Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the publication of the White Paper From local to national: a new model for policing on 26 January, what assessment they have made of the resources available for enforcement in relation to lower-level offences, in particular moving traffic offences; and what plans they have to review these resources as part of any reform to the structure of policing in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The reforms outlined within the Police Reform White Paper will put the right policing in the right place to ensure we more effectively tackle crime. At a local level, this means local police areas will be entirely focused on their community and the epidemic of so-called lower-level offences they face.
It is for Chief Constables to determine the appropriate resourcing model for their force. However, this Government is supporting Chief Constables and the wider policy system with £21 billion of funding via the police funding settlement in 2026/27, an increase of £1.3 billion on 2025/26.
On traffic offences in particular, these offences are increasingly detected and enforced through technology rather than through traditional officer‑led activity. Digital tools allow high‑volume, consistent enforcement without requiring significant additional frontline resource. A reformed policing system is an essential step in unlocking consistent and capable technology across all of policing.
Further, the Road Safety strategy announced on 7 January, will consult on range of motoring offences including the use of technology and introduces a new Roads Policing Innovation Programme to improve road safety and targeted enforcement including for low level offences such as speeding.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that police forces in England remain independent from political agendas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Operational independence is a fundamental principle of British policing, and this Government is committed to ensuring the police can perform their role without fear or favour. At the same time, being able to scrutinise police decisions, and Chief Constables being able to account for the decisions they make, are essential especially when it comes to issues with clear implications for public safety and confidence
The Government’s recently published White Paper ‘From Local to National: A New Model for Policing’ announced plans to fundamentally reform the Policing Protocol Order 2023 and clarify the boundaries of operational independence to provide policing with direction and support to drive improvement where necessary.
Police officers take an oath of attestation on appointment which underscores the importance of policing with impartiality. They are required to act with impartiality, in accordance with their statutory standards of professional behaviour. The College of Policing sets standards and provides guidance for policing, including an updated Code of Ethics published in 2024 to support everyone in policing to act in a professional manner, reiterating the need for fairness and impartiality. Failure to act in accordance with relevant standards and guidance could result in formal disciplinary action being taken.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) warranted Police Officers, (b) Police Community Support Officers and (c) Special Constables there were on (i) 31 March 2025 and (ii) 11 February 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, on a biannual basis, as at 31 March and 30 September each year in the Police Workforce, England and Wales statistical bulletin available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Data for this release is collected as a snapshot at 31 March and 30 September only. As such, data for 11 February 2026 is not available. The latest information covers the situation as at 30 September 2025.
Information on the number of police officers, police community support officers and special constables, on both a full-time equivalent and headcount basis, as at 31 March 2007 to 2025 can be found in the Police Workforce Open Data Table here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697255b5a1311bdcfa0ed8f3/open-data-table-police-workforce-280126.ods
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the officer hours saved each year as a result of the rollout of the Right Care Right Person policy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care published a joint evaluation on the implementation of the Right Care, Right Person in December 2024, which showed that RCRP has led to a reduction in calls and deployments to RCRP-related incidents following implementation, estimating a saving of c.370,000 police hours per year across the five forces covered by this aspect of the evaluation.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the risk assessments carried out on the use of facial recognition technology by Palantir Technologies in policing, especially on privacy and discrimination issues.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not aware of any direct involvement by Palantir in the police’s use of facial recognition systems.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps have been taken to ensure (a) transparency and (b) community accountability in trials of facial recognition technology involving Palantir in (i) Leicester and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not aware of any direct involvement by Palantir in the police’s use of facial recognition systems.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department carried out a Public Sector Equality Duty assessment before signing a contract with Palantir.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not aware of any direct involvement by Palantir in the police’s use of facial recognition systems.
Asked by: Baroness Hooper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken to process applications for indefinite leave to remain under the European Communities Association Agreement Ankara Agreement from the date the application is submitted.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is a 6-month service standard for this route. The below links show published data on Home Office performance.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the policy paper Restoring Order and Control, updated on 21 November 2025, whether the new core protection leave for refugees will apply to new arrivals only; and if not, which cohorts already in the UK will be affected.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
A person granted Core Protection will need to apply to renew their status every 30 months. We will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
While I am not able to provide specific details at the moment with regards to timings and cohorts, I can provide reassurance that we will carefully manage the transition into the new system and put in place transitional provisions to ensure that the offer remains clear and fair.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions with the European Union to facilitate closer cooperation on law enforcement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
At the May 2025 UK-EU Summit we were pleased to agree with the EU a package of work to further strengthen our extensive law enforcement and judicial cooperation capabilities, making our streets safer and ensuring criminals are brought to justice. Work is now underway to deliver on those commitments. We are not going to provide a running commentary on those discussions but will keep Parliament updated on any significant developments.
Both sides have also agreed to hold regular Summits which will provide an opportunity to build on our strategic partnership, including implementing the undertakings published in the 2025 Common Understanding, and to further strengthen our relationship over time.