Written questions by Shannon.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of awareness amongst police constabularies of the legislation around the use of prescribed medical cannabis.

CBPMs were placed in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations’”) in 2018. This means that specialist clinicians can prescribe CBPMs where they deem it clinically appropriate and in the best interests of their patients, and patients may legally possess CBPMs when in possession of a valid UK prescription or if they are a participant in a clinical trial. Home Office Circular 018/2018, summarising the introduction of CBPMs, was published when the measures came into force.Home Office circulars are aimed primarily at law enforcement, including the police, and are published on gov.uk. Circular 018/2018 is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0182018-rescheduling-of-cannabis-based-products-for-medicinal-use-in-humans.The Home Office liaises with the police to support awareness and understanding of drug legislation across police forces. This includes liaison through the National Police Chief’s CouncilAdditionally, the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care contributed to the guidance document “‘Medical cannabis (and cannabis oils)” , which is available on the NHS’ page on at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/.

How many assaults there have been on police officers in the last 12 months.

Data on the number of police recorded crimes for assaults against police officers is published by the Office for National Statistics as part of their quarterly ‘Crime in England and Wales’ series which can be accessed here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice.Information on the number of offences of assaults against police officers in England and Wales, for the year ending 30 June 2024, can be found in Table A5a of the Crime in England and Wales Appendix Tables here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables/yearendingjune2024/appendixtablesjun24final.xlsx.

How many people have been convicted of terrorism offences in the last 12 months.

In the year ending 30 September 2024, there were 72 trials for terrorism offences in England & Wales, 71 of which were convicted and 1 acquitted.Further information on the use of police powers under terrorism and subsequent legislation can be found in the published quarterly statistics on GOV.UK: Operation of police powers under TACT 2000, to September 2024.

Whether she is taking to steps to support the National Crime Agency to implement a recruitment strategy for meeting operational challenges presented by small-boat crossings in the English Channel.

We work closely with the National Crime Agency to ensure it has the resources it needs to investigate organised immigration crime leading to small boat crossings. Since July, we have funded an extra 100 specialist NCA intelligence and investigative officers focusing on this threat. The NCA and the new Border Security Command, backed by £150 million of funding, are together stepping up our efforts to smash the criminal gangs threatening our borders.As announced alongside the National Crime Agency pay award on 29 July 2024, measures are underway to develop a set of comprehensive proposals for reform of the existing pay structure at the Agency. Once finalised, the government will seek to implement these proposals in a timely fashion, which in turn will support the Agency’s recruitment and retention efforts.

What guidance her Department issues on inviting people sanctioned by foreign Governments to the UK.

The Immigration Rules provide for the refusal of entry clearance, permission to enter and permission to stay on general grounds, regardless of the category in which an individual makes an application.A person will usually be refused on general grounds if there is any evidence in their background, immigration history, criminal records or past behaviour which shows that they should not be allowed to enter or stay in the UK.Guidance is published on Gov.UK.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Government's fire safety in the workplace guidance; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating this guidance.

Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that such guidance, as she considers appropriate, is available to assist Responsible Persons in the discharge of the duties imposed on them by articles 8 to 22, and by regulations made under article 24, of the FSO.The Home Office publishes a suite of guidance to meet this requirement and support Responsible Persons in meeting their duties under the FSO. This includes specific guidance on fire safety in the workplace. Work is underway to update the original suite of 12 guides published by the Home Office to ensure they reflect current legal requirements, standards, technical innovations and industry best practice.Over the last 3 years, we have published 10 new or revised guides, and work is progressing well to revise the original suite (which includes workplace fire safety guidance), with publication expected over the next 2 years.

What steps she is taking to tackle the sexual exploitation of women to pay drug debts.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of exploitation. Gangs exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, often using coercion, intimidation, violence - including sexual violence - and weapons to ensure compliance.The Home Office funded County Lines Programme was launched in 2019 to tackle this violent and exploitative drug distribution model. Through the Programme we are funding specialist support providers to support victims of county lines gangs, including girls, to help them escape from exploitation.In addition, this Government will also work closely with the voluntary and community sector to help sexually exploited people to exit prostitution.To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse.We are also providing funding to Trevi Women, who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution and survivors of VAWG crimes, remove barriers that prevent prostituted women from accessing necessary support. They also provide long-term support to reduce the likelihood of clients being further exploited. In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales, including a support worker to help them access wider services, such as medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

What steps her Department is taking to track people working for hostile states in the UK.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.The government’s first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. We keep potential threats to the UK under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these threats.The UK has a strong record of responding robustly to state threats and our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are at the forefront of these efforts. Alongside our existing operational response, new legislation has been brought in through the National Security Act 2023 to deal with the range of modern state threats and make the UK a harder target for those state which seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, including espionage, interference in our political system, and sabotage.

How many people have been arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete in the last 12 months.

The Home Office does not currently hold data centrally on the number of people arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here: Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘Violence against the person’, and further details are not provided.Policing is a devolved matter.

What recent estimate she has made of the number of gangs that are involved in hare coursing.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling rural and wildlife crime and the impact hare coursing can have. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing, and stronger laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which the Government provides funding to, oversees the police national response to wildlife crime, including hare coursing. It provides bespoke analytics each year to the 32 forces that are signed up to Operation Galileo, which has resulted in a 40% reduction in hare coursing, and have been successful in disrupting and prosecuting organised crime groups.The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy aims to target hare coursing through better preventative action, improved intelligence and enforcement.Policing in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

What discussions she has had with her Austrian counterpart on security for Taylor Swift concerts.

The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

What guidance her Department issues to police forces on the (a) recording and (b) retention of personal information on police data bases for hate incidents that are not deemed to be a crime.

This Government has already committed to reversing the previous Government’s decision to downgrade the monitoring of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate.It is vital that the police can capture data relating to non-crime hate incidents when it is proportionate and necessary to help prevent serious crimes which may later occur.We are carefully considering how best to protect individuals and communities from hate whilst balancing the need to protect the fundamental right to free speech. We are also ensuring the police can spend their time dealing with issues that matter most to communities. We will set out next steps in due course.

What discussions she has had with police forces on tackling violence at football games.

The Government is committed to tackling and preventing violence and disorder at football matches and tournaments in England, Wales and overseas. Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.The Government funds the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU), a unit designed to reduce violence, antisocial behaviour and disorder at football events involving UK football teams. The UKFPU undertakes various statutory and operational national policing functions, including maintaining oversight of the football banning order regime, working with overseas policing counterparts and coordinating policing deployment at international matches, and coordinating policing’s football disorder strategy.The Home Office works closely with the UKFPU, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Football Policing and other police stakeholders to ensure the police are supported to tackle football-related violence and disorder.

What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of police response times.

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).His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) regularly inspect forces’ response to the public as a part of their Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspections. As a part of this, they examine whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.As highlighted in their ‘Getting a Grip’ report on police performance, HMICFRS found wide-ranging issues with the recording of data on attendance times at incidents. The NPCC are exploring options for a standardised measurement of police response in light of recommendations in HMICFRS's ‘Getting a Grip’ report, and the Home Office are supporting them with this work.The Home Secretary has been clear that she wants the Home Office to play a greater role in setting performance measures and monitoring and driving system performance in the police. Plans will be set out for this in due course.

What data her Department holds on the number of police misconduct investigations held in England in the last 12 months.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and misconduct proceedings (including cases and allegations) on an annual basis in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics.The latest information covers cases finalised in year ending 31 March 2023.This statistical release is also accompanied by open data tables which include information on misconduct proceedings:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tablesData for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 is due for publication in late 2024 to early 2025.

What recent assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) efficiency of the Border Force fleet.

We always seek to ensure the adequacy and efficiency of the Border Force fleet. Working with key law enforcement partners, Border Force Maritime Command supports border security in the maritime arena. Domain awareness and the effective deployment of maritime assets to a variety of tasks is achieved in conjunction with the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC). The efficacy of these operations is reviewed by senior Border Force staff on a monthly basis.

How many illegal drugs have been seized in the last 12 months.

The Home Office latest published data on drug seizures made by the Police and Border Force for England and Wales can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2023.The latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force made a total of 191,623 drug seizures in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023.Border Force also release quarterly transparency data which include drug seizures. The latest available data are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2024