Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the security of pedestrianised areas in York against (a) terrorist and (b) vehicle-borne terrorist attack.

It would not be appropriate to comment on specific security activities and arrangements at a particular location. However, the police undertake appropriate policing deployments utilising the full range of assets available to them, including armed officers and other specialist capabilities, to protect and reassure the public across the UK including in city centres. These deployments are designed against the current national threat level of SEVERE, which means that an attack is highly likely, and consider a range of attack methodologies including vehicle as a weapon attacks.

Furthermore, under the Government’s counter terrorism strategy CONTEST we have ensured that businesses and local authorities have access to high-quality advice and guidance, provided by the police and others, so they know what steps to take to reduce vulnerability to, and prepare for, terrorist attack. Public vigilance, the work of the police, and of the security and intelligence agencies all contribute to make crowded places safer. I am determined that the CONTEST strategy is applied throughout the whole of the UK and not just the bigger cities.