Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase police presence and reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres in Medway.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Act, we are rolling out new enhanced powers to enable local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour offenders. And our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee has ensured that every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, and a local action plan in place to crack down on offenders who blight our communities.
We are also delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel into roles across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament As of 28 February 2026, Kent Police have grown by 71 (FTE) Neighbourhood since March 2025.
Every neighbourhood, including those in the Medway towns, has named, and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally and forces have increased patrols in town centres and other key locations based on local demand and intelligence.
Furthermore, the Safer Streets Summer Initiative ran from June the September last year. The core aim was to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), street crime and retail crime in Town Centres, and to increase confidence in policing through increased collaboration at a local level. Kent Police participated in the initiative with 15 locations, three of them in Medway covering Chatham, Brompton, and Rochester.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of calls to ban the sale and delivery of alcohol through online delivery apps; and what steps are being taken to strengthen age verification requirements and protect vulnerable people, including those with alcohol dependency, from unrestricted access to alcohol through such platforms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Licensing Act 2003 provides the legal framework for the sale and supply of alcohol in England and Wales. It is already an offence, under section 141 of the Act, for a person to knowingly sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk or underage, or to allow alcohol to be sold to such a person.
The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services. The Department for Health and Social Care, which has responsibility for policy on health harms, and the Home Office are looking at how current licensing rules apply to these services to ensure these are effective. This includes seeking the views of experts, those with lived experience and other stakeholders and evaluating emerging evidence on the impact this may be having on people’s health and the upholding of the licensing objectives.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants are waiting for their applications to be processed on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
Data on outstanding applications are not routinely published by the Home Office. However, the Hon Member can be assured that ordinary applications made under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are currently being processed within the published service standards, which can be found here:
Ukraine: customer service standards - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the backlog of visa applications under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
Data on outstanding applications are not routinely published by the Home Office. However, the Hon Member can be assured that ordinary applications made under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are currently being processed within the published service standards, which can be found here:
Ukraine: customer service standards - GOV.UK.