Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process shotgun licence renewals in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The issuing of firearms certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Government has recently taken action to increase the fees for firearms and shotgun applications that can be charged by police forces. On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. The extra income from fees will help police forces to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and the Government will conduct more regular reviews of fees in the future.
In the interests of consistency and transparency, the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Firearms Licensing has also for the first time published performance data for firearms licensing teams in all police forces. This includes the performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months. This data is now being published by the NPCC on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will take steps to prioritise shotgun licence applications where the applicant requires a firearm for work purposes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The issuing of firearms certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Government has recently taken action to increase the fees for firearms and shotgun applications that can be charged by police forces. On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. The extra income from fees will help police forces to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and the Government will conduct more regular reviews of fees in the future.
In the interests of consistency and transparency, the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Firearms Licensing has also for the first time published performance data for firearms licensing teams in all police forces. This includes the performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months. This data is now being published by the NPCC on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide additional resource to Dorset Police to help process outstanding firearm and shotgun licence applications.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The issuing of firearms certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Government has recently taken action to increase the fees for firearms and shotgun applications that can be charged by police forces. On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. The extra income from fees will help police forces to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and the Government will conduct more regular reviews of fees in the future.
In the interests of consistency and transparency, the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Firearms Licensing has also for the first time published performance data for firearms licensing teams in all police forces. This includes the performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months. This data is now being published by the NPCC on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of shotgun and firearm licence applications nationally.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The issuing of firearms certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Government has recently taken action to increase the fees for firearms and shotgun applications that can be charged by police forces. On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. The extra income from fees will help police forces to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and the Government will conduct more regular reviews of fees in the future.
In the interests of consistency and transparency, the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Firearms Licensing has also for the first time published performance data for firearms licensing teams in all police forces. This includes the performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months. This data is now being published by the NPCC on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Law Enforcement Data Service programme products are.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Further to my answer (20 October 2025) on the delivery progress made on the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS); there are five products within LEDS. There are Person, Vehicles, Drivers, Property and Audit.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of shotgun licences on funding for youth activities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and we intend to undertake more regular reviews in the future.
The need to increase firearms licensing fees to help address shortcomings in firearms licensing was highlighted by the Senior Coroner in his Preventing Future Deaths reports into the fatal shootings in Plymouth in August 2021.
It is important that the additional revenue from firearms licensing fees is used to support improvements in police force firearms licensing teams, and my predecessor, Dame Diana Johnson MP, wrote to all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to make clear that the increased fees must be used for this purpose.
Whilst the Government’s manifesto commitment referred to the money raised by full cost recovery fees being used to support youth interventions to prevent serious violence, it was decided instead ahead of the February 2025 increase to fees, that firearms fees income must be retained by police forces to support improvements in police firearms licensing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of stop and searches resulted in the seizure of (a) Class A drugs and (b) Class B drugs in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The data requested is not held centrally.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of stop and searches for drugs. The latest data is available here: Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK
However, data on the class of drug searched for is not collected, nor is information on the type of drugs seized following a stop and search.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in parcel theft from goods left outside homes by delivery companies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates on the proportion of theft from outside dwellings by the type of item stolen. It is not possible to separately identify all incidents where parcels left outside by delivery companies were stolen.
Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.
This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of trends in the levels of recruitment and retention in Cheshire Police; and how many officers have (a) left and (b) joined the force since July 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Forces are expected to manage their recruitment and retention activities to ensure that they meet officer headcount targets linked to funding arrangements set out in the Police Funding Settlement.
Data on joiners and leavers is published annually in July, including data for the previous year to 31 March. For the last full year that data is available (April 2024 to March 2025) Cheshire Police saw an increase in joiners of 17.1% (178 full time equivalents) alongside an increase in leavers of 4.5% (7 full time equivalents).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that a national day to remember victims and survivors of terrorism is specifically for innocent victims.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to recognising and supporting victims and survivors of terrorism.
That is why, on 24 November, the Government announced plans to introduce a National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism to pay tribute to those whose lives have been lost or forever changed by terrorist attacks.
This followed a public consultation on these proposals from 19 March to 11 June which identified strong support for a national day.
The Government will continue to work with victims and survivors ahead of an inaugural event in 2026, to shape the format of the national day for future years.