Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes and work closely with the police to ensure the strongest action is taken against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.
We have taken steps to strengthen this framework, through the Crime and Policing Bill, to extend the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to cover hostility based on disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity and sex. This will provide parity with existing racially and religiously aggravated offences and strengthen protection for victims across the country.
We are also providing record levels of funding for protective security for faith communities, with up to £73.4 million in funding available in 2026/27.
In addition, we have commissioned an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation, led by Lord Ken Macdonald of River Glaven KC, to assess whether existing legislation is effective and proportionate, and whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animal research and testing non-technical summaries granted in 2025, October to December, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the number experiments on (a) beagles (b) non-human primates and (c) rabbits on progress towards the Government’s pledge to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is no impact from the number of experiments on (a) beagles (b) non-human primates and (c) rabbits on progress towards the Government’s alternatives strategy. This is because licences for the use of animals in scientific procedures may only be granted only where there is robust scientific justification, no validated nonanimal alternative exists, and use is fully compliant with the requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
This Government remains firmly committed to working towards the phasing out of animals in science. The strategy, ‘Replacing animals in science’, sets specific targets to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates by 2030, while ensuring the UK continues to support safe and effective scientific and medical research.
The strategy is clear that while the longterm vision is to replace the use of animals in science wherever possible, some animal use remains necessary at present to develop and test new medicines, advance understanding of biology and disease, and to protect human and animal health and the environment. These activities are integral to the UK’s national health preparedness and resilience, including the ability to respond to emerging health threats. Progress towards the phasing out of animal use must therefore be scienceled and supported by reliable alternative methods.
Accordingly, the Home Office licensing regime is compatible with the strategy; it enables only tightly controlled animal use where it is scientifically justified and no suitable alternative exists.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 increasing investment in rural crime teams in (a) Somerset and (b) England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.
We have hit our target of 3,000 more neighbourhood officers in March – and our target remains 13k by the end of the parliament. With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.
This financial year (FY25/26) we are providing £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.
The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure the safety of the Jewish community in (a) Fylde constituency, (b) North West England and (c) the United Kingdom.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to the safety of Jewish communities in our country. Everyone should feel safe to practise their faith and participate in public life, free from intimidation or fear.
In 2026/27, we are providing record funding to protect faith communities, including £28.4 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant to provide protective security measures at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and other community sites.
Eligible sites can apply for support for protective security measures through the Grant. The Grant is administered by the Community Security Trust (CST) on behalf of the Home Office, and full guidance on how to apply is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/jewish-community-protective-security-grant
Earlier this month, the Home Office also announced an additional £5 million to increase deployments under Project Servator, which places specialist officers unpredictably in public spaces to deter criminal activity and provide visible reassurance. This funding will initially focus on supporting communities, particularly Jewish and other faith communities, in London and Manchester.
We continue to work closely with the police and other partners to review threats and ensure that proportionate and effective protections are in place where they are needed.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the additional neighbourhood policing personnel announced since April last year have been recruited to (a) Lancashire Constabulary and (b) each police force in England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 7 April 2026, the Home Office published an ad-hoc statistical release on the growth in neighbourhood policing personnel in England and Wales, as at 28 February 2026, compared with 31 March 2025. This information is based on provisional management information, and is available broken down by Police Force Area here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/neighbourhood-policing-programme-as-at-28-february-2026
This ad-hoc statistical release is based on limited management information, meaning it is not possible for the Home Office to determine what proportion of the additional 3,123 neighbourhood policing personnel (at the 28 February 2026 snapshot) are new recruits or redeployed officers from other roles.
Police forces have been able to approach the neighbourhood policing programme in a way that best achieves local needs and varied crime demands. Therefore, the precise mix of redeployment and recruitment has been for forces to decide.
Finalised statistics will be published in the Accredited Official 'Police Workforce, England and Wales' statistics in July 2026.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor HGV facilities on the incidence of fuel theft from commercial vehicles; and what steps she is taking to protect UK hauliers and national supply chains.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Fuel theft undermines businesses and their workers. We are equipping the police to fight the organised crime gangs which can drive this theft nationally. Our £5m investment into OPAL, (the police national intelligence unit who focus on serious organised acquisitive crime) will supercharge intelligence-led policing to expand its capability to tackle freight crime, identify offenders, and disrupt the tactics used to in addition to bringing more criminals to justice.
We recognise that fuel theft is often organised, mobile and cross-border in nature. Through police reform this Government will address these challenges, reforming the policing system to ensure crime that operates across force boundaries is met with a strong national and regional response.
Through the creation of a new National Police Service, policing will benefit from stronger national leadership, consistent standards and improved coordination to tackle serious and organised crime. This will strengthen the collective response where criminals operate across multiple police force areas.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve levels of confidence in the police amongst minority communities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government actively supports the aims of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing’s ‘National policing culture and inclusion strategy’ which aims to tackle discrimination within policing, as well as the Police Race Action Plan, which aims to address confidence in policing among black communities.
The Angiolini Inquiry is also examining a range of issues relating to processes and cultures in policing so that the public can have confidence that the police are there to protect them, and we will carefully consider any recommendations it makes.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps they are taking to increase the amount of UK made steel used in procurement contracts overseen by their Department.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to ensure that public procurement plays its full role in delivering the Industrial Strategy and fostering a resilient economy that supports British businesses and creates good jobs in communities across the country. UK-produced steel has a significant role to play in construction and infrastructure projects.
In June 2025 it published Procurement Policy Note 022 “Procuring Steel in Government Contracts”, which among other things requires departments and prime contractors to consult UK Steel’s Steel Catalogue.
In March 2026 Government published the Steel Strategy, and announced changes to protect the industries that matter most to our national security, including steel.
Departments will have to confirm for the first time whether prime contractors are using UK steel, or explain why not.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had any discussions with Cabinet colleagues on transferring responsibility for animal testing and research to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ministers of State in the Home Office and DSIT have actively engaged on transferring responsibility for animal testing and research to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Agreement has been reached that the portfolio under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act will remain in the Home Office for the foreseeable future.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 resources available to Avon and Somerset police to tackle rural crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.
We have hit our target of 3,000 more neighbourhood officers in March – and our target remains 13k by the end of the parliament. With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.
This financial year (FY25/26) we are providing £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.
The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.