The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to answer the letter from the Right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton to her dated 19 October 2015 on Mr Z. Hussain.
Jane Ellison
A letter was sent to the Rt. hon. Member on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the police has taken to tackle suspected boiler-room operations in the City of London.
Mike Penning
The City of London Police leads Operation Broadway, which is a multi-agency response to boiler room frauds operating in the City of London. Operation Broadway makes use of intelligence from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and the collective powers of its agencies to identify and tackle boiler rooms. Operation Broadway responses to boiler rooms focus on disruption and displacement and a number of differing tactical operations will be used. Operation Broadway also features in social media campaigns to raise public awareness of boiler room fraud.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the effect of changes to the policing budget on the number of police negotiators in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Mike Penning
The Home Secretary has not made any such estimates. It is a matter for Chief Constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners to determine the levels of any particular specialist resources required in their forces, and how these should be deployed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
The Family Test has been integrated into the Department’s impact assessment process. Workshops are being scheduled to further assist staff in understanding how to apply the guidance introduced for the Family Test issued by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report, Four Nations: How evidence based are alcohol policies across the UK, published by the Alliance for Useful Evidence in November 2015, if the Government will provide a single, clear, easy-to-access, up-to-date source of information on the full range of alcohol policies and programmes in each area of the UK.
Mike Penning
We will build on the 2012 Alcohol Strategy to tackle alcohol as a driver of crime and support people to stay healthy, whilst working with partners at a local and national level to reduce the impact of alcohol misuse. Alcohol licensing and policy is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. We have no plans to provide the requested information on a UK wide basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle disability hate crime.
Karen Bradley
The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families. We are committed to working with communities in order to keep them safe.
We have announced that we will publish a new hate crime action plan next year. This will include a number of actions aimed at reducing the number of hate crimes committed against disabled people, and also improving the response to these crimes when they occur.
I, and other ministers, attended a roundtable on disability hate crime in October. This gave me the opportunity to speak to a range of people, including representatives of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, researchers and service users. A key part of our action plan will include understanding the issues behind hate crime, and this was an important first step towards this. Officials are taking forward actions from this meeting.
The Government is currently speaking to a number of organisations and individuals to inform the next steps in developing this action plan. This includes work with the Fulfilling Potential Forum, which is led by the Office for Disability Issues within DWP and is made up of around 40 disability charities, including disabled people’s user led organisations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of disability hate crime offences committed in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
The Home Office has collected disability hate crime data from the police since 2011/12.
In 2011/12, the police recorded 1,748 disability hate crime offences, 1,911 in 2012/13, 2,006 in 2013/14, and 2,508 in 2014/15.
As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over the last year, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of disability hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in disability hate crimes recorded by the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to publish the results of the Government’s review of alcohol consumption.
Jane Ellison
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of lower-risk alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.
The Guidelines Development Group, a group of independent experts, was tasked with developing the lower-risk drinking guidelines for the UK CMOs to consider. The group have researched and developed a proposal on the guidelines, including a UK wide approach for guidance on alcohol and pregnancy. We will be consulting on these shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department carries out of the needs of Syrian refugees who are admitted to the UK to ensure they receive the support they need.
Richard Harrington
The UNHCR identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian VPR scheme using their vulnerability criteria. Once our security processes have been completed, a full medical assessment is conducted by the International Organisation for Migration in the host country. Local Authorities are provided with case details of all referrals so they can consider whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure appropriate care and integration of refugees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what security checks her Department carries out on refugees from Syria who are admitted to the UK.
Mr John Hayes
The Syrian nationals admitted to the UK under the UNHCR Resettlement Programme are some of the most vulnerable displaced people and they are taken directly from the region.
We take security extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement, working closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When refugees arrive in the UK they have been through a thorough two-stage vetting process to ensure we know who is entering the country. This includes the taking of biometric data, documentation verification and interviews. Potential resettlement cases are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further information on the details of the screening process itself.