Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process her Department uses for (a) approving and (b) being consulted on pilot deployments of AI-enabled policing tools that integrate sensitive personal data; and what criteria are used to assess such proposals.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through Home Office funding to the NPCC AI portfolio we have produced and published detailed guidance on responsible use of AI, via the NPCC AI Playbook and Covenant. Building AI-enabled tools and systems | College of Policing. The NPCC AI lead, Alex Murray, has also worked with the College of Policing to produce Authorised Professional Practice in this area and a ‘Responsible AI’ checklist.
It is the responsibility of Chief Constables to decide what tools they deploy within their force. All Chief Constables have signed up to the Covenant, which establishes core principles for the transparent, responsible and accountable use of AI and generative technologies in UK policing. Forces should pay due regard to these principles when implementing AI tools in force.
Further to this, as a part of the Police Reform White Paper, the UK Government is announced the establishment of Police.AI, a new national centre for AI in policing focused on helping forces adopt AI tools responsibly and the set up of a new National Data Integration and Exploitation Service (NDIES).
Police.AI will ensure that operationally independent Chief Constables have the evidence and resources they need to ensure the AI they are using has proven benefits, is backed by robust evidence and is maximising accuracy whilst minimising bias. We are also creating a public-facing registry of AI deployments in policing, setting out what each tool does, why it is used, the risks identified, and how these risks are being mitigated, encouraging careful reflection on the merits and risks of each tool.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department has in (a) overseeing and (b) advising on pilot deployments of novel AI systems that process sensitive personal data in policing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through Home Office funding to the NPCC AI portfolio we have produced and published detailed guidance on responsible use of AI, via the NPCC AI Playbook and Covenant. Building AI-enabled tools and systems | College of Policing. The NPCC AI lead, Alex Murray, has also worked with the College of Policing to produce Authorised Professional Practice in this area and a ‘Responsible AI’ checklist.
It is the responsibility of Chief Constables to decide what tools they deploy within their force. All Chief Constables have signed up to the Covenant, which establishes core principles for the transparent, responsible and accountable use of AI and generative technologies in UK policing. Forces should pay due regard to these principles when implementing AI tools in force.
Further to this, as a part of the Police Reform White Paper, the UK Government is announced the establishment of Police.AI, a new national centre for AI in policing focused on helping forces adopt AI tools responsibly and the set up of a new National Data Integration and Exploitation Service (NDIES).
Police.AI will ensure that operationally independent Chief Constables have the evidence and resources they need to ensure the AI they are using has proven benefits, is backed by robust evidence and is maximising accuracy whilst minimising bias. We are also creating a public-facing registry of AI deployments in policing, setting out what each tool does, why it is used, the risks identified, and how these risks are being mitigated, encouraging careful reflection on the merits and risks of each tool.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Outer London Allowance was last reviewed for (a) teachers, (b) police officers and (c) civil servants.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
For teachers, the geographical areas covered by the different teacher pay ranges were defined some years ago to reflect a practical approach to compensate teachers working in London.
The School Teachers’ Review Body has not recommended any changes to London pay ranges in recent years; however, the Department is currently considering what additional flexibilities should be built into the statutory pay and conditions framework as a result of our commitment on changes to pay and conditions through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and we will keep this matter under review.
For police officers, there’s London Weighting and London Allowance. There’s not an inner and outer London rate – it’s the same across all of London.
London Weighting and London Allowance were last reviewed by the Police Remuneration Review Body in the 2025/26 pay round.
Decisions on pay, including London weighting, are delegated to individual departments for grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS); departmental policies on London weighting are not collected centrally. The SCS pay framework is managed centrally and only operates a national pay range.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the governance, transparency and accountability of the Police Federation of England and Wales in the context of the remuneration of the General Secretary; and what steps she is taking to ensure effective oversight of statutory bodies funded by mandatory subscriptions.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We ask police officers to do a unique and challenging job, so it is vital that they have effective and robust representation of their interests through the Police Federation of England and Wales.
The Police Federation must be fully accountable to its members and transparent in its use of members’ subscriptions, including the remuneration of those who lead the organisation.
We expect the Police Federation to ensure timely publication of its accounts and to give clarity about its future governance and transformation, as key factors in being open and accountable to its members.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on support for mountain rescue services.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
I want to pay a warm tribute to the extraordinary commitment and bravery of all mountain rescue teams, particularly volunteers across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Responsibility for mountain rescue is devolved to the Scottish Government, who have been provided with the largest settlement in the history of devolution. They must answer to the Scottish people on how they are using this record funding.
While Police Scotland holds the statutory responsibility for search and rescue on land, one of the three RAF mountain rescue teams is based at RAF Lossiemouth. This crucial reserved military asset, under the UK Ministry of Defence, regularly works alongside civilian teams to save lives on Scotland’s mountains. It is crucial that the two Governments continue to work together saving lives on Scotland's mountains.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve access to legal aid in short notice cases.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise that in certain circumstances individuals may need to access legal aid services urgently and the Government provides specific support to facilitate this.
In criminal legal aid, those who are to be interviewed under caution by the police are entitled to advice and assistance from a solicitor, which is arranged through the Defence Solicitor Call Centre on a 24/7 basis. Court duty solicitors are available to provide immediate advice to individuals on a first appearance in the magistrates’ court, except for certain minor offences such as summary motoring offences.
We have committed up to £92 million per year additional investment for criminal legal aid solicitors. As part of that, we are harmonising the fixed fee for all police station schemes at £320 excluding VAT. This is above the current highest fee paid, meaning all police station attendance fee schemes will see an uplift. In addition, we are uplifting magistrates’ court fees by 10%. This significant investment will support duty solicitors who work on short notice cases, and the sustainability of the profession.
In civil legal aid, providers can apply to the Legal Aid Agency for Emergency Legal Representation to cover emergency legal advice if individuals need urgent representation in court.
In public family proceedings, legal aid is available means-free for parents and those with parental responsibility in most public family law special Children Act 1989 cases, including for interim care orders and emergency protection orders. A light-touch merits test is applied, so that only the need for representation is considered.
An eligibility waiver is available for victims of domestic abuse applying for urgent protection. This means they can receive legal aid even if they would not otherwise pass the means test, though they may then have to pay a financial contribution towards their legal costs.
For people facing the loss of their home, in-court advice and representation is available on the day of the possession hearing via the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
Individuals held in Immigration Removal Centres and immigration detainees held in prisons are provided with a 30-minute triage appointment through the Detained Duy Advice Scheme. This initial appointment supports detained individuals to make contact with a legal provider that may provide further advice (subject to merits and eligibility).
We are uplifting legal aid fees for immigration and housing work, injecting an additional £20 million per year, which will support swift access to legal aid in these areas, including for short notice cases.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the source of large quantities of waste dumped by the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire; what assessment they have made of systematic waste disposal issues; and what plans they have for clean-up of the waste, and to what timescale.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has declared this case as a critical incident and is leading the multi-agency emergency response with the local police, fire services and Oxfordshire County Council following several lines of inquiry. Specialist officers are investigating the site so that the individuals responsible are caught, prosecuted, and made to pay for the damage including the clear up. We cannot commit to a timescale at this stage. While this investigation takes place the EA is taking robust steps to prevent contamination of the River Cherwell.
Separate to the incident in Oxfordshire the Government is making policy and regulatory reforms to close loopholes exploited by criminals - fundamentally reforming the waste carriers, brokers and dealers system, tightening waste permit exemptions and introducing digital waste tracking.
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, how many vehicles were seized as a result of drivers not having the required insurance in place in England for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not centrally collect information on the number of vehicles seized by police forces in England and Wales, as a result of drivers not having the required insurance.
The Home Office publishes information on Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences, including licence, insurance and record-keeping offences, as a part of its annual Police powers and procedures: Roads policing statistical publication.
The latest publication can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
Under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, police officers have the power to seize and remove a vehicle if they reasonably believe it is being driven without a valid driving licence or without insurance. Before seizing, the officer should warn the driver that the vehicle will be taken unless the required documents are produced immediately. Once seized, the vehicle is taken to a designated recovery compound, and the owner must provide proof of licence and insurance and pay statutory removal and storage fees to reclaim it. If unclaimed within the set period, the vehicle may be disposed of under Section 165B.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has allocated to local policing in North West Norfolk in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Norfolk Police will receive up to £239.2 million in 2025-26, an increase of up to £16.5 million when compared to 2024-25.
In addition to the funding announced at the settlement, the Home Office provided £1.3 million to Norfolk Police to help with the cost of the 2025-26 police pay award.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase to Employer's National Insurance Contributions on rape crisis centres.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure, and a black hole in the nation’s finances. We have made difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve.
This Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that 43% of employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.
I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department this year to ensure help is available to survivors of these awful crimes. This includes our ringfenced domestic abuse and sexual violence funding to all 42 Police and Crime Commissioners and our Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which reaches over 60 specialist rape victim support organisations. Grant recipients are best placed to understand their local communities and shape support to meet the need of victims in their area.
To stay abreast of demand volumes and service user needs, we regularly monitor these grants, using management information to inform policy development and commissioning.
Now that the department has its Spending Review settlement, we are in the process of allocating this budget to individual priorities, including victims funding. This will require difficult and carefully considered decisions to balance priorities within the Ministry of Justice.