Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is available from her Department for local crime prevention measures in rural areas.

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.

We are improving the protections for rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft, anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

This financial year the Home Office has provided the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (£450,000). The National Rural Crime Unit work with police forces and rural communities to promote the use of crime prevention measures such as Rural Watch.

We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2028. The strategy highlights how policing can assist in the prevention of crime in rural areas.

It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including Mayors who exercise PCC or equivalent functions, to take decisions around the allocation of their funding and resources.