Monday Volume 663 15 July 2019 No. 330 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Monday 15 July 2019 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2019 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 565 15 JULY 2019 566 the remit of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include House of Commons sports coaches, but will the Home Secretary update the House on progress towards strengthening DBS checks Monday 15 July 2019 for those involved in coaching, including assistant coaches, to ensure the next generation of possible sporting heroes and heroines are safe from abuse? The House met at half-past Two o’clock Sajid Javid: I thank my hon. Friend for the work she PRAYERS has been doing for several years to encourage more people, particularly young people, to take part in sport. She is right about the current position: sports coach is [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] not included as position of trust. Enhanced criminal checks are available, but I agree that we need to do more work, which is why we are reviewing the effectiveness of Oral Answers to Questions the law on those who take advantage of young children with sexual relationships and are looking at what more we can do to include them as positions of trust. HOME DEPARTMENT Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op): The scope of the DBS is far too narrow. Private tutors are The Secretary of State was asked— exempt, as are host families of international students. As we head into the summer, it is a reminder that we need to safeguard all young people. What steps is the Disclosure and Barring Service Home Secretary taking to ensure it is far more comprehensive in who it covers? 1. John Spellar (Warley) (Lab): What steps he is taking to improve the Disclosure and Barring Service. Sajid Javid: I understand that the hon. Lady has had [911916] a meeting recently with the victims Minister, the Under- Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member The Secretary of State for the Home Department for Charnwood (Edward Argar), on this very issue, and (Sajid Javid): The Disclosure and Barring Service is a I am glad that she has raised it. She may be aware that vital part of the safeguarding regime. The DBS issued there are changes we have to, and want to, make because more than 5 million certificates last year, which was of a recent Supreme Court judgment, and because of more than the previous year. The Home Office, as the that I want to bring forward other changes that we are sponsoring Department, continues to oversee the DBS’s looking at and planning and that, when they happen, performance. she will welcome. John Spellar: Does the Home Secretary not understand —I think he does, along with the Justice Secretary—that Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): Some of these it is widely accepted across the House that the service is DBS checks take far too long and prevent people from not fit for purpose, because it makes it far too difficult getting into employment. Is it the fault of the DBS, for those with a record to get back into work, which is local police forces, or both? bad not only for them but for their families and society? Can we have some urgent action to get back to trying to Sajid Javid: Sometimes, when there are delays, they rehabilitate offenders by putting tight limits on disclosure, will probably be very case-specific, so it is hard to especially for cautions and minor offences in early attribute fault, but my hon. Friend is right to raise the years, and so let many of our citizens turn their lives need for speedy checks. There have been significant around? Why does he not cut through the bureaucratic improvements. He may be interested to know that there inertia in the Home Office and get a move on? is a 14-day maximum on the basic checks we apply, and in 98% of cases that has been met. Sajid Javid: The House will be aware that there have problems with the service in recent years. As a result, a Economic Crime number of changes are being made and performance is up. In fact, a new chief executive is starting this week, I believe, so there is new management. On the actual 2. Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con): What steps the policies it implements, the right hon. Gentleman makes Government are taking to tackle economic crime. a good point. Changes can be made and active discussions [911918] are taking place right now between me and the Justice Secretary. The Minister for Security and Economic Crime (Mr Ben Wallace): Last week, the Government published a new Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con): Already economic crime plan in partnership with the private this phenomenal summer of sport will have inspired sector to create a whole-system approach to economic many children to play football, tennis and cricket, with crime. Her Majesty’s Government are investing at least netball, golf and rugby still to come, but there are still £48 million this year to bolster capabilities to tackle failings in our safeguarding processes, including the economic crime, including with the establishment of the DBS checks. I worked extremely hard with the excellent National Economic Crime Centre, to increase the number Minister on this policy.The main issue remains broadening of financial investigators and to recover more assets. 567 Oral Answers 15 JULY 2019 Oral Answers 568 Nigel Mills: I welcome the new economic crime plan, Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con): How will the forthcoming and I agree we need more resources to finance people to legislation requiring the registration of overseas entities tackle these various crimes. What more will be done prevent money generated through crime and corruption under that new plan to strengthen our protections against overseas from being invested in the London property fraud? market? Mr Wallace: The new economic crime plan brings Mr Wallace: Transparency is the best disinfectant in together all the different actors on the stage the Government such cases, and the Government are working hard to have invested in and identifies all those areas that need improve the operation of Companies House to ensure to be solved. It is a better analysis of economic crime. that we get to the bottom of some of these spurious We have set up the NECC to bring together all the companies.Weare also fully committed to the establishment assets of government—everything from UK Visas and of a public register of property ownership in the UK, Immigration and the Home Office to the intelligence and are working with overseas territories to ensure that services—to focus on some of the biggest money launderers similar registers are established to cover ownership there. and to implement the new powers in the Criminal Finances Act 2017, to deal with criminals and money Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab): As capital launderers and to take the money back from them. moves ever more easily, it is imperative that we look again at the very limited circumstances in which large 17. [911933] Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab): Given financial actors can at present be held accountable that the Government are constantly telling us how before the law. The Minister mentioned corporations a much more money they are putting into funding the moment ago, but the Government’s economic crime police forces across the UK, can the Minister tell us plan totally fails to take on the issue of corporate how many detectives were assigned to serious organised criminal liability, which we must consider. Here is a very crime in 2010, and how many there were in the latest simple question: what are the Government afraid of? available data? Mr Wallace: As the hon. Gentleman will know, I have Mr Speaker: Including of an economic character. been talking about that issue for a long time, and we have been working hard on it. “Failure to prevent” in Mr Wallace: Given the economic character of that relation to tax evasion is now being rolled out, and the question, the best thing is for me to write to the hon. National Security Council discussed the issue more Lady with the detail of the number of financial than a year ago. The hon. Gentleman will, I hope, wait investigators—[Interruption.] The hon. Lady has not to see what happens, but we are determined to try to been particularly specific. Does she mean the number of deal with it. detectives within the National Crime Agency, within the Met’s serious organised crime command, within the EU Settlement Scheme regional organised crime units or within the local forces? I will send her the details so that she can analyse and discuss them. 3. Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP): What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con): I welcome EU settlement scheme application process. [911919] the economic crime plan, but I do not see any mention of extending the “failure to prevent” offence to include The Minister for Immigration (Caroline Nokes): economic crime. Is the Minister still keen to do that? EU citizens are our friends, our neighbours and our colleagues, and we want them to stay. The settlement Mr Wallace: Absolutely. Building “failure to prevent” scheme is performing well. The latest published statistics offences such as bribery and tax evasion into statute show that more than 800,000 applications have been makes a real difference.