Oral Answers to Questions

Home Department Oral Questions Yvette Cooper (Secretary of State for the Home Department) responded to tabled questions on illegal small boat crossings in the English Channel, violence against women and girls, and youth violence. On small boat crossings, the Home Secretary stated that criminal gangs are profiting from this trade in human lives, and that the government is establishing a new border security command with additional cross-border police and new counter-terror powers to address this issue. She emphasized the need to work with police forces and organizations across Europe to prevent the boats from leaving the French coast in the first place. On violence against women and girls, the Home Secretary outlined the government's mission to halve such violence within a decade, which will involve drastically improving the policing and criminal justice response, as well as working across government and society to tackle the issue. Regarding youth violence, the Minister of State, Dame Diana Johnson, discussed the government's plans to introduce legislation to remove dangerous knives from the streets and tackle online knife sales, as well as the new "young futures" programme to prevent teenagers from being drawn into violence. In the topical questions session, the Home Secretary and ministers responded to a range of issues, including tackling antisocial behavior, protecting the right to privacy from live facial recognition surveillance, clearing the asylum backlog, and preventing foreign interference in elections. The Shadow Home Secretary, Mr. James Cleverly, raised concerns about the Home Secretary's transparency and the government's plans for failed asylum seekers. The Home Secretary and ministers also addressed questions on retail crime, rural crime, and the use of e-bikes and e-scooters.