Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in implementing the Injury on Duty Award Scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
I have met with those leading the campaign for a new award and I am working on proposals. Ultimately, any official award is a gift from the Government on behalf of His Majesty The King.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2026 to Question 116788, if she will make an assessment of the annual cost to police forces of (a) administering roadside drug-impairment tests and (b) drug-driving testing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has not made an assessment on the costs to police forces for administering roadside drug-impartment tests under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and drug driving testing under section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to introduce nationally consistent guidance on the interpretation of regulations governing abnormal load movements and police escort requirements.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are no current plans by government to introduce national guidance governing the movement of abnormal loads.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish details of spending on special severance payments separately.
The Home Office does publish overall special payments spending and details of this for the previous three financial years can be found through the links below.
Pages 190-191 (pages 198-199 on the reader)
Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025
Pages 190-191 (pages 194-195 on the reader)
Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024
Pages195-196
Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to introduce regulations to apply forensic marking to new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Equipment theft, including the theft of GPS systems, can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.
That is why we are committed to the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and fully support its intentions to prevent the theft and re-sale of All-Terrain Vehicles, quad bikes and GPS systems.
The legislation will require new ATVs, quad bikes and GPS systems to be forensically marked and registered on an appropriate database. We will introduce the necessary secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 38, if she will publish the organisations that the Government deems extremist and which are subject to a policy of non-engagement.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not comment on specific groups. As announced in the Protecting What Matters publication on the 9th March, we are currently updating and embedding the 2024 engagement principles which will assist public bodies to not confer legitimacy, funding or influence on extremist groups. Responsibility for decisions and due diligence around who departments engage with sits with those departments and the appropriate policy areas.
It is for individual government departments to decide to use these principles, or their own due diligence processes around engagement. If asked, we will advise and share information to help inform their decisions. We will also be producing an annual ‘State of Extremism’ report which will also support public sector staff to tackle extremism. The first iteration of this will be published by the end of 2026.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether companies on the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme register are required to publish an estimated value of their contract and work.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The FIRS public register ensures that, for the first time, we have transparency about foreign state-directed political influence activities. The aim of this register is to better inform the public as to the scale and extent of foreign influence in UK political affairs and our democratic processes.
There is full guidance online that sets out what needs to be registered, and what of the information provided at registration will be published on the register https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-influence-registration-scheme-registration-and-public-register
The value of the contract and/or work being undertaken will not appear on the public register. However, information that will be published includes the nature and form of the arrangement being registered, the name of the foreign power in the arrangement, a description of the types of activities to be carried out and the purpose and sought outcome of those activities.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 on (a) the police and (b) local authorities ability to tackle unauthorised traveller sites.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police and local authorities are required to act in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The powers available to the police apply to anyone residing on land without consent and refusing to leave where the statutory conditions for enforcement are met, regardless of race or ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic. Enforcement powers must always be exercised fairly and in a way that respects the rights of all individuals.
The government keeps all legislation in this area under regular review to powers remain effective and proportionate. Operational decisions on the use of these powers rest with the police, working closely with local authorities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timeline is for the implementation of regulations to apply forensic marking to new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Equipment theft, including the theft of GPS systems, can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.
That is why we are committed to the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and fully support its intentions to prevent the theft and re-sale of All-Terrain Vehicles, quad bikes and GPS systems.
The legislation will require new ATVs, quad bikes and GPS systems to be forensically marked and registered on an appropriate database. We will introduce the necessary secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 38, what mechanism will connect local and national networks.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Our Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, will be expanded with additional resource to disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. We will be refreshing our reporting mechanisms that will allow local partners to refer their concerns directly to us.
The Government’s focus is to use existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of high-harm extremist ideologies that can lead to community division and to radicalisation into terrorism, particularly those that radicalise others but deliberately operate below CT thresholds.
There are a wide range of offences and powers that can be used to counter the threat from extremism and we are working to maximise their use. These include powers to regulate charities; broadcasting and education; immigration powers; and offences such as encouragement of terrorism and public order offences.
The Home Office works with a range of national and local partners to deliver this work, ensuring timely sharing of information so where there is evidence of purposeful actions that are potentially radicalising others into terrorism or violence, proportionate disruptive action can be considered.