Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their weapon surrender bins on reducing violent crime.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to publicise the locations of their weapon surrender bins.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many weapons were placed in their surrender bins in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025, broken down by (a) category of weapons, and (b) region.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of their weapon surrender bins were vandalised in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025, broken down by region.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they spent on maintaining weapon surrender bins in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many weapon surrender bins they had in operation in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025, broken down by region.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 13,000 additional (1) neighbourhood police officers, (2) PCSOs, and (3) special constables, they plan to deliver as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will be (a) newly recruited, and (b) recruited internally from other parts of the police force.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Our approach to delivery in 2025-26 has been designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands. This means the precise workforce mix is a local decision.
The Government has committed to publishing neighbourhood policing numbers every six months, to align with the official police workforce statistics. The next update is due at the end of January 2026, which will set out the numbers in neighbourhood policing roles as at the end of September 2025.
We will set out more information on the approach to future delivery in due course.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional (1) neighbourhood police officers, (2) PCSOs, and (3) special constables, have been recruited since the launch of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee on 4 December 2024, broken down by territorial police force.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
£200 million has been made available in 2025-26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.
Our approach to delivery in 2025-26 has been designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands. This means the precise workforce mix is a local decision.
Full details of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant allocations and projections for 2025-26 can be found here:Neighbourhood policing grant allocations - GOV.UK
The Government has committed to publishing neighbourhood policing numbers every six months, to align with the official police workforce statistics. The next update is due at the end of January 2026, which will set out the numbers in neighbourhood policing roles as at the end of September 2025.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they define (1) a ‘neighbourhood’, and (2) a 'visible patrol', in relation to their Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG) commitments, which were met in July 2025, were delivered in line with police forces’ existing neighbourhood structures based on local needs shaped by a range of factors, including geography, crime types, urban or rural context, and population size and density. The NPG confirms by the end of this Parliament, we will work with forces and local councils to define neighbourhood areas to be locally recognisable and practical for policing.
Neighbourhood policing teams are spending the majority of their time within their communities, undertaking patrols and actively engaging with residents and businesses to tackle issues that matter to their communities, such as anti-social behaviour. Police forces are increasing town centre patrols based on local demand and intelligence.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee since it was launched on 4 December 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee set out commitments for police forces to implement, by July 2025, and by the end of Parliament. Forces are now delivering on the Guarantee across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing. This includes every force now having named, contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, neighbourhood officers spending the majority of their time in their communities, responding to neighbourhood queries within 72 hours and all forces having an ASB lead.
Additionally, the Government has made £200 million available in 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026.