Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report entitled Pre-charge bail and released under investigation: Striking a balance, published on 8 December 2020, what recent discussions she has had with police forces on the (a) timeliness of (i) regular case reviews and (ii) updates to people released under investigation and (b) the steps those police forces are taking to (A) ensure the rights of those subject to investigation are respected and (B) maintain public confidence in relation to how suspects are dealt with after they are released from custody.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services regularly inspects police forces on their use of tools such as pre-charge bail and released under investigation (RUI) to manage offenders and protect victims and the wider public from harm. The College of Policing publishes and maintains the statutory guidance on the use of pre-charge bail, including guidance on RUI.
Recent police data suggests that the proportion of suspects on RUI is reducing, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of suspects on pre-charge bail. The Home Office continues to monitor the use of these powers. The latest data, covering the year to March 2024, was published on 27 February 2025 Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to strengthen border and import-level screening to prevent the delivery of knives purchased from overseas retailers without age verification.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Border Force utilise a suite of data analysis and detection capabilities to screen for illicit goods crossing the UK border.
We are currently upgrading our x-ray detection capabilities and introducing a new scanning system that improves how our officers analyse images at the border to better detect threats such as offensive weapons.
Border Force also utilise advance data and intelligence to risk assess movements crossing the UK Border, this includes targeting the illegal importation of offensive weapons to prevent their delivery to a UK recipient.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Chief Commissioner and (b) Commissioner of Investigations of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Recovery.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A growing number of families are taking cases to the independent Commission and the Government has confidence in its team of dedicated staff to effectively deliver for them. The Court of Appeal has recognised the Commission’s structural independence and wide powers.
The confidence of families in the Commission’s work is paramount and that is why this Government is in the process of repealing and replacing the previous Government's Legacy Act, and is committed to reforming the Commission to further strengthen its powers and independence.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 increasing the penalties for antisocial drug smoking.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The maximum penalty for possession of a Class A drug is up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will publish a breakdown of costs per government Department for the (a) Coagh and (b) Clonoe inquests.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Government Departments handle inquest costs in aggregate. We are unable to provide a breakdown of the costs for these specific inquests.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of recorded violent crimes resulted in a (a) charge and (b) summons in the last 12 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of violence against the person offences, and their investigative outcomes, including those assigned a charge/summons outcome, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, to the year ending March 2025, has been published on 24th July, and can be accessed here:
It is not possible to separately identify charges and summonses.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of violent crime that is linked to gang activity.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and Home Office police recorded crime data contains information on violent crime and is published by the ONS (Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics and the nature of violent crime: appendix tables - Office for National Statistics).
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the causes of recent trends in serious violent crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Office for National Statistics publishes information on crime, including serious violent crime, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, for the year ending March 2025, shows that serious violence has fallen, including the first fall in knife crime for four years.
Homicide has also fallen, to 535 offences, down from 567 the previous year and there has been a 21% decline in offences involving firearms, to 5,103 offences.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she did not provide a substantive response to the Freedom of Information Act request with reference number 359A/25 on her Department's use of services provided by Palantir Technologies UK Ltd.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office issued a substantive response to the requester in May 2024, which stated:
We have carried out a thorough search and we have established that no current Palantir contracts or use of Palantir software were identified within the Home Office.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) private and (b) social homes started in London between 1 January and 31 March 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by tenure of developer, in London. Statistics to the quarter ending March 2025 can be found in Table 217 on gov.uk here. This dataset covers new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.
My Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Affordable Housing supply, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of affordable housing supply. This includes estimates of new social homes started in London, in each financial year, to 2023-24 and can be found in Table 1006-1008 on gov.uk here. Data for 2024-25 will be published in November/December 2025.