Police: Efficiency and Resourcing Simon Fell (Barrow and Furness)
(Con) 1. What steps she is taking to improve (a) efficiency and (b)
resourcing of the police force. (902842) Rob Butler (Aylesbury)
(Con) 13. What steps she is taking to improve (a) efficiency and
(b) resourcing of the police force. (902857) The Secretary of State
for the Home Department (Suella Braverman) Our police force is one
of the best in the world and, as we approach Christmas and
the...Request free trial
Police: Efficiency and Resourcing
(Barrow and Furness) (Con)
1. What steps she is taking to improve (a) efficiency and (b)
resourcing of the police force. (902842)
(Aylesbury) (Con)
13. What steps she is taking to improve (a) efficiency and (b)
resourcing of the police force. (902857)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
Our police force is one of the best in the world and, as we
approach Christmas and the new year, I wish to take this
opportunity to thank all of them for their heroic efforts this
year.
I want to empower our policemen and women, stripping out
unnecessary bureaucracy and boosting their numbers. That is why I
asked Sir Stephen House to report back to me on productivity,
with a focus on mental health. That is why I am also pleased that
Cumbria police now has more than 1,000 police officers and will
have the highest number in its history once its recruitment drive
is complete next year.
I thank the Home Secretary for her response and for the good news
about Cumbria police as well—that is always welcome.
Around 40% of the crimes committed today are fraud, but only
about 1% of the police’s resources are dedicated to tackling that
as an issue. Policing leaders have repeatedly told the Home
Affairs Committee that a new policing model is needed to address
this growing threat. Organisations such as the Royal United
Services Institute have pointed the way to sensible and
achievable plans for how we might be able to grow the skills,
capacity and capability in policing that is needed to turn the
tide not just on an epidemic of fraud, but on what is now a
national security concern. Can my right hon. and learned Friend
please outline what steps are being taken in the Home Office to
review that capability and resourcing, and when we can expect to
see the fraud plan published?
My hon. Friend speaks very powerfully about the prevalence of
fraud and online crime when it comes to modern-day crime
fighting. Tackling it requires a unified and co-ordinated
response from Government, from law enforcement and from industry.
We will publish the fraud strategy very shortly setting out the
response. It will focus on prevention and on bolstering the law
enforcement response. None the less, some good work is already
going on. I applaud the Metropolitan police on the largest
anti-fraud operation relating to the iSpoof website, which was
responsible for more than 3 million fraudulent calls in 2022, and
there have been 100 arrests so far. There have also been some
other high-profile successes relating to fraud, but there is much
more that we can do.
I warmly welcome the investment that means Thames Valley Police
has already taken on more than 600 new officers. However, because
most of them have to enter on a graduate programme, they are
currently required to spend 20% of their time on training courses
away from the police station, meaning they are not available to
answer 999 calls or patrol neighbourhoods. I am delighted that,
thanks to my right hon. and learned Friend’s intervention, it
will after all no longer become compulsory for new police
officers to have degrees. Can she explain what progress she is
making to achieve that change and how it will benefit policing in
Aylesbury and beyond?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight this issue. I want policing
to be open to the best, the brightest and the bravest, and that
does not always mean that new entrants need to have a degree. I
have listened to concerns from police leaders and various people
in the sector that we risk getting too academic when it comes to
policing. That is why I instructed the College of Policing to
design options for a new non-degree entry route, increasing
choices for chief constables when it comes to recruitment and
ensuring that we build a police force fit for the future. That is
what common-sense policing is all about.
(Barnsley East) (Lab)
Across Barnsley local people are concerned about antisocial
behaviour, from fly-tipping to arson. With police forces having
seen cuts in the past 12 years, what are the Government doing to
support them so that they have the personnel and resources to
tackle antisocial behaviour in local communities?
Antisocial behaviour is a real focus for neighbourhood policing.
Ultimately it depends on local police forces having increased
numbers of policemen and women on the frontline, responding
quickly to neighbourhood crime, antisocial behaviour, burglary,
vandalism and graffiti. That is why I am glad that across the
country we are seeing increased numbers of officers recruited to
our ranks.
(Richmond Park) (LD)
The police in my constituency work tirelessly to keep local
residents safe, but every year they are asked to do more with
less. We have lost Richmond police station, we have had budgets
stretched further every year and our local officers are
increasingly being pulled out of the community at short notice to
support events in central London. Does the Home Secretary agree
that a visible, regular local presence would help the Met Police
to build trust with Londoners, and will she support the Liberal
Democrats’ call for a return to community policing and put an end
to police station closures?
The hon. Lady should take up some of her concerns about London’s
policing with the Mayor of London, who I am afraid has a very
disappointing track record when it comes to rising crime in
London, particularly knife crime. I urge the Lib Dems to stop
their meaningless opposition and get behind the Government’s plan
to recruit police numbers and ensure they have the right
powers.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Bradford West) (Lab)
The Home Secretary likes to talk about back to basics policing,
but last week’s police grants saw core Government funding for the
police fall by £62 million, with more of the budget funded
through council tax, shifting the extra burden onto struggling
households during the cost of living crisis. In the meantime,
funding for core priorities such as fraud and serious violence
has been cut by £5 million and £4.5 million respectively. Can the
Home Secretary explain these cuts, or is this just a case of her
Government’s abject failure to grow the economy, back our police
and keep our streets safe?
I am sorry, but the hon. Lady needs to get her facts right. This
Government are proposing a total police funding settlement of up
to £17.2 billion in 2023-24, an increase of up to £287 million
compared with 2022-23. Assuming that there is full take-up of the
precept flexibility, something this Government introduced,
overall police funding available to PCCs will increase by up to
£523 million next year—a welcome increase and one that I hope she
would support.
Fire Cover: Nottinghamshire
(Rushcliffe) (Con)
2. Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of fire
cover in Nottinghamshire. (902843)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The level of fire cover in Nottinghamshire is a matter for the
Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority, but I
would observe that in Nottinghamshire the Labour-controlled fire
and rescue service has cut firefighter numbers by 11% since 2016,
despite its funding settlement having been about the same as
other fire and rescue services, which, nationally have seen only
a 1.6% reduction.
The Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority is
proposing to cut the night shift at West Bridgford fire station
despite the fact that it will save no money, the station has
higher night-time call-out rates than other stations in the
county, and it will leave Rushcliffe as the only borough in
Nottinghamshire without full-time fire cover at night. Can the
Minister advise me on the options Members of Parliament have to
challenge the decision-making of local fire authorities when it
is clear that they are letting down our constituents and the
brave firefighters who serve them?
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her campaigning
on the issue of Nottinghamshire fire services, which she has
raised with me a number of times. There is certainly no financial
excuse for what the fire and rescue authority is doing. This
year, it received a 5.2% funding increase and, thanks to my hon.
Friend’s campaigning, when the figures are published tomorrow,
there will be further good financial news for the Nottinghamshire
and City of Nottingham Fire Authority. On how the fire
authority’s decisions might be queried, any concerns she has can
be raised with the inspectorate and taken into account when the
fire service is next inspected. Otherwise, the fire and rescue
authority is made up of local authority representatives, who are
accountable, periodically, via the ballot box.
(Nottingham North)
(Lab/Co-op)
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is well led and staffed
by excellent firefighters and non-firefighting staff alike. They
keep our community staff in increasingly difficult circumstances.
They would like to meet the Minister to discuss their challenges,
particularly in relation to funding. Will the Minister take that
meeting with them and with local MPs?
Yes, I would be very happy to meet the hon. Member and his
colleagues from Nottinghamshire, perhaps early in the new year,
to discuss this issue. As I said, Nottinghamshire fire services
got a 5.2% funding increase in this current year, and I think
good news can be expected when the full settlement is published
tomorrow. I would observe that, in common with the rest of the
country, the number of fires in Nottinghamshire has substantially
decreased by 45% over the last 12 years.
Burglary
(Carshalton and Wallington)
(Con)
3. What steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of burglary.
(902844)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The Government are committed to tackling burglary. Domestic
burglary, as measured by the crime survey, has fallen by 53%
since 2010—a statistic that Opposition Members seem remarkably
reluctant to discuss. We are hiring many extra police
officers—the Metropolitan police force, which covers my hon.
Friend’s constituency, has a record number of officers—and thanks
to the Home Secretary’s intervention, police across the country
are working to ensure that every single residential burglary
receives an in-person visit from police officers.
I congratulate the Home Secretary for stepping in where the Mayor
of London has failed by pushing for police officers to attend all
burglaries, and I congratulate the Metropolitan police for
listening to that call and implementing Operation Tenacity, as
this was a concern that I heard from many Carshalton and
Wallington residents. Can my right hon. Friend, at this early
stage, give me an indication of how successful the operation has
been for burglary arrest numbers?
My hon. Friend is quite right to say that the Home Secretary has
acted, ensuring that there are record numbers of police in
London, whereas the Mayor of London very often simply plays
politics. In relation to Operation Tenacity, and the police
commitment to attend every residential burglary, I am pleased to
report that the Op Tenacity activity has been extremely
successful. In fact, it saw 1,700 arrests in just six weeks.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
We now live, under this Government, in one of the most unequal
countries in the world. Christmas is particularly hard for many
people. Although I wish everyone in the House a happy Christmas,
can we make sure that the police have the resources, back-up and
backroom staff, without whom they cannot catch burglars? We need
to stop burglary and reduce poverty in this country
simultaneously.
As I said, I am pleased to remind the House that since 2010,
according to the crime survey of England and Wales, domestic
burglary has fallen by an astonishing 53%. I agree with the hon.
Gentleman about making sure that the police have adequate
resources. That is why, as the Home Secretary said a few minutes
ago, police and crime commissioners will receive next year up to
£523 million in additional funding. By March next year, we will
have an extra 20,000 police officers. Never in this country’s
history have we had so many police officers, which is something
that, I hope, people across the House can welcome.
Asylum Backlog
(Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
4. What recent progress her Department has made on reducing the
backlog of asylum applications. (902845)
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
10. What recent progress her Department has made on reducing the
backlog of asylum applications. (902854)
The Minister for Immigration ()
Last week we set out plans to clear the initial decision backlog
of asylum legacy cases by the end of next year. Over the summer
and autumn, the Home Office reduced the number of older asylum
cases by 11,000, and the number of asylum caseworkers has
doubled.
Last week the International Development Committee heard from
organisations working closely with refugees in the UK. I was
disappointed but not surprised to hear Enver Solomon, the chief
executive of the Refugee Council, say that it was not consulted
about the proposals, announced last week, to tackle the backlog.
Why have the Government neglected to widely consult experts, and
would the Minister be willing to consider their recommendations
if I was to write to him?
I would be interested in the views of any of our stakeholders,
but the Prime Minister set out a very compelling case last week
to radically re-engineer the end-to-end process, with fewer
interviews, shorter guidance, less paperwork, specialist
caseworkers by nationality, including tackling Albanian cases,
and reforming modern slavery by reducing the cooling-off period
from 45 to 30 days—all steps to clear the backlog as quickly as
possible.
One of my constituents arrived in the UK from Afghanistan and
claimed asylum in September 2021. Despite my caseworkers making
regular inquiries since August 2022, we have received no updates
regarding the status of his application. He tells us that the
situation has made him seriously depressed. Does the Minister
agree that excessive wait times can have a hugely detrimental
impact on mental health, and will he agree to look at this case
in further detail?
I would be happy to look at that case and any others that are
brought to my attention. The backlog, however, is a symptom of
the problem, which is that far too many people are crossing the
channel illegally, and that is what this Government are
determined to tackle. The hon. Lady and her Opposition colleagues
have voted against every tough measure that we have sought to
take in recent years. I hope that she will now get behind the
measure that we are taking, the statement the Prime Minister made
last week and, of course, our world-leading Rwanda partnership,
which the Court today gave its agreement to.
(Wokingham) (Con)
Will the Government introduce urgent legislation to strengthen
control of our borders, and could that include a notwithstanding
clause to guide the courts against using other laws that
undermine the fundamental principle of the Prime Minister’s
policy?
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out last week our
intention to bring forward legislation early next year, and at
the heart of that legislation will be a simple point of principle
that we on this side of the House believe: no one should gain a
right to live in this country if they entered illegally. From
that, all things will need to flow. Nothing is off the table. We
will take our obligations to deliver on that policy very
seriously. That is in stark contrast to the Labour party. At the
weekend, the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (), could not even say whether
illegal entry to this country should be an offence. That says it
all. We believe in securing our borders and in controlled
migration. The Labour party is the party of mass migration.
(North Wiltshire) (Con)
We in Wiltshire are proud of the fact that some 900 Ukrainians
will be enjoying Christmas dinners with us, and that we have
entertained a large number of Afghan people who looked after us
so well during the war. However, we were very surprised when last
Friday 82 young Albanian men were moved into the very rural, very
distantly located Wiltshire golf club without any notice at all
being given to the neighbouring retirement village. Does the
Minister agree that this is an inappropriate location for people
of this kind, who are very probably economic migrants, and will
he seek to advance them elsewhere as soon as he possibly can?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. We do not want
to use hotels in any part of the country; we want to tackle the
issue at its source. I understand his constituents’ concerns with
respect to the hotel in Wiltshire. As I understand it, a smaller
number of individuals have been accommodated there than he has
perhaps been advised and the local authority was informed in
advance, but that does not diminish his constituents’ concerns. I
am happy to talk to him to see what we can do to end that at the
earliest opportunity.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Aberavon) (Lab)
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 is profoundly
counterproductive legislation, as illustrated by the fact that,
since it was passed, the number of dangerous crossings has
reached a record high. The Act includes the so-called
inadmissibility clause, but the fact that the Government have
failed to negotiate a returns agreement with a single European
country means that just 21 out of 18,000 inadmissible people have
been returned. Sending 300 asylum seekers to Rwanda will not even
touch the sides of that 18,000. Does the Minister recognise the
inadequacy of the legislation? Will he explain why the
Government’s utterly self-defeating approach has led directly to
the British taxpayer footing an extra bill of £500 million?
First, whatever the inadequacies of the current system, they
would be far worse if the Opposition were in power—in fact, the
backlog of cases was 450,000 when the last Labour Government
handed over to us. They have opposed every tough measure that we
have taken, including the Nationality and Borders Act. If the
hon. Gentleman thinks that Act did not go far enough, I will
welcome his support next year when we bring forward further and
even tougher legislation. We will make sure that we secure the
borders and control migration. He cannot see the difference
between people genuinely fleeing persecution and economic
migrants. He is testing the will of the British people; we will
take action.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
My casework in Glasgow Central speaks to the fundamentally broken
asylum system, and a failing immigration system more widely, as
other types of applications are regularly delayed and people are
left waiting for years. The barrister Colin Yeo suggests that, to
get the asylum backlog down to 20,000, the Home Office would need
to make 8,000 decisions a month. In the year to September, only
16,400 decisions were made in total, so precisely how will the
Minister meet his target?
Last week, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out our
plan to re-engineer the process and hire more decision makers. It
is about not just people and resource, but ensuring that the
process is faster and less bureaucratic, and that the guidance is
cut and simplified. If the hon. Lady wants to help us with the
issue, perhaps she will get on to her colleagues in the Scottish
Government, because today in Scotland, in contrast with the rest
of the United Kingdom, only one city—Glasgow—is doing its fair
share and taking asylum seekers. In the whole of Scotland, only a
dozen hotels outside of Glasgow are taking asylum seekers, which
is not fair and equitable. She might sound pious, but her words
and rhetoric are not matched by action from the Scottish
Government.
Local authorities in Scotland are reticent to take more because
they know that the UK Government are not funding asylum seeker
provision properly, and that pressed budgets due to another round
of austerity are coming down the road, as the Minister knows just
fine. Can he confirm that the Home Office is recruiting asylum
decision makers from people in customer service and sales
positions at McDonald’s and Aldi who have no prior experience of
the asylum system, who are consulting Lonely Planet guides for
knowledge of applicant countries, and who have described
being
“left to fend for themselves”
after two days to conduct complex interviews and make life or
death decisions? Is that really an adequate way to conduct
sensitive decision making?
I do not recognise anything that the hon. Lady just said. The
problem with the current system is that it is too complicated and
too bureaucratic. We want to simplify that, speed up those
decisions and make sure that the teams are more productive. To
come back to her first point, the Scottish Government are
refusing to take any of the asylum seekers who are arriving in
the UK on small boats, which is not right. There is a widening
gulf between the actions of the Scottish Government and their
rhetoric, which I ask her to consider.
Asylum System
(Brighton, Pavilion)
(Green)
5. What steps she is taking to improve the asylum system.
(902847)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
We are taking immediate action to accelerate decision making and
improve our asylum system by streamlining and modernising it,
including by shortening interviews, removing unnecessary
interviews, making the guidance more accessible, and dealing with
cases more swiftly when they can be certified as manifestly
unfounded.
The Home Office is placing vulnerable, unaccompanied
asylum-seeking children in hotels in local authority areas. It is
directly commissioning those hotels and other services, because
it knows that local authorities do not have the funding or
capacity required. Will the Home Secretary finally admit that
these vulnerable children are legally the Home Office’s
responsibility, so that they are not left in legal limbo? Will
she ensure that her Department takes a strategic approach that
addresses the placement shortage, rather than its current ad hoc
approach, and will she ensure that the police do all that they
can to keep searching for those children who have gone missing
and have yet to be relocated?
We take very seriously the position of unaccompanied
asylum-seeking children—and indeed of children, full stop.
Safeguarding them is of the utmost importance to all authorities,
and to the Home Office, when it comes to decision making. We will
shortly look at the funding arrangement for local authorities’
support of these children, so that their needs are properly
met.
(Ashford) (Con)
Potentially one of the best parts of our asylum system is the
safe route created for Afghans who helped British forces during
the war in Afghanistan. They are often full of professional
skills, speak good English, and could make a huge contribution to
this country, if they were allowed to move on with their life.
Will my right hon. and learned Friend give me a report on
progress on getting more of these Afghan citizens out of hotels,
and allowing them to get on with their life and to contribute to
our society?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. We support those who
have come to the United Kingdom through designated schemes such
as the Afghan relocations and assistance policy, and those people
who supported allied forces in Afghanistan. Far too many of those
Afghan nationals are being accommodated in hotels; on that, he is
right. That is why we are moving very quickly. We are working
with the Ministry of Defence, and are looking at all options,
including, for example, service family accommodation, to properly
accommodate a cohort of Afghans, so that they can move on with
their life and settle peacefully here.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab)
In 2020, the Home Office secured just 12 convictions a month for
people smuggling into the UK. In 2021, that fell to eight a month
and, in the first half of 2022, it fell to just three a month.
The smuggler gangs have proliferated, and the dangerous boat
crossings that put lives at risk are up twentyfold, yet the
number of criminals paying the price for their crime has
collapsed. Why has the Home Secretary totally failed to take
action against the criminal gangs?
Let me point out who has totally failed to take any action
against the criminal gangs: the right hon. Lady and the Labour
party. I am really enjoying the shadow Home Secretary’s
reinvention over the past weeks and months, but despite her
trying to sound tough on illegal migration and people smugglers,
Labour voted against our new offences for prosecuting the people
smugglers who are causing the problem on the channel. Labour
voted against tougher sentences that enable us to deport foreign
rapists and foreign drug dealers. Labour would scrap our Rwanda
scheme. Yesterday, the right hon. Lady did not even know whether
illegal entry was an offence. The reality is that Labour has no
plan whatever on illegal migration; it is against our plan, and
all it wants is open borders.
The Home Secretary had no response on the total collapse in
prosecutions, and she has had 12 years in charge. She says that
the asylum system is broken; well, who broke it? Minsters have
been running the system for the last 12 years, in which they have
made things worse. Since the Nationality and Borders Act 2022
came into force, the number of people arriving by dangerous boat
has reached a record high, so their legislation has not worked.
The Prime Minister promised extra money for the National Crime
Agency, but two days after he made that announcement, the Home
Office does not know how much that money is, and the Treasury has
not agreed anything. Can the Home Secretary tell us how much
additional funding there will be for the National Crime Agency,
and where it is coming from? On the Conservatives’ watch, a
multimillion-pound criminal industry has grown along our border,
and while Ministers faff around, gangs are making profit and
people are drowning.
I am proud of the announcement that the Prime Minister made last
week, setting out a comprehensive, methodical and compassionate
approach to dealing with illegal migration and stopping the boats
crossing the channel, dealing with the asylum backlog, responding
to the cohort of people who have come here illegally from
Albania, operationalising our Rwanda agreement and ensuring that
ultimately we crack down on the people smugglers through better
operational command on the channel. The right hon. Lady needs to
get with the programme. I invite her to reverse her opposition to
our plan, come up with a methodical plan and then let us have a
proper conversation.
Tier 1 Investor Visas: Review
(Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
(Ind)
6. When her Department plans to publish the review of tier 1
investor visas. (902848)
The Minister for Security ()
This question has been raised on many occasions, including,
funnily enough, by me in a former incarnation. I am pleased to
say that we are approaching the moment when I will be able to
satisfy not only the hon. Gentleman’s but my desires.
Sounds fascinating, Mr Speaker, but the Minister—whom I
congratulate on his role—knows that this review was commissioned
nearly five years ago, so it is pathetic not to be able to give
us a direct answer on when it is coming. Contrary to today’s
rhetoric on securing borders, can he confirm that this scheme
quickly became a security risk to this country, with no fewer
than 10 Russians who were approved under the scheme now being
sanctioned by the UK, and that more than 6,000 others granted
tier 1 visa status are now being reviewed as a security risk to
this country?
The hon. Member makes some solid points about the dangers of the
involvement of certain states—in this case, Russia—in the United
Kingdom. He should also be aware that the visa scheme closed in
February 2022, and the response to Russian aggression or Russian
influence in this country has been pretty robust. Indeed, since
2019, we have increased spending on the National Crime Agency by
30% and £200 million extra has gone in. As he knows, there is a
long way to go and that is exactly what I am going to be doing
over the next few years.
Asylum Seekers: Support
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
7. What steps she is taking to support asylum seekers while their
applications are being processed. (902849)
The Minister for Immigration ()
Appropriate support is provided to asylum seekers who would
otherwise be destitute while applications are outstanding. Asylum
seekers have access to the NHS, and children in family units to
full-time education. They can obtain further assistance via the
Migrant Help support line.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and British Red
Cross have highlighted how 13,000 individuals have been
trafficked into modern slavery, and the fact that they are not in
regular employment being a risk. As a result, will the Minister
ensure that local authorities have the funds to put on a full
programme for asylum seekers while they are waiting, but also
that there are pilot schemes so that those people can have access
to the labour market?
The hon. Lady and I have met to discuss this issue, and I am
grateful to her for her thoughts and for the good work that has
been done in York. We do not agree that those awaiting asylum
decisions should have access to the labour market. We think that
that could be a further pull factor to the UK. However, there are
other ways in which asylum seekers can make a positive
contribution to society, for example, through volunteering, and
we want to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to
see whether we can pursue those.
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
No one would deny that France is a safe country, so should not
those genuinely fleeing persecution be claiming asylum in France,
rather than paying people traffickers to bring them across the
channel in small boats in dangerous circumstances?
As ever, my right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Those claiming
asylum should do so in the first safe country they pass through,
and France is demonstrably a safe country. The system that my
right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary and I want to
build is one whereby those who come here illegally have no route
to a life in the UK and are taken for their claims to be heard in
third countries such as Rwanda, and we focus our resources as a
country on targeted resettlement schemes and safe routes, like
those that we have done so well in recent years in respect of
Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria.
Ukrainian Nationals: Visas and Support
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
9. What steps she is taking to help improve (a) access to visas
and (b) support for Ukrainian nationals. (902853)
The Minister for Immigration ()
Applications for the UK’s three bespoke Ukraine schemes are
online, have no fee and no salary or language requirements.
Nearly 150,000 visas have been issued to Ukrainians since the
start of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion. The UK Visas and
Immigration service aims to decide those applications within five
days, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Generally, we
are now meeting that standard.
Ukrainian MPs who have met colleagues here have repeatedly asked
for improvements to UK visit visa processes. Visitors from
Ukraine must either go to Poland twice—first for biometrics and
then to collect the visa—or wait there for several weeks. Will
the Minister look at what can be done to make it simpler for
those brave politicians and other Ukrainian citizens visiting
their families here to access the necessary visa?
I am in contact with a number of Ukrainian politicians who have
raised exactly that point with me and, indeed, the issue of those
serving in the Ukrainian armed forces who might wish to visit
relatives here while on a short period of leave. I am giving that
further consideration.
Immigration Policies: Impact on Scotland
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
11. What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the
potential impact of the Government’s immigration policies on the
(a) population of and (b) availability of labour in Scotland.
(902855)
The Minister for Immigration ()
Our points-based system, with a wide range of eligible
occupations spanning many economic sectors, works for the whole
of the United Kingdom by welcoming people to fill skills gaps,
support our public services and boost our economy. As noted by
the Migration Advisory Committee’s annual report, immigration
policy cannot be a complete solution to population movements
within the UK, or labour shortages. It is for the Scottish
Government to use their policy levers to address those issues
more effectively.
Ms Qaisar
One of my constituents is a renewable energy researcher from
Syria, and he is struggling with the Government’s restrictive
policies on the employment of asylum seekers. He is unable to
work or pursue further study in his field. Given that the
shortage of labour impacts all sectors of the economy, does the
Minister agree that the UK Government should make the rules on
asylum seekers seeking employment less restrictive to support the
Scottish labour market?
No, I do not, because we want to ensure that deterrence is
diffused throughout our asylum system. That means making the UK a
significantly less attractive destination for asylum seekers, and
particularly for those asylum shopping, than our EU neighbours.
For that reason, we do not want to see asylum seekers working in
the British economy. We want to see their cases decided as
quickly as possible. If they are approved, of course they should
be welcomed into the UK and make a positive contribution to
British society. If they are declined, they should be
removed.
County Lines
(Watford) (Con)
12. What progress her Department has made on tackling county
lines drugs gangs. (902856)
(Burnley) (Con)
15. What progress her Department has made on tackling county
lines drugs gangs. (902859)
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The Government are determined to crack down on county lines gangs
who are exploiting our children and devastating communities. That
is why we have invested £145 million in our county lines
programme over three years. That is delivering results. Since
2019, the programme has resulted in over 2,900 drug dealing lines
being closed down, including over 8,000 arrests. That is
important work and it is continuing.
I recently took part in a dawn raid with Watford police officers
as part of a national operation to crack down on serious
organised crime. There are of course clear victims involved in
crime but, as I wore my stab vest, I contemplated the dangerous
situation that we were about to enter. Can my right hon. Friend
confirm what support is being put in place to keep our brave
police officers safe in such situations, including mental health
support for the horrific scenes that they may see in their jobs
daily, and support when they encounter dangerous criminals?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for taking part in
the dawn raid, which I hope was a resounding success. I share his
concerns about the mental health of police officers, who are
often exposed to dangerous conditions and situations. The police
covenant board, which I chair, met just a few weeks ago, and many
of the work streams are designed to help police officers deal
with mental health pressures. We have instituted a new chief
medical officer position to look after serving and retired police
officers, which is extremely important, and I am working closely
with the Police Federation to ensure that the right support is in
place.
In Burnley, our neighbourhood policing taskforce has been doing
great work breaking down doors, disrupting gangs and arresting
those responsible for dealing drugs. A key driver of that is the
Government’s combating drugs strategy, but most of the new
funding under the strategy is geared towards treatment and
prevention, which, while important, will not be effective without
the deterrent of tough enforcement. Will my right hon. Friend
agree to meet me and the Lancashire police and crime commissioner
to talk about what more we might be able to do to make the
strategy even better?
I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and his colleagues from
Lancashire. He is quite right that there are three elements to
the combating drugs strategy. One is treatment. It is important
to treat drug addiction, which is the underlying cause of a great
deal of offending behaviour. In addition to ensuring that we are
treating people, we need to enforce, too. That is one reason why
we are recruiting more police officers. I think his local
Lancashire force already has an extra 362 officers, which is well
on the way to the extra 509 officers it is due to have by March
next year. We are also increasing resources in Border Force to
stop drugs getting into the country. There are now, I think, over
10,000 Border Force officers, up from about 7,500 in 2016. So,
lots of extra resources are going into enforcement and policing,
as well as treatment, but both are important.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
Smashing the county lines business model and breaking up the
gangs has to be a top priority, but of course it is still
attractive to far too many young people. At the heart of the
model is the exploitation of vulnerable young children. What more
cross-agency work does the Minister think could be done that is
not yet being done to ensure that a life of criminality is not a
viable option?
I agree entirely with the sentiment that the hon. Gentleman
expresses. It is vital to stop younger people, perhaps early and
mid-teenagers, falling into gang culture. Very often that is
because they have suffered from family breakdown or are in
difficult social circumstances. One action we are taking, which
we need to accelerate and increase, is introducing violence
reduction units. They are designed to identify individual young
people at risk of falling into gangs, including county lines
activities, and to take interventions, whether through social
services, education or other interventions, to try to put them
back on the right track. That is a Home Office-funded programme
that we intend to continue, but the diagnosis the hon. Gentleman
makes is exactly right.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
On that very point, last week I met an inspiring group of young
students at West Thames College who are studying full time and
having to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. It has not
been easy for them. The message they asked me to bring here was
that the best way to protect young people from going down a
different route and getting sucked into county lines and violent
crime is to have adequate, accessible and fully funded youth
services. Does the Minister therefore regret the Government’s
cuts to local councils since 2010, which have led to the
decimation of universal youth provision?
I have already referred to the significant amounts of money being
put into violence reduction units, including funding some of the
activity that the hon. Lady refers to—although it is not just
that, it is much wider. It is important to divert younger people
away from a life of crime and a gang culture that can all too
easily take hold. It is for precisely that reason that we have
established the well-funded violence reduction units, including
in the London constituencies that both she and I represent.
Mr Speaker
I call shadow Minister.
(Birmingham, Yardley)
(Lab)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Merry Christmas to you and to all the
staff.
Contrary to the current rhetoric on modern slavery, thousands of
British children were enslaved for sex and crime, such as county
lines gangs, this year. Of the thousands of children identified
as potential slaves this year, more British children were
identified as potential child slaves than any other nationality.
Last year, there was one conviction for modern slavery offences
involving children. A woman I work with was left waiting by the
Home Office for two years to be classified as a victim of slavery
after she was groomed for sex and criminally exploited in a
county lines gang since the age of 13. Referring to the Home
Office written statement on the national referral mechanism, can
the Minister confirm what “objective factors” to evident slavery
means? If the Department thinks it is easy to prove slavery, why
was there only one conviction last year?
A lot of work is going on in the area. We have provided £145
million of funding to investigate and tackle county lines. That
work has included 2,900 county lines being shut down. Critically,
it has also included 9,500 individuals, most of whom are
children, being engaged with safeguarding interventions.
Essentially, the national referral mechanism is currently being
overwhelmed with a large number of claims, many of which are
connected with immigration proceedings. One reason that my right
hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration wants to introduce
objective criteria is to ensure that we focus our resources on
genuine cases like the one that the hon. Lady describes. Rather
than having the system overwhelmed by many unmeritorious claims
in connection with immigration matters, it is important that we
focus our attention on genuine cases like the one to which she
refers.
Topical Questions
(Carshalton and Wallington)
(Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(902867)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
Today I updated the House on the upcoming Protect duty, now to be
called Martyn’s law. The threat from terrorism is complex and
evolving, and we need to stay ahead of it, including in public
places. There have been horrific incidents such as the Manchester
Arena bombing, which claimed the life of Martyn Hett and 21
others.
Having carefully considered the views shared in the public
consultation, we have taken a huge step forward. This will be the
first legislation of its kind, placing proportionate security
requirements on public venues to be better prepared and better
able to respond in the event of a terrorist attack. I am
extremely grateful to the heroic Figen Murray and the Martyn’s
law campaign team, as well as to campaigners such as Brendan Cox;
they have campaigned tirelessly and with great skill for this
change. I also put on record my thanks to the Minister for
Security for his work in getting us to this point.
Terror will never win. We will defend our values and be
relentless in keeping the public safe. I hope that this new law
is of some comfort to the families of victims, and a fitting
tribute to Martyn, who I am sure would be proud of his mother’s
achievement.
Carshalton and Wallington residents often raise concerns with me
about antisocial behaviour involving vehicles, from trying car
doors at night to using modified vehicles or riding mopeds
dangerously. Will my right hon. and learned Friend update me on
the Home Office’s work to tackle that specific type of crime and
antisocial behaviour?
I share my hon. Friend’s concern about antisocial behaviour,
whether it is vandalism, graffiti, loitering or burglary. I am
pleased to say that neighbourhood crime has fallen by 20% since
2019. I am well aware that the activities he describes can really
blight local communities: that is why tackling antisocial
behaviour is a priority for me and for the Government. We have
expanded the remit of our successful safer streets fund so that
there is now dedicated funding for initiatives to combat
antisocial behaviour.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Halifax) (Lab)
We very much welcome the Protect duty legislation, which we have
heard more about today, and look forward to seeing it. I join the
Home Secretary in paying tribute to the families who have worked
so hard to get us to this point.
The annual threat update from the director general of MI5 was
explicit about the seriousness of the threat from Iran to some UK
residents, yet there are still those in religious roles working
and living here in the UK who are appointed directly by the
Supreme Leader himself. There are also key players within the
draconian Iranian regime who have business interests and assets
here in the UK. What are the Government doing to make it explicit
that the UK will have no part in being a haven, either for
individuals or for money linked to—
Mr Speaker
Order. You know the game: the game is short questions in
topicals. Please do not take advantage of the situation, because
all the Back Benchers want to get in as well.
The Minister for Security ()
I am delighted that the hon. Lady has raised the question of the
Iranian threat in the UK. As she knows very well, the head of
MI5, Ken McCallum, has cited the issue that our country faces in
this arena. He has also, however, prepared many different aspects
of the National Security Bill, which will help to put the country
on a much stronger footing. We have enjoyed strong cross-party
co-operation on this, and I look forward to the hon. Lady’s
co-operating further with the Government in ensuring that this
country is in a much stronger position than it has been in recent
years, particularly in facing the Iranian threat, which sadly has
become all too great here, quite apart from the extraordinary
brutality that we are seeing in Tehran today.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
T8. Given that, under the 1951 refugee convention, if no legal
and safe routes are available it is illegal to arrest and detain
an asylum seeker landing on our shores at Dover, does the
Minister agree that we can make as many statements and pass as
many laws as we like, but unless we achieve a temporary
derogation for the convention —and, if necessary, from the
European Court of Human Rights on this particular issue—we will
never solve the problem?(902874)
The Minister for Immigration ()
I appreciate the concerns that my right hon. Friend has raised.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary will set out
in more detail the Government’s response to the High Court’s
judgment today on Rwanda, but it is the court’s opinion that the
Rwanda policy is consistent with the UK’s obligations under both
the refugee convention and the European convention on human
rights.
(Preston) (Lab/Co-op)
T3. May I ask the Home Secretary whether, at the end of the year,
she will reflect on the comments that she made in early October
about sending asylum seekers to Rwanda? She will be aware that a
28-year-old woman from Eritrea who was 37 weeks pregnant as a
result of rape was in line for deportation. Does not talk of
sending asylum seekers to Rwanda being a “dream” or an
“obsession” show all the sensitivity and compassion of Jeremy
Clarkson?(902869)
I regret the attempt by the hon. Gentleman to lower the tone of
this debate. What I will say is that I will not apologise for
telling the truth about the scale of the challenge that we are
facing when it comes to illegal migration, and I will also
reiterate my absolute commitment to delivering on the
groundbreaking agreement that we have with Rwanda. It is
compassionate, it is pragmatic, and I invite the Opposition
parties to support it.
(Heywood and Middleton)
(Con)
T10. Last week the Prime Minister set out the measures that the
Government will take to gain control over illegal migration, and
I was pleased to note that as a result of today’s ruling the
Rwanda plan will be part of that. Those proposals included
options to house potential asylum seekers in more suitable
accommodation. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that will
take pressure off communities such as Middleton in my
constituency, and allow the hotels that are being used for this
purpose to return to their proper function?(902876)
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is disgraceful that
millions of pounds are being spent on housing asylum seekers in
hotels. We want to end that as quickly as possible and ensure
that those individuals are housed more appropriately—for example,
in large sites that offer decent but never luxurious
accommodation. However, the root cause is the numbers crossing
the channel, and that is why policies such as the Rwanda policy,
which create a clear deterrent, are so essential.
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North) (SNP)
T5. Notwithstanding the earlier contrary claim by the Immigration
Minister, will the Home Secretary confirm that she fully respects
the landmark 1999 ruling by the UK High Court—not some dodgy
European ultra-woke ruling—in which it was confirmed that “some
element of choice is indeed open to refugees as to where they may
properly claim asylum”,and that a short-term stopover en route to
another country should not cause them to forfeit the right to
claim asylum on arrival at a destination?(902871)
I welcome the High Court judgment, which states that the overall
policy relating to Rwanda is lawful. It is in line with our
international law agreements, and it is a rational policy choice
that the UK Government have taken. We look forward to working
more closely with Rwanda to deliver it.
(Redditch) (Con)
I warmly welcome the legal ruling on the Rwanda plan, and also
the reforms to the modern slavery system as part of the overall
work to deter those involved in small boat crossings. Does the
Home Secretary agree that another way of tackling the backlog
would be to speed up the local authority pilot programme for
processing claims relating to child victims of modern slavery,
many of them vulnerable county lines drug gangs children? Would
that not improve support for those children as well as helping to
clear the backlog?
My hon. Friend has been an eloquent and knowledgeable campaigner
on this issue. She has spoken to me about how we can better
ensure that young people who are exploited by criminal gangs are
looked after properly. We will take forward more pilots with
local authorities next year. I will take her advice under
consideration as we design them.
(Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
T6. The success rate of asylum applications from Afghanistan,
Syria and Eritrea stands at 98%, and at over 80% for those from
Sudan and Iran. Can the Minister commit to an accelerated
decision process, especially for people from those
countries?(902872)
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out last week that we
will redesign and speed up the asylum decision-making process.
There will be a particular focus on those individuals with the
highest grant rate, and those with the lowest grant rates, such
as Albanians, who should be removed from the country. What we
will not do is institute a policy of blanket approval, which, in
essence, is what and previous Labour Home
Secretaries did.
(Chelmsford) (Con)
In Essex, our excellent police, fire and crime commissioner and I
are concerned that out of 2,500 reported rape cases last year,
only 70 were prosecuted. Can the Minister encourage the police to
work more closely with secondary schools to ensure that girls who
have been victims of rape know that their privacy and safety will
be protected if they come forward to give evidence?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( )
We have allocated £125 million across England and Wales through
the safer streets fund and the safety of women at night fund,
including £550,000 to invest in my right hon. Friend’s
constituency. She works very hard on this issue. Work and
engagement are ongoing with schools in the Chelmsford area,
including the delivery of awareness sessions on healthy
relationships and consent, and work with 15 and 16-year-olds who
attend Chelmsford City football club.
(Warley) (Lab)
T7. When will the Home Secretary finally accept, rather than
waffle about new laws, that the Home Office is a complete mess?
Quite apart from the asylum shambles, people renewing their visas
are waiting months or years. Then, they have to wait again to get
their biometric residence permit card, if they get printed. Far
too many people have lost holidays because of waits for
passports. When will she get a grip of her
Department?(902873)
I strongly disagree with the right hon. Gentleman’s assertion,
surprisingly. On crime, we have seen a 20% fall in violent crime
and neighbourhood crime and a 30% fall in domestic burglary since
2019. We see record numbers of police officers on our
streets—something that everyone on the Opposition Benches voted
against. When it comes to migration, I am incredibly proud of
what this Government have achieved so far: the groundbreaking
agreement with Rwanda, which is compassionate, pragmatic and
lawful; and a plan to go further and deal with the problem.
(Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con)
I welcome the Home Secretary’s work with the Prime Minister on
tackling illegal immigration and the statement last week. The
statement talked about fairness; I think she knows very well that
Stoke-on-Trent feels that it has not been treated fairly. The
Minister mentioned that Scotland could take a few more asylum
seekers if they were really concerned about these things. Other
parts of the country could do the same.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There are almost as many
hotels in use in Stoke-on-Trent as in the whole of Scotland, bar
the city of Glasgow. Fair and equitable distribution involves
Scotland paying its fair share. We are acutely aware of the
concerns of my hon. Friend and her colleagues in Stoke-on-Trent.
I met the leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council last week to hear
them directly. We will do all we can to support them.
(Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
In the past decade it was normal to write to the Home Office
about an immigration case and get a reply within six weeks. That
went up to 10 to 12 weeks. It is now running at three to four
months—not to get a decision, just an initial response. How
sustainable is that?
I am always happy to take up cases for right hon. and hon.
Members. I would just say, however, that the Home Office’s
standards for visa applications are now back in line with its
customer service standards. A large number of staff were taken
off those cases in order to support the Homes for Ukraine and
other humanitarian schemes, which I am sure the hon. Gentleman
would agree with, but the service standards are now being
met.
(Gedling) (Con)
A great many of my residents raise with me the issue of
cross-channel migration. Following this morning’s High Court
ruling, does my right hon. Friend agree that the Rwanda scheme,
when it gets the green light, will be a fair scheme that will act
as a deterrent and help to allay the concerns of Gedling
residents?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The point of the Rwanda
scheme is to provide a significant deterrent, so that those
coming here illegally never find a route to life here in the UK
and so that we can focus our resources as a country on supporting
those who really need to be here, through targeted resettlement
schemes such as those for Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan.
(Angus) (SNP)
The production of industrial hemp in my constituency offers real
promise and opportunity for crop diversification and soil
improvement, but the growers are limited by Home Office rules
around tetrahydrocannabinol protections. There is no need to
worry about that, so can I invite the Home Secretary to come and
discuss the matter with my farmers and to ensure that the law is
changed to let them produce not only the stalk and the seeds, but
the flowers and the leaves?
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
The Government approach illegal drugs—or drugs of any kind—under
advice from the Advisory Council on the Abuse of Drugs. If the
hon. Member has detailed points that he would like to submit in
relation to this, he can write to me and I would be happy to look
into it.
(Stroud) (Con)
I want to give credit to the Marling School students who got me
in to talk about migration. Those smart, constructive young
people really understand the complexities and I know that they
will welcome the recent announcements, but they also expect me to
keep pushing for improvement. I am concerned that MPs, councils
and councillors are still some of the last people to find out
when asylum seekers are placed in hotels in their constituencies.
How is the Home Office working with the companies that have been
contracted to source and organise hotels in rural areas, and is
there day-to-day oversight?
My hon. Friend and I have worked together with respect to some
accommodation in her constituency. We have now implemented far
better engagement criteria with the Home Office, which will
ensure that there should always be engagement with the Member of
Parliament and the local authority in advance of placing asylum
seekers in a particular place. But it is important to stress once
again the immense pressure that our system is now under as a
result of the number of people crossing the channel illegally,
hence our need to take bold measures such as our Rwanda
partnership.
(Battersea) (Lab)
My constituent’s wife is still stuck in Afghanistan with their
two children, who are British citizens, and they cannot travel to
safe routes for obvious security reasons. I have made untold
representations to the Home Office about this. Will the Minister
agree to look into this case on my behalf if I get the details to
him today?
Yes, I would be happy to.
(Dudley North) (Con)
In 2010 and 2015, Dudley town centre was the scene of some very
ugly riots, with the British National party, the National Front
and the English Defence League converging on the town centre. On
that basis alone, will the Home Secretary ask her officials to
reconsider the proposals for siting up to 144 illegal immigrants
in a hotel—the Superior Hotel—not 100 yards away from this
location?
As a result of the good work undertaken by the Home Office in
recent weeks to ensure that the Manston site in Kent is operating
appropriately, we have now been able to implement some simple
criteria, including risk to public order or disorder, when
choosing new hotels. If there is compelling evidence in that
regard, it should be taken into account by the Home Office, but
there are no easy choices in this matter. The UK is essentially
full, and it is extremely hard to find new hotels or other forms
of accommodation.
(North Antrim) (DUP)
Can the Minister confirm that no citizen will require an
electronic travel authorisation to travel from one part of the
United Kingdom to another part of the United Kingdom, and that
there will be no equivalent to an Irish sea border for citizens
travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain or for citizens
travelling from GB to Northern Ireland?
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that point, because concerns
that need to be allayed have recently been raised in some
quarters. There will be no checks at the border between the
Republic and Northern Ireland for tourist and other visas. His
other points are absolutely correct. It is important that we
proceed with our own ETA, as the European Union will be
proceeding with its own version next year. This will enable us to
improve security throughout the UK by ensuring some dangerous
individuals do not enter.
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