Topical Questions

Answer from Priti Patel

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There are important issues about protecting our democracy from our adversaries, individuals and countries that want to do us harm. That is a whole of Government effort.

Answer from Priti Patel

Perhaps the right hon. Lady has forgotten that, in this country, the police and courts are independent of the Government, and I will always respect that principle. Rather than seeking to prejudge, pressure, smear or slander—as it is fair to say that she and perhaps the entire shadow Front Bench and her party clearly are—it is important to let everyone get on and do the required work.

Answer from Kit Malthouse

Like my hon. Friend, I have seen a rise in that kind of offence in my constituency. As the crops are cut and those animals become more apparent, it obviously becomes more of a problem. In the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we are introducing a range of offences to deal with that crime which will attract a prison sentence of up to six months.

Answer from Priti Patel

If I may say so to the hon. Lady, I repeat the comments that I made earlier. I appreciate that she may be trying to demonstrate some humour, but the Prime Minister has apologised. At the same time, it is right that the police, who are operationally independent, get on and do their job in the right and proper way, as they have been doing.

Answer from Damian Hinds

I am conscious of the statement to follow, but my hon. Friend is right that those are concerning matters. In truth, they are not restricted to a single British politician or a single party. The security briefings that he mentioned continue to play an important role.

Answer from Priti Patel

Perhaps the right hon. Lady has forgotten that, in this country, the police and courts are independent of the Government, and I will always respect that principle. Rather than seeking to prejudge, pressure, smear or slander—as it is fair to say that she and perhaps the entire shadow Front Bench and her party clearly are—it is important to let everyone get on and do the required work.

Answer from Priti Patel

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I will come to my statement shortly, when I will talk about that issue in much more detail. There are important issues about protecting our democracy from our adversaries, individuals and countries that want to do us harm. That is a whole of Government effort.

Answer from Kevin Foster

To be clear, the wider immigration system obviously operates separately from the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, but we are carefully considering what the requirements are, and not least how we can ensure people can actually access the system to make applications because, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, for obvious reasons we cannot run our usual application centre that we would have in Kabul given the Taliban's control of the territory.

Answer from Kit Malthouse

It must be hard for everybody to imagine what kind of twisted mind would think it was a good thing to do to break or steal a defibrillator, and I would be more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to examine the problem in his constituency and, indeed, to see if it is a problem elsewhere.

Answer from Priti Patel

The hon. Lady raises the very important and, frankly, quite pressing issue of spiking and its impact across the night-time economy and, much more widely, across society. We are looking in much of the work we are doing in policing at how we can review the matter and how we can actually give the support required.

Answer from Kevin Foster

I have to point out to my hon. Friend that extending visas beyond six months comes with issues such as payment of the immigration health surcharge and the requirement to issue a biometric residence permit, where appropriate. There are some quite considerable issues with the request, but I am always happy to talk to him about how we can support the businesses in his constituency.

Answer from Kevin Foster

It is safe to say that we have not seen the maximum number of visas taken up. The hon. Member may want to have a think about some of the issues that might have affected international travel for seasonal work over the past two years—particularly relating to a global pandemic. Ultimately, our goal is the right goal and I think it is fair. I think what the vast majority of people across the UK believe is that in the first instance we should actually focus on making sure that job offers go to our domestic workforce and that key workers are appropriately rewarded.

Answer from Priti Patel

I thank my hon. Friend for his question; this is a very important matter. Just prior to questions this afternoon, I had a bilateral call with my homeland security counterpart in the US. Let me say a few things. First, we are working with the FBI—in fact, we have been since the incident took place—and there is a great deal of intelligence sharing and work taking place. Of course, when it comes to our domestic homeland, a range of measures are being undertaken right now, including protective security for the Jewish community.

Answer from Priti Patel

Let me start by thanking the hon. Lady for her question and for her work in this area. In particular, she has worked a lot with me and my Department on the issue of grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation. A wide range of work across the whole of Government is taking place on this, including local authorities, social services and public health. That work is crucial as well as—I know she knows this and has seen it—the incredible investigatory capability of our National Crime Agency, as well as policing, to go after the perpetrators.

Answer from Priti Patel (Home Secretary)

The Home Secretary confirms that the acts described by the MP are unacceptable and the police are taking action against individuals involved. She states that her department is working to ensure the Jewish community, particularly Matthew Offord's constituents, are fully supported and protected.

Answer from Priti Patel (Home Secretary)

The Home Secretary acknowledges Luke Pollard's work on this issue and confirms that she will meet him and others from his community. She highlights the importance of working together to resolve the issue, noting it is a particular concern for the area.

Answer from Damian Hinds (Secretary of State for Education)

The Secretary of State acknowledges the issue and confirms that fraud is included in scope for the draft Online Safety Bill. He mentions ongoing work with DCMS colleagues regarding issues related to advertising on online platforms.

Answer from Kevin Foster (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration and Security) (Home Office)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary notes that those with outstanding applications can access jobs on the shortage occupation list, expanding it to include care workers next month. This will benefit 31 out of 32 local authority areas in Scotland under dispersal accommodation.