Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of police resources to tackle robbery in urban areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined that robust action should be taken to prevent robbery from happening and ensure swift justice for perpetrators.
The central aim of our police reform agenda is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues.
The Government has already taken steps to boost the neighbourhood policing response, ensuring that every neighbourhood has named, 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.
By the end of February 2026, forces had delivered more than 3,100 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood roles since March 2025, strengthening neighbourhood teams as part of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to deliver 13,000 more by the end of this Parliament.
Total funding to police forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of up to £834 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. This equates to a 4.7% cash increase and a 2.7% real terms increase in funding.
All forces will receive a real terms increase in funding this year.
Through the Knife-Enabled Robbery Group, we are working with Chief Constables to roll out proven-to-work interventions targeted in the places where knife crime is highest, including large urban areas. Through this Group we have turned a 14% rise in knife-enabled robbery in these places into 15% reductions overall.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of violent robbery offences committed by persons under the age of 18; and what steps she is taking to tackle those trends.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government established a Knife-Enabled Robbery Taskforce in October 2024 to respond to surges of 14% of this violent form of robbery in the year before the General Election, a significant proportion of which involves young people. We brought together Chief Constables and policing partners from the seven areas which collectively accounted for approximately 70% of the national problem.
The Taskforce scrutinised police performance in real time and identified common solutions to shared operational challenges, including a specific focus on under-18 knife-enabled robbery along school routes and transport hubs.
The Knife-Enabled Robbery Group now continues this relentless effort, achieving promising results, with knife robberies now down by 15% overall across these seven areas (Oct 2025 vs year to June 2024). Knife robberies are also down nationally by 10%. These results demonstrate the impact of our targeted and evidence-led approach.
Our new Plan to Halve Knife Crime ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope’ sets out how we will support young people and stop those at risk from turning to crime. This includes the roll out of over 50 Young Futures Panel pilots across England and Wales to identify thousands of children at high risk of knife crime who were falling through the gaps.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to enforce age restrictions on the (a) online and (b) offline sale of knives to persons under the age of 18.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 7 April 2026 the Government published ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope: A Plan to Halve Knife Crime’, which sets out how the Government is aiming to halve knife crime in the decade to 2034. We have been taking action in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is now in its final stages in Parliament, by increasing the penalty for sale of knives to those under 18 to a maximum of two years imprisonment and we have brought forward a number of new legislative measures to toughen our controls on the online sale of knives. They include introducing a new two-step age verification process for online sale and delivery of knives. This process stipulates the acceptable forms of identification to verify age at point of sale and on delivery and that parcels containing knives can only be delivered to the hands of the person who placed the order and they will have to show proof of age and identity on delivery.
The Government also launched a public consultation on 16 December 2025 to gather views on proposals to introduce a licensing scheme for those who sell knives, including importers, retailers and private sellers, making them subject to stronger regulations and conditions. Following the close of the consultation on 24 February 2026, the responses received are currently being considered and the Government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to protect vulnerable and elderly people from violent street crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The central aim of our police reform agenda is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues.
The Government has already taken steps to boost the neighbourhood policing response, ensuring that every neighbourhood has named, 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.
By the end of February 2026, forces had delivered more than 3,100 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood roles since March 2025, strengthening neighbourhood teams as part of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to deliver 13,000 more by the end of this Parliament.
In order to drive reductions in violent crime and protect communities across the country, on April 7th the Government launched its plan to halve knife crime within a decade. Titled “Protecting Lives, Building Hope: A Plan to Halve Knife Crime’, it will save lives, transform the futures of young people, stop those at risk from turning to knife crime and police our streets to catch and punish perpetrators.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of driving test appointment capacity in (a) Leicester, (b) Leicestershire and (c) the East Midlands; and what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for practical driving tests in those areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the March 2026 average waiting time for a car practical driving test. This data is based on the national average waiting time metric of when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available. The table also shows the number of tests booked and available at the driving test centres (DTCs) serving the East Midlands as of 20 April 2026.
Driving test centre (DTC) | March 2026 average car practical driving test waiting time in weeks | Booked tests (as of 20 April 2026) | Tests available in 24 week booking window (as of 20 April 2026) |
Ashfield | 24 | 2,828 | 182 |
Boston | 23.8 | 1,588 | 68 |
Buxton | 24 | 1,415 | 79 |
Chesterfield | 24 | 2,518 | 151 |
Derby (Alvaston) | 24 | 2,620 | 90 |
Grantham (Somerby) | 24 | 3,210 | 182 |
Hinckley | 24 | 1,437 | 102 |
Kettering | 20.6 | 2,477 | 99 |
Leicester (Cannock Street) | 24 | 3,665 | 186 |
Leicester (Wigston) | 24 | 5,220 | 237 |
Lincoln | 24 | 1,835 | 89 |
Loughborough | 24 | 917 | 51 |
Louth | 12 | 268 | 7 |
Melton Mowbray | 24 | 986 | 5 |
Northampton | 24 | 5,114 | 33 |
Nottingham (Chilwell) | 24 | 2,498 | 109 |
Nottingham (Colwick) | 24 | 4,288 | 200 |
Skegness | 20 | 938 | 9 |
Wellingborough | 24 | 556 | 3 |
Worksop | 19.2 | 2,961 | 185 |
Great Britain (National) | 22.1 | 653,269 | 52,578 |
Between June 2025 – March 2026, at the DTCs above, DVSA conducted 10,036 additional car practical driving tests in overtime, when compared to the equivalent overtime scheme between June 2024 – March 2025. This increase can largely be attributed to the additional test allowance scheme the agency introduced in June 2025.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent closures of National Car Parks Limited sites in Leicester on (a) local businesses and (b) footfall in Leicester city centre.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As administrator for National Car Parks Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers is seeking to make the business viable and to avoid closures or job losses wherever possible. However, some sites that the administrator considered were not commercially viable have closed as part of the administration process. More information on the administrator’s plans for the relevant companies can be found on its website.
The government recognises that a number of these closures are in Leicester. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient parking provision to support local communities and the prosperity of their town centres. Through the Local Government Finance Settlement, the government has made available up to £555.2 million in core spending power for Leicester City Council by 2028‑29, the majority of which is unringfenced and may be used at the authority’s discretion to meet local priorities.
The government is not responsible for local parking provision and has no current plans to provide additional financial or planning support to reopen closed private car parks, but will continue to monitor developments.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to provide (a) financial or (b) planning support to help local authorities bring closed private car parks back into operation.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As administrator for National Car Parks Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers is seeking to make the business viable and to avoid closures or job losses wherever possible. However, some sites that the administrator considered were not commercially viable have closed as part of the administration process. More information on the administrator’s plans for the relevant companies can be found on its website.
The government recognises that a number of these closures are in Leicester. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient parking provision to support local communities and the prosperity of their town centres. Through the Local Government Finance Settlement, the government has made available up to £555.2 million in core spending power for Leicester City Council by 2028‑29, the majority of which is unringfenced and may be used at the authority’s discretion to meet local priorities.
The government is not responsible for local parking provision and has no current plans to provide additional financial or planning support to reopen closed private car parks, but will continue to monitor developments.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of the administration of National Car Parks Limited on city centre parking capacity in (a) Leicester and (b) England; and whether he is taking steps to mitigate reduced parking provision.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As administrator for National Car Parks Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers is seeking to make the business viable and to avoid closures or job losses wherever possible. However, some sites that the administrator considered were not commercially viable have closed as part of the administration process. More information on the administrator’s plans for the relevant companies can be found on its website.
The government recognises that a number of these closures are in Leicester. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient parking provision to support local communities and the prosperity of their town centres. Through the Local Government Finance Settlement, the government has made available up to £555.2 million in core spending power for Leicester City Council by 2028‑29, the majority of which is unringfenced and may be used at the authority’s discretion to meet local priorities.
The government is not responsible for local parking provision and has no current plans to provide additional financial or planning support to reopen closed private car parks, but will continue to monitor developments.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) short-notice and (b) late cancellations of driving tests there have been since 4 July 2024; what proportion of available test slots were unused in each month; and what the overall utilisation rate of driving test appointments was in each month.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
From 8 April 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) required learner drivers to give 10 full working days’ notice to change or cancel their car driving test without losing the test fee.
The attached spreadsheet (WPQ-00066786) shows how many car practical driving tests were cancelled by learners within 10 days or fewer and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency within 3 days or fewer since 4 July 2024, including what proportion of available test slots were utilised in each month.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the flights listed to the British Virgin Islands in WPQ 120039, a) what the purpose was of each such visit; b) which Ministers or senior officials approved each visit; c) how many officials travelled on each occasion and at what grade; d) what the total cost was of each visit; and e) what assessment was made of whether those engagements could be conducted remotely or combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) has a statutory requirement under the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code to monitor port security in the British Overseas Territories.
Both visits in 2025 were security assessments of 13 port facilities undertaken within five days on each visit. Meetings were also conducted, including with the Governor’s Office, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force and with port security officials. DfT officials additionally delivered capability‑building training during the April visit, supporting enhanced security delivery at port facilities
The April visit involved three officials – two Senior Executive Officers (SEOs) and one Higher Executive Officer (HEO). The November visit involved one SEO and one HEO. No Ministers or Senior Officials attended.
The total cost of the April visit was £11,581.19. November was £12,706.58.
Both visits were approved by a Deputy Director (Senior Civil Servant) in DfT’s Transport Security Division in line with departmental policy.
The majority of DfT’s port security engagement with the Overseas Territories is undertaken online, however an effective assessment on whether a port is delivering on its security requirements is best completed by an onsite visit.