Written questions by Begum.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the implementation of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.

The offence of assault against an emergency worker is the responsibility of Ministry of Justice.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the offence of assault against an emergency worker on trends in the level of (a) arrests and (b) convictions of women.

The offence of assault against an emergency worker is the responsibility of Ministry of Justice.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the offence of assault against an emergency worker on trends in the level of (a) arrests and (b) convictions of women.

The offence of assault against an emergency worker is the responsibility of Ministry of Justice.

If she will conduct an equality impact assessment for the offence of assault against an emergency worker.

The offence of assault against an emergency worker is the responsibility of Ministry of Justice.

How many people with dual nationality have reported problems using the UK Visas and Immigration systems.

British citizens who are also nationals of another country (excluding Ireland), who hold and use a valid British passport for travel and status checks do not need and are not eligible for an eVisa, since they are exempt from UK immigration control.If someone has dual nationality and neither of those nationalities is British or Irish, they must ensure that they add the passport they will use to travel to their UKVI account. If they have a passport for both nationalities, they can add both to their UKVI account.Although a person can link more than one ID document to their UKVI account, their eVisa will display a single nationality only. This will be the nationality for the most recent ID document uploaded to their UKVI account and used to log-in to their UKVI account.If they have already added a second ID document and want their other nationality to appear on their eVisa, they can update this through their UKVI account on GOV.UK. After logging in, they should select ‘Add an identity document’, then choose ‘Yes, my name, nationality or date of birth has changed’, and follow the remaining steps, which include posting their passport to the Home Office. Once the change is approved, the nationality from that ID document will appear on their eVisa and will be used to log in to their UKVI account.The information requested about the number of people who are dual nationals and have reported issues with their eVisas is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people with dual citizenship can obtain e-visas that recognise both nationalities.

British citizens who are also nationals of another country (excluding Ireland), who hold and use a valid British passport for travel and status checks do not need and are not eligible for an eVisa, since they are exempt from UK immigration control.If someone has dual nationality and neither of those nationalities is British or Irish, they must ensure that they add the passport they will use to travel to their UKVI account. If they have a passport for both nationalities, they can add both to their UKVI account.Although a person can link more than one ID document to their UKVI account, their eVisa will display a single nationality only. This will be the nationality for the most recent ID document uploaded to their UKVI account and used to log-in to their UKVI account.If they have already added a second ID document and want their other nationality to appear on their eVisa, they can update this through their UKVI account on GOV.UK. After logging in, they should select ‘Add an identity document’, then choose ‘Yes, my name, nationality or date of birth has changed’, and follow the remaining steps, which include posting their passport to the Home Office. Once the change is approved, the nationality from that ID document will appear on their eVisa and will be used to log in to their UKVI account.The information requested about the number of people who are dual nationals and have reported issues with their eVisas is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Whether she plans to undertake research on the potential impact of the offence of assault against an emergency worker on women.

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the legislation relating to assaults on emergency workers, has not made an assessment of the impact, or potential impact, of the offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on trends relating to the arrest or conviction of women. Nor does it plan to conduct further assessments or research relating specifically to the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.Following changes made by provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the then Government published an Equalities Impact Assessment of the changes on the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. The assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-equality-statements/assault-on-emergency-workers-in-the-police-crime-sentencing-courts-bill-equalities-impact-assessment.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the implementation of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the legislation relating to assaults on emergency workers, has not made an assessment of the impact, or potential impact, of the offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on trends relating to the arrest or conviction of women. Nor does it plan to conduct further assessments or research relating specifically to the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.Following changes made by provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the then Government published an Equalities Impact Assessment of the changes on the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. The assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-equality-statements/assault-on-emergency-workers-in-the-police-crime-sentencing-courts-bill-equalities-impact-assessment.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the offence of assault against an emergency worker on trends in the level of (a) arrests and (b) convictions of women.

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the legislation relating to assaults on emergency workers, has not made an assessment of the impact, or potential impact, of the offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on trends relating to the arrest or conviction of women. Nor does it plan to conduct further assessments or research relating specifically to the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.Following changes made by provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the then Government published an Equalities Impact Assessment of the changes on the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. The assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-equality-statements/assault-on-emergency-workers-in-the-police-crime-sentencing-courts-bill-equalities-impact-assessment.

If she will conduct an equality impact assessment for the offence of assault against an emergency worker.

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the legislation relating to assaults on emergency workers, has not made an assessment of the impact, or potential impact, of the offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on trends relating to the arrest or conviction of women. Nor does it plan to conduct further assessments or research relating specifically to the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.Following changes made by provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the then Government published an Equalities Impact Assessment of the changes on the offence in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. The assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-equality-statements/assault-on-emergency-workers-in-the-police-crime-sentencing-courts-bill-equalities-impact-assessment.

What pre-legislative consultation she undertook on amendments 61 to 63 at Report Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

If she will conduct an equality impact assessment for new offences created by amendments 61 to 63 at Report Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIAThe Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

How many and what proportion of convictions of women for the offence of assault against an emergency worker in 2024 related to an incident where the victim was a police officer.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions across England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics. The data tool includes the number of convictions for an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in 2024.Information on the number of males and females who were proceeded against and convicted for these offences is available within the published data and can be accessed by filtering the ‘overall volumes’ dataset by sex. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record the specific occupation of the victim of an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 so it is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to state the proportion of emergency worker victims who were police officers, or the number or proportion of women convicted of an assault on a police officer under the 2018 Act offence.

How many and what proportion of people convicted for the offence of assault against an emergency worker in 2024 were women.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions across England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics. The data tool includes the number of convictions for an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in 2024.Information on the number of males and females who were proceeded against and convicted for these offences is available within the published data and can be accessed by filtering the ‘overall volumes’ dataset by sex. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record the specific occupation of the victim of an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 so it is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to state the proportion of emergency worker victims who were police officers, or the number or proportion of women convicted of an assault on a police officer under the 2018 Act offence.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the time allowed for consideration of amendments 61 to 63 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

How many and what proportion of convictions for the offence of assault against an emergency worker in 2024 were in relation to incidents in which the victim was a police officer.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions across England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics. The data tool includes the number of convictions for an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in 2024.Information on the number of males and females who were proceeded against and convicted for these offences is available within the published data and can be accessed by filtering the ‘overall volumes’ dataset by sex. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record the specific occupation of the victim of an offence under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 so it is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to state the proportion of emergency worker victims who were police officers, or the number or proportion of women convicted of an assault on a police officer under the 2018 Act offence.

What recent discussions she has had with (a) the police, (b) women's groups, (c) representatives of the legal profession, (d) human rights organisations and (e) civil liberties organisations on amendments 61 to 63 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times Zinc Network Limited has provided his Department with copies of unpublished (a) YouTube and (b) social media videos in order for his Department to provide approval or feedback since January 2023.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) regularly provides feedback on videos for social media (including YouTube) from our project implementers as part of standard FCDO programming procedures to ensure alignment with overarching project objectives, and conflict and gender sensitivity criteria. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

What plans her Department has to increase the number of available appointments at the Visa Application Centre in Minsk, Belarus.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) monitor the number of appointments released in Minsk on a regular basis and work with our supplier, VFS, to provide additional slots where this is possible. UKVI review appointment requests for those customers with compelling or compassionate circumstances, where there is an urgent need to travel, as well as applications from family members of British nationals or those applying for a EUSS Family permit to prioritise these customer groups.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of appointments at the Visa Application Centre in Minsk, Belarus.

Appointment capacity is agreed by UK Visas and Immigration. Where demand for appointments in Belarus is high customers may need to keep checking to find the next available appointments, which are opened 4 weeks in advance.