Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) recording of attempted suicides attended by the police services, (b) support available to police staff who attend traumatic callouts and (c) suicide prevention training requirements for managers in police forces in North East Hampshire constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office do not collect information centrally on the number of attempted suicides attended by police.
This Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police workforce is a priority, and that all those who have faced traumatic incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service, who have developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces. The Service has also introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff.
A National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention and Postvention in policing has been launched, which aims to reduce rates among the police workforce as well as enhancing data recording.
Chief Constables have a responsibility to manage their workforce effectively and this includes ensuring appropriate training provision for all officers and staff and ensuring their wellbeing.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve efficiency in DBS processing for prospective teachers.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent and responsible for the service it provides. It currently operates to formalised service standards of completing 85% of Basic check applications within 2 days, 85% of Standard check applications within 3 days, and 80% of Enhanced check applications within 14 days.
Its latest performance against these service standards is available at DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Prospective teachers are likely to require an Enhanced level DBS check which must be sent to police forces for local intelligence checks. It is important from a safeguarding perspective that the DBS allows sufficient time for these robust checks to take place, as these are ultimately in place to protect the most vulnerable groups in society.
Whilst the vast majority of Enhanced checks are processed within target, there are a small number of police forces that have been experiencing difficulties in meeting their target times due to extra demand. The DBS has been working closely with these affected forces to improve performance, including by providing funding for overtime and additional staff whilst the forces recruit and train new staff to process the checks. The DBS is also facilitating workload sharing between police forces so that forces with capacity can provide assistance to those forces that are struggling.
This work should help to further improve efficiency in DBS processing of Enhanced checks for all, including for prospective teachers.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) safeguards and (b) other provisions her Department has put in place to help protect (i) police officers and (ii) the public from exposure to asbestos during (A) operational duties when attending incidents in (1) older and (2) derelict buildings where asbestos contamination may be present and (B) other circumstances; and what guidance her Department has issued to the police on ensuring appropriate (a) risk assessments and (b) protective measures are undertaken in such environments.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All police forces in England and Wales are subject to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) which requires employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees and to ensure their activities do not adversely affect the health and safety of other people. Since 1998, Chief Constables are deemed the employers of police officers and police staff and it is therefore their responsibility to ensure their force complies with the HSWA.
The HSWA places a duty on the police to carry out robust risk assessments which identify significant risks to both policing personnel and the public and set out safe systems of work which specify appropriate control measures, equipment and competencies. This duty applies to police operations in older and derelict buildings where asbestos may be present.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support collaboration between police forces.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are making sure that every penny spent within policing delivers improvement for the public through a Collaboration and Efficiencies Programme. Force-to-force collaboration remains an important part of this work.
In addition, an ambitious White Paper published later this year will outline significant reforms to allow policing to collaborate further to deal with the changing threats we face.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that survivors of (a) domestic violence and (b) stalking are given (i) regular and (ii) timely updates on their case to equip them to safeguard themselves from further risk.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto set out an unprecedented mission to halve it in a decade.
The Victims' Code is statutory guidance that sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive from the criminal justice system. The Victim's Code includes the Right for a victim to be provided with updates on their case and to be told when important decisions are taken. If their case goes to court, the victim also has the Right to be told the time, date and location of any hearing and the outcome of those hearings in a timely way. Furthermore, the Victim's Code includes the Right to be told the outcome of the case and, if the defendant is convicted, to be given an explanation of the sentence.
The Government will consult on a new Victims' Code in due course to ensure that we get the foundations for victims right. We will also spend time developing the right framework for oversight of the delivery of the Code this year, making sure we make the most effective use of data and get the metrics right.
Additionally, through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is introducing provisions to issue multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking. This will set out, for the first time, a robust framework for how agencies such as the police, local authorities and healthcare should work together to pursue perpetrators and support victims. The Government is also introducing statutory guidance to set out the process by which the police should release identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims so appropriate safeguards can be put in place.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 making misogyny a hate crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling misogyny, both online and offline, is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. We will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published in September.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, whether she plans to allocate more funding to police forces to help them reduce the time taken to allocate police officers to investigate reported crimes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services regularly reports on the effectiveness of forces’ investigations as a part of its Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy inspections.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on the adequacy of the time taken for police officers to be allocated to investigate reported crimes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services regularly reports on the effectiveness of forces’ investigations as a part of its Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy inspections.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase awareness of (a) coercive control. (b) financial abuse and (c) other forms of non physical domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a statutory definition of domestic abuse, encompassing not only physical violence but also emotional, coercive, and controlling behaviour, and economic abuse. The statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour (CCB), issued to police forces and other statutory agencies, recognises economic abuse as a type of CCB.
We have taken strong action against those who commit CCB. Offenders sentenced to a minimum of 12 months for coercive behaviour are now managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), ensuring coordinated information sharing among enforcement agencies to prevent reoffending.
This year, the Government has provided £200,000 of funding for Surviving Economic Abuse to develop resources and training for businesses and charities to identify and support victims of economic abuse.
These measures are part of our ambitious mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, details of which will be set out in the VAWG Strategy later this year.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the Life in the UK test for people with (a) learning difficulties and (b) special needs.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Where someone cannot reasonably be expected to prepare for or pass the test on medical grounds, the requirement can be waived by request at Knowledge of language and Life in the UK Test exemption: long term physical or mental condition - GOV.UK.
If a candidate needs assistance to access the test or needs special adjustments at a test centre, candidates can contact the provider of the tests, PSI, to make arrangements at no extra cost. These adjustments include extra time, closed sessions, BSL interpreters, monitor screen colour/contrast adjustments and height adjustable desks.
The test for severely visually impaired or blind candidates is offered with extra time, with a reader and a scribe, and the test is delivered in a separate room. Assistance dogs are also allowed. All test centres are wheelchair accessible.
Please note statistics on the number of exemptions made are not currently recorded or held centrally.