theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure regional access to investment under the UK-UAE Investment Partnership. \p Sarah Jones: As part of the UK-UAE Sovereign Investment Partnership, the Office for Investment has worked with Emirati investors to explore investment opportunities across the UK and UAE investment can be found across the UK, driving growth and prosperity across key sectors to the mutual benefit of both countries.

These investments include offshore wind in Scotland and advanced material research in North-West England. An expanded Office for Investment is working to make the UK the first choice for investment and the best place in the world to do business, turning regional growth plans into clear and commercially credible pipelines of investment opportunities.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-New Zealand trade agreement on SME exporters located in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes. \p Gareth Thomas: The UK-New Zealand FTA benefits every region of the UK including Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. It also includes commitments to support SMEs to trade, including through a standalone SME chapter.

Data is not collected centrally on the impact of the UK-New Zealand trade agreement on SME exporters located in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. However, since entry into force, there are early indications of positive uptake of the agreement’s benefits by British exporters. According to official data from New Zealand, between June 2023 and Dec 2024 £164.2m (80.7%) of goods imports into New Zealand from the UK used preferential tariffs. Had these occurred at standard Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates, they could have encountered an additional £9.3m in duties.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value is of the subsidy offered by the (a) Government and (b) Post Office to franchise operators of Post Office branches; and how long that subsidy is available for. \p Gareth Thomas: While I regularly engage with the Post Office CEO about the direction of the company, Post Office has the freedom to operate the branch network within the parameters set by Government. Therefore, the level of support to people working in franchised branches is an operational matter for Post Office.

Government subsidy funding goes to Post Office, not franchise operators of branches directly. Government has confirmed up to £83 million of network subsidy this financial year to support Post Office with the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, and provided £10.9 million of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the Transformation Plan, which aims to put postmasters’ interests at the heart of Post Office. Further multi-year funding for the Transformation Plan and network subsidy is being considered as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on availability of workforce in the Scottish hospitality sector. \p Gareth Thomas: Government values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK, not least to important sectors of the Scottish economy such as hospitality.

While there has been no specific assessment, there were around 226,000 people working in hospitality in Scotland at the end of last year, which is a 6% increase from December 2019 - a month before the UK left the EU.

As part of the Plan for Change, we’re determined to bring net migration down and restore control and order to the immigration system, and it is good to see the hospitality industry employing more people domestically.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to provide financial support to British SMEs relocating manufacturing out of China to avoid newly introduced tariffs. \p Gareth Thomas: There are no current plans to support businesses with relocating their production out of China specifically. However, the Government-backed British Business Bank helps businesses to access the finance they need to invest and grow, including to relocate parts or all of their business.

UK Export Finance can help SMEs win contracts by providing attractive financing terms to buyers, support working capital loans to take on and fulfil orders effectively, and make sure SMEs get paid by offering Government-backed insurance against buyer default.
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Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of e-invoicing for small businesses on (a) exports and (b) imports. \p Gareth Thomas: Usage of digital technology such as e-invoicing can streamline business processes, including for trading businesses, whether they are importing or exporting.

Usage of e-invoicing software and standards that are compatible with those used by trading partners in other countries can be particularly beneficial. However, small businesses may find adoption of new tools and processes more onerous than larger businesses.

DBT and HMRC recently ran a 12 week consultation to gather views on promoting e-invoicing in the UK. The consultation closed on 7 May, and we will be publishing a summary of responses and updating on next steps in due course.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) targeted relief and (b) export support for the (i) creative and (ii) publishing industries affected by changes to international trade policy. \p Gareth Thomas: My department has a dedicated exports promotion programme for the creative industries to grow their exports. We will continue to use trade and economic partnership agreements to reduce trade barriers for creative industries businesses.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of UK-India trade talks in supporting advanced manufacturing. \p Sarah Jones: The UK-India FTA is estimated to increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, and UK GDP by £4.8 billion each and every year in the long term.

As part of this agreement, India will cut tariffs on a number of advanced manufacturing goods such as automotives, electrical circuits, high-end optical products, and medical devices.

We will set out further information on the sectoral impacts of this agreement in our Impact Assessment.
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Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing e-invoicing. \p Gareth Thomas: Business adoption of digital technologies such as e-invoicing can offer benefits that include reduced administrative burdens and fewer data processing errors. This can lead to increased productivity, improved payment times, and streamlined tax administration and collection.

However, we recognise the need to think carefully about introduction of any e-invoicing requirements or standards, especially for smaller businesses who might find this to be an additional burden. We recently ran a 12 week consultation jointly with HMRC, to gather views on promoting e-invoicing in the UK. The Government will publish a summary of responses and provide an update on next steps in due course.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of energy on automotive manufacturers. \p Sarah Jones: We speak regularly to all major UK automotive stakeholders to understand the health of the sector and factors that impact competitiveness. Our modern Industrial Strategy will focus on tackling barriers to growth in areas important for automotive companies to grow and invest in the UK. The Strategy will build on existing support for the automotive sector, including the Budget commitment of over £2 billion of funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to finance for small manufacturers. \p Sarah Jones: Our October 2024 call for evidence on access to finance for small advanced manufacturing firms sought views and evidence on the challenges faced in this area. Since that time, the Government has been considering how best to support more advanced manufacturing scale-ups to access the capital they need. Further details will be contained in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan within it.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the automotive sector on the potential impact of China's rare earth export restrictions. \p Sarah Jones: The Department for Business and Trade has been regularly engaging with businesses, across multiple sectors, that are affected by the recent export controls of rare earth elements, primarily with Automotive companies and Trade Associations. HMG is committed to supporting UK businesses affected by these export controls and ensuring barriers to trade causing additional monetary and time costs are removed.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with the life science sector on the potential impact of China's imposition of rare earth export restrictions on that sector. \p Sarah Jones: The Department for Business and Trade has been regularly engaging with businesses, across multiple sectors, that are affected by the recent export controls of rare earth elements, including with Life-sciences companies and Trade Associations. HMG is committed to supporting UK businesses affected by these export controls and ensuring barriers to trade causing additional monetary and time costs are removed.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the availability of skilled workers in (a) technical and (b) engineering roles in (i) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Sarah Jones: DfE continues to make available education and training opportunities in technical and engineering sectors across the country including in Fylde and Lancashire.

DfE’s levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, is aligned with the industrial strategy, creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries such as in engineering and technical sectors.

DBT is working with DfE, following the announced additional £625 million for construction skills training, to support the industry led Construction Skills Mission Board to collaboratively secure the workforce needed to meet future demand and deliver the government’s infrastructure and built environment commitments.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing for local manufacturers in South Northamptonshire to expand their export markets. \p Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is committed to supporting UK businesses, including in South Northamptonshire, including those in the manufacturing industry, to grow and export. UK businesses can access DBT's wealth of export support via great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.

As part of our work on a new trade strategy and a small business strategy, we are looking at further proposals to help UK businesses to export more.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he will visit Bromsgrove constituency to discuss the impact of government policy on the hospitality industry with (a) publicans and (b) landlords. \p Gareth Thomas: Hospitality businesses, including those in Bromsgrove, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth and social cohension. We've launched a licensing taskforce aimed at cutting red tape and removing barriers that hinder progress. The Government also plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. Additionally, we've introduced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities. This includes helping those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity across the sector.

Whilst I don't have any immediate plans to visit Bromsgrove, I will endeavour to visit in future as part of my wider business engagement programme.
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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support local pubs. \p Gareth Thomas: Hospitality businesses, including pubs, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth. We've launched a licensing taskforce aimed at cutting red tape and removing barriers that hinder progress. The Government also plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000.

Additionally, we've introduced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities. This includes helping those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity across the sector.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the re-structured Board of Trade on small and medium-sized businesses in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency. \p Gareth Thomas: The restructured Board of Trade is charged with enhancing support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including those in North East Somerset & Hanham. With a renewed focus on championing UK exports, the Board-comprising experienced business leaders-will help SMEs access new global markets and benefit from trade agreements through serving as ambassadors and advocates for British businesses at home and abroad, supporting and promoting initiatives such as the upcoming Business Growth Service.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency. \p Gareth Thomas: Last year the Business Secretary announced a new Business Growth Service which will make it easier for businesses across Somerset to get advice and support to grow and thrive. The West of England Growth Hub is where small and medium businesses in Somerset and the surrounding rural areas can benefit from specialist advice on how to scale up, access new markets and receive financial support through the British Business Bank.

Businesses can also access other Government programmes such as the Business Support Service, Help to Grow: Management, the UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisors and the Export Support Service.
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John McDonnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take legislative steps to tackle human right abuses in business practices. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct and supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent human rights abuses across their operations and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help UK exporters mitigate the potential impact proposed US tariffs on (a) consumer electronics and (b) agricultural goods. \p Gareth Thomas: On 8 May, we concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal and we will continue our extensive engagement with businesses from across the UK throughout these remaining negotiations.

We continue to support UK businesses, including those that sell consumer electronics and agricultural goods, to grow and export around the world and to the US. Businesses can access export support via great.gov.uk such as the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) businesses and (b) people in Woking that will benefit from the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Economic Prosperity Deal is a unique deal that ensures the most important UK industries are protected. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ around 29,000 people across the South East with around 2,500 people in Woking employed in the automotive industry. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.

We will continue to act in Britain's national interest - for workers, for business and for families including in Woking.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the imposition of rare earth export restrictions. \p Sarah Jones: The Department for Business and Trade is regularly engaging with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on their export controls of Critical Minerals, and DBT continues to explore ways to ensure supply to industry of these minerals is uninterrupted. HMG is committed to supporting UK businesses affected by these export controls and ensuring barriers to trade causing additional monetary and time costs are removed.
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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of (a) electric bikes and (b) e-scooters by youth gangs involved in (i) drug dealing, (ii) theft and (iii) anti-social behaviour. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.

Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially from 14 days to 48 hours. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. This includes funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a tax-free annual bonus to help improve recruitment and retention of special police constables. \p Dame Diana Johnson: As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are committed to increasing the number of special constables across England and Wales.

To support this commitment, we are exploring a range of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of special constables. This includes considering how we can better incentivise the role, recognise their service, and ensure they feel supported and valued.
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Lewis Cocking: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 (a) cultural and (b) religious backgrounds of grooming gang offenders. \p Jess Phillips: Earlier this year, the Home Secretary commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to undertake a national audit into the nature, scale and characteristics of this type of offending, including considering the cultural and societal drivers for this offending. I will ensure the Hon Member receives a copy of Baroness Casey's report when it is published in the coming weeks.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 34 of the Government document entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, what progress she has made on agreeing a single performance framework for policing. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Since 5 December 2024, when My Rt Hon Friend, the Prime Minister, announced the Government’s Plan for Change, we have been working closely with the sector to draw up a new Police Performance Framework to ensure standards are upheld across the country. We have also been working to establish a new Unit within the Home Office, which will identify and support force-level improvements.

Further details will be published in the forthcoming Police Reform White Paper.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse to be published. \p Jess Phillips: Baroness Louise Casey is currently completing her audit into the nature, scale and characteristics of grooming gangs offending.

I updated the House on 2 June that Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to her work from the Home Secretary to allow her to speak directly to victims, fully access the scale of the issue, and submit meaningful evidence-based recommendations to further tackle this abhorrent criminality.

We expect to receive the report very shortly. We will then set out a comprehensive response, as well as next steps on the action we have already announced.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to help improve police response times in rural areas. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services regularly inspects forces’ response to the public as a part of its Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy inspections. As a part of this, it examines whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.

The Government also recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime more broadly. That is why we are working closely with the National police Chiefs’ Council to deliver its updated Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

We have been clear that the Home Office will play a greater role in setting performance measures and monitoring and driving system performance in the police. Further details on the new performance framework will be set out in due course
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Robbie Moore:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to recommendation 3 of The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022, what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of creating a new Cabinet Minister for Children. \p Jess Phillips: In April, the Government published the ‘Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update’ which sets out the action this Government is taking in response to the recommendations in IICSA’s final report, alongside broader steps to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation.

As set out in the Progress Update, the Government agrees with the importance of having a clear focus on children across Government, including at Cabinet level. The Secretary of State for Education is the Cabinet minister for children. A new Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will also drive and mainstream the strong collective cross Government focus on children’s wellbeing, safety and opportunity. This will bring together Ministers from the Government departments with a key role on issues affecting children.

The Progress Update also sets out the Government’s commitment to create a Child Protection Authority for England to help make the child protection system clearer, more unified and to ensure there is ongoing improvement through effective evidence-based support. The Progress Update sets out the next steps the Government will take to establish a Child Protection Authority, which will build on the foundation of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme to discuss the potential merits of a police station providing a 24-hour public reception in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Decisions about local resourcing and the police force estate, including police stations and their opening hours, are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected, independent Police and Crime Commissioners (or equivalents). They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need and experience.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rules on pension entitlements for survivors of police officers on levels of loneliness. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The 2015 police pension scheme is the scheme currently open to serving police officers. This scheme provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse. These benefits were first introduced for all eligible police officers in the 2006 police pension scheme, which was superseded by the 2015 scheme.

For officers who joined policing prior to 2006, the 1987 police pension scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.

From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on levels of protections for (a) bank, (b) building society and (c) banking hubs workers. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work. The Government does not plan to include bank, building society or banking hub workers within the new offence.

Assaults against workers in these sectors are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support schools in Milton Keynes in delivering anti-violence education programmes. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Milton Keynes, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in Thames Valley, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including representatives from local education institutions and from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.

In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing £1.5m in grant funding to Thames Valley VRU, alongside £280k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.

This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, which includes continuation of a Focussed Deterrence intervention in Milton Keynes. This project will be targeted at young people who carry knives and providing them with tailored multi-agency support to desist from violence, alongside enforcement measures. Funding will also support the development and roll out of training for parents, schools and community groups in Thames Valley on the signs of criminal exploitation, in order that young people at risk are identified and supported.

Alongside investment in local violence prevention approaches, we are also committed to removing weapons from our streets. Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime. Last year 16,066 stop and searches led to offensive weapons or firearms being found and taken off our streets.

On 24 September 2024 we implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and from 1 August 2025 it will also be illegal to sell or own ninja swords. We have announced “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives including strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage age verification system at the point of purchase and on delivery, and we are also intending to consult later this year on a registration scheme for online sellers of knives.

With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of postbox theft; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle it. \p Dame Diana Johnson: In the year ending December 2024, there were 7,998 ‘Theft of mail’ offences recorded by the police across England and Wales, a 24% increase compared with the previous year.

The Government recognises the profound impact theft can have on individuals and wider communities. Key to tackling all types of theft is having more police on the streets. That is why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. This will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems.

The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of the additional neighbourhood policing roles.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) charges have been brought, (b) prosecutions there have been and (c) convictions there have been for unlawful abortions in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. \p Dame Diana Johnson: All women in England and Wales should have access to safe, regulated abortions on the NHS under our current laws. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place, allowing members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs. Decisions to bring a prosecution about abortion are for the independent Crown Prosecution Service.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including the number of procuring illegal abortion offences, and intentional destruction of a viable unborn child offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information is published as official statistics each quarter. The latest information, to the year ending December 2024, can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics
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Lee Pitcher:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce the remaining local authorities selected for the pilot inquiries into group-based child sexual exploitation. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to getting to the truth of both historical and current group-based child sexual exploitation or grooming gangs offending, to ensure that perpetrators are punished and to deliver justice and accountability for victims and survivors. That is why the Home Secretary commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to undertake a national audit into the nature, scale and characteristics of this type of offending.

The Home Secretary wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 28 May 2025 to explain that Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to complete her audit, as she continues to speak directly to victims, fully assess the scale of the issue and submit meaningful recommendations to further tackle this vile crime.

We expect to receive Baroness Casey's report in the coming weeks, and the Home Secretary has already committed to publishing it at that point. It is important that the government has all the information available so we can set out a comprehensive response to this horrific crime, taking into account Baroness Casey's findings, including next steps on local inquiries.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the 1987 Police Pension Scheme to allow widowers of police officers to retain their survivor’s pension entitlement if they remarry or cohabit. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The 1987 police pension scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.

With the introduction of the 2006 and 2015 police pension schemes, all eligible police officers were able to join a pension scheme that provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse.

From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.

There are no plans at this time to make any further changes to benefits accrued in the 1987 police scheme.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help reduce the number of shoplifting offences in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire \p Dame Diana Johnson: We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue funding a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers.

We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will end the effective immunity for shop theft of and below £200 sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

I chair regular meetings of the Retail Crime Forum, which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers promote collaboration, share best practice, and work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft – Tackling Retail Crime Together.

The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that exposure to traumatic events by police offices are recorded; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police officers are counselled after these events. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a top priority and that those who have faced traumatic incidents in the line of duty should receive the support they need to recover and continue serving. We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service who have developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces.

It is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, ensuring the appropriate health and wellbeing provisions are in place for their officers and staff.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the online exploitation of children; and whether she plans to increase funding for police cybercrime units. \p Jess Phillips: We are committed to taking robust action across Government to better safeguard children from all forms of abuse, including online exploitation, and to ensure that perpetrators of abuse face the full force of the law.

It is crucial that police and law enforcement have the capabilities and skills to effectively tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation, and engage sensitively with children, victims and survivors.

The Home Office continues to invest in a network of Undercover Online Officers in Regional Organised Crime Units who deploy online to identify and pursue offenders seeking to sexually exploit children. In addition, Home Office funding supports both the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, and GCHQ’s aim to significantly reduce harm to children by addressing the volume and scope of online offending and helping to bring offenders to justice. The Home Office has also developed the world-leading Child Abuse Image Database (CAID), in collaboration with the police and other partners, using cutting-edge technology, including AI tools, to help identify and safeguard victims of online exploitation and abuse.

To ensure we keep pace with changes in technology, under the Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a suite of new measures to keep children safe online by tackling the growing threat of Artificially-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). In addition, the Online Safety Act protects citizens – especially children – by placing new duties on tech companies to address priority illegal content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse. This Government will continue to proactively review legislation, and we will not hesitate to legislate further to ensure the protection of children online.