Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging police forces to establish ringfenced neighbourhood policing units with a dedicated remit to tackle (a) illegal e-scooter use, (b) public disorder, (c) low-level crime and (d) other antisocial behaviour.

Restoring neighbourhood policing is at the heart of the Government’s Plan for Change and on 10 April the Prime Minister and Home Secretary outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Through the Guarantee, by July, every community will have named, and contactable officers dedicated to addressing local issues. These officers will play a vital role in preventing and responding to crime at all levels by building trust, gathering intelligence, and maintaining a visible presence in communities.

The Guarantee will also ensure that neighbourhood policing teams hold regular local beat meetings that residents and businesses can use to raise concerns and help shape local policing priorities.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to police and other relevant agencies under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to improve the tools agencies have at their disposal to tackle ASB. This includes introducing new Respect Orders to tackle the most persistent adult ASB offenders, extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 to 72 hours, and increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breaches of a Public Spaces Protection Orders or a Community Protection Notice from £100 to £500.

The Bill will also enhance the powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.

To reinforce neighbourhood policing teams, we have made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by 31 March 2026.