Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department plans to issue to police forces on the data of non-crime hate incidents suspects.

The Home Secretary has been clear about the priorities that she wants police forces across the country to focus on, and that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken in relation to non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).

That is why the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are currently conducting a review of NCHIs, which we have asked to be expedited. We must allow that process to conclude to give both police and citizens the clarity they need. We look forward to receiving the review’s recommendations shortly.

We will update Parliament on the findings, and any changes that may be required to the statutory Code of Practice on NCHIs introduced by the previous Government in 2023.

The Home Office does not centrally hold or collate information on the number of non-crime hate incidents recorded by police forces, nor on the costs of recording these incidents. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.

NCHIs are not criminal offences and therefore cannot result in arrest, charge or prosecution.