Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to increase staffing levels on trains to improve public safety.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The train operating companies, as employers, are responsible for ensuring there are adequate numbers of staff to suit their operational needs, which includes maintaining the safety of the public using their trains. The British Transport Police (BTP) is the national dedicated police force for the railways in England, Scotland and Wales. It also has responsibility for the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and the IFS Cloud Cable car. We urge all passengers, to please report any incidents to the BTP either via its text-reporting service on 61016, its Railway Guardian App, online via its website, or in an emergency by dialling 999.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the problem of criminal gangs intentionally crossing police force borders to exploit weaknesses in policing methods.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We know serious and organised crime (SOC) does not respect police force borders which is why all police forces in England and Wales collaborate and share resources, funding and specialist capabilities to deliver Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) to lead complex cross-border SOC investigations. There are nine ROCUs in England and Wales with equivalent capability in London.
Alongside approximately £70m in direct funding from the Home Office in 2023/24, Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors with PCC functions have recently provided significant resource to the ROCU network by allocating 725 extra officers to ROCUs between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. Those officers are working in partnership now to tackle drugs supply and enablers, including firearms and criminal finances.
County lines is a major cross-cutting issue involving a range of criminality including drugs, violence, criminal gangs and child criminal exploitation, and involves the police, a wide range of Government departments, local government agencies and voluntary and community sector organisations. County lines gangs often export drugs across county borders from one police force area to another.
This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to tackle the most violent and exploitative drug supply model yet seen. Through the County Lines Programme, we have established dedicated county lines taskforces in the four force areas exporting the majority of lines (MPS, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police) as well as the British Transport Police to tackle the national rail network. We are also funding the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The NCLCC has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response, promoting best practice, and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.
Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,600 line closures, over 16,500 arrests and over 8,800 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,500 line closures since April 2022, surpassing the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 line closures by April 2025. Having met this target in half the time, we have now committed to close a further 1,000 lines by August 2024, bringing the total since the Drugs Strategy was launched in April 2022 to over 3,000.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 10758 on Armed Forces, if he will name the regiments in the (a) Army and (b) Royal Marines which have been (i) disbanded and (ii) merged since 2010.
Answered by James Heappey
Further to the table provided to you in my letter of 7 February, the British Army regiments which have been disbanded since 2010 have been listed below.
As noted in that letter, this information represents single Service estimates based on management information which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. I have attached an updated table to reflect minor discrepancies in the original which were observed during further analysis.
Within the Royal Armoured Corps, the 1st and 2nd Royal Tank Regiments were merged to become The Royal Tank Regiment in 2014. The Queen’s Royal Lancers merged with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) to become the Royal Lancers in 2015. For the Reserves, the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry was placed in suspended animation in 2014. The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry was created in the same year.
Within the Army Air Corps, 9th Regiment Army Air Corps was disbanded as a front-line regiment in 2016 and re-established as a flying regiment in 2018.
Within the Royal Artillery, 40th Regiment Royal Artillery was placed into suspended animation in 2012 as was 39th Regiment in 2015. For the Reserves, 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery was placed in suspended animation in 2014.
The table below has been updated for the Royal Engineers. Within this Corps, 25 Engineer Regiment was disbanded in 2012 as was 38 Engineer Regiment in 2013. 28 Engineer Regiment was disbanded in 2014 but re-established in 2018. For the Reserves, both 72 and 73 Engineer Regiments disbanded in 2014. There were also two hybridised regiments; 101 Engineer Regiment and 33 Engineer Regiment. 101 Engineer Regiment became a Reserve regiment in 2018 and 33 Engineer Regiment became Regular regiment.
Within the Royal Signals, 7 Signal Regiment disbanded in 2012. 15 Signal Regiment was re-formed in 2015 and 13 Signal Regiment in 2020. For the Reserves, 38 Signal Regiment disbanded in 2015.
The table below has been updated for the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME). Within this Regiment, 5 Battalion REME was formed in 2013. In 2015, 10 Battalion REME and 11 Battalion REME merged to become 8 Battalion REME. For the Reserves, 104 Battalion REME was disbanded in 2013. This was then re-established in 2015 along with 105 and 106 Battalions. However, in 2018, 104 Battalion merged with 103, 105 Battalion merged with 101, and 106 Battalion merged with 102.
The table below has been updated for the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC). Within this Corps, 8 Regiment RLC was disbanded in 2012. 12 Logistic Support Regiment was disbanded in 2013. 2 Logistic Support Regiment, 23 and 24 Regiment RLC were disbanded in 2014. 5 Training Regiment RLC disbanded in 2016 and 3 Regiment RLC in 2023. For the Reserves, 88 Postal and Courier Regiment, 155 and 160 Transport Regiments, 166 Supply Regiment and 168 Pioneer Regiment were disbanded in 2014.
Within the Royal Army Medical Corps, 2 Medical Regiment and 33 Field Hospital were disbanded in 2018. 3 Medical Regiment disbanded in 2022 when a number of re-designations took place. For the Reserves, in 2023, 225 (Scottish) Medical Regiment merged with 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital, 253 (Northern Ireland) Medical Regiment merged with 204 (Northern Ireland) Field Hospital, 201 Field Hospital merged with 212 Field Hospital and 207 Field Hospital merged with 208 Field Hospital.
Within the Royal Military Police, 4 and 5 Regiments Royal Military Police disbanded in 2020 and the Special Operations Regiment was formed. The Special Investigations Branch Regiment was subsumed into the Defence Serious Crimes Unit[1] on its formation in 2023.
No Regiments within the Army’s Infantry, Intelligence Corps or Veterinary Corps have been disbanded or merged since 2010.
The Royal Marines is organised into Commando Units rather than Regiments and none have been disbanded since 2010.
British Army Regiments (2010-2023)
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Total Regular | 126 | 126 | 122 | 121 | 117 | 115 | 113 | 113 | 114 | 114 | 114 | 115 | 115 | 113 |
Total Reserve | 73 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 63 |
Combat Forces |
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Infantry |
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Regular Regiments | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Reserve Regiments | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Royal Armoured Corps |
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Regular Army Regiments | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Army Air Corps |
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Regular Army Regiments | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Combat Support Forces |
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Royal Artillery |
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Regular Army Regiments | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Royal Engineers[2] |
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Regular Army Regiments | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Hybrid Regiments (Reg & Res) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Royal Signals |
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Regular Army Regiments | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Intelligence Corps |
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Regular Army Regiments | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Royal Army Veterinary Corps |
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Regular Army Regiments | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Army Reserve Regiments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Combat Service Support |
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Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers[3][4] |
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Regular Army Battalions | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
Army Reserves Battalions | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Royal Logistic Corps[5] |
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Regular Army Regiments | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Royal Army Medical Corps |
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Regular Army Regiments | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 |
Royal Military Police |
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Regular Army Regiments | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Army Reserves Regiments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
[1] The Defence Serious Crimes Unit does not belong to the Army, it is part of the Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) within the Ministry of Defence.
[2] RE data for years 2010-2011 and 2014-2017 for Regulars, 2014-2018 for Reserves and additional hybrid regiments has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.
[3] The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are organised at unit level into Battalions, rather than Regiments. This represents a distinction in naming convention rather than difference in workforce requirement or operational outputs.
[4] REME data for years 2013, 2015 and 2018 for the Reserves has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.
[5] RLC data for years 2012-2015 for the Regulars has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the fleet is of the National Police Air Service.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police-led service that provides police air support to 44 police forces across England and Wales, including the British Transport Police.
NPAS owns a fleet of 20 helicopters (19 operational and 1 training aircraft), and four fixed winged aircraft.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consider the potential merits of implementing a method for members of the public to report directly and anonymously suspected child exploitation.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.
The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.
If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps members of the public can take to report suspected cases of child exploitation.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.
The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.
If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with rail service providers on tackling anti-social behaviour on railway services in (a) Enfield North Constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield, and (c) London.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the rail network in London and throughout the country is a top priority for the British Transport Police (BTP).
Where ASB hotspots have been identified, BTP implements Problem-solving Plans (PSPs) in partnership with its policing and non-policing partners which target their resources and activity to deal with local issues of concern.
Problem Solving Plans are a structured method used to understand the nature and causes of problems that affect communities and take preventative action in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. The focus is on getting to the root of the problem, identifying who can help (both within and outside of policing) and working together from the outset, along with thinking creatively on how to solve a problem.
Problem-solving Plans currently in place in London include (but are not limited to) Finsbury Park, Croydon, and Victoria.
Enfield is not in BTP’s top crime locations for ASB so there is no bespoke Problem-solving Plan in place, but BTP’s high visibility officers conduct on-board and station patrols in the local area to reassure passengers and staff, while deterring those who would engage in criminal behaviour.
If passengers see or experience ASB on the rail network, in Enfield, London or across the country they should report this to BTP using their text 61016 service or via the Railway Guardian app. In an emergency, they should always call 999.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to second UK police officers to the British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials have been working closely with the FCDO and UK policing colleagues as well as our partners across the British Overseas Territories to identify police requirements and support. While there have been and are instances of deploying UK officers (see Annex A), all considerations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. When UK police officers are not available or not the most appropriate response, retired officers have been contracted into operational or support roles. In addition, UK officers regularly deploy in a training capacity as part of a wider and longer-term HO Overseas Territories Police Strategy.
Annex A: Examples of UK Police Deployments
Turks and Caicos Islands – Devon and Cornwall Police (Sept 21 – Feb 22)
UK police staff seconded for six months to provide analytical support in relation to serious organised crime.
Anguilla – British Transport Police (Sept 22 – Dec 22)
UK officer seconded to establish an intelligence led policing business model and to improve crime investigation performance and capability.
Montserrat - Suffolk Police (Oct 22- Nov 23)
UK officer seconded for 12 months to develop RMPS capabilities for leadership and demand management.
British Virgin Islands – Dyfed Powys Police (Oct 22 – Apr 23)
UK officer seconded for 6 months to lead the modernisation of the BVIPF Marine Unit capabilities.
Montserrat – Hertfordshire Police (March 2023 – December 2023)
UK officer seconded for 9 months as interim Commissioner of Police. March 2023 – December 2023
Turks and Caicos Islands – South Yorkshire Police (November 2022 – Feb 2023)
UK officer seconded for 3 months to provide investigative support and assist the command team in responding to critical incidents, leadership development and management of local processes and operations.
Falkland Islands – Police Scotland (Oct 23 – Jan 24)
Two officers seconded to provide assistance with leadership stability and assist with transformational work regarding recruitment of new officers to Royal Falklands Islands Police
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions emergency services have attended incidents (1) at railway stations, or (2) on railway tracks, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no single source of data on the number of occasions that emergency services have attended incidents at railway stations or on railway tracks.
Data on incidents on public transport attended by the British Transport Police in Great Britain may be found in British Transport Police ‘Use of force statistics’.
Data on incidents attended at public transport locations by police forces in England and Wales may be found in Home Office ‘Police use of force statistics’.
Data on false alarms, accidental and deliberate fires ‘on trains’ attended by the Fire and Rescue Service in England may be found in in Home Office ‘Fire statistics’:
The department does not hold data on the number of incidents attended by NHS England Ambulance services at railway stations or railway tracks.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the (a) police and (b) National Crime Agency have taken to tackle county lines operations in (i) Hampshire and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle this violent and exploitative distribution model.
County lines is a national issue which affects all forces which is why, through the Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Hampshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.
Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,100 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, meeting the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 by April 2025 in half the time.