Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: I will not be tempted by your tormenting me to comment on the annual ritual, Mr Speaker.During the recent al-Quds march, the police were once again powerless to take action against people displaying flags of Hezbollah and Hamas, on the grounds that they are the political wings of those illegal terrorist organisations. When will my right hon. Friend proscribe both Hamas and Hezbollah, so that we can take action to prevent those terrorist groups from displaying their flags on our streets?; According to figures provided to me by the Fire Brigades Union, the Government have cut funding to the fire service by 30% since 2010. The FBU also informs me that a further cut of 20% is planned during the course of this Parliament. How can the Minister credibly claim that austerity is over for the firefighters of Cheshire and the UK?; Will the Home Department act in line with the Prime Minister’s commitment in a letter to me last month—namely, that EU settlement scheme applicants will not be required to show that they meet all the requirements of current free movement rules, and in particular will not have to show that they have been exercising EEA treaty rights?; A 2% increase in pay and prices will cost Merseyside police £6.2 million extra. I know the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service wants the police precept to double, but that will not come anywhere near covering that £6.2 million figure, so unless the Government fund the increase in police pension costs, it simply will not be possible for Merseyside police to deliver on keeping the public safe. I know he will not tell us what is in the police settlement, but can he perhaps tell us that he is lobbying the Treasury for the funds needed to cover the police pension liabilities?; The Home Secretary has rightly commended those employers planning to reimburse EU employees for the cost of their settled status applications, but has he persuaded the Chancellor that taxing such payments would be counterproductive and utterly unfair?; I listened carefully to the Home Secretary earlier, but I am still not clear: are we to be a member of Europol in this brave new world, or simply shadowing and co-operating with it?; As the Home Secretary cannot confirm that the White Paper on immigration will be published before the meaningful vote and given the total absence of clarity in this area, why on earth should we vote for a blindfold Brexit?; I was out on patrol with a police sergeant in Ashton recently, and he told me that he had less than half the number of officers and police community support officers that he had in 2010 to cover the area. With the chief constable of Greater Manchester warning that budget cuts and pension liabilities will reduce the number of officers still further, does the Minister not agree that the public and the police deserve more?
Richard Haines Burden (Labour, Centre-left): The Home Secretary will be aware that West Midlands police force has lost 2,000 officers since 2010. He may not be aware that last week, a Conservative councillor in my constituency, which is next door to his, suggested that the response to rising crime should be for local communities to have a whip round to fund private security patrols. Does that represent Government thinking?