Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce the (a) scope and (b) timetable of the forthcoming consultation on proposals to merge shotgun and firearms licensing regimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025, 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.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 impact of permitting self-defence weapons on personal safety.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no plans to permit the possession or use of currently prohibited weapons, such as pepper sprays or tasers, for self-defence purposes. Pepper sprays and tasers are prohibited under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.
The Government considers that increased availability of such items potentially increases the risk of them being used by violent criminals, alongside a risk that they may be used inappropriately or irresponsibly in a variety of different circumstances, increasing the risk of serious injuries.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support police forces in tackling shoplifting in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. We will not stand for this.
We are ensuring the right powers are in place. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
Additionally, we are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Tackling retail crime requires a partnership approach between policing representatives and business. The previous Minister for Crime and Policing launched the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’, which was jointly developed by the police and industry and aims to provide a collaborative and evidence-based approach to preventing retail crime, including organised shop theft.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has allocated to local policing in North West Norfolk in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Norfolk Police will receive up to £239.2 million in 2025-26, an increase of up to £16.5 million when compared to 2024-25.
In addition to the funding announced at the settlement, the Home Office provided £1.3 million to Norfolk Police to help with the cost of the 2025-26 police pay award.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to provide additional support to police officers to tackle drug-related crime .in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
To deliver on our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation. County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response. We also have a dedicated fund to help local police forces, including Norfolk Constabulary, tackle the scourge of county lines.
As part of the Programme, the NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in, including Norfolk Constabulary. The most recent of these took place 23-29 June 2025 and resulted in 241 lines closed, as well as 1,965 arrests, 1,179 individuals safeguarded and 501 weapons seized.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of current powers available to police officers to address anti-social behaviour in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, including Norfolk Constabulary, with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour. These powers are kept under review to ensure they remain effective. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are making our streets and neighbourhoods safer by strengthening the powers available to the police and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour. This includes introducing new Respect Orders to give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most persistent adult anti-social behaviour offenders, and powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender. |
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of police staffing levels in Norfolk.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.
All members of the police workforce play a vital role in delivering an effective police service to communities across England and Wales. As at 31 March 2025, Norfolk Constabulary had a total paid workforce of 3,193 full-time equivalent (FTE). This includes, a total of 1,911 (FTE) police officers, 1,281 (FTE) police staff and designated officers and 101 (FTE) special constables.
It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61219 on Government Departments: Reviews, how many lines of activity in her Department were considered as part of the zero based review.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
At Spending Review 2025, the government conducted the first zero-based review (ZBR) of department budgets in 18 years, with every line of spending scrutinised to ensure value for money.
Through the zero-based review, the Home Office carried out a line by line review of its current budgets. The review involved differing levels of granularity depending on the type and size of expenditure under review.
To ensure consistency in approach, cross-government guidance set expectations for the level of granularity each review should consider, recommending that departments review all spending within individual programme expenditure – at a minimum reflecting any lines of spending in excess of £1m per annum.
Savings identified through this process will support delivery of the government's commitment for all departments to deliver at least 5% savings and efficiencies by 2028-29.