number of illegal
small boat crossings in the channel. (905035)
(Shipley) (Con)
7. What steps she is taking to reduce the number of migrants
crossing the channel illegally. (905036)
(Bridgend) (Con)
18. What progress she has made on reducing the number of illegal
small boat crossings in the channel. (905049)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
I would like to begin my remarks this afternoon by paying tribute
to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington. He was a member of
the shadow Home Affairs team, and he sadly passed away the week
before last. Jack was well loved by everyone and a hugely
respected Member of this House. Along with all colleagues, I
would like to pay my respects to him and send my condolences to
Harriet and their family.
These crossings are unfair, unacceptable and lethally dangerous.
They are totally unnecessary, as France and other EU member
states are safe countries with long-established asylum
systems.
I thank the Home Secretary for that reply, and I associate myself
wholeheartedly with her remarks about the late member for
Birmingham, Erdington.
I know that the Home Secretary has been requesting the assistance
of the Royal Navy to reduce the number of illegal channel
crossings, and I look forward to seeing growing co-operation
between her Department and the Ministry of Defence. Does she
agree that it is surely right to deploy all the available
resources and tools to shut down the routes used by the cruel
people smugglers and to protect lives at sea?
My right hon. Friend’s question is an important one because, as
all hon. Members will be well aware, I asked for MOD naval assets
and support back in 2020, because no Department can resolve the
complex issue of channel crossings on its own. It is also right,
having called for MOD involvement, that we now bring the whole
machinery of government, the ultimate utility, together to ensure
that we work collectively to protect our borders. My right hon.
Friend is right about the wider issues on immigration, and that
is why we have the new plan for immigration.
I fully echo the Home Secretary’s remarks about the late Member
for Birmingham, Erdington. He was well liked and respected by
many of us on this side of the House.
Does the Home Secretary recognise the anger felt about this
issue, not least by the many people who fully respect this
country’s proud tradition of asylum and the tremendous
contribution made so many people who have come to this country
legally?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why this Government
are unapologetic for the fact that we now have the Nationality
and Borders Bill and the new plan for immigration. We are
operationalising these changes primarily because we need a system
that is firm but also fair to those who need genuine help when
fleeing persecution and claiming asylum. That is effectively what
this Government are doing.
If everyone is agreed that the channel crossings are so
dangerous, we must clearly do whatever is necessary to stop them.
Surely the quickest way to stop them is simply to turn the boats
back and escort them back into French waters. I do not think it
would take long for the word to get around that these crossings
were futile. Has not the time come to do just that, on
humanitarian grounds as well as to protect our borders from
illegal immigration?
My hon. Friend will know that that is the policy of this
Government. Border Force was commissioned to do this with the
MOD, and through the hybrid ways of working that I have
commissioned across Government, they will be doing exactly that.
Routes have been tested and technology is being used, and the way
in which boats can be pushed back has also been well tested, with
the basis to do that. That is our policy.
Dr Wallis
My right hon. Friend is aware that the British people want to see
decisive action being taken to reduce the number of small boat
crossings in our channel. Does she therefore share my
disappointment that the Opposition refused to support our
measures to end vexatious and unmerited claims, and chose instead
to side with those entering the UK illegally?
We could rerun the debate on the Nationality and Borders Bill,
which I would happily do. This Government are determined not just
to reform what is a broken asylum system—we are lifting up every
aspect of the dysfunctionality of the system—but to tackle the
root causes of illegal migration. In March 2021 the new plan for
immigration was published, and we had the Nationality and Borders
Bill in this House last autumn. The Opposition seem to be on the
wrong side of the argument. They do not really want to support an
end to illegal migration or stop the people smugglers.
(Hackney North and Stoke
Newington) (Lab)
Is there any truth in the reports that the Government want to
have asylum seekers processed offshore in countries such as
Gambia? Has any such country actually agreed to this? Does the
Secretary of State accept that having people processed hundreds
or thousands of miles away might meet the letter of our
obligations to asylum seekers but certainly does not meet the
spirit?
I absolutely disagree with the right hon. Lady’s question. Had
she read the new plan for immigration—the policy statement
published for the benefit of all Members in March 2021—she would
know that this Government are considering all options for
outsourcing processing and for removing people with no legal
basis to be in our country. I completely recognise that she
disagrees with the policies of this Government—[Interruption.] It
matters not which countries. We will continue to discuss this
with a range of countries, because I, as Home Secretary, and this
Government are determined to fix the decades-long problem of a
very broken asylum system. Frankly, under successive Labour
Governments there were mass failures to remove people with no
legal basis to be in the country.
(Halifax) (Lab)
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I join the Home Secretary in
paying tribute to our dear friend and colleague, . We very much look forward to
the tributes later this month. Especially today, at Home Office
questions, we very much miss his kindness, his passion and his
wit alongside us on the Front Bench.
We hear that responsibility for ending dangerous crossings of the
channel is to be taken away from the Home Office and handed to
the MOD, but we have been here before. In 2019 the Government
brought in the Navy to patrol the channel, and those patrols
ended after just six weeks, having cost £780,000 and without a
single boat having been intercepted. Can the Home Secretary
explain how today’s proposal will be any different from 2019 and
prevent lives from being lost at sea?
Of course I can. I restate what I have said in the House many
times about the hybrid approach we need: no one Department can
solve this issue in the channel on its own. Let us be crystal
clear about this. I originally commissioned the military aid to
the civil authorities request that went to the Ministry of
Defence very early on, back in 2020. Of course my decision to
bring in the MOD is vindication of our need to strengthen our
defences in the channel.
This is about a number of things—[Interruption.] I can hear
Opposition Members making noise about this issue. However, the
reality is that we want to stop illegal crossings. People are
dying in the channel and in the Mediterranean. All aspects of
pushbacks and turn-backs—of the approach we take in the
channel—are operational. This has been tested, there is a basis
on which to do it, and individuals are trained. The MOD, maritime
policing and Border Force originally came together, and they will
continue to work together. This is, first, a global migration
issue but, secondly, the British public will support the
Government in doing everything possible to protect our borders.
That is why a blended approach is absolutely vital.
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
I wholeheartedly endorse the Home Secretary’s comments about the
hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington.
The Home Secretary should have pointed out that, unlike the
endless Downing Street parties, arriving in the UK to claim
asylum is not unlawful, as the Court of Appeal reminded her just
last month. It is only her atrocious anti-refugee Bill that will
see Afghans, Syrians and Uyghurs arrested, prosecuted and
imprisoned for up to four years. Why does she see relentless
flouting of lockdown rules as forgivable for the Prime Minister
but seeking safety here from Assad, the Taliban or genocide as
worth four years in prison?
I always enjoy the hon. Gentleman’s contributions. As we saw on
Report and Third Reading of the Nationality and Borders Bill, the
Scottish National party choose to deploy political gimmicks—I am
being kind to the SNP—to frustrate the will of the public when it
comes to reforming asylum and illegal migration. It is fair to
say that the Conservative party in government, through the
Nationality and Borders Bill and the new plan for immigration,
will do everything possible to tackle the unscrupulous
exploitation of people who cross illegally and will provide
sanctuary to those who need our help and support—those fleeing
persecution who need refuge. Frankly, when local authorities in
Scotland are not even helping to accommodate these people, I take
no lectures from the Scottish National party.
That answer was about as convincing as the Prime Minister’s
apology. The Home Secretary has quite a nerve to talk about
political gimmicks, given that she is the first person to be sent
out to the Dispatch Box to further Operation Red Meat; the
proposals leaked out over the weekend have absolutely nothing to
do with saving lives and everything to do with saving the Prime
Minister’s career and her political career. The Home Secretary
sending in the Royal Navy against small boats full of refugees
and asylum seekers is pathetic, inhumane and an abuse of the
Royal Navy, and her grubby shopping around for places to offshore
asylum seekers to is an outrageous and dangerous big white
elephant. Instead of ripping up the refugee convention and
locking up refugees, why does the Home Office not start working
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and others
to live up to our humanitarian obligations?
The hon. Gentleman needs to understand global migration
challenges and the international exploitation of human lives and
human beings that takes place, because clearly he has no
recommendations or answers. His local authorities across Scotland
refuse to house people who have come to our country. Frankly, I
will take no lectures from him. He can carry on with his
political gimmicks, but the Scottish National party’s lack of
policy says a great deal.
Rape Prosecution Rate
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
2. What discussions she has had with the Attorney General on
taking steps to increase the prosecution rate for rape. [R]
(905031)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
We are determined to increase the number of rape cases reaching
court, which is why we are working closely with the Attorney
General and the Deputy Prime Minister to implement the rape
review action plan, published in June. Progress includes
publishing the first scorecard on cases, in order to understand
where the system is failing to deliver; piloting a new approach
to investigations through Operation Soteria; and launching a
victims’ Bill consultation.
Two fifths of police forces actually lack specialist rape units,
despite clear evidence showing that they are important to
achieving successful case outcomes. Warwickshire shut its
RASSO—rape and serious sexual offences—unit in 2014 and its
domestic abuse unit last year, yet it has the worst conviction
rate. Next week, I am going to hold a summit on violence against
women and girls. I want to know from the Minister: why do the
Government oppose Labour’s calls for RASSO units to be restored
to all police forces? Can she explain whether there is any
correlation between the conviction rates achieved, with
Warwickshire’s being the worst in the country, and the loss of
such units?
It is obviously not the case that we are opposing measures to
improve rape prosecutions. That is why we are funding five police
forces to pilot this new approach to rape investigations, and we
have committed to expand this through 14 police areas. Moreover,
we are providing comprehensive funding to independent sexual and
domestic abuse advisers to help bring these atrocious cases to
court.
(Birmingham, Yardley)
(Lab)
I spent Friday morning with a young 20-year-old rape victim who
is now in her fifth year awaiting a trial. I then spent the
afternoon with a young woman who has been groomed and sexually
exploited for a decade. She told me that on occasion she has been
forced to have sex with up to 50 men a day. The police cannot
guarantee her safety, in her complex case of organised crime, so
she has come forward and withdrawn numerous times. Both the
accused rapist in the first case and the many, multiple gang
members involved in the second are walking free, able to abuse,
groom and rape as many women and children as they like.
These cases are not rare; they are not unusual. Operation Soteria
has already made it very clear to Ministers that there is a real
need for more specialism and priority within police forces, so
the Minister saying that she is going to pilot it in 14 more
areas and find out the exact same thing is not going to be
enough. There is a need for specialism, and a need for it now, so
why are the Government not backing Labour’s calls to ensure that
every police force area has a RASSO unit? Will she answer
that?
All of us speak to and work with victims of horrendous crimes.
Ministers are constantly engaged in that kind of work. That is
why we are putting more funding into the police to enable them to
tackle these hideous crimes. The hon. Lady has referred to a
number of specific cases. She has not been clear which police
areas or local authorities are involved, but we are very happy to
work with her on these specific cases. To be clear, let me say
that funding for these important specialisms has been increased,
and we are increasing funding to the police to the tune of £15.9
billion.
(Lichfield) (Con)
The two points made by Labour Members were very powerful and have
had a huge impact on the House, and I thank them for making
them.
I simply rise to say that there also needs to be a very careful
balance, because, from time to time, people are accused of rape
when they are innocent. I do not want to see the pendulum swing
from one extreme to another and injustice being done in another
way.
I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important issue. These
and many other issues are captured in the rape review. Every
Member of this House will be concerned about the level of rape
prosecutions, which is why the Government are working across
Departments to improve the system overall, and it is absolutely
right that we do so.
Mr Speaker
I call Dame Diana Johnson—I welcome the right hon. Lady to her
first Question Time as Chair of the Home Affairs Committee.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
The Minister will know that, in 2015, in her report on rape
investigations and prosecutions in London, Dame recommended that the
specialist RASSO police officers should investigate rape cases.
We heard much evidence to back that up in the inquiry that the
Home Affairs Committee has just concluded. I have a question for
the Safeguarding Minister, who appeared before the Committee in
December. At the time she could not tell us how many police
officers were RASSO trained, or, indeed, how many of the new
recruits to the police had been RASSO trained. Is she able to do
so today?
I congratulate the right hon. Lady on her election to the Chair
of the Home Affairs Committee. I look forward to responding to
her in due course. She raises an important issue. It is important
to say that specialist training is taking place through Operation
Soteria and a number of other avenues. I am very happy come back
to her or to write to her with those figures.
Removal of Failed Asylum Seekers
(Tewkesbury) (Con)
3. What progress she is making on removing failed asylum seekers
from the UK; and if she will make a statement. (905032)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
Our new plan for immigration will overhaul our asylum system and
speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers. The Bill will
introduce new measures to prevent repeated last-minute, meritless
claims that are designed to frustrate proper removal. We are
determined to return people who have no right to be here and
arrive in the UK illegally.
Mr Robertson
I thank the Minister for his response. This country has a proud
record of accepting refugees and treating asylum seekers fairly,
and long may that continue. Does he agree that, in order to
retain confidence in our system and to avoid it being a draw to
people taking very dangerous and unnecessary journeys, asylum
seekers must have their cases considered very quickly, and, if
they have not established a right or a need to be here, they
should be removed quickly?
My hon. Friend gets to the nub of the issue by saying that we
must have a fair but firm system. Returns have undoubtedly been
hard hit as a result of the pandemic, and we want to see a quick
recovery from that. The issue of attrition is also important. We
are addressing that through the Nationality and Borders Bill, and
I appreciate his support for that. On returns agreements, we
need, of course, to secure more. Those with India and Albania
prove exactly what can be done.
(Enfield North) (Lab)
Hundreds of people in my constituency of Enfield North are
residents in this country on the European Community Association
agreement visa, also known as the Ankara agreement, which allows
them to set up businesses in this country. When they try to
extend their stay in this country, the majority of them are not
able to renew their visas. There have been hundreds of emails in
relation to this from across the country. The delays in some
cases are 14 months, and they mean that those people are unable
to renew business leases and housing and residential contracts.
What assurances can the Minister give to my constituents whose
lives are at a standstill that these timings will be reduced and
that they will receive a timely response to their
applications?
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. She will know
that Ministers in the Home Office are always keen to try to
assist in these matters wherever possible. If she could provide
me with the specifics, I would be very happy to take those cases
away and have a look at them.
(Wellingborough) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that one of the problems with genuine
victims of human trafficking is that they are lumped together
with asylum seekers? The quicker we can return bogus asylum
seekers, the quicker we can get help to the genuine victims of
human traffickers.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who raises an important point.
It is fair to say that the Nationality and Borders Bill and the
new plan for immigration focus very much on returning those who
have no right to be here, while ensuring that those who require
our protection and are genuinely in need of support do get that
support as quickly as possible.
Domestic Abuse: Support for Victims
(Worsley and Eccles South)
(Lab)
4. What steps her Department is taking to improve support for
victims of domestic abuse. (905033)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will strengthen our
protection of victims and ensure that perpetrators feel the full
force of the law. Furthermore, we will be publishing the first
ever domestic abuse strategy to transform the whole of society’s
response to domestic abuse to prevent offending, support victims
and pursue perpetrators as well as strengthening the whole system
needed to deliver those goals.
A recent meeting of the all-party parliamentary group for ageing
and older people reviewed the shocking figures for femicide and
violence against older women. Women aged over 60 are one in five
of femicide victims, representing 75% of the 280,000 older people
between 60 and 74 who are victims of domestic abuse. Further, the
crime survey for England and Wales has only just started
collecting data on people over 74, and that data is beset by
problems of under-reporting. Does the Minister recognise the need
for both more effective data collection and support services that
are designed around and suitable for older domestic abuse
victims?
I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue. She is
right that more needs to be done. More is being done, and we will
set out more ways that we will help older victims in our domestic
abuse strategy, which we will publish shortly. It is vital that
every victim of domestic abuse, no matter their age, can get the
right help. That is why we have provided additional funding to
support victims of rape and domestic abuse, and we are giving
local authorities more money to enable them to play their
part.
Windrush Compensation Scheme
(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab)
5. What steps she has taken to expedite the processing of
Windrush compensation scheme claims. (905034)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
We take our commitments to the victims of the Windrush scandal
seriously, and our focus is on resolving claims as quickly as
possible. To enable us to do that, we have recruited 40 new
caseworkers, with 35 more in the pipeline for the coming months.
We have also refreshed and streamlined internal processes to
reduce processing times and improve user experience for those
applying to the scheme.
A recent report criticised the Home Office, which was forced to
apologise to charities and community groups that were meant to be
supporting victims with their applications. The budget remains as
full as ever and underspent. It took two years for one of my
constituents to receive a reply, which is an absolute disgrace
considering the age profile of Windrush victims. What will the
Minister do to put that right? Will he outsource the process to a
proper independent group that will get on with the job?
As we have said before, outsourcing would merely introduce
further delays into the process when our focus should be on
getting compensation out to the victims of the Windrush scandal.
The hon. Member will be aware that the changes we made in
December 2020 saw us pay considerably more compensation, offering
an average of £3.1 million a month, with more than £38.7 million
in compensation now offered. To be clear, there is no “budget”
here; we will pay the compensation that is due to people, and
there is no ceiling on what will be paid.
(Bradford West) (Lab)
I remind the Home Secretary of the legal maxim, “Justice delayed
is justice denied.” This Government promised to try to right some
of the wrongs with the Windrush compensation scheme in a
time-limited manner. In November, the Home Affairs Committee
found that only 20% of claimants had applied, and that only 5%
had received any compensation. Twenty-three people have died
before receiving their compensation. Is it not high time that the
responsibility to provide justice to the ageing Windrush
generation was passed on to an independent body capable of
delivering it?
Again, we would make the point that moving this operation out of
the Home Office would merely further delay the provision of the
compensation that we all want to see paid. As I have touched on,
we are recruiting more caseworkers and speeding up the process.
Given the age cohort we are talking about, we are aware that some
people have sadly passed away. However, that is why we are more
motivated to speed up the process and make a real difference. As
I have said, we have more staff coming in, and we will streamline
the process to make it not only quicker, but simpler for those
claiming compensation to engage with the team.
Online Safety Tools
(Richmond Park) (LD)
8. What discussions she has had with (a) the Equalities Office
and (b) women’s rights campaigners on the effectiveness of (i)
the Path Community app and (ii) other online safety tools.
(905037)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
I speak regularly with the Equalities Office and campaigners on
ways to tackle violence against women and girls. We believe that
women should not have to change their behaviour to stay safe,
which is why our strategy sets out preventive measures to tackle
violence against women and girls focusing on changing
misogynistic attitudes; however some people might choose to use
one of the many apps, including the Path Community app, that are
available to them.
Many women’s rights campaigners, including Reclaim These Streets,
have called apps such as the Path Community app insulting to
women and girls. They claim it does nothing to tackle men’s
violence against women, so why are the Government continuing to
push the app and present it as some kind of solution?
I thank the hon. Lady for giving me the opportunity to put on the
record that we are not specifically pushing—I think that was the
word she used—or promoting or backing that one app. As I said in
my answer, there are many apps, and many women use those apps of
their own choice. Of course we welcome that choice for
individuals; on the other hand, it is vital that the Government
play our part in tackling violence against women and girls
through the multiple other measures set out in the “Tackling
violence against women and girls strategy”, which I invite her to
read.
Police Funding
(Darlington) (Con)
9. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police
are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime.
(905038)
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
12. What progress the Government have made on improving resources
for South Wales Police. (905042)
(Warrington South) (Con)
20. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police
are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime.
(905051)
(Meriden) (Con)
23. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police
are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime.
(905054)
The Minister for Crime and Policing ()
The Government are proposing a total police funding settlement
approaching £17,000 million in 2022-23, an increase of up to
£1,100 million compared with this year. Assuming full take-up of
precept flexibility, overall police funding available to police
and crime commissioners will increase by a whopping £796 million
next year.
Although Darlington has received almost £1 million in safer
streets funding, off-road biking continues to be an antisocial
behaviour problem causing crime in my constituency. Will the
Minister meet me to discuss what more can be done to tackle
this?
I am pleased to hear that that substantial award from the safer
streets fund is making a difference in my hon. Friend’s
constituency, and of course I would be more than happy to meet
him to talk about how we can better fight crime in his patch.
Vale of Glamorgan, like many rural areas, experiences horrendous
animal welfare incidents, from illegal dog breeding and hare
coursing to fly-grazing and horse neglect. Will my right hon.
Friend join me in congratulating Chief Inspector Rees and her
team of officers on how they have used the additional resources
that have been made available to combat some of the worst crimes
we could possibly imagine?
I am more than happy to join my right hon. Friend in
congratulating his local police force on their work in this area,
and I am pleased to hear that his non-human constituents are as
important to him as the human ones. He will be aware that some of
these truly appalling crimes need to be addressed much more
assertively, and I hope he has noticed that, in the Police,
Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, we are tabling amendments
specifically on hare coursing, which will help to fight that
awful crime.
Bearing in mind the security statement coming after this question
session, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he is working
with both law enforcement and security services to understand
what more can be done to increase capacity to counter hostile
activity that has the potential to damage democracy but operates
below the legal threshold?
I know this is a matter of concern to the whole House, which I
know is to be addressed by the Home Secretary shortly. As I hope
my hon. Friend knows, police capacity—that relates specifically
to the question—has been increased not just in territorial
policing but in other arms of policing, recognising as we do
that, while it is important to fight crime on the ground in all
our constituencies, it is also important to fight it there as
well.
I am pleased that the Government are well on their way to
delivering on their pledge to deliver 20,000 police officers, 867
of whom are in the west midlands, but does my right hon. Friend
agree that the decision by the Labour police and crime
commissioner to close Solihull police station goes a long way to
undermining safety and security for my constituents in the north
and the south of my constituency?
My hon. Friend will know that there was a passionate Adjournment
debate just the other night to discuss issues in west midlands
policing. As I said during that debate, it is strange that at a
time of unprecedented expansion in UK policing, the impression is
being given, in his constituency and elsewhere, of a retreat. I
was in the west midlands on Thursday and I know that the chief
constable and others are working hard to get on top, but I would
hope that in the light of the expansion of policing in my hon.
Friend’s part of the world, their property strategy would be
reviewed again.
(Cambridge) (Lab)
Workers in local food shops in Cambridge have had a tough time in
recent years, facing organised shoplifting and threats of
violence. It took the intervention of E. J. Matthews, a notable
PC, to help to sort that out, but they are now facing organised
ramraids. What resources can be made available to Cambridgeshire
police to tackle this awful crime?
As I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, Cambridgeshire police has
expanded quite significantly, in terms of pure police numbers,
over the past couple of years, but I hope he will also have
noticed the work that is being done by the national retail crime
steering group, which I chair, to look specifically at crime in
this area. Given what he has mentioned about ramraiding in his
constituency, I will go away and look at whether a pattern is
emerging across the east of England and hope that I can encourage
the police to address it.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
The Minister has just said that there is an unprecedented
expansion, but back in the real world, antisocial behaviour
increased by 7% last year: it is a growing problem across so many
communities in my constituency and around the country. Although
the new officers are beginning to come on-stream, does he even
begin to understand the damage that the cuts not only to police
numbers but to services such as youth services have done to
communities like the ones I represent?
Year on year, last year and the year before, we actually saw a
fall in police-recorded incidents of antisocial behaviour, but we
have seen fluctuations in that crime type over the past few
months as the variations in covid lockdown regulations have
changed. We are keeping a close eye on it. The hon. Gentleman
will have noticed that in our “Beating crime plan”, published in
July last year, we encouraged police and crime commissioners—I
hope he will encourage his to do this as well—to form their own
antisocial behaviour taskforces so that they can really pinpoint
and address this most local of crime problems very
effectively.
(Twickenham) (LD)
The Minister will be aware that proper community policing is
vital for preventing crime and saving lives, yet across London,
since the Prime Minister was Mayor, we have seen community
policing slashed, and in Richmond borough, in particular, we see
our officers routinely extracted to other events. Yet in the same
period knife crime has doubled. He will be aware that in
September there was the fatal and brutal stabbing of an
18-year-old Afghan refugee and college student in Twickenham. So
when will we see a boost to community policing in the Twickenham
constituency and across Richmond borough, as this Government have
promised us so many extra police officer numbers since 2019?
The hon. Lady is stretching it a bit to say that crime over the
past three or four years was the fault of the previous Mayor, who
has not been in office for some time; she may not have noticed.
It is hard to notice who is in office in London at the moment.
Nevertheless, I hope she will welcome the recent decision by the
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to reinstitute
neighbourhood policing, and that she will see the extra numbers
of police officers—many hundreds—that have now been recruited in
London appearing in her constituency soon.
(Newport East) (Lab)
Current recruitment is welcome, of course, but will the Minister
at least acknowledge and be honest with the House that there are
24,000 fewer police officers, police community support officers
and staff in the police workforce since 2010 because of this
Government’s cuts, and that has a real impact?
I will certainly acknowledge that police numbers fell post the
2010 election, but only as long as the hon. Lady acknowledges
that her party crashed the economy, causing us to make
much-needed and very vital economies in our national spending. If
we had not undertaken those economies, God knows what financial
state we would have been in now, following what we have had to do
during the pandemic.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
The great town of Tunstall sadly missed out on its recent safer
streets fund bid. Analysis from Staffordshire police and
Stoke-on-Trent City Council shows that we suffer
disproportionately from more burglary, aggressive begging and
feral youths committing antisocial behaviour, so we want to see
improved lighting, CCTV extended and gates for alleyways. Will my
hon. Friend agree to meet me so that he can hear about this bid
and why the great town of Tunstall deserves this investment?
I am certainly happy to meet my hon. Friend. We will see future
rounds of the safer streets fund, and I hope his police and crime
commissioner and his local authority will make a bid. I will be
more than happy to meet him, not least because the commitment and
conviction he shows should be at the forefront of their bid to
convince us all to fund this.
Police Community Support Officers
(Bedford) (Lab)
10. What plans she has to increase the number of police community
support officers. (905040)
The Minister for Crime and Policing ()
The decisions on how to use funding and resources are operational
matters for chief constables, working with their democratically
elected police and crime commissioners. They are best placed to
make these decisions within their communities, based on their
knowledge and experience, including decisions about the right
balance of their workforce.
Our Conservative police and crime commissioner was elected on a
platform to fix the unfair funding formula for Bedfordshire
police, but his solution to raise much-needed funding to put more
police on our streets is to raise local council tax. With two
large towns and an international airport, Bedfordshire police
should not be funded as a rural force. Will the Minister give our
force the resources it needs before expecting my constituents to
pay more?
Obviously the Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner is doing
a fantastic job. He won a resounding victory in the recent
election, and I know he continues to enjoy significant support in
that county. As I hope the hon. Gentleman has heard me say in the
past, we are committed to coming up with a new funding formula
for policing. The formula we use at the moment is a little bit
elderly and creaky. He will be pleased to hear that I had a
meeting just this morning with the chair of the new technical
body that is putting that work together. We hope to be able to
run the formula before the next election.
(Croydon Central) (Lab)
The Minister has brushed off criticisms from the Labour Benches,
but is he aware of the disquiet on his own Benches? Only last
week, Conservative MPs lined up in Westminster Hall to describe a
broken system that is
“stacked in favour of the perpetrators rather than the
victims.”—[Official Report, 12 January 2022; Vol. 706, c.
258WH.]
One said:
“Across the UK there are people afraid to leave their homes after
dark, scared to go to the shops…That cannot go on…The police
quite simply do not have the powers or resources.”—[Official
Report, 12 January 2022; Vol. 706, c. 257-8WH.]
We agree. That is why neighbourhood policing is at the heart of
our new proposals. We will put a police hub in every new
community, create neighbourhood prevention teams and fund a next
generation of neighbourhood watch. I wonder whether the Minister
has anything new to say to his own disaffected Back Benchers, or
is crime simply not “red meat” enough for the “big dog”?
Hilarious. I understand the hon. Lady is playing catch-up on
policing, and she may have missed the 11,000 police officers we
have recruited so far. She may have missed the significant falls
in knife crime, acquisitive crime and all neighbourhood-type
crimes, as we have seen recently. Policing and fighting crime are
a challenge, as I know more than most. It is always two steps
forward, one step back. It is right that hon. Members on all
sides should be anxious and concerned about crime in their
constituencies, but that is why we are recruiting 20,000 police
officers, why the Prime Minister has made crime a priority and
why he wants to roll up county lines and deal with youth
violence. This is a fight that we can win, but over time. While
we are having some success as it stands, there is always much
more to do.
Knife Crime
(Bexhill and Battle) (Con)
11. What steps she is taking to reduce knife crime. (905041)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
My hon. Friend will know that all efforts are being made on
reducing knife crime. As the Policing Minister has just said, the
latest police-recorded crime figures have shown a fall in
offences involving knife crime, but at the same time, a great
deal of investment is taking place when it comes to violence
reduction units, alongside the investments in the police
force.
I welcome the work from the Home Secretary on reducing those
numbers, but sadly last year saw the highest number of teenage
murders in London since records began. Can I therefore commend
the “No More Red” campaign set up by Arsenal football club,
supported by Ian Wright and Idris Elba? As Ian Wright points out,
and as I found out myself as a volunteer in a youth centre, they
offer the chance to give people a better route in life, away from
gangs and crime. Too many have closed in recent years. May I ask
the Home Secretary what we can do to get charities to set more
up?
It is not every day I can come to the Dispatch Box to celebrate
and praise the Gooners, but in this case I take great pride in
joining my hon. Friend. The “No More Red” campaign, which I have
been following, is fantastic. My hon. Friend’s point speaks to
the power of charities alongside the Government’s work, because
they are the ones at the grassroots that can reach out to young
people in constituencies and engage them so they do not get into
the cycle of a life of crime.
Pending Asylum Applications
(Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
13. What recent estimate she has made of the number of asylum
applications pending initial decision. (905043)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
We accept that the asylum system is broken, often taking too long
to reach decisions. We are working to fix it via the Nationality
and Borders Bill. Alongside that, we have plans to speed up the
decision-making process and reduce unnecessary delays. I hope the
hon. Gentleman will reconsider his opposition to the Bill and
play his part in helping to fix our broken system.
The Conservatives say that the asylum system is broken, but
having been in power for more than a decade, the truth is that
they are the ones who broke it. Asylums seekers are some of the
most vulnerable individuals. The Greater Manchester Immigration
Aid Unit revealed the emotional and physical trauma they
experience—the anxiety, insomnia, self-harm, depression,
deterioration of relationships with friends and support staff and
reduced engagement with vital services. How has the Home Office’s
ability to make initial decisions been allowed to collapse so
completely under this Government? What steps will the Minister
take to intervene to ensure the situation is addressed with
urgency?
I am sorry to hear that it sounds like the hon. Gentleman will
not be reconsidering his opposition to our reform plans, most
notably in the Nationality and Borders Bill, while his party
offers no meaningful alternative. The Home Secretary, the whole
team in Government and I will continue to focus on our work to
reform and update the system, to ensure it offers resettlement
based on need, not the ability to pay a people trafficker. That
is what our focus will continue to be and we are working towards
that.
Topical Questions
(Berwickshire, Roxburgh and
Selkirk) (Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(905055)
The Nationality and Borders Bill was overwhelmingly backed by
elected MPs and is now being debated in the other place. Ahead of
its Royal Assent, I am operationalising new changes on disrupting
and deterring illegal migration, in line with the new plan for
immigration which, as the House knows, was announced and
published last week. We continue to work with our French
counterparts. Law enforcement has achieved 67 small boats-related
prosecutions since the start of 2020; we have dismantled 17 small
boat organised criminal groups and secured more than 400
arrests.
I am reforming the entire asylum system to bring effective
casework into decision making, speeding up processing and
introducing fast-track appeals to remove those with no right to
be in the UK. I have developed new operational solutions to deter
illegal boat arrivals. That is a whole Government effort. As a
result, I confirm that we have commissioned the MOD as a crucial
operational partner, to protect our channel against illegal
migration.
In the light of the news late last week about MP security, will
the Home Secretary assure me that the Home Office is working with
other Government Departments and devolved Administrations to
protect our democracy from those who want to do it, and our
country, harm?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I will come to my statement
shortly, when I will talk about that issue in much more detail.
There are important issues about protecting our democracy from
our adversaries, individuals and countries that want to do us
harm. That is a whole of Government effort.
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab)
I join the tributes to , who was in our team and should
have been with us today. His kindness, principles and
determination mean we badly miss him.
On 25 January 2021, the Home Secretary commented on a Met police
video of officers breaking up an illegal party in London. She
said,
“This illegal gathering was an insult to those hospitalised with
COVID, our NHS staff and everyone staying at home to protect
them…Police are enforcing the rules to save lives.”
Why has she now changed her mind?
I welcome the right hon. Lady to her role; I did not get the
chance to do that when we last met to debate the Nationality and
Borders Bill. With regards to the coronavirus regulations, I
stand by my comments, primarily because during the time of the
virus and the pandemic, the entire country was doing incredible
work to ensure that the virus was not being spread. My views have
not changed on that; they are absolutely consistent. On policing
throughout the pandemic, we asked the police to do extraordinary
things. As she knows, however, the police are operationally
independent of me. They were following the guidance issued by the
Government at the time and did very good work to protect the
public.
I am glad that the Home Secretary stands by her words and her
defence of the police, but how on earth can she then defend the
Prime Minister, who has publicly admitted breaking the rules? She
is not even waiting for the report. Beth Rigby asked her:
“Are you reserving judgment until the report comes out?”
And she said:
“No. On the contrary, I have publicly supported the Prime
Minister”.
Tens of thousands of fines were given out in the months when
Downing Street was holding parties. She told the police to
enforce those rules but she is now defending someone who has
admitted breaking them. The Home Secretary’s job is to uphold the
rule of law. Does she realise how damaging it is to public trust
and to trust in the police to undermine the rule of law now?
Perhaps the right hon. Lady has forgotten that, in this country,
the police and courts are independent of the Government, and I
will always respect that principle. Rather than seeking to
prejudge, pressure, smear or slander—as it is fair to say that
she and perhaps the entire shadow Front Bench and her party
clearly are—it is important to let everyone get on and do the
required work. We should continue to support the police in the
right way and let them do their job in an objective way. I find
it pretty rich that she talks about upholding the rule of law on
the day that in the other place her party is doing everything
possible to undermine support for the police through its
opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
(Bosworth) (Con)
T4. In the run-up to Christmas, hare coursing caused a huge
problem across Leicestershire, no more so than in Bosworth. Hare
coursing brings with it damage to property and crops, and the
intimidation of farmers and residents, so it must stop. The
National Farmers Union and local farmers came together with our
new rural crime unit in Leicestershire to try to deal with it,
but what more can the Government do to ensure that we clamp down
on hare coursing in Leicestershire?(905058)
The Minister for Crime and Policing ()
Like my hon. Friend, I have seen a rise in that kind of offence
in my constituency. As the crops are cut and those animals become
more apparent, it obviously becomes more of a problem. As I said
earlier, I hope that he will see that in the Police, Crime,
Sentencing and Courts Bill, which I hope the whole House will
support, we are introducing a range of offences to deal with that
crime which, for the first time, will attract a prison sentence
of up to six months.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
T2. To return to the Home Secretary’s answers to my right hon.
Friend the shadow Home Secretary, in September 2020, she said
that she would “call the police” if she saw her neighbours having
a party in their garden. Is she confident that the Chancellor was
aware of that advice?(905056)
If I may say so to the hon. Lady, I repeat the comments that I
made earlier. I appreciate that she may be trying to demonstrate
some humour, but the Prime Minister has apologised. At the same
time, it is right that the police, who are operationally
independent, get on and do their job in the right and proper way,
as they have been doing.
(Crawley) (Con)
T5. Historically, security-sensitive information has been shared
with the Opposition Front Bench, but given last week’s
revelations that a former Labour Front-Bench spokesman was in
receipt of significant funding from a member of the Chinese
Communist party, will there be a review of that
arrangement?(905059)
The Minister for Security and Borders ()
I am conscious of the statement to follow, but my hon. Friend is
right that those are concerning matters. In truth, they are not
restricted to a single British politician or a single party. The
security briefings that he mentioned continue to play an
important role.
(Sheffield Central)
(Lab)
T3. Last week, at a briefing for Members with the Minister for
Afghan Resettlement, Home Office officials indicated that while
the Department is not introducing a specific family reunion
route, there is some flexibility on visa requirements for Afghan
family members of British citizens. Will the Minister confirm, as
we were told, that there could be flexibility on visa fees,
income requirements and demands for lost or destroyed documents,
because that would offer real assistance to constituents who took
Ministers’ advice to flee to third countries and are now trapped
there?(905057)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ()
To be clear, the wider immigration system obviously operates
separately from the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, but we
are carefully considering what the requirements are, and not
least how we can ensure people can actually access the system to
make applications because, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate,
for obvious reasons we cannot run our usual application centre
that we would have in Kabul given the Taliban’s control of the
territory.
(Delyn) (Ind)
T6. The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has identified a
growing trend of theft or vandalism of defibrillators in Wales. I
cannot imagine the despair somebody would feel on witnessing a
cardiac event and rushing to get a defibrillator, only to find
that it has been broken or stolen. Does the Minister agree that
that is a deplorable crime, and will he meet me to discuss what
steps the police can take to stop antisocial behaviour generally
and this terrible crime in particular?(905060)
It must be hard for everybody to imagine what kind of twisted
mind would think it was a good thing to do to break or steal a
defibrillator, and I would be more than happy to meet the hon.
Gentleman to examine the problem in his constituency and, indeed,
to see if it is a problem elsewhere.
(Lewisham West and Penge)
(Lab)
T7. Between 2018 and 2021, there were 3,625 spiking reports
across 15 police forces in the UK, but just 44 people were
charged. Perpetrators are being let off, while victims are being
let down. Will the Home Secretary give her backing to Labour’s
amendment being voted on this evening in the other place for an
urgent review into the incidence and reporting of this crime, as
well as of the adequacy of police investigations and the impact
on victims?(905061)
The hon. Lady raises the very important and, frankly, quite
pressing issue of spiking and its impact across the night-time
economy and, much more widely, across society. We are looking in
much of the work we are doing in policing at how we can review
the matter and how we can actually give the support required.
(West Aberdeenshire and
Kincardine) (Con)
T8. The confirmation of the extension of the seasonal
agricultural workers scheme is of course welcome. However, as
things stand, those visas will be valid for only six months.
Given the developments in technology and science in the
horticultural sector, the seasons are much longer, so will my
hon. Friend give consideration to extending the visas to nine
months, helping alleviate the pressures farms face?(905062)
I have to point out to my hon. Friend that extending visas beyond
six months comes with issues such as payment of the immigration
health surcharge and the requirement to issue a biometric
residence permit, where appropriate. There are some quite
considerable issues with the request, but I am always happy to
talk to him about how we can support the businesses in his
constituency, and I would point out that visas are already not
restricted to working at one farm.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
The reality is that the seasonal agricultural workers scheme has
been woefully inadequate. In the last few years, we have seen
fruit and veg being left to rot in the fields. Why then do this
Government think it is clever to introduce a further taper,
making it worse, and does the Minister understand the damage he
is doing to agriculture?
It is safe to say that we have not seen the maximum number of
visas taken up. The hon. Member may want to have a think about
some of the issues that might have affected international travel
for seasonal work over the past two years—particularly relating
to a global pandemic. Ultimately, our goal is the right goal, and
I think it is fair. I think what the vast majority of people
across the UK believe is that in the first instance we should
actually focus on making sure that job offers go to our domestic
workforce and that key workers are appropriately rewarded.
(Bury South) (Con)
T9. Following the events that took place in Texas this weekend,
will the Home Secretary provide an update on the UK investigation
into the British perpetrator of the attack on the Congregation
Beth Israel synagogue, and on the measures taken to ensure the
security of the UK Jewish community, and can I further ask
whether the perpetrator was known to the security
services?(905063)
I thank my hon. Friend for his question; this is a very important
matter. Just prior to questions this afternoon, I had a bilateral
call with my homeland security counterpart in the US. Let me say
a few things. First, we are working with the FBI—in fact, we have
been since the incident took place—and there is a great deal of
intelligence sharing and work taking place. Of course, when it
comes to our domestic homeland, a range of measures are being
undertaken right now, including protective security for the
Jewish community. The investigation is obviously live, so I am
unable to talk about the specifics.
(Rotherham) (Lab)
Child sexual, criminal and online exploitation are all increasing
in this country; they can all be addressed by joined-up working
by Government Departments, robust data collection on perpetrators
and a police IT system that is fit for the 21st century. That all
takes money, vision and leadership. Can the Home Secretary
provide that?
Let me start by thanking the hon. Lady for her question and for
her work in this area. In particular, she has worked a lot with
me and my Department on the issue of grooming gangs and child
sexual exploitation. A wide range of work across the whole of
Government is taking place on this, including local authorities,
social services and public health. That work is crucial, as is—I
know she knows this and has seen it—the incredible investigatory
capability of our National Crime Agency, as well as policing, to
go after the perpetrators. That work is getting stronger and
stronger.
(Hendon) (Con)
Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury
South (), a month ago, Feras Al
Jayoosi was convicted on four counts under the Terrorism Act
2000, including twice walking around Golders Green with a large
rucksack on his back and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad t-shirt on.
Three days ago, Tahra Ahmed was convicted of two charges of
stirring up racial hatred, after a complaint about a Facebook
post that claimed the Grenfell Tower fire was a “Jewish
sacrifice”. My constituents face this daily, often by people from
outside the area who are coming in to incite violence and outrage
against them. Can the Home Secretary please advise, in addition
to the measures she has mentioned about the disgraceful behaviour
in Dallas, what my constituents can expect to receive from the
police and security services?
My hon. Friend is right to raise this. Let me be very clear: in
no way and under no circumstances are any of the acts that he has
spoken about acceptable. They are thoroughly unacceptable and
that is why the police in particular are doing everything
possible to go after the individuals. As he will know, certain
individuals have been on various watchlists, radars and so on,
where we come together to ensure that the Jewish community, and
his constituents in particular, are fully supported and fully
protected.
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
The community in Keyham has serious concerns about the amount of
pump action weapons being held in residential areas. Will the
Home Secretary agree to meet a delegation from Keyham to discuss
the concerns about how rules on holding pump action weapons in
residential areas can be tightened?
The hon. Gentleman has raised a vital issue and I thank him for
his work locally, and the work of his local authority and
policing. I know he has been in contact with the Policing
Minister on this issue. We will happily meet him and others from
his community. I know this is a particular issue and it is
something that we need absolutely to come together on and to work
together to resolve.
(Rushcliffe) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that, last year, the
British public had £78 million stolen from them by clone scammers
and people posing as legitimate companies online? Will she work
with colleagues from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media
and Sport to set out in law robust identity checks that all
online platforms should have to make, before letting people take
out advertising on their site?
My hon. Friend is right about the scourge of fraud and its
prevalence online. We brought fraud into scope for the draft
Online Safety Bill. I am conscious of the issues that she
mentions about advertising and we continue to work with
colleagues from DCMS on that.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
In our communities, we have asylum seekers who are ready and
willing to work in sectors that are experiencing acute shortages,
such as fruit and veg picking and HGV driving, but those
occupations still do not appear on the shortage occupation list.
When will the Government widen that list, or will they simply
sacrifice the economy for their hostile immigration
environment?
It is worth noting that those whose applications have been
outstanding for over a year through no fault of their own can
access jobs on the shortage occupation list, and we are expanding
that to include care workers next month. This highlights an
opportunity for 31 out of 32 local authority areas in Scotland to
become part of the dispersal accommodation scheme, so that some
of these people will be living in their communities.
