Tag: Home Office

The press release issued by the Home Office on 17 December 2024.

The vital funding boost includes a significant increase to the police core grant from last year, a key part of our Plan for Change.

Police across England and Wales will be given a £1 billion boost as the government takes action to restore neighbourhood policing and make our streets safer, the Home Secretary has announced.

Part of the government’s Plan for Change, this will take total funding up to £19.5 billion for next year.

The majority of this funding – up to £17.4 billion and an increase of up to £987 million compared to last year – will be given to Police and Crime Commissioners, allowing them to tackle crime in their communities, rid town centres of antisocial behaviour and apprehend persistent offenders. This equates to a cash increase of up to 6.0% and a real terms increase of 3.5%.

This money will include:

• £339 million more for the police core grant to help forces with general running costs and to be allocated by forces to tackle local priorities. This is significantly more than the £184 million rise announced last year
• all costs arising from changes to National Insurance Contributions (NICs), helping police to balance their budgets
• new funding of £100 million to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers and special constables, as announced by the Prime Minister earlier this month.
• £65 million more for the National and International Capital City (NICC) grant for the London forces, to recognise this has not kept pace with inflation and rising demands of policing the capital

In addition to the money being given to Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Office is also investing an extra £140 million for Counter Terrorism Policing, ensuring that they have the resources they need to deal with the threats we face and protect the public from serious harm.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Today’s settlement provides a substantial increase in funding for policing to help deliver on this government’s Safer Streets mission. This vital funding boost will enable forces to kickstart the recruitment of neighbourhood police officers and crack down on the crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.

We recognise the financial and operational challenges that police forces across the country have faced in recent years, and that is why we are providing a significant and much-needed increase in funding to help forces protect the public and keep our streets safe.

We will also work closely with forces at a national and regional level to maximise efficiency and innovation, so that every penny they receive goes as far as possible and provides real value for the public.

The provisional funding settlement will be central to the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change and will help to deliver the manifesto pledge that policing will be reformed to deliver for communities.

The government will put an extra 13,000 police into our neighbourhoods. Dedicated police officers who are visible, named and contactable will support communities and work closely with residents and businesses.

The settlement also comes after the Home Secretary also announced a major package of police reform, including a new Police Performance Unit to track local performance and drive up standards, and a new National Centre of Policing to harness new technology and forensics.

Projects that sit within other national priorities are also being protected, including:

• £612 million to help modernise police forces, enhancing their ability to share data, intelligence and evidence with each other and law enforcement partners. This funding will be essential in tackling the increasingly tech-savvy criminals who wreak havoc on people and businesses
• £50 million for Violence Reduction Units, delivering on the government’s pledge to halve knife crime
• £30 million to tackle the ongoing battle against serious organised crime through county lines routes

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said:

We are determined to deliver for the people up and down this country and make good on our promise to reform policing, halve knife crime and tackle anti-social behaviour head on.

This settlement aims to do just that, providing a significant and substantial increase in funding that will allow polices forces to get a grip on criminality, to make our streets and communities safer.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 17 December 2024.

The Home Secretary has announced a package of measures to better protect the public and young people from youth radicalisation.

The public and young people will be better protected from the growing issue of youth radicalisation through new enforcement tools, extra police funding and improvements to Prevent – the UK’s programme which diverts people away from radicalisation, the Home Secretary has announced.

In recognition of the increasingly complex national security environment – including the threat from terrorism – the government is increasing funding for counter-terror police by £140 million next year, and for the UK intelligence community by £499 million, taking their funding to a record level.

With the proportion of young people in counter-terrorism casework increasing, the government will also bolster the tools available to tackle terrorist risk in these cases with the creation of new youth diversion orders.

Unlike existing counter-terrorism risk management tools, youth diversion orders will be specifically designed for young people to better manage cases which require intervention beyond Prevent. They will reduce the risk of further involvement with the criminal justice system – a key aim of the government’s Safer Streets Mission and the Plan for Change – by enabling the police to intervene earlier, working with partner agencies, before a young person’s activity risks escalating to the level at which a prosecution becomes necessary.

Youth diversion orders build upon a recommendation from the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC. The measures that are imposed will be subject to judicial oversight and will allow the police to impose both risk management and rehabilitative conditions, such as Prevent interventions or restrictions to online activity. Youth diversion orders will better enable the counter-terrorism system to divert young people involved in activity of terrorism concern online and in our communities.

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said:

National security is one of the government’s foundations and fundamental to our Plan for Change, which is why we are putting in record levels of funding to our security partners.

For some time now, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been warning about the rapid increase in youth radicalisation, driven in large part by online activity. Today we are setting out new powers to tackle this and making major improvements to the Prevent programme to recognise the complex range of threats we face.

I am determined that we bring in the changes needed to move young people away from these dangerous ideologies and make the whole system more effective.

While Islamist terrorism remains the primary threat, followed by extreme right-wing terrorism, the overall threat picture is changing to include a growing cohort of young people radicalised online who do not align with any particular ideology and instead have fixations with violence. Recent Prevent statistics showed most referrals were for individuals with a vulnerability but no ideology or counter-terrorism risk.

To address this, the Home Secretary also outlined reforms to strengthen Prevent, the UK’s programme which diverts people away from radicalisation.

These will ensure that the programme keeps pace with the increasingly complex and evolving terrorist threat, stopping people from being drawn towards dangerous and extremist ideologies, carrying out acts of terrorism or supporting terrorism. The measures include:

conducting an end-to-end review of Prevent thresholds, and updating policy and guidance, including on repeat referrals, to ensure they reflect the full range of threats we see today
broadening the interventions available to people supported by the Channel early intervention programme – in addition to ideological mentoring, we will seek to reflect the increasingly diverse drivers of radicalisation, by exploring options to support at-risk individuals with cyber skills, family interventions, or practical mentoring
undertaking a strategic policy review to identify and drive improvements in how individuals referred into Prevent who are neurodivergent or suffer from mental ill-health are supported and managed
strengthening our approach to the monitoring and oversight of referrals that do not meet Prevent thresholds, by launching a pilot in January to test new approaches to cases that are transferred to other services to ensure there is proper monitoring and requirements in place
A new permanent independent Prevent commissioner will also be recruited with the specific remit of reviewing the programme’s effectiveness, identifying gaps and problems before they emerge.

The independent commissioner will oversee the implementation of the new measures outlined by the Home Secretary.

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said:

There has been a serious emerging trend of increased youth radicalisation across the country, with the proportion of MI5 investigations into under-18s surging threefold in the last 3 years.

Our first duty will always be to keep the public safe, and the measures we’ve set out today will help ensure the Prevent programme keeps pace with the threats we face and has the tools it needs to succeed.

The government will continue to take every possible step to counter dangerous ideologies and stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 16 December 2024.

The government is on track to deliver highest number of returns for 5 years as nearly 13,500 removed from the UK since election.

The Home Secretary has pledged a step change in tackling exploitative and illegal working in the UK, with new technology to be deployed to frontline officers to stop abuse of the system.

The intervention comes as almost 13,500 people with no right to be here have been removed since the new government came to office and surged the capacity of removal teams, as the department is on track to deliver its pledge to have the highest rate of returns since 2018 in their first 6 months.

Yesterday (Sunday 15 December), Yvette Cooper set out a new crackdown on illegal working to address the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats crossing the Channel.

New figures show illegal working operations and arrests since the new government came into power are up by almost a third on the same period last year. Six employers have also been charged for employing illegal workers in the last 5 months, compared to just 4 in the 2 and a half years before the election.

To further drive this crackdown, the Home Secretary will boost the capability of Immigration Enforcement by introducing new technology to bolster arrests and prosecutions. Some £5 million will be spent to rollout body worn cameras to over 1,200 frontline officers next year to strengthen the evidence that can be collected on illegal working raids, increase prosecutions and action against exploitative employers, and prevent delays.

£3 million will also be invested in new fingerprint kits for all enforcement officers which will enhance identity checks and enable officers to better identify high-risk individuals.

The measures are part of this government’s plan to rip apart the business models of smuggling gangs and restore order to the asylum system, by processing claims and returning people swiftly while preventing people from making these dangerous journeys in the first place.

It comes as the Home Office launches new ‘upstream communications campaigns’ aimed at exposing the lies told by criminal smuggling gangs. This activity will include warnings to prospective migrants about the exploitative practices of employers and the dire and inhumane living conditions some of those found to be working illegally face, based on real testimonies.

The announcement is being made as the Home Secretary visited Rome on Saturday 14 December to meet her counterpart, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, to drive action against people smuggling gangs, including looking at action to take down the money networks being used by organised immigration crime.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Illegal working is a blight on our economy. It is deeply exploitative and undercuts those employers who do the right thing and play by the rules. Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working – the number of operations and arrests are up, and we are on track to meet our target of increasing removals to the highest level for five years.

I am boosting the capabilities of our immigration enforcement officers to make sure they have the tools they need to further crack down on illegal working and shine a light on the hidden economy and false promises that criminal smuggling gangs are using to encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats. If you employ people illegally, you will face consequences. The rules must be respected and enforced.

Border Security is one of the foundations that underpin the government’s mission-driven “plan for change”, and the new government immediately redeployed 1,000 additional people into immigration enforcement. This has supported the delivery of the four biggest returns flights in the UK’s history, carrying more than 800 people. Thirty-three bespoke charter flights have taken off returning migrants to countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

Enforced returns are up 25% compared to the same period last year as a programme of regular charter flights returns those with no right to be here to countries across the world.

In 2 cases, these were the first returns charter flights to those countries in several years, as the new government’s work to boost international collaboration strengthens our capability to return those with no right to be here.

More than 2,100 foreign criminals have been removed since 5 July 2024, a 20% increase on the same period last year – moving foreign offenders out of taxpayer-funded prisons and back to their home countries. Those removed were convicted of drug offences, theft, rape and murder.

Body worn video will support operational teams build cases against those working illegally in the UK or unscrupulous businesses employing them.

Immigration officers have encountered situations where there is clear illegal working or exploitation but because they do not have photographic evidence, people have been able to evade justice.

1,200 officers will be given body worn video in 2025 to improve evidence gathering.

More biometric fingerprinting kits will be deployed to the frontline as well, allowing immigration enforcement officers to check those they apprehend in illegal working raids against police databases on the spot, rather than having to take them to local police stations.

Last week, the Home Secretary co-hosted the Calais Group with Germany, hosting Interior Ministers from Belgium, France and the Netherlands. She also signed a deal with Germany to break the business model of people smuggling gangs and save lives, with Germany confirming intention for future law change to tackle smuggling and supply chains.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 28 November 2024.

Shameless employers who commit serious offences will be banned from hiring overseas workers as part of a government crackdown on visa abuse and prevent exploitation.

Delivering on a key manifesto commitment, businesses that repeatedly flout visa rules or commit serious employment breaches, such as not paying the National Minimum Wage, will be barred from hiring overseas workers.

Currently, employers who flagrantly flout visa rules can only be sanctioned for a maximum of 12 months. Under our changes we intend the period for repeat offences to be at least 2 years, double the current length, with final cooling off periods announced in due course.

This government will also not wait until employers have committed serious breaches of the law before taking action, when there are already signs of rule breaking. Action plans bind businesses who commit minor visa breaches to a set of specific actions to help them improve and correct any issues. These are being strengthened further, with the maximum time they can be applied quadrupled from 3 to 12 months, ensuring long-term and sustained compliance with visa rules.

The measures are part of wider efforts to tackle the root causes behind the UK’s long-term reliance on international workers and action to link migration policy with skills and wider labour market policy.

The wide-ranging crackdown will also protect vulnerable workers from exploitation, prohibiting unprincipled companies from engaging in the unethical practice of charging skilled workers for the cost of sponsorship. These costs, which can be passed onto workers at grossly inflated levels, has led to the exploitation and unfair treatment of staff, particularly within the care sector, in some cases burdened with unsustainable levels of debt to their employers.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra MP said:

We committed in our manifesto to do everything in our power to ensure those who abuse our immigration system face the strongest possible consequences.

No longer will employers be able to flout the rules with little consequence or exploit international workers for costs they were always supposed to pay if they choose not to recruit domestically.

Worker exploitation is completely unacceptable. Shamefully, these practices have been seen particularly in our care sector, where workers coming to the UK to support our health and social care service have all too often found themselves plunged into unjustifiable insecurity and debt. This can, and must, end.

The new powers will ensure employers who recruit internationally will be required to pay associated costs themselves, which is fair and reasonable for employers that do not recruit from the domestic workforce.

While the longer action plans are in place, employers will face restrictions on their ability to bring in overseas workers. Failure to comply or make the necessary improvements will see their visa sponsor licence revoked.

These changes will be made alongside the government’s new Employments Rights Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. Under the bill, the newly-established Fair Work Agency will bring together existing state enforcement functions including regulations for employment agencies and employment businesses, enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, Statutory Sick Pay and the licensing regime for businesses operating as ‘gangmasters’ in certain sectors.

Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, said:

Migrant workers are a valuable part of our social care workforce, supporting vulnerable people across the country every day. Many have travelled to the UK with the promise of a rewarding and fulfilling career.

However, there has been an unacceptable rise in the exploitation and abuse of overseas social care workers from rogue operators.

Cracking down on these unethical employers will protect migrant workers from unacceptable and shameful exploitation.

This new crackdown also forms part of the government’s wider action to target rogue employers who abuse the immigration system by exploiting vulnerable migrants who are working in the UK illegally. This government is determined to clamp down on illegal working and the exploitative treatment of illegal workers, and we have rapidly expanded the action we are taking. A range of sanctions will be taken against those employing illegal workers, including:

• financial penalty notices
• business closure orders
• potential prosecution

We have delivered a major surge in Immigration Enforcement’s targeted visits to rogue businesses suspected of employing illegal workers, with 856 visits in October alone – a 55% increase on the same month last year. Between January and October this year, more than 6,600 visits have been made, and 22% increase on the same period last year, with over 4,600 arrests being made, up 21% on last year.

International care workers are particularly vulnerable to abuse, with widespread concerns of exploitation in the sector. The Department of Health and Social Care has already been working closely with the Home Office to share concerns and intelligence on bad practices in the recruitment and employment of overseas care workers, and the measures announced today will further bolster the government’s action against exploitation.

Since July 2022, the government has revoked approximately 450 sponsor licences in the care sector as the government continues to clamp down on abuse. Significant work is ongoing across government, in collaboration with the care sector, to ensure high standards across the immigration system, and to support care workers into alternative jobs when their sponsor has had their licence removed.

Fifteen regional partnerships in England have received £16 million worth of funding to support them to prevent and respond to unethical international recruitment practices in the sector. This includes funding support for international care workers to understand their rights and establishing operational processes with regional partnerships to support individuals to switch employers and remain working in the care sector when they have been impacted by their sponsor’s licence being revoked.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 28 November 2024.

Domestic abusers will be ordered to stay away from their victims and face tougher restrictions with the launch of new protective orders today.

Providing vital protection to victims, for the first time all types of domestic abuse will be covered – including physical, psychological, stalking, and coercive control. The new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders will also be handed out by all courts (family, civil, and criminal), meaning more perpetrators will be forced to live under restrictions.

They will initially launch in Greater Manchester, three London boroughs and with the British Transport Police. They will also be used in Cleveland and North Wales from early 2025 ahead of a national rollout.

The Domestic Abuse Protection Notices can be issued by the police immediately following any incident of abuse, providing protection straight away and giving police time to apply for a Domestic Abuse Protection Order to secure longer term protection for the victim.

Unlike some existing protections, which can only be enforced for 28 days, the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will have no time restrictions, meaning victims are protected for as long as needed to stay safe. Breaching the order will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison, making sure perpetrators who flout the rules are punished.

Friends and family of victims will also be able to apply for the new orders on behalf of the victim, as well as victims themselves and the police. This will reduce victim engagement with the criminal justice system, if necessary – process which can be daunting for some survivors.

As well as imposing exclusion zones, the orders can mandate positive requirements such as attendance at a behaviour change programme.

For the first time, family courts able to impose tagging in the most serious cases, a power previously reserved for the police and criminal courts only.

Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said:

It takes tremendous courage for victims of domestic abuse to seek help. Our role in government is to make this as straightforward as possible. These new orders reduce the pressure on victims by allowing third parties to make an application on their behalf, while ensuring the powers available to the courts are more stringent than ever before. This government will continue to do all it can to end violence against women and girls.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Phillips said:

More than two million people are estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the last year – a number that is appalling, frightening and we are determined to change.

That’s why one of our first acts to deliver against our ambitious manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is to launch new, strengthened Domestic Abuse Protection Orders. By bringing together the strongest elements of existing orders into a flexible order that covers all forms of domestic abuse and has no time limit, we’ll ensure more victims receive the robust protection they deserve.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner said:

Domestic Abuse Protection Orders were designed to bring together the most effective features of existing orders to provide flexible and long-term protection to victims of domestic abuse.

The DAPO pilot should evidence what is needed to sufficiently resource participating agencies and sector partners alike, so that it can be fully funded for a national rollout.

I look forward to closely following the pilot’s progress and see how DAPOs can improve the safety of domestic abuse victims and hold perpetrators to account across England and Wales.

Victims and VAWG Minister Alex Davies-Jones will visit Croydon Court and Minister for Victims and Safeguarding Jess Phillips will visit the Metropolitan Police today to mark the launch, as they raise awareness of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign.

Today’s announcement is the next step in the government’s unpreceded pledge to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.

Background information

• The DAPO is a joint policy shared between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office and was legislated for in Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
• Tagging can only be imposed for 12 months at a time.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 28 November 2024.

Home Secretary signs landmark joint statement with Iraq to tackle people smuggling and organised crime networks operating across the region and in Europe.

A world-first security agreement has been reached between Iraq and the UK government to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border security co-operation.

The UK will also support Iraq law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including countering narcotics.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper visited Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) this week to seal a series of co-operation deals, to tackle shared threats and boost the security of its citizens.

The Home Secretary is the first UK government Secretary of State to visit the country since 2021. She was accompanied by the UK government’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt.

During the 3-day official visit, the Home Secretary spoke to ministers from the Federal Government of Iraq and met ministers in the Kurdistan Regional Government.

As part of the programme the Home Secretary:

• signed a joint statement on border security: a first-of-its-kind agreement with Iraq, which sets out the commitments of both countries to work more closely in tackling people smuggling and bolster border security
• committed to providing up to £300,000 for Iraq law enforcement training in border security – the training will focus on organised immigration crime and narcotics, and will increase the capacity and capability of Iraq’s law enforcement at the border
• announced support for further border security projects: the UK government has pledged £200,000 to support projects in the KRI which will enhance capabilities concerning irregular migration and border security, including a new taskforce
• signed a declaration of intent on serious organised crime: pledges from both the UK and Iraq to build on operational and bilateral co-operation on serious organised crime, including organised immigration crime, narcotics, modern slavery and human trafficking, and illicit finance
• support to tackle wider crime: £300,000 will also be allocated to capacity building in Iraq to disrupt serious organised crime, including organised immigration crime and illicit drug flows
• agreed to launch communications campaigns in both Iraq and the KRI to counter the misinformation and myths that people smugglers post online
• signed a joint statement on migration: this includes further work on the returns of people who have no right to be in the UK, where returns are currently very slow, and the continued provision of reintegration programmes to support returnees

Central to the statements agreed today is a commitment from the UK, Iraq and KRI to international and humanitarian law and commitments to international human rights standards.

Today’s announcement represents the biggest operational package to tackle serious organised crime and people smuggling between the 2 countries ever. Smuggling networks operating out of Iraq, including the KRI, and Europe have been responsible for trafficking thousands of people across the globe, including across the Channel to the UK, undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

These landmark commitments between the UK government and Iraq and the KRI send a clear signal to the criminal smuggling gangs that we are determined to work across the globe to go after them.

There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond. Organised criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too.

The increasingly global nature of organised immigration crime means that even countries that are thousands of miles apart must work more closely together than ever to stop these gangs getting away with it, to strengthen our border security and to stop so many lives being put at risk.

Our new Border Security Command is already building partnerships across the world to tackle this evil trade in human lives.

I want to thank my hosts for their hospitality. This is an important new partnership between the UK government, Iraq and the KRI to build security and keep people safe.

The joint statement on border security, signed with Federal Government of Iraq Interior Minister Abdulameer Al-Shimmeri, will build on operational work already being conducted between UK law enforcement, including the National Crime Agency, and Iraq.

It sets out a blueprint for both countries to tackle of people smuggling and wider border security issues and pave the way for deeper collaboration in the future. It will include new formal processes for regular engagement.

The statement is backed up by a wider declaration of intent to tackle serious organised crime, which incorporates organised immigration crime, as well as other high harm crimes including drug smuggling, modern slavery and illicit finance. The Home Secretary and representatives in the country also reiterated their drive to continue to work together to counter terrorism.

Some £300,000 from the UK Integrated Security Fund will be spent on training at the border to counter organised immigration crime and narcotics.

On returns, the UK and Iraq have reaffirmed their commitment to enhance co-operation to ensure those who have no right to be in the UK can be returned swiftly, while the UK government will continue to respect international law and protect human rights.

On deterrence communications, the planned campaign will seek to counter disinformation spread by criminal gangs and stop people making the dangerous journey, including telling the real stories of people who have fallen victim to people smuggling gangs.

During the visit, the Home Secretary met with the Federal Government of Iraq Minister of Interior Abdulameer Al-Shimmeri, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudanl, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Chief Justice Faik Zidan.

In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Home Secretary met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and the Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed.

Mr Hewitt met with KRG Director General of the Diwan at the Ministry of Interior, Dr Hemin Mirany.

Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said:

Enhancing our border security requires international efforts, which is why collaboration with Iraq and the KRI is so important. This work is only going to improve, which means smuggling networks should be on notice that we are coming after you.

As Border Security Commander I will work with law enforcement around the world to break the business model of people smugglers and help save lives.

This international collaboration marks a shift in the UK government’s approach to tackling irregular migration. Through the Border Security Command, the UK are working on a whole system approach to tackling irregular migration, including arming UK law enforcement with the powers it needs, working bilaterally on cross border co-operation and ensuring law enforcement across borders are joined up.

Next month, the UK government will co-host the Calais Group with Germany, in London. The interior ministers of the hosts will be joined by their counterparts from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as law enforcement, including NCA, Europol and Frontex.

Since July, the new government has:

• started recruitment of 100 more specialist intelligence officers to work across Europe and delivered a 50% uplift in UK officers at Europol
• announced an anti-smuggling action plan signed with other G7 nations
• hosted the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace
• announced new agreements with Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo to tackle people smuggling through the Balkan states
• pushed forward a suite of measures to tackle organised immigration crime as part of the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow
• returned 9,400 people since 5 July who have no right to be in the UK, including the 3 biggest returns flights in the UK’s history

The press release issued by the Home Office on 27 November 2024.

Non-Europeans can now apply in advance for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) and will need one to travel to the UK from January 2025.

The UK government is introducing electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for millions of visitors who pass through the UK border every year, including 6 million from the USA, Canada, and Australia. From today all eligible non-European visitors can apply for an ETA and will need one to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.

Next year, we will open ETA to eligible Europeans, who will be able to apply from 5 March 2025 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025. From April 2025, all visitors to the UK who do not need a visa for short stays and who do not already have a UK immigration status will need an ETA.

This expansion follows the successful rollout of ETAs to Gulf Cooperation Council nationals earlier this year. In the first half of 2024, over 243,000 Gulf nationals were issued with ETAs and can now benefit from smoother, easier travel to the UK for short trips.

In 2023, visitors from the USA, Canada, and Australia alone contributed £8.8 billion to the UK economy, supporting the UK’s tourist industry and boosting local businesses across the country. ETAs will enhance security through new technology and make the UK border more efficient, preserving the UK’s appeal as a dynamic, diverse, and exciting destination to visit.

Eligible visitors should apply for their ETA through the UK ETA app, which is quick and simple to use and enables most applicants to receive a decision in hours. Visitors can also apply on GOV.UK if they do not have access to a smartphone.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra MP, said:

This expansion of ETA is a significant step forward in delivering a border that’s efficient and fit for the digital age.

Through light-touch screening before people step foot in the UK, we will keep our country safe while ensuring visitors have a smooth travel experience.

An ETA costs £10, permits multiple journeys, and lasts for 2 years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner. Once granted, ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and allow for stays of up to 6 months at a time – including both short trips and more extended stays. An ETA is not a visa, it is a digital permission to travel.

All travellers to the UK – except British and Irish citizens – will need permission to travel in advance through either an ETA or an eVisa. Replacing physical immigration documents with eVisas lets UK visa holders use online immigration services, take control of their data and prevent against documents being lost, stolen or tampered with.

To ensure the smooth implementation of a digitised border, the UK government continues to work closely with the travel industry, including airline, maritime and rail carriers, and is delivering a communications campaign to reach visitors about the steps they need to take before they travel to the UK.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 26 November 2024.

Three illegal workers were discovered during an Immigration Enforcement visit.

• Ali Avlik employed three illegal workers from Turkey at his Pera Palace restaurant in the Cambridgeshire town of Chatteris
• The workers were discovered during a visit by Immigration Enforcement officials in 2022
• Avlik has been banned as a director until November 2031

The owner of a former Turkish restaurant in Cambridgeshire has been banned as a company director for seven years after employing three illegal workers.

Ali Avlik, 35, hired three Turkish men at Pera Palace on Market Hill, Chatteris, without conducting pre-employment checks. None of the men had the right to work at the restaurant.

The illegal workers were discovered during an Immigration Enforcement visit in 2022.

Avlik was handed the disqualification order at the High Court in London earlier this month.

His directorship ban started on Tuesday 26 November.

Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services at the Insolvency Service, said:

Illegal workers are among the most vulnerable people in society and should not have their status exploited by unscrupulous business owners.

Employers are required to carry out their due diligence by ensuring that would-be employees are entitled to work in the UK.

Ali Avlik clearly failed to do this which is why we have worked with our partners at the Home Office to ban him from being a company director for the next seven years.

Avlik was the sole director of Hupus Limited, which traded as Pera Palace, from November 2021 to his director ban.

Immigration Enforcement officials visited Pera Palace in November 2022 after receiving intelligence that illegal workers were at the restaurant.

One of the workers attempted to flee through the fire exit while another returned to the kitchen, with officers noting he appeared incredibly nervous.

Two of the workers did not have the right to work in the UK. The other employee only had the right to work as a plumber in the UK and should not have been working at the restaurant.

The workers, aged in their twenties and thirties, claimed to have been working at the restaurant for two weeks and six months respectively. One of the illegal workers said he had not been working there at all and was “merely helping” at the restaurant.

Hupus was fined £45,000 for the immigration breaches, which remains unpaid.

Fenland District Council also revoked Pera Palace’s premises licence in March 2023 as a result of Immigration Enforcement’s findings.

Pera Palace eventually closed later that year.

His Majesty’s Inspector, James Denham, from the Home Office’s Immigration Compliance Enforcement team in the East of England, said:

Illegal working undercuts honest employers, places vulnerable individuals at risk of exploitation and disadvantages legitimate job seekers.

It also impacts public finances as taxes are not paid by these businesses and workers, which is why tracking down unscrupulous employers is so important.

We’re pleased to secure this director ban following an effective and close working relationship between the Home Office and the Insolvency Service.

Avlik’s disqualification order prevents him from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Further information

• Ali Avlik’s trading address was Market Hill, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. His date of birth is 27 January 1989
• Hupus Limited (company number 12241800)

The press release issued by the Home Office on 17 November 2024.

A new Home Office unit to monitor performance of police forces will be announced by the Home Secretary this week.

A dedicated government unit to improve performance across policing and make our streets safer will be announced by the Home Secretary this week.

In a speech at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Association for Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday, Yvette Cooper will outline the new unit as part of a roadmap for major reform that will create a new partnership between the Home Office and police.

To ensure communities can have confidence in their local police force, the unit will harness national data to monitor performance and direct improvements, building on the existing work of the College of Policing, policing inspectorate (HMICFRS), NPCC and police and crime commissioners (PCCs).

For the first time in over a decade, a dedicated Home Office unit will be introduced to directly monitor police performance, including in high-priority areas such as tackling violence against women and girls, knife crime and improving neighbourhood policing.

Officer time spent on the frontline will be monitored as part of the intelligence drive, drawing on local police data. Police response times will also be standardised and measured, a key issue for the public that is currently not consistently monitored and managed. Through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the government is committed to ensuring officers are spending more time being visible and accessible in our communities, and minimising administrative tasks.

The Home Office will use police-recorded data on child sexual abuse to help forces understand and tackle the hidden harms in their areas. This will support forces in identifying how they can do more to build victim confidence, draw offending out of the shadows and bring perpetrators to justice.

There will also be a focus on police standards, with data on misconduct, vetting and disciplinary procedures collected, monitored and acted on to ensure forces are rooting out those who are not fit to serve and help restore the public’s trust in their local officers.

With a more comprehensive picture of how policing is delivering for its communities, the Home Secretary will take a more hands-on approach to driving improvements, working with policing partners to ensure that the appropriate support, and where necessary, direct intervention is being identified and delivered.

The new performance unit will complement the current system, with PCCs taking on a renewed focus on strengthening local policing and preventing crime in their areas.

In her speech, the Home Secretary is expected to say:

This is a critical juncture for the future of policing. And if as a country we are to remain equipped to fight the fast-changing challenges of today and tomorrow, then we know policing must evolve.

We have a huge opportunity ahead of us to reset the relationship between government and the police, to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of British policing.

Strong and consistent performance is critical to commanding public confidence. I truly believe that working together we can mobilise behind this mission – and deliver a fairer, safer country for all.

The Home Secretary is expected to set out her vision for policing, and how this focus on data and performance is just part of an ambitious programme to bring the founding principles of policing by consent and preventing crime to the 21st century.

The need for reform has the backing of police leaders, with the government committed to working with them to bring the change needed to reconnect policing with the communities they serve. It builds on a government manifesto commitment to give the policing inspectorate (HMICFRS) greater powers to intervene in failing forces and on the important work that they, the College of Policing and PCCs are doing to boost standards and drive improvement.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 2 October 2024.

Thirty-nine countries and global cyber insurance bodies have endorsed new guidance at the 2024 Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit.

The UK and 38 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and New Zealand have united with international cyber insurance bodies to back important new guidance supporting organisations experiencing ransomware attacks and to boost global resilience.

The new guidance – agreed yesterday (1 October 2024) at the Counter Ransomware Initiative – will encourage organisations to carefully consider their options instead of rushing to make payments to cyber criminals in an attempt to stop disruption and data loss. It makes clear that paying a ransom will often only embolden these criminals to target other victims, and there is no guarantee of data retrieval, malware removal or the end of a ransomware attack.

Instead, organisations are encouraged to report attacks to law enforcement authorities, check if data backups are available and get advice from recognised experts. They should also take action ahead of a possible attack by preparing policies, frameworks and communications plans as part of contingency planning.

The new guidance will ultimately help undermine the business model of ransomware criminals and take away the incentive to target other organisations elsewhere, preventing future attacks and boosting global resilience.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said:

Cyber criminality does not recognise borders.

That is why international co-operation is vital to tackle the shared threat of ransomware attacks.

This guidance will hit the wallets of cyber criminals, and ultimately help to protect businesses in the UK and around the world.

Ransomware is the biggest cyber threat to most UK businesses and organisations, as cyber criminals constantly evolve their tactics to increase efficiency and boost profits, and last year was the worst year on record for ransomware payments, with more than $1 billion lost to victims worldwide, according to industry estimates by Chainanalysis.

As part of a crackdown on cyber criminals, this week the UK sanctioned sixteen individuals linked to the Evil Corp cyber gang in joint action with the US and Australia.

The prolific, long-standing Russian cybercrime group, Evil Corp had previously conducted malware and ransomware attacks on UK health, government and public sector institutions, as well as private commercial technology companies.

It was also revealed that Evil Corp actors had links to ransomware group LockBit. The National Crime Agency’s infiltration of LockBit, earlier this year revealed that cyber criminals often retained data even after victims paid a ransom on the promise it would be deleted.

The UK has led the way in this collaborative approach with the cyber insurance industry, who can play a key role in supporting organisations before, during and after a ransomware incident.

In May, the National Cyber Security Centre and 3 major UK insurance bodies (the Association of British Insurers, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association and the International Underwriting Association) joined forces to launch co-sponsored guidance for UK organisations.

NCSC Director for National Resilience Jonathon Ellison said:

Ransomware remains an urgent threat and organisations should act now to boost resilience.

The endorsement of this best practice guidance by both nations and international cyber insurance bodies represents a powerful push for organisations to upgrade their defences and enhance their cyber readiness.

This collective approach, guided by last year’s CRI statement denouncing ransomware and built on guidelines from the NCSC and UK insurance associations earlier this year, reflects a growing global commitment to tackling the ransomware threat.

The CRI is the only dedicated multilateral forum for UK and international partners to come together to develop new policies and processes to combat ransomware.

Last year, the forum agreed a groundbreaking joint statement again led by the UK and Singapore denouncing ransomware payments and confirming, for the first time, that no central government funds should be used to pay demands.

The new guidance comes as Cyber Security Awareness Month begins, which this year focuses on the importance of businesses building their cyber resilience.