Written questions by McMahon.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) police officers (b) PCSOs and (c) support staff remaining on restrictive duties pending an investigation for misconduct in England.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of police officers and staff currently on restricted duties pending an investigation for misconduct.

What discussions her Department have had with police forces about effective detection and enforcement of crimes where electric bikes are used as a means of offence and escape.

This Government is determined to crack down on snatch theft and other crimes, including those facilitated by mopeds and e-bikes, that make people feel unsafe in our communities.The police have a suite of powers available to them to tackle the illegal use of vehicles including e-bikes and the Government expects police to deploy them appropriately.The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles including e-bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizure. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of the UK and Ireland sharing data on revoked British passports to prevent the misuse of the common travel area by travellers transiting to the UK via Ireland.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area from abuse, while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of ending the use of asylum hotels on the use of dispersed accommodation in areas like Oldham; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of routinely publishing the number of properties procured for dispersed accommodation.

The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are refreshed every six months with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release.Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

How much was spent on (a) taxis (b) buses (c) trains by her Department and its contractors for asylum seekers in it's care for each year from 2015 to date.

Transport services for asylum seekers are provided through our Asylum Accommodation & Support Contracts. We pay a fixed rate for transportation services which is set out in the contracts. Our suppliers must deliver transportation requirements in line with contractual standards and the fixed rate – with the type of transportation determined by our suppliers within this framework. Information on spend by specific transportation types is therefore not readily available.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of modern slavery adherence by employers who have published Modern Slavery statements.

The government is committed to tackling modern slavery, ensuring that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that those responsible are prosecuted. All businesses should monitor their supply chains with rigour to uncover, report where appropriate, and remedy any instances of modern slavery they may find in their operations and supply chains. Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more must produce annual modern slavery statements setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The Home Office does not routinely review the quality or accuracy of individual modern slavery statements or assess compliance with the section 54 requirements. Section 54 was designed to increase transparency, allowing scrutiny by consumers, investors, and civil society. Section 54 has helped bring greater awareness of modern slavery in boardrooms across the country, but it is clear a decade after the Act, the UK’s approach needs to evolve. The government is considering how it can strengthen the section 54 regime, including penalties for non-compliance. Significant long-term reform will take time, and in the interim, the Home Office published new section 54 statutory guidance in March. This new guidance is more comprehensive, practical and ambitious – calling on businesses to go further and faster.

How many children were referred to Prevent in each year from 2015 to date by age.

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age for the financial year 2024/25 has been published in the latest annual Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age and financial year since 2016/17 has been published in the annual 2023/24 Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.For the year 2015/16, the official statistics publication reports that there were 4274 referrals for individuals under 20 years old (56% of all referrals). A break down specifically of referrals for children is not available for this year. The statistics can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2015 to March 2016.The number of referrals reported includes individuals who had been referred more than once during the year. The number of individuals referred is not routinely reported in the official statistics.

What discussions she has had with car manufacturers on reducing the risk of stolen catalytic converters through design and technology.

We are working with the police and the automotive industry, to ensure the strongest response possible to all types of vehicle crime.The Home Office meets regularly with the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and with industry to discuss how government can help tackle the serious problem of vehicle crime. We also support the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group which focusses 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 including the theft of catalytic converters.Additionally in the Crime and Policing Bill we are banning the electronic devices used to steal vehicles, providing a valuable tool to prevent the theft of vehicles.The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal including catalytic converters.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress in rolling out additional neighbourhood police in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester.

We have made £200 million 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 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.The Government has committed to publishing neighbourhood policing numbers every six months, alongside the official police workforce statistics, with the next update due at the end of January 2026 setting out the numbers in neighbourhood policing roles as at the end of September 2025.Based on their £11,556,938 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Greater Manchester are projected to grow by 176 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025/26.

What assessment has been made of the (a) effectiveness of the legal and regulatory framework and (b) use and coverage of facial recognition technology by police forces in England.

The Government supports the wider adoption of facial recognition technology across all police forces.Although there is a legal basis for police use of facial recognition, we want to bring forward a new bespoke legal framework, to build public trust and enable the wider, responsible use of facial recognition across police forces. To help shape this, the Home Office launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. The consultation responses we receive will inform the development of this new bespoke framework.In terms of existing coverage, retrospective facial recognition is already used by all UK police forces. There are over 25,000 searches carried out each month on the Police National Database (PND) to help identify suspects after an incident or event.Live facial recognition is used on a regular basis by some forces and is available to all forces via a small national capability made up of 10 mobile units.The Home Office invested £12.6 million in facial recognition last year, with £2.8 million spent on national live facial recognition capabilitiesThis year, £6.6 million is being spent supporting the adoption, evaluation, and responsible rollout of facial recognition technology. This includes £3.9 million for the development of a new, national facial matching service.

What progress has been made on reducing the prevalence of modern slavery in the UK.

Modern slavery crimes are often described as “hidden” crimes: we know these crimes to be underreported and difficult to detect. For this reason, we do not know with certainty the true prevalence of the crime or the number of victims in the UK. It is a vicious crime: victims of modern slavery may experience multiple forms of abuse and exploitation, usually involving some element of coercion or abuse of power. This means that victims may not recognise themselves as such or may be too traumatised or in fear of their exploiters or the authorities to report the crime or support prosecutions.The UK Government continues to work with a wide range of partners to raise awareness, increase resilience, and reduce public tolerance of exploitative behaviour. We have worked closely with NGOs and law enforcement partners to develop an Action Plan on Modern Slavery. The Action Plan sets out the Department’s commitments to tackling Modern Slavery for the 25/26 financial year and was an agreed objective from the 2024 Anti-Slavery Week roundtables. It includes actions around prevention of modern slavery both in the UK and upstream overseas, including our work on tackling forced labour.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 November to question 90783, if her Department will take steps to ensure that police forces prioritise British made vehicles.

The Police vehicle/fleet framework is owned and competed by Bluelight Commercial and goes through Bluelight’s commercial governance.The vehicle specification requirements are determined by Policing in line with operational Policing requirements and by Bluelight Commercial to meet Procurement Act and existing public sector procurement requirements.

How many active Neighbourhood Watch schemes were in place for each year from 2015 to date in England.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of active Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England for each year from 2015 to date.Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is a long-established, volunteer-led movement that supports safer, stronger and more connected communities across England and Wales.Schemes are locally run and independent, led by volunteers who decide how best to tackle issues affecting their neighbourhoods. There is no requirement for schemes to register with government, and they operate autonomously.The Home Office values the important contribution made by volunteers involved in Neighbourhood Watch in helping to reduce crime, improve community resilience, and strengthen public confidence.

What is the total capital cost to the government of customs check posts since the UK EU withdrawal.

The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

What criminality data informs efforts to clamp down on the establishment of (a) vape shops (b) barber shops in England.

Addressing cash-based money laundering is one of the strategic priorities of the National Economic Crime Centre, which sits within the National Crime Agency. In March 2025, the NECC led a three-week intensification campaign (Operation MACHINIZE) against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses which saw 380 premises visited, 84 warrants, 35 arrests, and the seizure of illicit goods.This was followed by a second phase of activity (Operation MACHINIZE 2) throughout October which involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House. The operation saw: 2734 premises visited and raided, 924 individuals arrested, over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds seized and over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed.The Home Office is working closely with partners to use the learning from this operation to build on and develop long-term solutions.

What assessment she has made of trends in parcel theft from goods left outside homes by delivery companies.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates on the proportion of theft from outside dwellings by the type of item stolen. It is not possible to separately identify all incidents where parcels left outside by delivery companies were stolen.Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.

How many reports have there been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores for (a) cash (b) drugs (c) weapons (d) jewellery (e) electronic goods (f) personal ID documents for each year from 2015 to date.

The Home Office does not hold central information on the number of reports there have been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores. The information may be held by individual police forces.

How many reports of lost and missing (a) police warrant cards (b) police uniform items were made for each year from 2015 to date.

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on how many police warrant cards or police uniform items are lost.

What estimate she has made of the transition costs to the public purse of the proposed abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners.

There will be a small programme team in the Home Office to oversee the transition of police governance functions from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to Strategic Authority Mayors or, where that is not possible, new Policing and Crime Boards. This will be resourced through the reprioritisation of existing resources.The Home Office will work with Offices of PCCs and local authorities to assess local transition costs ahead of implementation in 2028. Following the approach taken for previous transfers of police governance in mayoral areas, costs are expected to be met locally through existing budgets.

How many offenders awaiting (a) trial (b) sentencing were removed from the UK under a voluntary agreement prior to the completion of the legal process annually since 2015.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns by return type can be found in Ret_01 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data covers the period 2010 to September 2025.