Tag: Home Office

The press release issued by the Home Office on 5 February 2024.

Domestic Homicide Reviews will be renamed to Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews following calls to better recognise deaths from domestic abuse related suicide.

The government is taking action to better recognise the often hidden victims of domestic abuse who die after suicide, coercive and controlling behaviour, and economic abuse.

Publishing its response to a public consultation today (5 February) on reviews conducted after fatal domestic abuse cases, the government is strengthening the law to highlight that these reviews can take place when a death has occurred as a result of domestic abuse, including in suicide cases, in line with the legal definition of domestic abuse as introduced in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

This means that a Domestic Homicide Review can be commissioned whenever there is a death that has, or appears to have, resulted from domestic abuse.  As well as physical abuse, this includes controlling or coercive behaviour and emotional and economic abuse. It will help to ensure that lessons are learned from fatal domestic abuse cases.

The government has also announced that the name of these reviews will be changed from ‘Domestic Homicide Review’ to ‘Domestic Abuse Related Death Review’, to better reflect all deaths which fall within their scope.

Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Laura Farris said:

This government has made significant progress addressing fatal domestic abuse, including through our landmark Domestic Abuse Act.

However, there is more to do, and we also need to focus on hidden victims who die from domestic abuse related suicide.

These changes to will enable agencies to contextualise these horrific offences even if the domestic abuse was not physical in nature, better identify the warnings signs and ultimately, save lives.

A Domestic Homicide Review is a multi-agency review which seeks to identify and implement lessons learnt from deaths which have, or appear to have, resulted from domestic abuse.

Their aim is to better protect victims in future and prevent further tragedies – by highlighting to the police and other agencies what can be done in future to strengthen the response.

Last year, the Home Office published a library on GOV.UK making previous reviews available online. This will make it easier to analyse the reports and understand key trends, factors and risks relating to domestic homicides.

The new changes are being made after concerns were raised by charities and bereaved families that the previous definition did not fully reflect the range of domestic abuse related deaths.

Through an 8-week public consultation, charities, professional bodies, front-line agencies, and individuals bereaved by domestic homicide or by suicide linked to domestic abuse were invited to consider the changes.

The changes will be brought into law via an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 January 2024.

The UK’s Youth Mobility schemes with Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea have been expanded, while new schemes with Uruguay and Andorra come into effect.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 30 January 2024.

Rollout of new transformative legal migration measures begins, with new restrictions set to relieve the burden on British taxpayers and public services.

Measures to transform the UK’s legal migration system, bolster border security and drive down unsustainable and unfair levels of migration will come into force within weeks, the Home Secretary has announced today.

It comes after the Prime Minister and Home Secretary set out a major new package of reforms in December, delivering the biggest ever reduction in net migration and tackling exploitation across the immigration system.

The robust changes, which will curb abuse of the migration system, and ensure those choosing to make the UK their home can afford to do so, will begin to come into effect as early as March and will mean 300,000 people who came to the UK last year would now not be able to come.

They include:

• reforms that will restrict care workers from bringing dependants and require care providers to register with the Care Quality Commission if they are sponsoring migrants, which will come into force on 11 March
• the laying of Immigration Rules, which will include the removal of the 20% going rate discount for occupations on the Shortage Occupation List on 14 March
• a new increase to the minimum salary required for those arriving on the Skilled Worker visa, from £26,200 to £38,700, on 4 April
• increasing the minimum income requirement threshold in stages for family visas, starting at £29,000 from 11 April

Reforms to student visas came into force at the start of January, ending the ability of nearly all postgraduate students to bring dependants to the UK.

The measures will crack down on rising migration, help curb the abuse of the Health and Care visa route, where we have seen people come to the UK for care worker jobs that do not exist or are paid significantly less than the required salary for a migrant worker on this route, and ensure British labour is not undercut by overseas workers.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

I’ve been clear that migration is too high and we must get back to sustainable levels. Last year I set out robust measures to reduce the numbers coming into our country – tightening the rules on care workers, skilled workers, and making sure that people can support their family members that they bring over.

It is a firm approach, but a fair one, and gives those affected time to prepare whilst ensuring that migration comes down. The British people want to see action, not words. We are delivering the change we promised and which they expect, lifting pressure on public services and protecting British workers with the utmost urgency.

Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Legal Migration and the Border, said:

Our comprehensive plan to tackle net migration will not only bring numbers down substantially, but also tackles the inherent unfairness of a system which, if left untouched, would reward employers seeking to recruit cheap labour from overseas at the expense of the British worker.

Delivering change on this scale and at such a pace is hard and challenging work, but we’re making strong headway, with further improvements to modernise and enhance the security of the UK border continuing throughout 2024.

Helen Whately, Minister of State for Social Care said:

We’re grateful to overseas care workers but I’m clear that immigration is not the long-term answer to our social care needs. That’s why alongside tightening visa rules we’re reforming social care careers to boost our homegrown care workforce.

We have launched the first ever national career path for care workers and a new care qualification is on the way. These reforms, together with international recruitment under the new rules, will build on the progress made over the last year – of lower staff turnover, fewer vacancies and more people working in social care.

From 4 April, the increase to the minimum salary required for those arriving on the Skilled Worker visa, from £26,200 to £38,700, will come into force. This 48% rise will drive down numbers, reduce pressure on public services and prevent the undercutting of British workers by employers who look to recruit cheap labour from overseas. Workers on a Health and Care visa and on health and education national pay scales will be exempt from this specific threshold.

Meanwhile, the laying of the new Immigration Rules on 14 March will include the removal of the 20% going rate discount for occupations on the Shortage Occupation List, which will be abolished in favour of a new Immigration Salary List from early April. This follows a recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which will now advise government on which occupations should be temporarily added to the new list initially, in time for March.

The minimum income requirement for family visas will rise in stages to give predictability to families, starting at £29,000 from 11 April. By early 2025 this will have increased to £38,700, ensuring only dependants that can be supported financially are brought to the UK.

The major transformation to legal migration comes as the Home Office continues to deliver the Prime Minister’s priority to stop the boats and drive down illegal migration. Small boats crossings are down by 46% last year with more than 24,000 people who have no right to be in the UK have been returned.

The government also takes a significant step forward in the long-term modernisation and enhancement of the UK border’s security, with the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme opening for the remaining nationals of the Gulf states and Jordan on Thursday 1 February.

ETAs are a new requirement for passengers visiting or transiting through the UK, who do not currently need a visa for short stays or who do not already have any other UK immigration status. It will continue to be rolled out, worldwide, throughout 2024. Once fully implemented, the scheme will enable a more efficient customer experience and cement the UK as a world leader in border security.

From tomorrow (31 January), the government is also enhancing how the UK does business with the rest of the world. Reforms to the visit visa will be implemented, expanding the permitted activities to make it easier to do business in the UK.

These changes demonstrate the government’s commitment to welcome those who are here to contribute their skills and talents to our society and economy.

Those who come must be willing to contribute to the country. In keeping with this, those who use and benefit from public services, such as the NHS, should make a sufficient financial contribution towards the cost of those services. From 6 February, the Immigration Health Surcharge will be raised by 66% to £1,035. The new rate reflects increases in healthcare expenditure and better reflects the NHS use by migrants, who are provided with near comprehensive access to health services in return.

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

A people smuggler has been jailed for conspiring to bring 16 Albanian migrants to the UK with fake EU passports and fraudulent airline bookings.

A people smuggler has been jailed today after conspiring to bring 16 Albanian migrants to the UK by providing them with fake EU passports and making fraudulent airline bookings.

Albanian national Sait Ruci used a fake Italian ID and stole the identify of an innocent man to open bank accounts used to buy airline tickets to the UK.

The migrants, all from Albania, paid for a fake EU passport and an air ticket to the UK. Criminals can charge upwards of £10,000 per person for this type of facilitation.

Ruci was sentenced to three years at Isleworth Crown Court today, for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

In many cases the fraudulent documents and bookings were identified by the airlines or European airport authorities before departure. Sixteen individuals travelled to the UK but their documents were detected as fakes by Border Force officers on arrival.

With the cooperation of airports and airlines, Home Office investigators were able to link the bookings together and trace them back to Ruci.

Analysis of Ruci’s mobile phone uncovered even more fake documents ready to be used for criminal purposes.

Ruci will now be treated as a foreign national offender and could be removed from the UK after referral to the Home Office.

Chris Foster, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said:

Today’s sentencing is the result of strong collaboration between agencies to bring this people smuggler to justice.

Today we have removed another link in the chain of organised criminals who facilitate illegal entry to the UK.

I am grateful for the tireless efforts of the officers who identified and investigated this complex case.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 25 January 2024.

Three suspected fraudulent immigration lawyers have been arrested in Greater Manchester following a Home Office raid on Wednesday 24 January.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 25 January 2024.

Zombie-style knives and machetes will be outlawed under legislation laid today. A surrender and compensation scheme will launch in the summer.

Dangerous zombie-style knives and machetes will be banned under new legislation to take these weapons off our streets and keep young people safe.

Under the measures, first announced by the Prime Minister last year and laid before Parliament today, it will be illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or transport these zombie-style knives and machetes.

The government is urging anyone with one of these dangerous weapons to voluntarily hand it into a knife surrender bin, before the official surrender and compensation scheme is launched in the summer. This will get these knives off our streets as soon as possible, while giving people in possession an opportunity to hand them in without legal implications. The full ban will come into in force in September, after which anyone in possession of one of these knives will face time behind bars.

During this time, the government will work with police, communities and partners to ensure there is public awareness of the surrender scheme, which have been implemented in the past to accompany knife bans.

This is just one part of a package of measures being introduced by the government to strengthen existing knife crime laws, which are already among the toughest in the world. It is illegal to carry any knife in public without good purpose, carrying a sentence of 4 years in prison, and, in 2016, the government banned zombie knives, whilst cyclone knives were banned in 2019.

Since 2019, police have taken 120,000 knives off our streets through stop and search and other targeted police action. Knife crime has gone down 5% since 2019 and hospital admissions for under 25s involved in stabbings has fallen by 25%. Violent crime is also down 51% since 2010.

Building on this record, the Criminal Justice Bill will go further by increasing the maximum sentence for the possession of banned weapons from 6 months to 2 years, while anyone caught selling knives to under-18s, including online, will also face 2 years behind bars.

Police will also be given new powers to seize and destroy knives found on private premises if there are reasonable grounds to suspect the blade will be used in a serious crime. Previously, police could not seize knives found during a search on a property, even if they had suspicions of criminal use.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

Knife crime continues to take precious lives away, and I am determined to put an end to this senseless violence.

We must stop these dangerous knives ending up on our streets and in the hands of criminals. We cannot let them be sold to children, and we must give young people a way out of violence.

That is why I have expedited the ban on zombie-style machetes and we are increasing the maximum sentence for selling knives to under 18s. We will continue to invest in youth services that have prevented thousands of violent injuries.

Zombie-style knives are just as dangerous as traditional zombie knives, however, they do not have the same distinct images or threatening wording that incites violence.

The police have identified that zombie-style knives are increasingly used in criminality, emerging on the back of the 2016 ban when some retailers exploited this loophole to keep selling these dangerous weapons but evade the law. The measures being introduced today will put an end to this technicality.

In line with previous knife bans, a surrender and compensation scheme will be introduced from the 26 August, and further guidance on how this will operate will be published in June.

Steel Warriors Head of Operations Christian d’Ippolito said:

Steel Warriors welcome the steps being taken by the government to strengthen its tough knife crime laws to keep dangerous knives off our streets. Weapons like these should not be available to young people, they have no place in modern society and should not be glorified.

At Steel Warriors we believe that lives should be built by steel, not destroyed by it. We melt down confiscated knives and recycle them into outdoor gyms, we then provide free community classes to transform the lives of young people affected by crime, violence and social exclusion, giving them the confidence they need to create positive futures.

During a visit to Kent Police yesterday, the Home Secretary saw first-hand how Home Office-funded youth violence prevention projects are helping steer young people away from violent crime. Recent independent evaluation has shown that the government’s Violence Reduction Units, in combination with hotspot policing patrols, have prevented an estimated 3,220 hospital admissions for violent injury since 2019 in areas where the programme operates.

The Home Secretary also met with Yemi Hughes, the mother of a knife crime victim, Idris Elba and members of his ‘Don’t Stop Your Future’ campaign yesterday afternoon to discuss action being taken on serious violence and what more can be done to tackle the issue.

The legislation laid in Parliament will amend the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 19 January 2024.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been proscribed today (19 January), making it a criminal offence to belong to the group, or invite support for it.

The organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation today (19 January) after Parliament approved a draft order laid on Monday (15 January).

This order makes belonging to Hizb ut-Tahrir or inviting support for the group a criminal offence, with a potential prison sentence of 14 years which can be handed down alongside or in place of a fine.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has now been added to the list of proscribed organisations in the UK, alongside 79 other organisations.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 18 January 2024.

Border Force have made the highest number of illegal drug seizures since records began, as action at the border helps stop illegal drugs reaching the country.

In the year ending March 2023, Border Force made a total of 25,834 drug seizures, a 24% increase from last year and the highest on record.

Over 92 tonnes of illegal drugs were seized by police and Border Force, the highest volume since 2003/4.

In addition, record quantities of so-called party drugs, cocaine and ketamine, were also taken off the streets last year through relentless police action and a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drug use. The total quantity of cocaine seized by the police rose by 100% to 3.36 tonnes, while the quantity of ketamine confiscated rose 189% to 500kg.

Border Force saw a strong performance on cocaine seizures last year with over 15 tonnes seized. Border Force have consistently seized over 9 tonnes of cocaine every year for the last 3 years due to bigger intelligence-led seizures.

Today, Minister for Legal Migration Tom Pursglove is visiting Border Force officers at Stansted Airport to thank them for their commitment to breaking drug supply chains and stopping harmful substances entering the UK.

Minister for Legal Migration and the Border Tom Pursglove MP said:

We are committed to stopping dangerous drugs from coming into the country, where they fuel violence and exploitation and cause significant harm to our communities.

Today we’ve seen a record level of seizures demonstrating that police and Border Force are working relentlessly to stop illegal drugs from coming into the country and keep them off our streets.

Record amounts of herbal cannabis were seized by police and Border Force last year, which combined was a 96% increase from the previous year.

Working in partnership, police forces, Border Force, the National Crime Agency and international partners use intelligence and technology to keep our borders safe, prevent drug trafficking and bring those responsible to justice.

Border Force officers use a range of methods including hi-tech search equipment to detect and stop illegal and restricted goods that criminals attempt to bring into the country.

Tackling the supply of illegal drugs entering the UK’s drugs market is a key element of the government’s 10-year drugs strategy. The strategy is backed with a record £3 billion funding over 3 years to tackle the supply of illicit drugs through relentless policing action and building a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people’s lives around and prevent crime.

Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire Chris Philp said:

We will not relent when it comes to disrupting criminal enterprises and locking up those involved in this soulless trade. Today’s stats speak for   themselves, sending a clear message to criminals that they will be caught.

This government takes a zero-tolerance approach to both supply and possession of illegal drugs and I am grateful to the dedicated Border Force and police officers for protecting our communities from these dangerous substances.

Since the start of the drug strategy funding in April 2022, law enforcement have successfully delivered over 4,500 disruptions to organised crime groups and closed over 2,000 county lines, meeting the 3-year target of 2,000 18 months early.

Police have also made over 50,000 drug tests on suspects who have been arrested, which helps divert them into life-changing treatment.

The drugs strategy is also investing £780 million to build a world-class treatment system to turn people’s lives around and stop the cycle of crime. To support this, the government has increased the drug and alcohol treatment workforce with 1,670 additional staff and stood up 106 new Combating Drugs Partnerships in every area of England.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 15 January 2024.

James Cleverly has laid a draft order before Parliament to proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 11 January 2024.

Curiosity kept Bays Consulting pondering after delivering a commission for ACE – and the subsequent results changed the company’s prospects.