Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will make an assessment of trends in levels of fuel theft, such as drive-offs or biking, from petrol stations and the measures that can be taken to tackle the crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We would encourage retailers to report any instances of fuel theft to the police.
We are also making it easier for retailers to recover the costs when fuel is taken without payment.
Improvements have recently been made to the service provided by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) allowing fuel retailers and their agents to request information to allow recovery of costs when motorists drive away from fuel stations without paying for the fuel taken.
This provides a quicker and more efficient approach compared with the existing manual service.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress the National Crime Agency has made on tackling cash-only businesses engaged in money laundering.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Addressing cash-based money laundering is one of the strategic priorities of the National Economic Crime Centre, which sits within the National Crime Agency. In March 2025, the NECC led a three-week intensification campaign (Operation MACHINIZE) against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses which saw 380 premises visited, 84 warrants, 35 arrests, and the seizure of illicit goods.
This was followed by a second phase of activity (Operation MACHINIZE 2) throughout October which involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House. The operation saw: 2734 premises visited and raided, 924 individuals arrested, over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds seized and over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed.
The Home Office is working closely with partners to use the learning from this operation to build on and develop long-term solutions.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the amount of police time taken to administer vehicle stops under section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988 allows a police officer in uniform to require the driver of a vehicle to stop when directed.
This is an important provision in maintaining road safety. It also enhances understanding of road traffic crime and vehicle-enabled crime.
Enforcement of traffic law and the deployment of available resources is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of clause 8 of the Crime and Policing Bill on the number of police interceptions of (a) pedal bikes and (b) e-bikes whose riders are committing antisocial behaviour.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. Clause 8 of the Crime and Policing Bill removes the requirement for police to issue a warning before seizing a vehicle which is being used anti-socially, including illegally modified e-bikes, under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.
The Government has recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles, such as illegally modified e-bikes, which have been used anti-socially. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.
These combined measures will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial behaviour involving vehicles will not be tolerated.
Section 59 seizure powers apply to motor vehicles only.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has with representative bodies to ensure that plans to provide protection from assault to front-line retail workers include (a) bank and (b) building society staff.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
My officials have met with UK Finance and Barclays Bank to discuss the issue of assaults on bank and building society staff, which is an issue we also take extremely seriously.
Assaults against workers in the bank and building society sectors are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54607 on Anti-social Behaviour: North East Somerset and Hanham, whether she has had recent discussions with police forces on initiating the recruitment of a dedicated lead officer to develop local anti-social behaviour action plans.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 10 April, the Prime Minister announced the details of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing.
This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB. I am closely monitoring the delivery of this commitment across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Forces are expected to engage with communities to develop their action plan which should cover the entire force area. Larger forces may decide to have more than one Action Plan if they consider it appropriate for different geographical areas within the force.
We will continue to work closely with forces once the dedicated lead officers commence their roles from July 2025, setting out further detail on expectations of their ASB Action Plans, including how they will ensure they work across force boundaries where necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54607 on Anti-social Behaviour: North East Somerset and Hanham, what steps she is taking to help ensure that intelligence gained by the dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour is not lost if the perpetrators of anti-social behaviour move between force areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 10 April, the Prime Minister announced the details of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing.
This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB. I am closely monitoring the delivery of this commitment across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Forces are expected to engage with communities to develop their action plan which should cover the entire force area. Larger forces may decide to have more than one Action Plan if they consider it appropriate for different geographical areas within the force.
We will continue to work closely with forces once the dedicated lead officers commence their roles from July 2025, setting out further detail on expectations of their ASB Action Plans, including how they will ensure they work across force boundaries where necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54607 on Anti-social Behaviour: North East Somerset and Hanham, what geographical area would be covered by a local anti-social behaviour action plan.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 10 April, the Prime Minister announced the details of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing.
This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB. I am closely monitoring the delivery of this commitment across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Forces are expected to engage with communities to develop their action plan which should cover the entire force area. Larger forces may decide to have more than one Action Plan if they consider it appropriate for different geographical areas within the force.
We will continue to work closely with forces once the dedicated lead officers commence their roles from July 2025, setting out further detail on expectations of their ASB Action Plans, including how they will ensure they work across force boundaries where necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28628 on Emergency Services: Medals, what progress she has made on considering proposals for new awards for members of the emergency services injured in service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office continues to work on this proposal with relevant stakeholders, including other government departments.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) the National Police Chiefs Council and (b) Leicestershire Police on a rural crime strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office is working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to develop the next interim of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, and I recently met with the NPCC lead for rural crime to discuss that strategy, and related issues.