Every parliamentary written question tabled by Bell Ribeiro-Addy this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 141–160 of 208 · Home Office
What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on increasing awareness of legal services for people entering into the asylum process.
It is a routine part of the asylum process to inform asylum seekers of their legal rights, and of the support available to them.
If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the no recourse to public funds policy on people with long-term (a) conditions and (b) disabilities.
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders, including groups representing people with long-term conditions and disabilities.
What steps she is taking to prevent people seeking asylum from becoming (a) destitute and (b) in poverty.
The Home Office has a legal obligation, as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to support asylum seekers (including any dependants) who would otherwise be destitute. Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute can receive accommodation, subsistence, or both accommodation and subsistence support. Details of the support provided can be found at the following link: Asylum support: What you'll get - GOV.UK.The level of the allowance given to those supported under section 95 and section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is reviewed each year to ensure it covers an asylum seeker’s “essential living needs”.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of waiting 12 months before being allowed to apply for a right to work on asylum seekers.
Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we have continuously considered equality implications throughout the policy development process. Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can apply for permission to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Immigration Salary List. Whilst we keep all policies under review, there are no immediate plans to change the existing policy. It is important that we distinguish between individuals who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Asylum seekers do not need to make perilous journeys in order to seek employment in the UK. The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system after it has been put under unprecedented pressure. We will ensure that the system operates fairly and with quicker processing of claims. This will ensure that genuine refugees can access the labour market faster rather than waiting for extended periods on the outcome of their claim.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of restrictions on right to work on the health and safety of people seeking asylum.
Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we have continuously considered equality implications throughout the policy development process. Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can apply for permission to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Immigration Salary List. Whilst we keep all policies under review, there are no immediate plans to change the existing policy. It is important that we distinguish between individuals who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Asylum seekers do not need to make perilous journeys in order to seek employment in the UK. The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system after it has been put under unprecedented pressure. We will ensure that the system operates fairly and with quicker processing of claims. This will ensure that genuine refugees can access the labour market faster rather than waiting for extended periods on the outcome of their claim.
What steps she is taking to restore public confidence in the police in the context of reports of (a) officer and (b) staff involvement in cybercrimes.
The commission of any criminal offence by police officers or staff is unacceptable and can seriously damage vital public trust and confidence in the police service That is why the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms in October last year to raise standards in policing. These changes will strengthen the police misconduct system by introducing a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and mandating that conviction of certain criminal offences will automatically amount to gross misconduct.Police officers have a statutory duty to report any wrongdoing under their Standards of Professional Behaviour and it is vital that they are supported in doing so. There are a number of routes, both internal and external, to raise such concerns, including through the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Reporting Line, which enables police officers and staff to report concerns of wrongdoing that a criminal offence has been committed, or where there is evidence of conduct that would justify disciplinary proceedings.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of police (a) officers and (b) staff being convicted of cybercrimes on public trust in law enforcement agencies.
The commission of any criminal offence by police officers or staff is unacceptable and can seriously damage vital public trust and confidence in the police service That is why the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms in October last year to raise standards in policing. These changes will strengthen the police misconduct system by introducing a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and mandating that conviction of certain criminal offences will automatically amount to gross misconduct.Police officers have a statutory duty to report any wrongdoing under their Standards of Professional Behaviour and it is vital that they are supported in doing so. There are a number of routes, both internal and external, to raise such concerns, including through the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Reporting Line, which enables police officers and staff to report concerns of wrongdoing that a criminal offence has been committed, or where there is evidence of conduct that would justify disciplinary proceedings.
What support systems are available for whistleblowers within the police to report colleagues (a) misusing police databases ad (b) engaging in cybercrimes.
The commission of any criminal offence by police officers or staff is unacceptable and can seriously damage vital public trust and confidence in the police service That is why the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms in October last year to raise standards in policing. These changes will strengthen the police misconduct system by introducing a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and mandating that conviction of certain criminal offences will automatically amount to gross misconduct.Police officers have a statutory duty to report any wrongdoing under their Standards of Professional Behaviour and it is vital that they are supported in doing so. There are a number of routes, both internal and external, to raise such concerns, including through the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Reporting Line, which enables police officers and staff to report concerns of wrongdoing that a criminal offence has been committed, or where there is evidence of conduct that would justify disciplinary proceedings.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of cannabis legalisation on (a) reducing county lines drug trafficking and (b) associated law enforcement costs.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
If she will make an estimate of the annual cost of policing cannabis-related offences.
It is not possible from the available data to separate out the costs of policing these particular offences from other policing responsibilities, including in relation to other controlled substances.
If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing cannabis-related (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) court cases on the costs of the criminal justice system.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential (a) implications for his policies of international examples of state-run cannabis markets and (b) impact of those markets on (i) economic growth and (ii) public health.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of directing tax revenue from regulated cannabis into NHS mental health services.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Whether her Department has reviewed international evidence on the impact of legal cannabis markets on (a) healthcare costs and (b) service demand.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) reduced criminal justice costs and (b) increased tax revenue from legal cannabis on the economy.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on the level of police resources for tackling cannabis use of the report by TRANSFORM Drug Policy Foundation, entitled High returns: the economic benefits of UK cannabis legalisation, published on 18 February 2025.
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
How many and what proportion of cybercrime convictions involved (a) police (i) officers and (ii) staff and (b) other people in each of the last five years.
The auditing of police systems is a matter for local forces, who use bespoke IT systems to conduct lawful business monitoring. Forces’ use of such systems is assessed as part of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) integrity inspection programme. The provision of training is also a matter for local forces, dependent on the specific systems in usePolice officers must adhere to the statutory Standards of Professional Behaviour, which are clear that they must only access or disclose information in the proper course of their policing duties. This is further supported by guidance within the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics, published in 2024, on the accessing of data without authorisation. Allegations of system misuse are investigated by force Professional Standards Departments (PSDs), however the most serious and sensitive allegations of police misconduct are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)The number of finalised conduct matter, recordable conduct matter and public complaint allegations against police officers and staff is published on an annual basis within the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics. The latest statistics, covering the year ending 31 March 2024 includes the number of allegations broken down by the allegation type, including ‘use of force systems’, where the threshold for recording a conduct matter, recordable conduct matter or complaint has been met. This can be found in the accompanying ‘misconduct allegations by type’ data table: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tables. This includes information on whether the allegation was referred to disciplinary proceedings, however does not however identify the specific subsequent disciplinary outcome of these proceedings or the characteristics of the officer or staff member in each individual allegation.The Home Office does not hold information on cybercrimes committed by police officers or staff and published Ministry of Justice data on criminal convictions is not broken down by the individual’s occupation. However, the College of Policing’s Barred List statistics do identify the reasons for dismissal. The total number of reasons is higher than the number of actual dismissals because individuals may be dismissed for multiple reasons. In 2023/24, there were 66 instances of unlawful access or disclosure of information which featured as part of a police officer’s dismissal, 5 in respect of special constables and 37 in respect of police staff. Data for previous years is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/article/barred-list The Government has committed to raising standards in policing and, last year, the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms to strengthen the police misconduct system, including a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and specific offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct The Government is also committed to disrupting and pursuing those responsible for Computer Misuse Act offences. We will continue to ensure we keep the public safe and use all of the levers available to us to achieve this. This includes using our capabilities to pursue those responsible for crime, as well as protecting people and businesses at risk of being victims of crime
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle cybercrime perpetrated by police (a) officers and (b) staff.
The auditing of police systems is a matter for local forces, who use bespoke IT systems to conduct lawful business monitoring. Forces’ use of such systems is assessed as part of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) integrity inspection programme. The provision of training is also a matter for local forces, dependent on the specific systems in usePolice officers must adhere to the statutory Standards of Professional Behaviour, which are clear that they must only access or disclose information in the proper course of their policing duties. This is further supported by guidance within the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics, published in 2024, on the accessing of data without authorisation. Allegations of system misuse are investigated by force Professional Standards Departments (PSDs), however the most serious and sensitive allegations of police misconduct are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)The number of finalised conduct matter, recordable conduct matter and public complaint allegations against police officers and staff is published on an annual basis within the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics. The latest statistics, covering the year ending 31 March 2024 includes the number of allegations broken down by the allegation type, including ‘use of force systems’, where the threshold for recording a conduct matter, recordable conduct matter or complaint has been met. This can be found in the accompanying ‘misconduct allegations by type’ data table: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tables. This includes information on whether the allegation was referred to disciplinary proceedings, however does not however identify the specific subsequent disciplinary outcome of these proceedings or the characteristics of the officer or staff member in each individual allegation.The Home Office does not hold information on cybercrimes committed by police officers or staff and published Ministry of Justice data on criminal convictions is not broken down by the individual’s occupation. However, the College of Policing’s Barred List statistics do identify the reasons for dismissal. The total number of reasons is higher than the number of actual dismissals because individuals may be dismissed for multiple reasons. In 2023/24, there were 66 instances of unlawful access or disclosure of information which featured as part of a police officer’s dismissal, 5 in respect of special constables and 37 in respect of police staff. Data for previous years is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/article/barred-list The Government has committed to raising standards in policing and, last year, the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms to strengthen the police misconduct system, including a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and specific offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct The Government is also committed to disrupting and pursuing those responsible for Computer Misuse Act offences. We will continue to ensure we keep the public safe and use all of the levers available to us to achieve this. This includes using our capabilities to pursue those responsible for crime, as well as protecting people and businesses at risk of being victims of crime
What training is provided to police (a) officers and (b) staff on the ethical use of police databases; and how frequently that training is updated.
The auditing of police systems is a matter for local forces, who use bespoke IT systems to conduct lawful business monitoring. Forces’ use of such systems is assessed as part of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) integrity inspection programme. The provision of training is also a matter for local forces, dependent on the specific systems in usePolice officers must adhere to the statutory Standards of Professional Behaviour, which are clear that they must only access or disclose information in the proper course of their policing duties. This is further supported by guidance within the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics, published in 2024, on the accessing of data without authorisation. Allegations of system misuse are investigated by force Professional Standards Departments (PSDs), however the most serious and sensitive allegations of police misconduct are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)The number of finalised conduct matter, recordable conduct matter and public complaint allegations against police officers and staff is published on an annual basis within the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics. The latest statistics, covering the year ending 31 March 2024 includes the number of allegations broken down by the allegation type, including ‘use of force systems’, where the threshold for recording a conduct matter, recordable conduct matter or complaint has been met. This can be found in the accompanying ‘misconduct allegations by type’ data table: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tables. This includes information on whether the allegation was referred to disciplinary proceedings, however does not however identify the specific subsequent disciplinary outcome of these proceedings or the characteristics of the officer or staff member in each individual allegation.The Home Office does not hold information on cybercrimes committed by police officers or staff and published Ministry of Justice data on criminal convictions is not broken down by the individual’s occupation. However, the College of Policing’s Barred List statistics do identify the reasons for dismissal. The total number of reasons is higher than the number of actual dismissals because individuals may be dismissed for multiple reasons. In 2023/24, there were 66 instances of unlawful access or disclosure of information which featured as part of a police officer’s dismissal, 5 in respect of special constables and 37 in respect of police staff. Data for previous years is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/article/barred-list The Government has committed to raising standards in policing and, last year, the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms to strengthen the police misconduct system, including a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and specific offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct The Government is also committed to disrupting and pursuing those responsible for Computer Misuse Act offences. We will continue to ensure we keep the public safe and use all of the levers available to us to achieve this. This includes using our capabilities to pursue those responsible for crime, as well as protecting people and businesses at risk of being victims of crime
How many instances of unauthorised access to police databases by (a) officers and (b) staff have been recorded in each the last five years; and what disciplinary actions were taken in each case.
The auditing of police systems is a matter for local forces, who use bespoke IT systems to conduct lawful business monitoring. Forces’ use of such systems is assessed as part of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) integrity inspection programme. The provision of training is also a matter for local forces, dependent on the specific systems in usePolice officers must adhere to the statutory Standards of Professional Behaviour, which are clear that they must only access or disclose information in the proper course of their policing duties. This is further supported by guidance within the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics, published in 2024, on the accessing of data without authorisation. Allegations of system misuse are investigated by force Professional Standards Departments (PSDs), however the most serious and sensitive allegations of police misconduct are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)The number of finalised conduct matter, recordable conduct matter and public complaint allegations against police officers and staff is published on an annual basis within the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics. The latest statistics, covering the year ending 31 March 2024 includes the number of allegations broken down by the allegation type, including ‘use of force systems’, where the threshold for recording a conduct matter, recordable conduct matter or complaint has been met. This can be found in the accompanying ‘misconduct allegations by type’ data table: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tables. This includes information on whether the allegation was referred to disciplinary proceedings, however does not however identify the specific subsequent disciplinary outcome of these proceedings or the characteristics of the officer or staff member in each individual allegation.The Home Office does not hold information on cybercrimes committed by police officers or staff and published Ministry of Justice data on criminal convictions is not broken down by the individual’s occupation. However, the College of Policing’s Barred List statistics do identify the reasons for dismissal. The total number of reasons is higher than the number of actual dismissals because individuals may be dismissed for multiple reasons. In 2023/24, there were 66 instances of unlawful access or disclosure of information which featured as part of a police officer’s dismissal, 5 in respect of special constables and 37 in respect of police staff. Data for previous years is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/article/barred-list The Government has committed to raising standards in policing and, last year, the Home Secretary announced a series of reforms to strengthen the police misconduct system, including a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and specific offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct The Government is also committed to disrupting and pursuing those responsible for Computer Misuse Act offences. We will continue to ensure we keep the public safe and use all of the levers available to us to achieve this. This includes using our capabilities to pursue those responsible for crime, as well as protecting people and businesses at risk of being victims of crime