theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken with local authorities to improve children services. \p Josh MacAlister: The department is committed to children’s social care reform to ensure opportunity for all children. Our policy statement ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, outlines our vision and core legislative proposals. We have subsequently introduced several measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a key step towards delivering the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Specifically, we have confirmed the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and Family Group Decision Making reforms. These reforms are being delivered through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, a national government programme to support Safeguarding Partners, including local authorities, to implement the reforms. In 2025/26 the reforms are backed by £541 million of funding, more than doubling direct investment in preventative services.

Through the FFP programme, the government is giving families and children access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Education and Skills Funding Agency in enabling young people to retake English and Maths GCSEs to a timetable that enables them to undertake paid employment. \p Josh MacAlister: Progress towards, and attainment of, level 2 mathematics and English is essential for helping 16 to 19 students to by allowing them to seize opportunities in life, learning and work.

Under Part 1 of Education and Skills Act 2008, young people aged 16 and 17 who have not attained level 3 qualifications of sufficient size are under a duty to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. However, schools and colleges can tailor a study programme to the needs of an individual student, and we know that many students undertake part time work alongside their studies.

Study programmes are designed to be full-time with a minimum of 580 planned hours per academic year, however, part time programmes may be agreed where, for example, a student combines part time education with full time employment.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to accept the recommendation of the Curriculum and Assessment Review to develop a programme of work to provide evidence-led guidance on curriculum and pedagogical adaptation. \p Georgia Gould: The Curriculum and Assessment Review looked closely at how to break down the barriers that hold back children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are otherwise vulnerable.

The department has accepted the recommendation to develop new evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation for all children and young people, including those with SEND in the government response published alongside the review. We will work in collaboration with experts and school leaders to create new Curriculum in Practice resources: a flexible suite of adaptive teaching strategies, case studies and real-world examples tailored to different phases of education.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department made of the adequacy of the use of single unique identifiers for schools, in the context of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. \p Georgia Gould: Provision in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) for children is based on extensive user research, including engagement with schools and education settings. Our 2023 report, ‘Improving multi-agency information sharing’, highlighted that while schools use identifiers such as the unique pupil number (UPN), these are not recognised across other agencies that process and share information relating to safeguarding and welfare, creating fragmentation and risk.

To address this, the department began pilot activity in April 2025 to test the feasibility of using the NHS number as a consistent identifier within health and children’s social care. Future piloting will test this across wider safeguarding partners, including education. The intention is not to replace identifiers that are currently used in education, but to design how the SUI can work alongside existing identifiers to improve information sharing and strengthen safeguarding.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to expand new special schools in Lincolnshire. \p Georgia Gould: The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision (AP). Of this funding, Lincolnshire has been allocated just over £10.2 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities. They can make use of this increased capital investment to improve the suitability and sufficiency of high needs provision in their areas and to ensure the sustainability of the system for the longer term.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce examinations in British Sign Language for deaf children as part of the implementation of the curriculum review. \p Georgia Gould: Under Ofqual’s regulatory conditions, all students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications must be assessed in English, except where another language is permitted, such as in modern foreign language qualifications. Students may be assessed in British Sign Language (BSL) where an awarding organisation offers this as a reasonable adjustment. Guidance is provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications, and adjustments can include the use of BSL interpreters for spoken instructions, readers, scribes and assistive technology.

Access arrangements are also available for all national curriculum tests, and guidance is provided by the Standards and Testing Agency. This allows for adjustments such as sign language interpreters for instructions and compensatory marks for pupils with profound hearing impairments.

The government is also developing a landmark GCSE in BSL, which will be accessible for both first-time learners and existing BSL users.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet the hon. Member and her constituents to discuss this issue.
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Gill Furniss:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking as part of the new curriculum to develop a culture of reading for pleasure in schools. \p Josh MacAlister: The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.

That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.

Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that we give every child rock solid foundations in oracy, reading and writing, and an improved key stage 3 that re-engages pupils and prevents their learning from stagnating.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of schools being required to have specialist allergy nurses. \p Georgia Gould: Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. School nursing services provide health and wellbeing support for children and young people from age 4 up to 19. They provide specialist advice to schools on the management of medical conditions, including allergies.

Schools must have regard to the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ statutory guidance, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

The department has committed to reviewing this guidance and intends to issue a consultation on an updated version of this statutory guidance.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of devolution in England on post 16 education. \p Josh MacAlister: As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Strategic Authorities have a key role in ensuring there are clear pathways of progression from education into further and higher education and local employment opportunities. The government values the insight and local accountability of Strategic Authorities and is proceeding with the devolution of adult education functions to tailor training opportunities and drive growth.

Strategic Authorities help shape the training offer in their region through joint ownership of Local Skills Improvement Plans and can work with their constituent councils to plan provision locally.

Education for 16 to 19-year-olds is distinct and forms part of the compulsory education and training system. It offers young people high quality options that enable their transition into apprenticeships, employment, or further learning, such as higher education or higher technical programs. These options support the development of a skilled workforce and break down the barriers to opportunity.
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Kerry McCarthy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost of extending the Childcare Grant to postgraduate students. \p Josh MacAlister: The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards. These loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs, including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.

Students studying on postgraduate courses can apply for loans towards their course fees and living costs up to £12,858 in 2025/26 for new students undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses and up to £30,301 in 2025/26 for new students undertaking postgraduate doctoral degree courses.

Postgraduate students are eligible for a different package of support to undergraduate students to help with course fees and living costs, including childcare. These students are therefore not eligible to receive the childcare grant.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects teaching of the British Sign Language GCSE to commence in schools. \p Georgia Gould: The development of a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is an important step toward fostering greater recognition of BSL as a language, and we are committed to developing a qualification that benefits both students and the wider deaf community.

The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023 and Ofqual’s final qualification rules were published on 13 November this year. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.

Decisions on whether to develop qualification specifications are for exam boards, and any specifications developed by exam boards will need to be accredited by Ofqual before they are available to schools.
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Zöe Franklin:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the affordability of employability courses for students; and whether she plans to increase funding to help improve access to such courses. \p Josh MacAlister: Approximately £8.6 billion 16 to 19 programme funding has been allocated during the 2025/26 academic year to colleges, schools and other providers of education and training. This funding enables young people to take part in study programmes or T levels. These are designed to enable students to progress to employment, an apprenticeship or further study including higher education.

Responsibility for adult skills has moved from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Through the adult skills fund (ASF), we have allocated £1.4 billion in academic year 2025/26, ensuring that adults can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.

Currently, 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and the allocation of the ASF to learning providers.

In non-devolved areas, adults who earn less than £25,750, are eligible for full funding through the ASF, ensuring courses are accessible for those who are either unemployed or on the lowest incomes.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children who miss substantial periods of school due to cancer treatment. \p Georgia Gould: We recognise how important it is that children undergoing cancer treatment get the right support. This includes having continued access to high-quality education during periods when they are unable to attend school.

Local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.

Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.

Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.
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Chris Coghlan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her response is to the open letter from parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Surrey, delivered to her Department (a) physically on 16 July 2025 and (b) electronically on 17 July 2025. \p Georgia Gould: The department attaches great importance to the handling of correspondence from parliamentarians and fellow citizens. Correspondence often raises complex and serious concerns, as it has in this instance, and as a department we aim to provide high quality, tailored responses to the points raised.

I can confirm that a response to the open letter from parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Surrey, dated 17 July 2025, was sent on 18 November 2025.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training in (a) the North West and (b) Fylde constituency. \p Josh MacAlister: The department publishes official statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

Since 2021, the number of 16 to 24 year-olds estimated to be NEET in the North West has been increasing with the latest estimate at end 2024 being 121,400. The lowest number in the series was in 2021, estimated to be 74,200. The data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cc3fd0f9-292c-47fa-d20e-08de2129b4fd.

In recent years, the Office for National Statistics has faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS, which has led to increased sampling variability. This is particularly notable at regional level and caution is advised when interpreting short-term changes. All estimates should be viewed alongside associated confidence intervals.

These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET estimates in Fylde constituency are not available.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of local careers advice and guidance services in preventing young people from becoming not in employment, education or training in Lancashire. \p Josh MacAlister: The department funds a network of careers hubs across England to drive up standards of careers provision for young people. Lancashire Careers Hub works with 162 secondary schools and colleges to connect careers provision to regional skills needs, aligned with the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework.

Through the Boosting Skills Pathway Fund, the careers hub works with local small and medium enterprises to break down barriers and connect young people to diverse pathways including T Levels.

In the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department committed to prevent young people becoming not in education, employment or training through more effective use of data by local partners and by ensuring that those without a post-16 study plan are automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she will measure the impact of the 2026 'Year of Reading' on children and young people. \p Josh MacAlister: The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults, aiming to engage new audiences in reading and make lasting change to the nation’s reading habits.

Grounded in existing evidence and new research by an external research agency, the campaign is designed to deliver meaningful impact during 2026 and beyond. The impact of the National Year of Reading will be measured through an independent external evaluation. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences including teenage boys, the early years, and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change. The findings will be published in 2027.
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John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing match-funding for incentive payments to Stepladder PLUS. \p Josh MacAlister: The department wants to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and are engaged in education, employment and training.

We recognise the importance of financial skills, such as those provided through the Stepladder Plus programme, in achieving this aim. The department currently supports the use of this programme through its contract, for the provision of Junior ISA savings accounts to children in care, with the Share Foundation. We do not currently have any plans to assess the merits of match-funding.
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Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review the effectiveness of the Childcare Funding system. \p Olivia Bailey: We see the early years as more than just childcare and central to our mission to give every child the best start in life. The department is focused on reforming the childcare system to ensure it is fit for purpose, so children get the best start in life and that high quality early education is available to all who need it.

To ensure that the early years funding system is hardwired to support those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need, the department will review early years funding, including the early years national funding formulae, consulting on a set of changes by summer 2026.

We will review how funding is distributed nationally and locally to ensure the funding system remains fair and effective at reflecting the costs of delivery and supporting those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need. The department will set out full details in the consultation next year.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to police forces on the use of stop and search for weapons at hotels housing asylum seekers. \p Sarah Jones: Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.

The Home Office has issued no guidance to police forces specifically relating to the use of stop and search at hotels asylum seekers. Decisions on the deployment of stop and search powers are for chief constables and their officers, who have the appropriate operational expertise.
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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employment tribunal claims relating to unfair dismissal have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months. \p Sarah Jones: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG entitled Action on Alcohol Harm – Priorities for Policymakers, published on 10 July 2025. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office has noted the publication of the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG report and with the Department for Health and Social Care will consider its findings. We are aware of the role alcohol can play in criminal behaviour and are working across Government to address alcohol related crime when it happens and to prevent it from happening in the first place.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful and dependent drinking, the government will shortly publish the first ever UK clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. In 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department of Health and Social Care is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment and inpatient detoxification. In ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’ commits to continued expansion of Individual Placement and Support schemes for people with alcohol addiction to find good work.

The government is also progressing plans to introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will implement safeguards to tackle crimes being reported online to open-source AI services. \p Sarah Jones: The Government has already taken steps to tackle crimes linked to the misuse of artificial intelligence, including open-source models, through the illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act (2023) and criminal measures to target the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images in the Data (Use and Access) Act (2025).

The Home Department has also tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a statutory defence for AI testers working to ensure that AI models do not create child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate imagery or extreme pornography when prompted. This defence will help the AI industry to test their models robustly and implement safeguards to ensure that their models cannot be used to create this appalling material.

Presently, there is no national online capability for online crime reporting to open-source AI models. Details of a crime submitted to an open-source AI model would not be submitted to the police. Members of the public who wish to report a crime online must access their local force website and submit details into an online form contained within. Some local forces use AI chatbots as an initial contact channel for the public, however, should details of a crime be submitted, the user will be directed to the local online crime reporting page.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking with (a) retailers and (b) police forces to tackle organised shoplifting. \p Sarah Jones: Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. We will not stand for this.

We are ensuring the right powers are in place. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

Additionally, we are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

Tackling retail crime requires a partnership approach between policing representatives and business. The previous Minister for Crime and Policing launched the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’, which was jointly developed by the police and industry and aims to provide a collaborative and evidence-based approach to preventing retail crime, including organised shop theft.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the annual cost to the public purse of the Prime Minister’s official cars provided by the Metropolitan Police. \p Sarah Jones: This is a matter of national security and therefore we cannot comment.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement test purchases have taken place for underage knife sales in England (a) in person at premises and (b) online in each year since 2015. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office does not hold data by year since 2015 of the number of test purchases online and at premises by trading standards undertaken for underage knife sales.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on democratic accountability of abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners. \p Sarah Jones: The Government is committed to transferring police governance functions to mayors, or to Policing and Crime Boards consisting of locally elected leaders where it is not possible to do so by 2028.

Moving police governance functions to locally elected leaders will bring better outcomes for the public and policing. They sit across a range of different public services and budgets and are better positioned to promote collaboration across services and drive a holistic approach to crime prevention.

Policing and Crime Boards will have a democratic mandate as they will be made up of locally elected leaders.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers dismissed from the National Crime Agency have subsequently joined police forces in the UK since 2017. \p Sarah Jones: Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.

The police barred list came into force on 15 December 2017 and contains the details of any police officer, special constable or member of police staff who has been dismissed from policing from misconduct or performance. Inclusion on the barred list is automatic at the point of dismissal and acts as a bar to joining police forces and other policing bodies.

The Government is strengthening this position and protecting wider law enforcement through the Crime and Policing Bill, with new barred lists for the National Crime Agency, as well as for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police. This legislation will ensure that those dismissed from the NCA are prevented from re-entering policing.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Police Chiefs Council guidance on releasing to the press the ethnicity and nationality of suspects for serious offences. \p Sarah Jones: On Wednesday 5 November the College of Policing launched their public consultation of the Media and Communications Authorised Professional Practice (APP), formerly the Media Relations APP.This guidance advises police forces on the information that they provide to the media and the public, particularly with regards to high profile cases.

Earlier this year the College published interim guidance for police forces on the disclosure of suspects’ ethnicity and nationality in serious cases. This interim guidance is included in the new draft guidance for consultation. The public are invited to share their views on this updated guidance as part of this consultation.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on detection rates for thefts (a) from and (b) of light commercial vehicles, broken down by police force area; and whether she is taking steps to support forces with low detection rates for such thefts. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office requires the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales to report trends in crime using aggregated categories such as theft of a vehicle or theft from a vehicle and we do not hold detailed data on the type of vehicles involved.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime. Through the policing National Vehicle Crime Working Group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.

In the Crime and Policing Bill we have brought forward legislation to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts. The Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons and is now at Committee stage in the House of Lords.

We provided £275,000 last financial year to help support enforcement work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment. An additional £210k is being provided by the Home Office (totalling £485k) this financial year to build on and further bolster these efforts to tackle vehicle crime

Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for understanding local crime patterns and for setting priorities which reflect the concerns of local communities, but we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) charge and (b) clear-up rate for residential burglaries was by police force area in the most recent year for which data is available. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on the offences and investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis, including burglary, which can be accessed here:

Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK
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Sarah Pochin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the misuse of ketamine. \p Sarah Jones: Tackling the harms caused by the use of illicit drugs is critical to delivering the Government’s key missions on safer streets and improving health outcomes, as well as contributing to the opportunity and national growth missions. We are taking an end-to-end approach to disrupt illicit drug supply chains, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking.

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and in January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, and advice on reducing those harms, and in particular whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

This activity sits as part of our work across Government to monitor and respond to emerging trends and harms, including those related to ketamine use. For example, on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of this drug.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Tom Gordon:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in freight-related crime; and what measures her Department are implementing in collaboration with (a) police forces and (b) industry to reduce theft from commercial vehicles and logistics facilities. \p Sarah Jones: We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. This Government is determined to crack down on it. The incidence of cargo theft, where criminals rip the sides of lorries and take the goods inside, is frightening for those dedicated HGV drivers across the UK, and the perception this crime is low risk and high reward is unacceptable.

Freight crimes are not currently separately identifiable in the centrally held police recorded crime data. Crimes involving the theft of freight are recorded by the police within broader vehicle-related theft categories. In order to monitor trends, we are piloting the use of a flag on police crime recording systems which officers can use to indicate that the crime they are investigating is freight crime. Set against police priorities and the need to ensure burdens on the police are proportionate, we will keep the need for a separate freight crime recording code under review.

We are working closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime. We have regular discussions with key partners, including Opal, about tackling organised freight crime.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employment tribunal claims alleging breaches of the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months. \p Sarah Jones: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will regularly publish a single national table showing annual totals for (a) officers authorised to carry tasers, (b) officers authorised to carry PAVA/CS, (c) officers carrying or deploying Tasers and (d) civilian prosecutions for possession of incapacitant sprays. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office does not hold any data on the number or proportion of police officers in England and Wales that were authorised to carry Conducted Energy Devices or PAVA. However, to ensure transparency and accountability around police use of force, Home Office publishes annual statistics on police use of force.

The published data includes official statistics in development on the number of use of force reports that recorded that a Conducted Energy Device (Taser) was readily available for use during the incident. It is important to note that this data will only account for where a Taser was carried by an officer during a use of force incident and will not account for all instances in which police were deployed with Taser. The latest available data can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-use-of-force-statistics

This publication also includes information on the number of times a Taser was recorded as a tactic (both discharge and non-discharge uses). Data are available by calendar year for 2015 and 2016 and by financial year from the year ending 31 March 2018. The latest available data can be accessed at the link above.

Decisions around the number of Taser trained officers within a police force are operational decisions for Chief Officers to determine in line with their assessment of threat and risk.

The Home Office collects information on the number of offences and their investigative outcomes recorded under a broad category of ‘possessing or distributing prohibited weapons designed for discharge of noxious substances etc.’. However, it is not possible to separate identify possession offences and the type of substance related to these offences.

Table: the number of offences, charge/summons and cautions for the offence ‘Possessing Or Distributing Prohibited Weapons Designed For Discharge Of Noxious Liquid’, 2015/16 to the year ending June 2025, England and Wales (excluding Humberside police).

Note – figures are for England and Wales, excluding Humberside police who were unable to provide figures to the Home Office Data Hub for this period.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce and (b) prevent equipment theft in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Sarah Jones: We will be implementing the Equipment Theft Act, making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen vehicles and equipment and assisting the police with identifying the owner.

The Act’s secondary legislation will require forensic marking to be applied to new All-Terrain Vehicles and for the details to be registered on a property database, for forensic marking to be applied to all new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings, and for the details to be registered on a property database. This provides an important additional tool to help police identify if an item is stolen and to return it to its rightful owner.

Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, which will help the police in tackling stolen equipment and machinery.

This financial year we have provided the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit. This funding will enable the Unit to continue to increase collaboration across all police forces, including Surrey Police, to target the serious organised crime groups involved in crimes like equipment theft from farms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 86746 on Roads: Accidents, whether her Department has received requests from the Department for Transport for data on (a) drug and (b) drink driving tests since July 4th 2024. \p Sarah Jones: As a part of the Annual Data Requirement, the Home Office collects information on roadside breath tests for alcohol, carried out by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales.

The Home Office makes all information collected on roadside breath tests for alcohol publicly available as a part of its annual “Police powers and procedures: Roads policing” statistical publication. The latest release is available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK

Publication of this data makes it accessible for use by Other Government Departments, external organisations, and members of the public.

The Home Office does not collect data on tests conducted by police for drug driving.