theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_40
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Kanishka Narayan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of research and development tax relief reforms on (a) startups and (b) scale-ups in the (i) deep tech sector and (ii) other sectors. \p James Murray: In Autumn 2023, a review of the R&D tax credit system concluded. As part of this review, the previous Government extended the scope of the reliefs to include data and cloud costs, merged the RDEC and SME scheme, and introduced the Enhanced Support for Research-Intensive SMEs (ERIS), which provides a higher rate of relief for loss-making, innovative companies. The life sciences and deep tech sectors are expected to be among the main beneficiaries of ERIS.

The Government is committed to periodically evaluating the R&D reliefs to ensure they are as effective as possible and underpinned by a credible, up-to-date evidence base. It will be some time before the required outturn data is available to conduct an accurate review. The Government will continue to publish annual statistics on R&D claims by sector and company size on Gov.uk
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of research and development tax reliefs on the expansion of small businesses. \p James Murray: The Government is committed to periodically evaluating the R&D reliefs to ensure they are as effective as possible and underpinned by a credible, up-to-date evidence base. It will be some time before the required outturn data is available to conduct an accurate review following the changes announced during the review of the R&D reliefs. The Government will continue to publish annual statistics on R&D claims by sector and company size on Gov.uk.

More broadly, the Government is committed to creating a positive environment for entrepreneurship and is working with leading entrepreneurs and venture capital firms on how policy supports that, including the role of existing tax schemes, as set out in the Autum Budget 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on high street retailers. \p James Murray: As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above.

The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.

Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information the Valuation Office Agency holds on the number of supermarkets that have a rateable value of above £500,000 in England. \p James Murray: This information is published by special category code (Scat) here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000

The VOA consider Scat codes 139 Hypermarkets/superstores (over 2500 m2) and 152 Large food stores (750-2500 m2) as supermarkets.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with stakeholders on the potential merits of implementing thresholds for corporation tax as per personal taxation. \p James Murray: Companies already pay Corporation Tax in line with their profitability. The main rate of 25 per cent – which is the lowest in the G7 – applies to profits over £250,000. The small profits rate of 19 per cent applies to profits under £50,000. Marginal relief applies to profits between £50,000 and £250,000 so that the tax rate increases gradually from 19% to 25%.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Lee Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing changes to the Agricultural Property Relief threshold. \p James Murray: The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and fixing the public finances in a fair way. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes business property relief on family-run businesses in (a) Devon, (b) the South West and (c) the UK. \p James Murray: The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992.

Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency: Freedom of Information disclosure log, last updated on 26 October 2023, for what reason no information is available on this webpage. \p James Murray: The VOA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) releases log is due to be updated shortly with FOI releases that are of wider public interest. This follows a review (in line with section 19 of the FOI Act and ICO guidance) of the information previously published, and the removal, or movement, of information that was out of date, or best suited to be published alongside ad hoc or official statistics releases. The last FOI release was published on GOV.UK on 11 July 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs holds data on the (a) number of employees, (b) salaries and (c) aggregate revenue of National Insurance contributions collected from local councils. \p James Murray: HM Revenue and Customs holds data on employee earnings and deductions, provided by employers in Full Payment Submissions to HMRC. However, local councils are not separately identified in HMRC data, so the requested figures are not available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will extend the beer duty freeze for pubs. \p James Murray: Pubs make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, and this is recognised in the tax system.

Beer producers benefitted from a freeze to alcohol duty from 1 February 2024 until 1 February 2025.

At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint. This reduction increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.  This came into effect on 1 February 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to improve the effectiveness of the initial assessment process for research and development tax relief claims. \p James Murray: All Research and Development (R&D) claims go through a risk screening process to determine which need further checking, with the majority paid without a formal compliance check.

Where risks are identified, HMRC opens compliance checks to investigate the claims, within established legislative time limits and with wider taxpayer safeguards such as appeal rights. Where a check is opened into a claim that on further investigation is found to be fully eligible, HMRC aims to close its check and approve the claim as quickly as possible.

HMRC has required claimants to submit an Additional Information Form as part of their claim since August 2023. The information provided in these forms enhances HMRC’s risking process by helping to more accurately identify claims that may not be compliant and reduces the risk of valid claims being picked up for a compliance check.

To strengthen the administration of the reliefs and provide businesses with greater certainty the Government announced at the Autumn Budget that it will explore widening the use of advance clearances for R&D reliefs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of changes to retail, hospitality and leisure rate relief between 2024-25 and 2025-26 on levels of business rates for municipal swimming pools. \p James Murray: Without any Government intervention, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to offer a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26 and frozen the small business multiplier.

At Budget, the Government also announced that from 2026-27, it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on the most valuable properties, which includes the majority of large distribution warehouses, including warehouses used by online giants.

The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was claimed for trade union subscriptions under section 344 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 in each of the last five years. \p James Murray: The requested information is not available. Claims for Professional Membership Fees and Annual Subscriptions, (under s343 and s344 ITEPA 2003) are reported on HMRC returns under the ‘Fees and Subscriptions’ category and cannot therefore be separately identified.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to respond to the letter of 20 December 2024 from the hon. Members for Arundel and South Downs, East Surrey and Wyre Forest. \p Emma Reynolds: I can confirm a response was sent on 21 February 2025 to the hon. Members for Arundel and South Downs, East Surrey, and Wyre Forest.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential merits of expanding the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle violence against women ans girls. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer I gave on 10 February to Question UN 27910.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of youth services in preventing and tackling violence against women and girls. \p Jess Phillips: As referenced in my response to the answer I gave to question UIN 28128, the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will set out our strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver our ambition to halve VAWG in the next decade.

We are considering a range of policy options across government to prevent these crimes including education for young people around healthy relationships and consent, community interventions and tackling online VAWG. That includes looking at how we can work most effectively with youth services and through the Young Future Hub programme to deliver this ambition.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to provide support to victims of sexual and domestic violence. \p Jess Phillips: This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. We will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year.

The Government has made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences. This includes embedding domestic abuse specialists into 999 control rooms as part of Raneem’s Law, rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, introducing free, independent legal advice for victims of adult rape and fast-tracking rape cases. The Ministry of Justice funds the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, providing free, confidential emotional support for all victims of rape and sexual abuse aged 16 and over in England and Wales.

We also understand the importance of specialist and ‘by and for’ services in providing support to victims of VAWG, including domestic abuse. The Home Office have already confirmed a number of grants for organisations delivering vital frontline support to victims.

On 28th November 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a funding increase of £30 million, meaning a total investment of £160 million in the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant in 2025/26. This will enable local authorities to invest in essential support for victims in safe accommodation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take legislative steps to authorise the police to inform youth clubs when people (a) attending and (b) running them have received a police caution for sexual offences. \p Jess Phillips: Ensuring the system for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk is as robust as possible is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering our mission to halve violence against women and girls.

The disclosure and barring regime protects children and vulnerable adults through the disclosure of relevant criminal records to help employers make informed recruitment decisions. Where an individual is seeking to work in a role that involve special risks and sensitivities, such as working closely with children, an employer may request they obtain an enhanced criminal record certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service. These certificates include details of spent and unspent cautions and convictions recorded on the Police National Computer, subject to filtering rules. Except in some sectors like health and education, the use of DBS checks is at the employer’s discretion.

In addition, police can share information about individuals who may pose a risk where disclosure is required to protect the public, including children or vulnerable adults. This can be done either proactively or on request.
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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28486 on Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry, which Ministers sit on the cross-Government ministerial group that are considering remaining Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommendations. \p Jess Phillips: The Home Office set up an inter-ministerial group in late 2024, which I chaired the first meeting on the 12th November 2024.

Ministers from the Home Office, Cabinet Office, Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, Department of Culture, Media and Support and Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government are involved in these discussions.

This forum will continue to meet regularly to support the Government’s action on the IICSA recommendations and broader efforts to tackle child sexual abuse across government.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it remains her Department's policy to continue the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme. \p Seema Malhotra: To provide future certainty, Ukrainians provided with temporary sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes can apply for a further 18 months’ permission to remain in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open, uncapped and free of charge for Ukrainians in need of sanctuary to apply to come to the UK. Ukrainians granted under the Homes for Ukraine scheme can continue to travel to sanctuary in the UK while their visa remains valid.

The Government keeps the Ukraine schemes under review and engages, where appropriate, with relevant stakeholders while closely monitoring developments in Ukraine.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Palestine refugee visa scheme on (a) social cohesion, (b) public services and (c) immigration levels; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the scheme is implemented in a way that balances (i) humanitarian responsibilities and (ii) the need to maintain community stability. \p Seema Malhotra: Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules and our suitability requirements. Consideration will be given to compelling, compassionate and exceptional circumstances raised and may be taken into account where certain requirements are not met.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a quota for the number of tourist visas granted within a given time period. \p Seema Malhotra: No. There has been no change in policy towards tourism from that in place under the previous government.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of the (a) mechanisms and (b) grounds for appeal of an Entry Clearance Officer's decision to refuse a tourist visa. \p Seema Malhotra: There is no right of appeal against refusal of a visit visa as this was removed by Parliament in 2013. Where someone applies for a visit visa and is refused, it is open to them to make a new application, in which they can address any reasons given in the refusal and provide any new evidence.

There is also the ability to seek judicial review of a refusal decision or to use the complaints procedure by which applicants can raise concerns about the service provided to them. The complaints procedure is set out on the UK Visas and Immigration pages on gov.uk: Complaints procedure - UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK.

The Home Office publishes further guidance on immigration appeals, which is available here: Current rights of appeal.
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Alison Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour and crime in town centres. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, included our plan to reduce ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also going to bring back neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.

These officers will be equipped with tougher powers, such as the Respect Order, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on ASB and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the devolved parliaments and assemblies have sufficient resources to (a) detect, (b) deter and (c) prosecute any malign State activities seeking to undermine those democratic institutions. \p Dan Jarvis: The Defending Democracy Taskforce regularly engages and works with devolved Governments and Parliaments on threats facing our democracy including foreign interference.

This includes supporting the delivery of cyber security advice which makes available expert cyber support to elected representatives across the UK’s Devolved Parliaments.

In addition, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as a standing member of the Taskforce, continues to deliver the enhanced cyber security offer for elected representatives across the UK - at local, Devolved, and national levels - to better protect them, their teams, and families online.

The National Security Act 2023 also provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats, including foreign interference.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of dispersal orders to reduce (a) theft and (b) anti-social behaviour in market towns in Surrey. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Engagement with policing partners suggests that police consider dispersal orders straightforward to use and effective in the short-term.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will be legislating to extend dispersal orders from 48 to 72 hours, making them more effective.

Additionally, to tackle persistent adult ASB offenders, the Crime and Policing Bill has also introduced Respect Orders. Breach of a Respect Order will be a criminal offence and courts will have a wider range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit's annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what steps her Department is taking to stop future instances of animals (a) dying and (b) being euthanised as a result of their cages flooding. \p Dan Jarvis: The Home Office Regulator expects all establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 that use automatic watering systems for animals to have appropriate fail safes in place. The Regulator publishes standard conditions in the Regulation against which it assesses compliance through audit and reporting (Standard Condition 4: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-operation-of-the-animals-scientific-procedures-act-1986).

The Home Office takes failures in these systems, that represent non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, seriously. The Home Office regulator reviews each non-compliance case and provides details in its annual report (www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-in- science-regulation-unit-annual-report-2023). Sanctions are applied in cases of non-compliance to reduce the risk of future non-compliance. Data regarding non-compliances is used to inform the risk-based audit programme.
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Dan Carden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of central funding for fire and rescue services in (a) Merseyside and (b) England. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.

The Home Office will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offensive weapons were seized by the Metropolitan Police in Romford constituency in 2024. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of stop and searches that resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found in each Police Force Area, as part of the annual Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions’ statistical publication.

The latest data, covering the period up to the end of March 2024, can be found in table SS_45:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f2e4a17da73f17177640ed/stop-search-data-tables-summary-mar24.ods

However, this dataset only covers weapons found through stop and search, so should not be used to infer the total number of weapons seized by the Metropolitan Police.
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Alex McIntyre:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour on Gloucester constituency. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, included our plan to reduce ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every police force working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We will also put 13,000 neighbourhood police, community support officers and special constables into local communities so residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.

We will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to tackle repeat offending, including the new Respect Order to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.
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Alex McIntyre:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the level of burglaries in Gloucester constituency. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We recognise the profound impact burglary can have on individuals and the wider community. For too long a culture has been allowed to develop whereby victims of burglary believe if they report what has happened, no one will come and nothing will be done.

This is why we have been clear that when someone calls the police, they should come; and when a person reports a crime it should be properly investigated no matter who they are, or where they live.

As part of reforms being delivered through the Safer Streets Mission, this government is determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities. We are also committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and Special Constables.

We welcome the police's commitment across England and Wales to attending the scene of every home burglary, and the specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations; setting the standard for the entire investigation, not just initial attendance, including victim care. More information is available at: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary.
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce crime in rural villages. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities.

That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas.

Under our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers, across England and Wales, including in rural areas, to speed up response times and build public confidence. This Government is clear that when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith that justice will be delivered, and criminals will be punished – no matter where you live.

We are also committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to fend off the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_72

Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will play in the government's plans to tackle violence against women and girls. \p Jess Phillips: The Government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene earlier to ensure vulnerable and at-risk children and young people are identified and offered support in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for young people in their communities, through the provision of mental health and careers support.

The new Young Futures Hubs will bring together the support services that tackle the underlying needs of vulnerable children and young people and make them more accessible to those that need them. In doing so, the hubs will promote children and young people’s development, improve their mental health and wellbeing, and prevent them from being drawn into crime.

Prevention Partnerships will drive local multi-agency partnership working, improve evidence-based commissioning via existing and innovative mapping exercises and ensure the right support is available to children at-risk of knife crime, ASB and violence against women and girls.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_73
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_73

Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in rural convenience stores. \p Dame Diana Johnson: In the last year of the previous government, shop theft soared to a twenty-year high, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.

No matter where you live, we are clear that when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered and criminals will face meaningful consequences.

We will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the last government, granted to shop theft of goods of and under £200. This will remove any perception that offenders will escape punishment.

We will also provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to support the police tackling retail crime.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_74
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_74

Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce speeding on rural lanes and highways. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Excess speed is still a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads. Anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanction.

Enforcement of speeding offences in rural lanes and highways and the deployment of available resources and capabilities is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_75
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_75

Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average police response times were to reported incidents in the SW13 postcode area in Barnes in each year since 2010. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office does not hold data centrally on police response time at a national or local level.

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 (PCC).

The Home Secretary set out in her announcement of major police reforms her intentions for a dedicated government unit to improve performance across policing and make our streets safer. This new unit will monitor performance, including police response times, a key issue for the public that is currently not consistently monitored and managed.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_76
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_76

Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether income from increases in firearms licensing fees will be used by police forces to fully recover the costs of administering those licences. \p Dame Diana Johnson: On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. This gave effect to a commitment in the Government’s manifesto.

The fees were previously increased in 2015 and they no longer met the cost of the service provided. It is essential for both public safety and police efficiency that the fees provide full-cost recovery so that service improvements can be made. The need to increase firearms licensing fees to help address shortcomings in firearms licensing was highlighted by the Senior Coroner in his Preventing Future Deaths reports into the fatal shootings in Plymouth in August 2021.

I have written to all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to make clear that the income from increased fees must be invested into their firearms licensing operations, in the interests of both public safety and to support improvements in the service provided by their firearms licensing teams.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_77
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_77

Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many constituencies in London do not have a police station located within them. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number or location of police stations.

It is up to Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (or equivalents) to make decisions on local resourcing and estates, including police stations. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

Police stations are just one of the ways people can access their local police services, including reporting online and by phone 24/7.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_78
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_78

Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the fire and rescue service. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.

The Home Office will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_79
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_79

Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with the police to help reduce the number of burglaries. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We recognise the profound impact burglary can have on individuals and the wider community. For too long a culture has been allowed to develop whereby victims of burglary believe if they report what has happened, no one will come and nothing will be done.

This is why we have been clear that when someone calls the police, they should come; and when a person reports a crime it should be properly investigated no matter who they are, or where they live.

We therefore welcome the police's commitment across England and Wales to attending the scene of every home burglary, and the specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations, setting the standard for the entire investigation, not just initial attendance, including victim care. More information is available at: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary

As part of reforms being delivered through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities. This includes delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues.

As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhoods.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_80
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_80

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serving police officers had their vetting clearance withdrawn in each of the last five years. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This data is not held by the Home Office. The administration of police vetting, including the granting and withdrawal of clearances, is managed at a local level by forces.

As announced by the Home Secretary in October, the Government will be bringing forward regulations on police vetting for the first time which will introduce a statutory duty for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance and provide a bespoke route to dismiss officers who are unable to do so.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_81
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_81

Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Equipment Theft (Protection Act) 2023 will cover tradesperson's tools. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of theft from vehicle incidents that involved tools being taken as part of a broader breakdown of items stolen. These estimates are available in Table 6 of Nature of crime: vehicle-related theft. The estimates relate to the households, and will include thefts from self-employed tradesmen, but do not cover crimes where items were taken from commercial vehicles.

This government is committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to fend off the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment. Secondary legislation is required and we hope to have this in place later this year.

We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine scope. We also intend to publish the Government’s response to the Call for Evidence on the scope of the legislation shortly.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_82
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_82

Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of funding provided to Gloucestershire Constabulary for the 2024-25 financial year on frontline policing; and if she will take steps to increase that level of funding. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Gloucestershire Police received funding of up to £158 million in 2024-25. This is in addition to £1.3m provided for the 2024-25 pay award which was allocated outside of the police funding settlement.

In 2025-26, Gloucestershire will receive up to £168.2m, an increase of £10.1m compared to last year’s settlement. This represents a 6.4% cash increase and 3.9% real terms increase.

The 2025-26 funding settlement provides new funding of £200 million to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers and special constables.
wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_83
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_83

Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are responsible for (a) processing and (b) responding to Freedom of Information Act requests; and if she will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of this work. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office has a central team consisting of 13.7 FTEs managing FOI requests and related appeals work. The annual salaries paid to this group of staff were approximately £663K in the year ending September 2024.

To determine precisely how many staff are responsible for processing and responding to FOI requests across the entire department and to provide an estimate of the resulting costs, is not feasible for the purposes of answering this question, in particular because the majority of these staff will carry out such work as part of their overall responsibilities.

However, if we consider that the Home Office dealt with 6115 resolvable FOI requests in the year ending September 2024 (the most recent data available) and that each resolvable request cost a maximum of £600 to process (the current FOI cost limit), then we can conclude that the cost of processing FOI requests over that twelve month period was a maximum of £3,669,000.