Written questions by Mitchell.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle cyber crime targeting older people in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

The Home Office directly funds a national to local network of specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime and support local communities. This network includes funding, in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner, for a Local Cyber Crime Unit (LCCU) in West Midlands Police force.The LCCU force PROTECT Officers provide localised support and advice to help individuals to improve their cyber security. Their work involves regularly delivering events for community, charity and faith groups with specific engagement with the elderly, including sessions on raising awareness on cyber crime and fraud, such as how to create strong passwords, how to spot phishing emails and fraudulent calls.The Home Office also funds the Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) across England and Wales who are set up tackle cyber crime and the harm it causes citizens in the UK. Officers in the West Midlands RCCU work with local authorities and the NHS to train partners to spot the signs of people who may have been impacted by, or be a victim of, cyber crime.Additionally, the City of London police and the National Cyber Security Centre co-ordinate campaigns that aim to target vulnerable people on how to protect themselves from both cyber crime and fraud, which has included work with AgeUK to help educate and support older people to stay secure online.This government takes cyber crime extremely seriously and will continue to take the necessary steps to protect the public and support victims.

Whether she plans to allocate additional police resources to tackle antisocial behaviour in the Birmingham City Council area.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.Under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities. £200 million has been made available in 2025-26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.Based on their £12,210,903 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, West Midlands Police are projected to grow by 309 FTE neighbourhood officers in 2025-26 (289 FTE neighbourhood police officers and 20 FTE neighbourhood PCSOs).Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities. As part of this initiative, West Midlands Police have identified 54 locations, including a number in Birmingham, in which visible patrols and targeted enforcement will be delivered to tackle anti-social behaviour, retail crime and other local crimes. The full list of locations can be found here:Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 70321 on Stop and Search: West Midlands, when she will publish the evaluation of the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.The pilot has been independently evaluated and looks at the effectiveness of SVROs, including the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.The evaluation is currently being considered, and further information on the evaluation findings will be made available in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the value for money of the contract to house asylum seekers in the Ramada hotel in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

For the safety and security of those we accommodate and our staff, the Home Office does not comment publicly on sites which may or may not be utilised to accommodate asylum seekers.This Government recognises that hotels are not a sustainable or cost-effective solution for accommodating asylum seekers and remains committed to ending their use, already reducing the number in operation. We do not provide a running commentary on hotel numbers, our objective is to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, reducing costs to the taxpayer and restoring control to local communities.

What steps she is taking to reduce incidences of gun crime in (a) the Birmingham City Council area and (b) Sutton Coldfield.

The Government recognises the significant and long-lasting impact that incidents of gun crime can have both on victims and within the local community. That is why we are work with the police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to tackle the trafficking and misuse of firearms by criminals to preserve public safety. The recent shooting in Sutton Coldfield is the subject of an ongoing investigation, but we will not hesitate to take further action if found to be necessary.We are committed to delivering the Safer Streets mission to create a safer, fairer country for all. Incidents of gun crime are relatively rare in this country. The number of firearms offences has fallen by 16% in the 12 months to June 2025 to 5,053 offences, which is the lowest since 2015. Working with the police and the NCA, we are committed to ensuring that we have the right laws, intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities to tackle the threat posed by the unlawful possession of firearms.This includes recent and ongoing multi-agency action to target the importation and supply of imitation firearms that can be readily converted by criminals to fire live ammunition, which has seen significant numbers of these guns removed from circulation, helping to ensure the safety of all of our communities, including in the West Midlands.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 69007 on Stop and Search: West Midlands, whether the number of times stop and search powers were used under Serious Violence Reduction Orders in the West Midlands pilot will be published as part of the final independent evaluation of the scheme.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.The SVRO pilot has been independently evaluated. The final evaluation report of the pilot, due shortly, will look at the effectiveness of SVROs overall, including the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.Further information on the evaluation report and its findings will be available in due course.

What discussions she has had with the police on tackling illegal motorbike driving in public spaces in the West Midlands.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including motorbikes, involved in anti-social behaviour with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially in West Midlands by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

What recent discussions she has had with the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands on tackling knife crime.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and I have regular engagement with policing colleagues, including Police and Crime Commissioners, on how we can collectively achieve this ambition.During Knife Crime Awareness Week in May this year, I visited Coventry to observe the proactive measures being implemented by West Midlands Police to tackle knife crime.West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands have also been significant contributors to the Knife-Enabled Robbery (KER) Taskforce, which I established in October 2024 to take urgent action against this rising crime type. As a member of the Taskforce they have helped build the evidence base of ‘what works’ to tackle KER and shared innovative practice with other partners.The West Midlands has recently seen a decline in knife crime, including a sizeable reduction in KER (14% reduction in the YE December 2024 compared with the previous year), with initiatives such as weapon surrender bins, dedicated investigative resource, and preventative work contributing to this progress.These developments underscore the importance of continued collaboration and evidence-based strategies in our mission to make communities safer.

How many times stop and search powers have been used under Serious Violence Reduction Orders in the West Midlands.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.The pilot is being independently evaluated, and the evaluation is considering the use of stop and search powers under SVROs across the four pilot forcesThe final independent evaluation of the pilot, due this summer, will look to understand the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce youth-related violence in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and we are determined to tackle the scourge of serious youth violence on our streets.To date, we have implemented a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August. We are planning an expanded surrender scheme in July to allow those who currently own dangerous weapons to hand them in safely and securely. Limiting the availability and accessibility of lethal blades is a central part of our work.To that end, we have also announced “Ronan’s Law”, following an independent review into online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, which sets out a range of measures including strengthening age verification and delivery checks and reporting bulk sales to the police. These vital changes are included in the Crime and Policing Bill currently making its way through Parliament.We are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.The Young Futures Programme is another key part of the Safer Streets Mission and the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade. Through this programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in the West Midlands, to intervene earlier and ensure that Children and Young People who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Midlands VRU this year.This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes such as youth workers in hospital settings (A&E Navigators), social skills training, and tailored support to individuals at risk of involvement in gangs and county lines to divert young people away from crime.A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £254k available to the West Midlands.Additionally, we have launched the Knife Enabled Robbery (‘KER’) Taskforce, focusing on reducing KER in the highest volume police force areas, including the West Midlands. The Taskforce identified school-age KER as a specific operational challenge and has worked with the Department for Education and school leaders to tackle it by developing bespoke “KER school action plans”.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering an official apology to Ali Kololo.

The operationally independent Metropolitan Police continue to progress matters relating to Mr. Kololo’s case. It would not be appropriate for Home Office Ministers to comment on any discussions concerning the individual.

What costs the Metropolitan Police have incurred defending the civil claim filed by Ali Kololo.

The operationally independent Metropolitan Police continue to progress matters relating to Mr. Kololo’s case. It would not be appropriate for Home Office Ministers to comment on any discussions concerning the individual.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the level of vehicle theft in the West Midlands.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police – taking a national approach - to ensure our response is as strong as it can be, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them.We are also providing £250,000 funding this financial year to help support enforcement at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment.Via the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles; this includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.