Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers in frontline roles are assigned to violent crime prevention units.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information is collected on the primary function of each officer, however, the specific team an officer is assigned to, such as “violent crime prevention unit”, is not collected. Information on the primary function of police officers is available in Table F1 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687f89ac37c38e28f3846871/police-workforce-mar25-tables-230725.ods.
Frontline policing is comprised of visible operational frontline roles and non-visible frontline roles, each of which contains specific functions. Further information on the functions included under visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline, including the definitions of each category can be found in Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687f89ac37c38e28f3846871/police-workforce-mar25-tables-230725.ods
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the causes of recent trends in serious violent crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Office for National Statistics publishes information on crime, including serious violent crime, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, for the year ending March 2025, shows that serious violence has fallen, including the first fall in knife crime for four years.
Homicide has also fallen, to 535 offences, down from 567 the previous year and there has been a 21% decline in offences involving firearms, to 5,103 offences.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report entitled Pre-charge bail and released under investigation: Striking a balance, published on 8 December 2020, what recent discussions she has had with police forces on the (a) timeliness of (i) regular case reviews and (ii) updates to people released under investigation and (b) the steps those police forces are taking to (A) ensure the rights of those subject to investigation are respected and (B) maintain public confidence in relation to how suspects are dealt with after they are released from custody.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services regularly inspects police forces on their use of tools such as pre-charge bail and released under investigation (RUI) to manage offenders and protect victims and the wider public from harm. The College of Policing publishes and maintains the statutory guidance on the use of pre-charge bail, including guidance on RUI.
Recent police data suggests that the proportion of suspects on RUI is reducing, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of suspects on pre-charge bail. The Home Office continues to monitor the use of these powers. The latest data, covering the year to March 2024, was published on 27 February 2025 Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many businesses have ceased trading since 4 July 2024; and what proportion of these closures were in the (a) hospitality, (b) retail and (c) construction sectors.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 22nd July is attached.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) supermarkets and (b) food producers to mitigate the risk of shortages in key food staples.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise and carries out extensive, regular and ongoing engagement with supermarkets and producers in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the long-term resilience of food supply chains.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Defra and the Food Standards Agency have joint responsibility for food as a Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sector. Defra assesses the potential risks to the food supply chain, as outlined in the National Risk Register (NRR). Defra works with Cabinet Office, as leads for the NRR, and the wider resilience and CNI community across Government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.