Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many electric vehicles owned or leased by their Department or its arm’s-length bodies are allocated to (a) asylum accommodation operations, (b) migrant transportation, or (c) related contractor-led services; and for what operational purposes those vehicles are used.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information sought is not collected and would only be available at disproportionate cost
All readily available information on HO EV vehicles and infrastructure was provided in response to UIN: 87860.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is enforced proportionally across venues of varying capacity.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is implemented in a proportionate and practicable way.
An implementation period of at least 24 months is now underway, giving those responsible for premises and events sufficient time and support to meet their new obligations. It will also allow time for the Security Industry Authority (SIA) to establish its new regulatory function.
The public deserve to feel safe when visiting premises and attending events and it is right that people responsible for certain premises and events should take appropriate, reasonably practicable steps to protect the public and those working at the venues from the harmful impacts and effects of terrorism.
The Act establishes a tiered approach, with those responsible for premises and events in scope required to fulfil different requirements according to the number of individuals it is reasonable to expect may be present.
Whether the Act applies to a particular premises or events will depend on several factors. Premises may be in scope if they consist of at least one building, are wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses specified in Schedule 1, and 200 or more people can reasonably be expected to be present at the premises at the same time.
Where it can be reasonably expected that between 200 and 799 people will be present at the premises at the same time, it will be a ‘standard tier’ premises. Should the premises reasonably expect 800 or more people to be present at the premises at the same time, it will be an ‘enhanced tier’ premises.
Events may be in scope, and will be in the ‘enhanced tier’, if they take place in a building or on land, 800 or more people are reasonably expected to be present at the same time, and it is accessible to members of the public who have paid, have a ticket or pass, or are members or guests of a club, association or similar body.
The requirements of each tier vary accordingly, acknowledging that larger premises and events may be impacted to a greater extent by an attack and should be expected to do more.
For the standard tier, requirements are centred around simple, low-cost activities surrounding procedures, with costs relating primarily to time spent. There is no requirement to put in place physical measures in the standard tier.
Furthermore, the reasonably practicable standard of requirements allows procedures and measures to be tailored to the specific circumstances of a premises or event and the person responsible for them.
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will act as the regulator. Whilst the SIA will have enforcement powers under the Act, the Government’s clear direction is for the regulator to provide support, advice and guidance in the first instance.
The SIA will only use formal enforcement tools where necessary to drive compliance. Such enforcement measures are an important component of compliance, as they give the SIA the necessary powers to deal with persistent or serious non-compliance.
Any subsequent sanctions will be determined based on whether the non-compliance is at a location in scope of the standard tier or the enhanced tier and will be proportionate to the individual circumstances of the premises or event.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the current level of threat from Islamist extremists.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.
As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, the primary domestic terrorist threat comes from Islamist terrorism, which accounts for about three quarters of MI5 caseload.
The threat we see today and in the coming years is more diverse, dynamic and complex. This includes a domestic threat which is less predictable and harder to detect. This is combined with an evolving threat from Islamist terrorist groups overseas, and an operating environment where accelerating advances in technology provide both opportunity and risk to our counter-terrorism efforts.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent police recruitment and deployment changes on neighbourhood crime levels.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government published a performance framework in April 2025 which sets out how forces will be held to account. It includes measures on crime and other key indicators, including growth of neighbourhood policing.
The framework outlines to forces and the public the performance measures used to assess progress. The framework can be found at this link Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework (accessible) - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of the Minister for Policing and Crime during the Third Delegated Legislation Committee on 17 December 2025, when she plans to send a command paper to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the use of public order legislation.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government has committed to undertake post legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023. This process began in May.
When complete, we will send the command paper to the Home Affairs Select Committee as is routine and in line with the guidance on completing post legislative scrutiny.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing longer term funding for violence reduction units, beyond the current one year settlement.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Crime prevention is key to the government’s Safer Streets mission and ambition to halve knife crime. Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) play an important role by uniting local partners to collectively identify and address the underlying drivers of serious violence within their communities.
This financial year (2025/26), we have allocated £47m to a network of 20 VRUs, in the areas experiencing the most severe challenges, to support their valuable work. In addition, we have provided further funding to enable the roll out of Young Futures Panels in the first year of their establishment.
The most recently published independent evaluation demonstrates that VRUs, in combination with additional hotspot police patrols, are reducing hospital admissions, with a clear impact on their target cohort of young people under 25. There were statistically significant reductions in hospital admissions for violence amongst this age group. In addition, VRUs continue to demonstrate progress and show signs of maturing and becoming embedded in local responses to prevent violence.
Allocations decisions on Violence Reduction Units and the wider policing system will be finalised early this year.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of central Government funding for Violence Reduction Units.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Crime prevention is key to the government’s Safer Streets mission and ambition to halve knife crime. Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) play an important role by uniting local partners to collectively identify and address the underlying drivers of serious violence within their communities.
This financial year (2025/26), we have allocated £47m to a network of 20 VRUs, in the areas experiencing the most severe challenges, to support their valuable work. In addition, we have provided further funding to enable the roll out of Young Futures Panels in the first year of their establishment.
The most recently published independent evaluation demonstrates that VRUs, in combination with additional hotspot police patrols, are reducing hospital admissions, with a clear impact on their target cohort of young people under 25. There were statistically significant reductions in hospital admissions for violence amongst this age group. In addition, VRUs continue to demonstrate progress and show signs of maturing and becoming embedded in local responses to prevent violence.
Allocations decisions on Violence Reduction Units and the wider policing system will be finalised early this year.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department will announce funding arrangements for Violence Reduction Units for future financial years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Crime prevention is key to the government’s Safer Streets mission and ambition to halve knife crime. Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) play an important role by uniting local partners to collectively identify and address the underlying drivers of serious violence within their communities.
This financial year (2025/26), we have allocated £47m to a network of 20 VRUs, in the areas experiencing the most severe challenges, to support their valuable work. In addition, we have provided further funding to enable the roll out of Young Futures Panels in the first year of their establishment.
The most recently published independent evaluation demonstrates that VRUs, in combination with additional hotspot police patrols, are reducing hospital admissions, with a clear impact on their target cohort of young people under 25. There were statistically significant reductions in hospital admissions for violence amongst this age group. In addition, VRUs continue to demonstrate progress and show signs of maturing and becoming embedded in local responses to prevent violence.
Allocations decisions on Violence Reduction Units and the wider policing system will be finalised early this year.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed shotgun licensing reforms on rural employment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, including from those who live and work in rural communities, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we bring forward after the consultation, including to the business community in rural areas.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken to obtain national passports on the access by refugees to regulated professions; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that refugees with the right to work can access roles for which they are qualified.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Refugees do not automatically hold British nationality. Instead, they are typically granted refugee status or humanitarian protection, which allows them to live and work in the UK but does not confer British citizenship.
Refugees are not required to hold a British passport in order to work in the UK. Identity checks, including those for regulated professions, can be satisfied using alternative documentation such as a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).
Where international travel is required for work purposes, refugees may apply for a Refugee Travel Document rather than a national passport.