Written questions by McIntyre.

What steps her Department is taking to end the use of the Ibis Hotel in Gloucester constituency as accommodation for asylum seekers.

This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work. For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site. The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in Gloucester city centre.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to police and other relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to crack down on the most relentless ASB perpetrators.Under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities, both urban and rural, and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. By the end of this parliament there will be 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026. Gloucestershire Constabulary’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 will be 23 police officers (FTE).Gloucestershire Constabulary participated in the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, as part of activity to tackle anti-social behaviour, retail crime and street crime across six town centres. The force is currently participating in the Winter of Action, which builds on this work and covers twelve town centres, including Gloucester City Centre, with activity focused on anti-social behaviour, retail crime, offending linked to the night-time economy, and violence against women and girls. The full list of locations Gloucestershire has been focusing on as part of the Winter of Action can be found here: Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to tackle stalking in Gloucester constituency.

Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear just going about their daily lives. This Government is fully committed to tackling stalking and doing all that it can to protect victims. Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner is a recipient of the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund. Through this funding, they are working to improve the use of Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) and support the work of the stalking clinic, to support the policing response to stalking. More broadly, the VAWG Strategy published on 18 December set out clear action to tackle stalking, including the appointment of Richard Wright KC to lead the Stalking Legislation Review ensuring the criminal law on stalking is fit for purpose, and progressing work to develop national standards for stalking perpetrator programmes, which seek to engage with perpetrators to address the behaviours that are leading to stalking offences with a view to prevention, safeguarding victims and reducing re-offending. A commitment was also made to strengthen the use of SPOs. This includes setting up SPO intensification sites in select forces which aim to drive up use of SPOs and provide opportunities to test innovative approaches to enforce conditions and monitor breaches, which could be adopted nationwide.

What steps her Department is taking to support Gloucestershire Constabulary to tackle knife crime in Gloucester constituency.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a priority for Government. Since this Government has been in office, knife homicides have fallen by 18% while knife crime overall has fallen for the first time in 4 years, dropping by 5% in our first year. Our approach to tackling knife-crime is centred around smart, targeted interventions, prevention and enforcement, and a tough legislative landscape to remove dangerous weapons from our streets.Gloucestershire Constabulary will receive £1 million from the Government’s Hotspot Action Fund for 2025/26 as part of a national £66 million investment to tackle serious violence, knife crime and anti-social behaviour. This funding will support regular, highly visible patrols and targeted problem-solving in 21 identified hotspot locations across Gloucester. In 2025/26, Gloucestershire have also received £330k to support their delivery of the statutory requirements under the Serious Violence Duty.

What funding her Department provides to children and young people’s domestic abuse services in Gloucester.

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.

What steps her Department is taking to increase public confidence in policing in Gloucester.

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.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour on Gloucester constituency.

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.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the level of burglaries in Gloucester constituency.

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.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effectiveness of legislation in preventing hate crime offences against LGBT+ people in Gloucester constituency.

This Government is absolutely committed to tackling all forms of hate crime across England and Wales, and I will continue to work with ministerial colleagues across relevant Government departments on how to strengthen the effectiveness of hate crime legislation.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

This Government has set out an unprecedented ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Achieving this mission will require a transformation in the way we work together on this issue across Government, public services, charities and the private sector.We have already taken significant steps to improve the policing and criminal justice response to these heinous crimes, including the introduction of domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms and the belated roll-out of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders. The Home Office is also working with the NPCC and the College of Policing on the use of data-led tools to pursue the most prolific perpetrators.To drive progress on the mission, we have established a violence against women and girls ministerial group, which will drive activity across Government departments, ranging from prevention work in schools to sustained support for victims and survivors.

What recent steps she has taken to establish Young Futures Hubs in (a) Gloucester and (b) across the country.

The Government is committed to rolling out a new Youth Futures programme, including a network of Young Futures Hubs which will bring together services to help improve the way young people can access the support they need.Officials from across a range of departments are already working together, using evidence of what works to start to shape how the prevention partnerships and hubs will work in practice. As part of this we are engaging with local communities, the police, charities, and other key partners to support the design of the programme and explore options for it’s delivery, ensuring we are making use of the vast knowledge and experience that already exists. This includes considerations of the most suitable locations as well as how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from their support.We will provide further detail on the future timelines for delivery as the work develops.