Written questions by Shannon.

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on tackling human trafficking.

Responsibility for modern slavery and human trafficking sits within the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls' portfolio in the Home Office.Modern slavery is a global crime and the Government is committed to working with international partners to tackle it.In September 2024, the Minister met the (now former) US Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to discuss the Government's modern slavery and humans trafficking priorities. The Minister has also met senior representatives from the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings during their evaluation visit in December 2024.The UK has close relationships with Governments from other countries, including Albania, Vietnam and Romania, to address shared priorities on modern slavery. Partnerships with these countries are maintained through regular senior official engagement and deliver initiatives to prevent modern slavery, improve law enforcement cooperation and support effective reintegration of victims so they can rebuild their lives.

How many people have been arrested for using forged passports at airports in the last 12 months.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular air arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release, available at:Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UKWe do not hold central data on the number of people arrested for using forged passports at airports, and the figures could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of sexual harassment laws.

Everyone has the right to both feel safe and be safe going about their day-to-day lives. That is why tackling sexual harassment is an important part of this Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.There is a range of legislation that addresses sexual harassment. This includes offences in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Public Order Act 1986 and more recently, the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment Act 2023, which we are progressing for implementation.We are strengthening protections against workplace sexual harassment through the Employment Rights Bill. It will require employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees and introduce an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.As with all legislation, the Government will continue to keep sexual harassment legislation under review.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of awareness amongst police constabularies of the legislation around the use of prescribed medical cannabis.

CBPMs were placed in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations’”) in 2018. This means that specialist clinicians can prescribe CBPMs where they deem it clinically appropriate and in the best interests of their patients, and patients may legally possess CBPMs when in possession of a valid UK prescription or if they are a participant in a clinical trial. Home Office Circular 018/2018, summarising the introduction of CBPMs, was published when the measures came into force.Home Office circulars are aimed primarily at law enforcement, including the police, and are published on gov.uk. Circular 018/2018 is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0182018-rescheduling-of-cannabis-based-products-for-medicinal-use-in-humans.The Home Office liaises with the police to support awareness and understanding of drug legislation across police forces. This includes liaison through the National Police Chief’s CouncilAdditionally, the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care contributed to the guidance document “‘Medical cannabis (and cannabis oils)” , which is available on the NHS’ page on at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/.

How many people have been convicted of terrorism offences in the last 12 months.

In the year ending 30 September 2024, there were 72 trials for terrorism offences in England & Wales, 71 of which were convicted and 1 acquitted.Further information on the use of police powers under terrorism and subsequent legislation can be found in...

How many assaults there have been on police officers in the last 12 months.

Data on the number of police recorded crimes for assaults against police officers is published by the Office for National Statistics as part of their quarterly ‘Crime in England and Wales’ series which can be accessed here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepo...

Whether she is taking to steps to support the National Crime Agency to implement a recruitment strategy for meeting operational challenges presented by small-boat crossings in the English Channel.

We work closely with the National Crime Agency to ensure it has the resources it needs to investigate organised immigration crime leading to small boat crossings. Since July, we have funded an extra 100 specialist NCA intelligence and investigative office...

What guidance her Department issues on inviting people sanctioned by foreign Governments to the UK.

The Immigration Rules provide for the refusal of entry clearance, permission to enter and permission to stay on general grounds, regardless of the category in which an individual makes an application.A person will usually be refused on general grounds if ...

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Government's fire safety in the workplace guidance; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating this guidance.

Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that such guidance, as she considers appropriate, is available to assist Responsible Persons in the discharge of the duties imposed ...

What steps she is taking to tackle the sexual exploitation of women to pay drug debts.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of exploitation. Gangs exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, often using coercion, intimidation, violence - including sexual violence - and weapon...

What steps her Department is taking to track people working for hostile states in the UK.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.The government’s first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. We keep potential threats to the UK under constant review a...

How many people have been arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete in the last 12 months.

The Home Office does not currently hold data centrally on the number of people arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down ...

What recent estimate she has made of the number of gangs that are involved in hare coursing.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling rural and wildlife crime and the impact hare coursing can have. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourho...

What discussions she has had with her Austrian counterpart on security for Taylor Swift concerts.

The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

What guidance her Department issues to police forces on the (a) recording and (b) retention of personal information on police data bases for hate incidents that are not deemed to be a crime.

This Government has already committed to reversing the previous Government’s decision to downgrade the monitoring of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate.It is vital that the police can capture data relating to non-crime hate incidents when it is proportiona...

What discussions she has had with police forces on tackling violence at football games.

The Government is committed to tackling and preventing violence and disorder at football matches and tournaments in England, Wales and overseas. Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.The Government funds the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFP...

What data her Department holds on the number of police misconduct investigations held in England in the last 12 months.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and misconduct proceedings (including cases and allegations) on an annual basis in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be...

What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of police response times.

Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constab...

What recent assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) efficiency of the Border Force fleet.

We always seek to ensure the adequacy and efficiency of the Border Force fleet. Working with key law enforcement partners, Border Force Maritime Command supports border security in the maritime arena. Domain awareness and the effective deployment of marit...

How many illegal drugs have been seized in the last 12 months.

The Home Office latest published data on drug seizures made by the Police and Border Force for England and Wales can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2023.The latest publis...