Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) alcohol and (b) drug impairment on road safety in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UK
The Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.
Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police.
Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.
The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.
The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.
The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department provides to police forces to tackle driving offences linked to (a) alcohol and (b) drug use in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UK
The Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.
Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police.
Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.
The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.
The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.
The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) police forces in promoting road safety in Surrey over the festive period.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UK
The Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.
Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police.
Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.
The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.
The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.
The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current measures to deter antisocial behaviour in car parks in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. Surrey Police will receive £2,588,427 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.
In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, Surrey Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.
Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary has announced a "Winter of Action" in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.
In February, we introduced the new Respect Order in the Crime and Policing Bill, along with a range of other enhancements to the existing ASB powers. Respect Orders will be behavioural orders, issued by the civil courts. They will enable courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in harmful anti-social behaviours and can also compel adult perpetrators to take action to address the root cause of their behaviour. Breach of the order will be a criminal offence, allowing the police to immediately arrest anyone suspected of breach. Courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, imprisonment.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to shotgun licensing on (a) rural hotels, (b) pubs and (c) tourism businesses reliant on shooting activity.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 on (a) rural and (b) semi-rural economies of merging (i) shotgun and (ii) rifle licensing systems.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has modelled the potential impact on levels of employment of stricter conditions on shotgun certificate holders.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to further consult stakeholders on potential changes to the firearms licensing system.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of funding more neighbourhood police officers in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have made £200 million available in FY 25/26 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.
Based on their £2,588,427 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Surrey are projected to grow by 25 FTE NHP police officers in 2025-26, and in addition, the force is also projected to grow by 15 special constables (headcount) over the same period.
Arrangements for future years will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the online sale of devices capable of compromising keyless vehicle security in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales for the year ending March 2024 show that 58% of vehicle theft offences involved the offender manipulating the signal from remote locking device.
In the Crime and Policing Bill we are banning the electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing, importing and supplying them.
We are also working with the police and industry, to ensure a strong response to vehicle crime, including keyless car theft.
The National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of, and from, vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.