Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with British Transport Police on its decision to not investigate bike thefts outside stations in cases where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, and creating a hostile environment for criminals on the network is a priority for both the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police (BTP). Decisions on the use of resource and deployment of officers across the railway are for the BTP, as an operationally independent police service.
I would like to reassure you that the BTP have not taken the decision to stop investigating bike theft that cannot be narrowed to a two-hour window, which was reported in the media. The BTP’s screening policy, introduced in August 2024, takes into account factors including the possible time window an incident could have taken place in, but also the availability of witnesses and CCTV, the realistic prospect of a successful outcome, and a range of other factors. In some instances this may mean that an investigation is not progressed, but there is no blanket ruling and each case is judged on its own merits.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) asylum hotel and (b) community accommodation in each year between 2010 and 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to provide support for rural households to switch renewable liquid heating fuels in the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For most off-grid properties, decarbonising heat will involve installing a heat pump. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants offer £7,500 for heat pumps, and £5,000 for biomass boilers in specific rural cases.
The government recognises that renewable liquid fuels (RLFs) could play a role in heating. We expect sustainable biomass, a limited resource, to be prioritised where there are fewer alternatives to decarbonisation. RLFs are also more expensive to use than other heating solutions. The government continues to review evidence on the affordability and availability of sustainable feedstocks for RLFs.