Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Jones Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

2. What steps she is taking to help ensure effective policing in rural areas.

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

We are ensuring that forces have the tools and resources they need to deal with rural crime by providing funding of over £800,000 this financial year to the specialist national rural and wildlife crime units. We are strengthening neighbourhood policing through the neighbourhood policing guarantee, including in rural areas, by ensuring that every neighbourhood has named, contactable officers, more visible patrols and a commitment to respond to non-urgent queries within 72 hours.

[Sir Julian Smith]

The reorganisation of policing proposed by the Government risks a double whammy for areas with already under-resourced policing, as they face further distance between themselves and decision makers. May I urge the Minister to look carefully at how the reorganisation will impact the sparsest areas of our country, such as North Yorkshire?

[Sarah Jones]

I am very happy to have more conversations with the right hon. Gentleman to reassure him on exactly that point. People in rural areas often feel that they get the short straw in policing. Our reforms will end the postcode lottery by setting central targets, increasing transparency and taking robust action where forces are not performing. Our local policing areas will be accountable to the right hon. Gentleman and to local communities, and they will be 100% focused on tackling the scourge of everyday crime.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

As well as Harlow, I represent a number of rural communities such as Great Canfield, Matching Tye and Nazeing. When I speak to residents in those parts of my constituency, they tell me that farm theft and fly-tipping are having a devastating effect on their families and their livelihoods. What is the Minister doing to ensure that we strengthen neighbourhood policing in those rural areas?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for representing his constituents and their very real problems. We are taking legislative action to tackle farm theft. We know that this scourge has been on the rise for some time, so we are ensuring that we can tackle it. Alongside that, we are introducing new powers and statutory guidance for local authorities on fly-tipping, and we are putting 13,000 more officers on our streets, in our communities and in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Sarah Jones]

The last two Budgets have seen police funding increase by £2 billion, and the public have not forgotten how the previous Conservative Government acted. They slashed police numbers by 20,000, decimating neighbourhood policing. They then tried to reverse their own cuts and increase officer numbers to chase a headline, but they were not bothered that 12,000 of them were sat behind desks, not out in our communities. While Conservative Members have amnesia about their own record, the Home Secretary and this ministerial team are bringing the bold changes we need to reform policing properly.

[Matt Vickers]

Anybody listening to that garbage would not realise that there are fewer police on the streets now than under the last Conservative Government. Research done by the National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society shows the huge scale of crime affecting rural retailers. Since this Government came into office, shoplifting and robberies against businesses have surged. Does the Minister think this is because the Government have cut 1,318 police officers, or because they refuse to mandate tagging, curfews and bans for serial shoplifters and those who assault retail workers? Which is it—fewer police or weaker consequences?

[Sarah Jones]

In the last two years of the previous Conservative Government, shop theft rose by 60%—[Interruption.] No, it was 60% in the last two years of the previous Government.

We are taking action through the new offence to protect shop workers, which the previous Government failed to do. We are tackling antisocial behaviour with respect orders. We are putting specialist rape and serious sexual offences teams in every police force. We are taking thousands of dangerous knives off our streets, and knife crime is falling. This Government are taking action that is supported by the police—putting 13,000 more police in our neighbourhoods, and ensuring that they tackle the scourge of everyday crime.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to close asylum hotels.

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[Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)]

10. If she will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of the opening of papers relating to the murder of Martha Giles in 1959.

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

The murder of Martha Giles in 1959 was particularly horrific, and I can only imagine the pain and suffering that her family have been through, given that the case is still ongoing and there has never been justice. I am advised that decisions about opening or closing the National Archives’ records on the murder of Martha Giles are a matter for the Metropolitan Police Service and not for us, but I am very happy to facilitate the introductions that the right hon. Gentleman might want with the Met police.

[Sir Gavin Williamson]

I know that the Minister is a deeply compassionate lady. On 12 February 1959, Martha Giles was brutally murdered leaving her work at New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton. She left behind five children. Only one of those children, Mrs Edwards, is still alive today, and she desperately seeks answers. I know that it is not within the Minister’s gift, but if there is any way to convene officials and officers in the Metropolitan police, just to be able to bring some closure to this awful chapter, it would be deeply appreciated.

[Sarah Jones]

I thank the right hon. Member, and I again offer my condolences to Martha’s family, who have been looking for justice for many decades. I am happy to do what I can within the bounds of what I am allowed to do, and I will ensure that we make the appropriate introductions for him.

[Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

13. What steps her Department is taking to use technology to increase police efficiency.

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[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

14. What steps she is taking to help ensure in-person access to police services.

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

This Government are restoring neighbourhood policing with nearly 2,400 additional neighbourhood officers in post since last September, and we are ensuring that every community has named contactable officers dedicated to tackling the issues it faces. Of course, the provision of in-person services, such as front counters, is a matter for local police forces to decide, but I want the police out on our streets catching criminals.

[Lisa Smart]

The community of Woodley in my Hazel Grove constituency has been plagued by shoplifting on the precinct. We have had far too much antisocial behaviour and recently we have had some really worrying violent incidents as well. Bredbury police station was closed by the mayor a few years ago, but we know many people want to access police services in person for all sorts of accessibility reasons and because it is much more reassuring to have such conversations in person. The police also tell us that they can pick up on things in person that they just cannot when they receive an online form. We Lib Dems have a plan for a police counter in every community, in places such as supermarkets where people already are. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that those in communities such as Woodley can access police services in person?

[Sarah Jones]

Every ward will have a named community officer whom people can get in touch with, which I think is the priority. The hon. Member talks about retail crime, which, as I have said, increased by 60% in the last two years of the Conservative Government, and we are taking such steps to address that. For example, we are scrapping the previous Government’s £200 rule, which meant that any theft in a shop of under £200 was not even investigated by the police, and making sure that there are more officers in our communities. I am sure innovative things can be done to make sure there is such visibility, but having a named police officer whom people can contact in their ward is massive progress on what we had before.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

Humberside police, and the trade unions representing them, have raised concerns about the potential closure of counters under Operation Balance. Further to the Minister’s remarks, can she offer any reassurance to my local community that they will be able to contact local police as and when they need to?

[Sarah Jones]

Absolutely. Of course people are worried about having access to police officers, particularly when they need them. That is why we are introducing targets to ensure that the response is quick and there when we need it, and why we are putting more money into policing. Police forces will have £796 million of additional funding this year, which is a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real-terms increase. I am happy to work with my hon. Friend to make sure that our neighbourhood guarantee is delivered in her constituency.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

16. What steps her Department is taking to support victims of domestic violence.

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[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

T7. City centre safety is a top concern of residents in Newport East, so I was pleased to hear from Gwent police last Friday that crime is coming down thanks to extra measures and resources. I also draw the Minister’s attention to Gwent police’s new Project Vigilant scheme, which uses undercover officers to protect women and girls in the night-time economy. Alongside that, what more are the Government doing to make our city centres safer?

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

We are putting more money into policing. We are introducing respect orders. We are bringing back the rule that any theft of items whose value is under £200 must be investigated by the police. We are putting thousands more officers into our town centres. We are working with retailers to use new technology to tackle crime. We are introducing live facial recognition to get these nasty criminals locked up where they belong. I am very much looking forward to working with my hon. Friend, and perhaps even visiting her constituency at some point.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

In Aldershot and Farnborough, we have a brilliant police team, but recruitment of officers is difficult because of the pay difference along the Hampshire-Surrey border. Officers can earn more by working just a few miles away, leaving our local police team understaffed and overstretched. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to address those recruitment challenges, to ensure that we have bobbies on the beat in every community?

[Sarah Jones]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. We need to make sure that we are paying our police well, which we have done through a pay uplift, and looking after them. The number of police officers leaving the service—not to retire, nor due to ill health, but because they were fed up with it—tripled under the last Government. We will put a stop to that.

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[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

My constituents are concerned about the imminent closure of volunteer-manned Pinner police station, as part of a programme of closure by the Mayor of London that leaves the whole London borough of Harrow with no in-person access to the police. Thus far, the volunteers who man the front desk and I have had no response at all from the Mayor of London to our attempts to raise this issue. Will the Minister intervene to ensure that we at least get a response, and that the Mayor of London listens to my constituents’ concerns?

[Sarah Jones]

I am sure that the Mayor of London listens to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents’ concerns. We have increased funding to the Metropolitan police, and we are doing everything we can to reverse the increases in retail crime that we saw under the previous Government, and which we are beginning to tackle now.

[David Baines (St Helens North) (Lab)]

On Friday, I visited St James primary school in Haydock in my constituency, where, after learning about the dangers of knife crime, year 6 children are campaigning to install bleed control kits in their community, in case the worst ever happens. Can the Minister please assure them and all my constituents that this Government are doing all they can to tackle knife crime, and will she join me in paying tribute to the children and staff of St James for their efforts?

[Sarah Jones]

Absolutely. I welcome the conversation that my hon. Friend is having with his constituents and the children, who I know are deeply worried about knife crime. This Government have a target to halve knife crime in a decade. Since the start of this Parliament, knife crime has fallen by 8%, and knife homicides are down by 27%, but we will not stop until we reach that target.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

The Home Office has said that a new licence to practice will be required by all police officers. Can the Minister explain how that will differ from what is required under police conduct regulations, the police code of ethics and current police training programmes?

[Sarah Jones]

The licence to practice is being introduced to ensure that all officers, at whatever stage in their career, are getting the right support and the training that they need to do the jobs that we demand of them. We have said explicitly that we will design this with policing, so that we can get this right, but it is about supporting the police to do the jobs that we all need them to do.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

Rasheed Afrin, co-director of the al-Roj camp in Syria, recently commented that several ISIS-linked individuals have been repatriated from that camp to the UK. Can the Home Secretary say how many ISIS-linked individuals have been repatriated to the UK, and whether they were held in custody on their return?

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[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

I would like to pass on my heartfelt sympathies to the family of Khaleed Oladipo, who was tragically killed in a knife crime incident last week in the city of Leicester. I am sure that no Member of this House wants to see another life cut short and another mother’s heart broken, so will the Minister back my calls for the Government to appoint a dedicated Minister to tackle knife crime?

[Sarah Jones]

I am that dedicated Minister. It is my job to tackle knife crime; it is what I have campaigned on for many years. I am glad to say that we are having some success, but every knife attack and every knife murder is an absolute tragedy, and we will continue to do all we can.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

The police officers and police community support officers in North Shropshire work hard, but PCSOs’ hours have been cut because of budget constraints, and there are no front desk services at all in my constituency, despite it having five market towns. Can the Minister outline how we will ensure better and more visible community policing in North Shropshire?

[Sarah Jones]

The officer maintenance grant, which kept the uplift in officer numbers, became a barrier to more visible policing, and actually the number of PCSOs halved under the previous Government. We are giving the police more flexibility, and we are putting 13,000 more officers on our streets in our communities, where they can tackle the scourge of everyday crime, and as a result, I think that the hon. Lady will get the right mix for her constituents.