Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current measures to deter antisocial behaviour in car parks in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. Surrey Police will receive £2,588,427 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.
In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, Surrey Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.
Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary has announced a "Winter of Action" in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.
In February, we introduced the new Respect Order in the Crime and Policing Bill, along with a range of other enhancements to the existing ASB powers. Respect Orders will be behavioural orders, issued by the civil courts. They will enable courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in harmful anti-social behaviours and can also compel adult perpetrators to take action to address the root cause of their behaviour. Breach of the order will be a criminal offence, allowing the police to immediately arrest anyone suspected of breach. Courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, imprisonment.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the notice period given to organisers of the farming protest on 26 November 2025 of the cancellation of that protest.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy and will not be curtailed by this Government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.
Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 allows the police to impose conditions on a protest as appears necessary to prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community. Any conditions that are considered necessary by a senior police officer can be placed on the protest including the location, route and date of the protest or prohibiting individuals entering any public place specified. There is no timeframe specified in the legislation for notifying the organisers of any conditions imposed.
The management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police and forces work with organisers to plan protests and assess risks and manage safety. It is not for Government to direct the police in how they should manage protest activity.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of callouts police attend to attempted suicides or suicides in progress.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The College of Policing set the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.
The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice.
Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of lost and missing (a) police warrant cards (b) police uniform items were made for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on how many police warrant cards or police uniform items are lost.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that policing capacity is maintained in areas experiencing (a) increased community demand and (b) a reduction in policing numbers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to tackle crime effectively. As part of our mission to deliver safer streets, we will restore neighbourhood policing and support forces to rebuild relationships with their local communities.
The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provided funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.
This includes a total of up to £376.8 million specifically to support forces to achieve officer headcounts set out in the Police Funding Settlement and £200m to kick start the growth in neighbourhood policing personnel.
It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to police who attend traumatic callouts to attempted suicides.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) who have introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff. NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
It is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of suicide prevention training provided to police staff.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) who have introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff. NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
It is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many active Neighbourhood Watch schemes were in place for each year from 2015 to date in England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of active Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England for each year from 2015 to date.
Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is a long-established, volunteer-led movement that supports safer, stronger and more connected communities across England and Wales.
Schemes are locally run and independent, led by volunteers who decide how best to tackle issues affecting their neighbourhoods. There is no requirement for schemes to register with government, and they operate autonomously.
The Home Office values the important contribution made by volunteers involved in Neighbourhood Watch in helping to reduce crime, improve community resilience, and strengthen public confidence.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Anas Sarwar MSP the potential merits of introducing a Scottish visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have no plans to devolve immigration policy, introduce a Scottish visa scheme, nor to discuss such ideas further.
Previously suggested schemes would restrict movement and rights and create internal UK borders. Adding different rules for different locations would introduce complexity and create frictions where workers move locations.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 5 November (HL11264), what evidence they have that recording non-crime hate incidents has kept the public safe, and whether they will publish that evidence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data on crime reduction attributable to the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). These are not criminal offences; they are recorded by police forces as intelligence to help monitor patterns of behaviour and community tensions that could escalate into serious harm. This practice, recommended by the Macpherson Inquiry following the murder of Stephen Lawrence, is intended to support safeguarding and public safety. Recording NCHIs enables police to capture information on incidents motivated by hate which, while not criminal, may present safeguarding risks or contribute to rising tensions within communities. The National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are currently conducting a review of NCHIs. We look forward to receiving the review’s recommendations shortly.