theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_59
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_59

Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) help ensure food is not contaminated with horsemeat and (b) improve the traceability of horses in Great Britain. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the national authority responsible for food safety and food hygiene across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The FSA ensures that official controls and legislation for meat safety and traceability are met by deploying staff in every slaughterhouse. The FSA also conducts risk-based, intelligence driven surveillance to monitor food safety and authenticity. It also has a National Food Crime Unit to prevent, detect and investigate food crime.

The Government recognises the importance of improving equine traceability. Defra is engaging with industry to consider improvements to this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Tom Rutland:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support farmers who have been unable to access funding through the Sustainable Farming Initiative, (b) seek an extension or extra funding for the SFI for those who are eligible but have not yet been able to claim and (c) ensure that future communications provide clarity and assurances on funding application deadlines. \p Daniel Zeichner: We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget this year and next (£2.6 billion for 24/25 and the £2.4 billion for 25/26, as previously announced).

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in Environmental Land Management schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome.

Whilst we aim to give notice where possible, to ensure fair access, and to avoid the risk of overspend, we could not give any advance notice of the closure of SFI, to avoid creating a sudden increase in the level of demand.

We expect to publish more information about the reformed SFI offer in summer 2025. This will include an indication of when we expect to re-open SFI for applications.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 37074 on Low Alcohol Drinks, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of amending the marketing and labelling rules for the alcohol-free drinks to increase it from 0.05% to 0.5% ABV. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives.

While the Government has not made a specific assessment of changing the alcohol-free threshold, both Defra and DHSC will continue to work together to understand the opportunities presented by alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks. This will support the government’s Growth and Health missions by both encouraging growth in the alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks sector and also as a potential way to address alcohol related harms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce animal (a) theft and (b) cruelty in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Pet Abduction Act makes pet abduction a criminal offence. In England, the maximum term of imprisonment in the Pet Abduction Act is five years and/or an unlimited fine.

Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is an offence under Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, subject to a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Those convicted of an offence may also be disqualified from owning or keeping animals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Damien Egan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,  what contingency plans are in place to ensure the continuity of food supply chains in the event of a natural disaster or armed conflict. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra assesses the potential impacts of natural disasters and conflicts along with other risks to the food supply chain, as outlined in the National Risk Register (NRR). Defra works with Cabinet Office, as leads for the NRR, and the wider resilience and Critical National Infrastructure community across the Government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Luke Myer:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Bathing Water Regulations on (a) fish spawning sites, (b) riparian rights and (c) the rights of (i) angling clubs and (ii) fishery owners; and if he will undertake a full consultation before making changes. \p Emma Hardy: The consultation on the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 closed on 23 December 2024. Many organisations have called for the Regulations to be updated to reflect the modern ways in which the public uses bathing waters so that they continue to support public health outcomes.

This Government published our formal response on 12 March 2025. The consultation results show a large majority in favour of the two wider reforms to expand the definition of a ‘bather’ and introducing the use of multiple monitoring points at designated bathing sites.

We are now progressing policy development and research to determine how best to implement the wider reforms. We will consider any potential environmental, societal, and access Impacts. We will work closely with local and national stakeholders, seeking their views on these reforms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29022 on Ministers: Aviation, how that carbon offsetting is calculated; and if he will publish the contract with EDF. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Carbon offsetting is calculated by determining the total tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) emissions that need to be offset. This amount is then multiplied by the cost per tonne of CO2e for the specific offsets being purchased, such as Certified Emissions Reduction offsets. The final cost can vary based on market conditions at the time of purchase.

The Cabinet Office utilises the HMG Crown Commercial Services (CCS) RM6251 Energy Supply Framework with EDF to offset these emissions: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6251
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29022 on Ministers: Aviation, what the cost-metric is by which carbon offsetting is calculated; and if he will place a copy of the EDF contract in the House of Commons Library. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Carbon offsetting costs are determined by the tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) that are being offset, multiplied by the cost per tonne of CO2e from the Certified Emissions Reduction offsets provided by EDF under the framework contract. These costs can fluctuate based on the timing of purchase, as market trading demands affect the price.

The calculation metric used indicates that 1 kilogram of aviation fuel burned results in approximately 3.15 kilograms of CO2 emitted.

The Cabinet Office uses the HMG Crown Commercial Services (CCS) RM6251 Energy Supply Framework (Additional Services) with EDF for offsetting these emissions. For more information, please refer to the following link: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6251.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 13807 on Cabinet Office: Parliamentary Private Secretaries, if he will breakdown the number of staff in each ministerial private office, by named Minister. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: There are 38 staff, at multiple grades, who support the 8 Cabinet Office ministers in private office roles.

Minister

Number of staff in Private Office

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

8

Minister for the Cabinet Office

6

Minister Oppong-Asare

3

Minister Reeves

4

Minister Gould

6

Minister Alexander

1 (Cabinet Office portfolio only)

Leader of the House of Lords

3

Leader of the House of Commons

7
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38050 on Planning and Infrastructure Bill, whether Ministers attended the Downing Street preview of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 11 March 2025. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Downing Street civil servants, excluding special advisers, were permitted to attend the 2024 Labour Party conference. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Civil servants are prohibited from attending party conferences in an official capacity, except in very exceptional circumstances when their presence may be required to carry out essential departmental business unconnected with the conference.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister held discussions with media organisations during the Labour Party conference relating to government business without officials being present; and how many readouts on meetings with external organisations were provided to his private office. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Any ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk. There are processes in place where Ministers are officially supported at political events or engagements, as was the case under the previous administration.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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David Chadwick:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow (a) town, (b) community and (c) parish councils to be eligible complainants to ombudsman services. \p Georgia Gould: The Government has no current plans to change the provisions relating to whom may make a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman or other statutory Ombudsman schemes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has agreed a data protection agreement between the Cabinet Office and the Labour Party. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Discussions on a data protection agreement between the Cabinet Office and the Labour Party are in progress.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Office for National Statistics will publish the quarterly and annual under-18 conception data for (a) 2022: England and Wales, Local Authority and District level and (b) 2023: England and Wales, Local Authority and District Level. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman or lady Parliamentary Question of 26th March is attached.

ONS response (pdf, 106.7KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report entitled Greening Government Commitments April 2021 to March 2024, published on 20 February 2025, what methodologies his Department uses to (a) collect and (b) collate data on (i) TCO2e emissions on domestic flights and (ii) the distance travelled in km for international flights. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: DEFRA sets these methodologies through yearly carbon indices across government, including for the Cabinet Office, in line with the Greening Government Commitments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps has his Department taken to improve the speed of reviews conducted under the powers of the National Security and Investment Act since 5 July 2024. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government always seeks to conclude reviews under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act as swiftly as possible. Reviews under the NSI Act are subject to statutory timelines. The Act is also kept under regular review to ensure it is operating as efficiently as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has responded to correspondence from Baroness Carr following Prime Minister’s Questions on 12 February 2025. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Lord Chancellor issued a response on 19 February 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2023 to Question 6096 on Public Appointments, what his Department's timetable is for considering whether to implement the previous Government's commitments made in the report entitled Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in Central Government, published in July 2023, CP 900. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: As set out in my previous Written Answer on 22 October 2024 (PQ 6096), we are still considering whether the commitments made by the previous administration are sufficient and appropriate for meeting the Committees’ recommendations. We will provide a further update in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to ensure that transparency returns from his Department include an indicative value of any hospitality received. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Ministerial Code already requires ministers to declare the estimated value, where possible, of any hospitality received above de minimus levels.

As has been the case under successive administrations, special advisers and senior officials are not required to declare the value of hospitality received.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, published on 2 December 2024, what (a) risks and (b) performance issues were identified during the Performance and Risk Reviews conducted in 2023-24 for those agencies; and what steps he is taking to tackle those risks and issues. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: As has been the policy of successive governments, the government does not comment on matters relating to the intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament scrutinises the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to (a) speed up the handling of Freedom of Information requests across Government and (b) reduce the number of refusals to those requests. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: FOI compliance statistics for all government departments are published on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. Between July-September 2024, across all departments, 90% of requests were responded to in time (up from 88% in Q3 2023). The outcomes of resolvable requests vary between departments and reflect the protections the legislation provides for sensitive information.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many transactions have been voluntary notified to his Department under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act since 5 July 2024. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government publishes information on the operation of the National Security and Investment Act in the NSIA Annual Report. The most recent report, covering the 2023/24 reporting period, can be found on GOV.UK. The government received 120 voluntary notifications in this period.

Data on the number of voluntary notifications received between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025, broken down by month, will be published in the next Annual Report later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, published on 15 March 2018, and in the context of the proposed abolition of NHS England, whether his Department will consider the case for creating the National Care Service against the requirement that the creation of a new arms-length body should only be considered as a last resort. \p Georgia Gould: It is for the relevant Minister to decide if policy within their portfolio should be delivered through the creation of a new public body. Departments seeking to establish an Arm’s Length Bodies must submit three business cases as part of the approval process, as outlined in ‘The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies’. Once the the Cabinet Office receives a business case for a proposed new body there is a detailed process to ensure there is sufficient due diligence to establish a clear rationale for a proposed body.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10701 on Special Advisers: Workplace Pensions, whether special advisers have been informed of the consequences to their pensions of leaving service before two years’ of tenure in the Alpha pension scheme. \p Georgia Gould: Special Advisers are provided with guidance regarding Civil Service Pension schemes during onboarding and offboarding, as well as throughout their tenure. This includes details of leaving the scheme within two years. Special Advisers are also directed to published Civil Service Pension scheme resources.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will update the (a) ministerial, (b) special adviser and (c) senior official transparency guidance on the definition of senior media executives to include large social media organisations. \p Georgia Gould: Details of ministers’ and senior officials’ official meetings with all external individuals and organisations, including with social media organisations, are already published on a quarterly basis. Under long-standing guidance, special advisers are only required to declare meetings with senior media figures. There are no current plans to change the guidance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21403 on Cabinet Office: Pay, what the monetary gross paybill is, excluding pension contributions and National Insurance in aggregate for staff in the (a) Women’s Equality Unit, (b) Race Disparity Unit and (c) Disability Unit. \p Georgia Gould: The salaries of the Senior Civil Servants responsible for the Women’s Equality Unit, Race Disparity Unit and Disability Unit and salary cost of their reports was published in January as part of Cabinet Office transparency reporting and can be found under the Organogram for Senior staff.

https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25456 on Senior Civil Servants: Training, how many people attended each conference. \p Georgia Gould: 148 people attended the conference on 23 July 2024 and 263 people attended the conference on 10 October 2024.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate the National Data Library’s statistical outputs as official statistics. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 24th March is attached.

ONS response (pdf, 106.2KB)
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29026 on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, what his planned timetable is for publishing facility time data for 2024-25; and what month will be used as a baseline for the data. \p Georgia Gould: Self-reported public-sector trade union facility time data, collected under the Facility Time Regulations, will be published in line with our standard timelines for this data set and the timelines under the previous administration.

The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 explain what is included in the published data set as well as the period this data set covers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that Government procurement focuses on SMEs in local economies. \p Georgia Gould: The Procurement Act has introduced a number of reforms to make it easier for small businesses to access public sector supply-chains and removing unnecessary burdens and costs, including:

a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard to their participation and consider whether they can remove barriers to entry;

greater visibility of upcoming public sector opportunities and early market engagement to explain requirements to better help SMEs prepare to bid; and

30-day payment terms will apply throughout the public sector supply chain.

The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) supports Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSEs), giving them greater opportunities to win public contracts by instructing contracting authorities to maximise their spend with these organisations.

To support implementation of the NPPS, I have announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for VCSEs, and publish progress annually. This will drive greater transparency and accountability for increasing numbers of SMEs and VCSEs delivering public contracts, supporting local economic growth and innovation and creating jobs in local communities up and down the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, at which flat number at Admiralty House is the Deputy Prime Minister resident. \p Georgia Gould: As has been the case under successive administrations, the Prime Minister allocates official residences to ministers, either on the grounds of security or to allow them to better perform their official duties.

The Deputy Prime Minister was allocated one of the Admiralty House flats by the Prime Minister. On security grounds, the government does not specify flat numbers.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Security Adviser being appointed as a special adviser on (a) the effectiveness and (b) parliamentary scrutiny of that role. \p Georgia Gould: Special Advisers are accountable to Ministers who in turn are accountable to Parliament.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date Sir Alex Chisholm was given permission by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to take up a role with Boston Consulting Group. \p Georgia Gould: Sir Alex Chisholm was provided with his final advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on 30 October 2024. The advice was published on ACOBA’s page on GOV.UK on 12 March 2025, and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b318fe7c070e71525f5801/ACOBA_advice-_Alex_Chisholm-_BCG.pdf
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of trends in the level of employment in the car manufacturing sector between July and December 2024. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 21st March is attached.

ONS response (pdf, 113.3KB)
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14635 on Prime Minister: Official Gifts, if he will list the gifts and hospitality received by the Prime Minister within the remit of the Ministerial Code regime that was subsequently repaid or returned, broken down by (a) the nature of each gift or hospitality donated, (b) value, (c) donor, (d) date accepted and (e) date returned or reimbursed since 4 July 2024, excluding gifts where the Prime Minister made a payment to the department to purchase the gift. \p Georgia Gould: Any hospitality or gifts received by Ministers in their ministerial capacity is declared in accordance with the Ministerial Code. The Cabinet Office publishes details of ministers’ hospitality and gifts on a monthly basis. Hospitality and gifts received by ministers in a non-ministerial capacity are published on the parliamentary registers in line with the parliamentary codes of conduct.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) restoration, (b) renovation and (c) building works are currently taking place at No. (i) 10, (ii) 11 and (iii) 12 Downing Street. \p Georgia Gould: A repair project is underway to preserve the integrity of this Grade 1 listed building. This followed a survey in December 2023 which indicated that work must be completed for safety reasons, with the work commencing in January 2024. Repair of exterior window frames will be undertaken at the same time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 26831 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the publication of job titles in transparency data with his data protection obligations. \p Georgia Gould: The publication of job titles is compatible with data protection obligations.

It is noted that SCS organograms are published. However, the SCS data is anonymised at Deputy Director level (SCS1). Although the details are published for SCS2 and above, there are provisions within the guidance for redactions or further anonymity for data privacy and security purposes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of agreeing with (a) the European Union and (b) individual Schengen Area countries to allow British citizens to stay up to 180 days without a visa. \p Seema Malhotra: The European Union is responsible for visa policy in relation to short stays in the territory of Schengen states, including visa requirements. Short stays are stays of no more than 90 days within any 180-day period, as set out in EU legislation. The UK and the EU operate independent visa policies.
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Alex McIntyre:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase public confidence in policing in Gloucester. \p Dame Diana Johnson: As part of the Safer Street’s Mission, the Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls, halve knife crime and restore public confidence in policing, including through the delivery of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Provision has been made for £1,527,344 of funding to Gloucestershire Constabulary to kickstart the increase of neighbourhood policing personnel in 2025/26.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_99
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_99

Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total number of firearms certificate holders is, what the percentage of licensing applications completed within four months is; and how many temporary permits were issued by the firearms licensing department of Northumbria Constabulary, last notified to her department. \p Dame Diana Johnson: As at 31 March 2024, there were a total of 643,162 firearms certificates on issue in England and Wales. This was made up of 147,364 firearms certificates and 495,798 shotgun certificates on issue respectively.

The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and they are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. However, the performance of forces is actively being monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and he is developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams, which it is intended will be published soon, to provide greater transparency on application turnaround times.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_100
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_100

Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the projected savings that will be raised via the police collaboration and efficiency programme. \p Dame Diana Johnson: In her Written Ministerial statement of 19 November (Statement UIN HCWS232) the Home Secretary set out her intention to work with policing on a package of reforms to ensure it can operate efficiently and effectively, deliver the Safer Streets Mission and support the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. In particular, she announced a new Police Efficiencies and Collaboration Programme to deliver commercial efficiencies and make cashable savings.

We continue to work with policing to further develop this programme, identify and unlock immediate cost savings and lay the foundations to deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of efficiency savings by the end of this Parliament.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_101
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_101

Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the affordability of firearms licences and renewals for (a) game keepers and (b) veterinarians. \p Dame Diana Johnson: On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. This gave effect to a commitment in the Government’s manifesto.

A full impact assessment was published alongside the Firearms (Variation of Fees) Order 2025, the Statutory Instrument that brought the new fees into effect.

The impact assessment covers the impact of increased fees on game keepers and veterinarians. Any future changes to firearms licensing will be subject to further impact assessments in the normal way.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_102
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_102

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to introduce dedicated capital funding for fire and rescue services to allow them to invest in (a) training facilities, (b) fleet, and (c) estate maintenance. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Government funding for fire and rescue services is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. In 2025/26, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority has a core spending power of £74.9m, an increase of £2.4m or 3.3% compared to 2024/25.

The Final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26, (published on 3 February 2025) sets out that standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities, such as Dorset and Wiltshire, will see an increase in core spending power of up to £65.5 million in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

It is the responsibility of each Fire and Rescue Authority to determine how to allocate the funding that they receive based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances. Officials in the Home Office and MHCLG are working with the National Fire Chiefs Council to collate evidence on the fire and rescue sector’s funding needs to HM Treasury. Decisions on any capital funding will be subject to an assessment at the next Spending Review.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_103
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_103

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of fire station closures on public safety in (a) Dorset and (b) Wiltshire. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Decisions about how Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) are run, and how their resources are allocated are a matter for Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). They are responsible for meeting the needs of local communities in accordance with their Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs)

His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carries out inspections for each FRS in England to give the public a clear, independent and impartial assessment of performance in each service.  Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. In 2025/26, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority has a core spending power of £74.9m, an increase of £2.4m or 3.3% compared to 2024/25.

The Final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26, (published on 3 February 2025) sets out that standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities, such as Dorset and Wiltshire, will see an increase in core spending power of up to £65.5 million in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_104
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_104

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of ageing fire stations on fire and rescue service operations. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Decisions about how Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) are run, and how their resources are allocated are a matter for Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). They are responsible for meeting the needs of local communities in accordance their Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs).

His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carries out inspections for each FRS in England to give the public a clear, independent and impartial assessment of performance in each service.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_105
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_105

Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Public Order Act 2023 on the right to peaceful protest and assembly. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental part of our democratic society.

We have committed to carry out post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 beginning in May 2025. This process will review how the legislation has operated since it came into force.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_106
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_106

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2025, to Question 33937, on Fire and Rescue Services, what her policy is on protected characteristic diversity targets for the recruitment of firefighters. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Responsibility for recruitment of firefighters in pursuit rests with individual fire and rescue authorities in England.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_107
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_107

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency plans are emergency services required to provide in the event of a fire at a battery energy storage systems site. \p Dame Diana Johnson: It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training they need to safely respond to the wide range of incidents which they attend.

The National Fire Chiefs Council also provide guidance to fire and rescue services to help keep firefighters and the public safe. In 2023, the NFCC published guidance on Battery Energy Storage System sites.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_108
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_108

Mr Clive Betts:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure there is full consultation with established knife manufacturers and distributors before rules are changed about the design of kitchen knives that can be sold online. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We will certainly engage with knife manufacturers and distributors as part of these considerations.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_109
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_109

Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Border Security and Asylum of 13 January 2025 on Asylum Hotels, Official Report, column 13, what progress his Department has made on closing nine asylum hotels by end of March 2025. \p Dame Angela Eagle: It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs.  We do not provide a running commentary on hotel numbers, but by the end of March there will be fewer hotels open than when this Government took office.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_110
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_110

Matthew Patrick:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many days Border Force implemented a red rating for expected numbers of small boat crossings in the Channel in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years; and in the 2024-25 financial year to date. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office has interpreted the question to mean the periods 6 April – 5 April for the years quoted. The following reflect the numbers of days in each financial year where crossing attempts were considered likely given forecast weather and sea conditions.

(a) 2021-22 – 109

(b) 2022-23 – 104

(c) 2023-24 – 102

(d) 2024-27/03/2025 – 182
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_111
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_111

Matthew Patrick:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a small boat was recorded as entering UK waters with more than (a) 50, (b) 60, (c) 70 and (d) 80 people on board in (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23, (iii) 2023-24 and (iv) 2024-25. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office has interpreted the question to mean boats carrying a) 51 – 60 people; b) 61 – 70 people, and so on. The Home Office does not record this information in terms of boats ‘entering UK waters’ but as numbers of people who arrived in the UK for each individual boat.

51 - 60

61 - 70

71 - 80

80+

2021-22

38

12

2

6

2022-23

241

40

4

1

2023-24

201

100

31

4

2024-25 (to 27 Mar)

169

176

102

26
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_112
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_112

Alex McIntyre:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department provides to children and young people’s domestic abuse services in Gloucester. \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. Supporting children and young people who are victims of domestic abuse within their families and in their own relationships must be a key part of that through the forthcoming VAWG strategy. The Home Office currently funds specialist support to children who have been impacted by domestic abuse through the Children Affected by Domestic Abuse (CADA) Fund, which supported eight organisations across England and Wales with £10.3 million between 2022 and 2025.

The Government has increased funding to all local authorities to £160 million for 2025-26, an uplift of £30 million from the previous year, to provide further support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors, including children. We will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year. This will take into account the needs of all victims, including children.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_113
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_113

Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory cap on levels of migration. \p Seema Malhotra: This Government recognises and values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK.

This Government is clear that net migration must come down from the record highs that were reached under the previous government.

Under the previous Government, between 2019 and 2024, net migration almost quadrupled, heavily driven by a big increase in overseas recruitment.

This Government is clear that net migration must come down and whilst we will always benefit from international skills and talent, immigration must not be used as an alternative to tackling skills shortages and labour market failures here in the UK.

The work to restore order to our immigration system is already underway, and we will be setting out our approach in detail in the upcoming Immigration White Paper.
wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_114
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-31)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-31 conversation_114

Jodie Gosling:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle retail crime. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Tackling retail crime, in partnership with police and retailers, is a top priority for this government.

In the last year of the previous government, shop theft reached a record high, and violence and abuse towards retail workers increased at an unacceptable level.

This Government will not tolerate these crimes. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a new offence of assaulting a retail worker and we will end the effective immunity for shop theft of goods under £200.