Written questions by Edwards.

What discussions she has had with police forces on tackling vandalism of bank branches.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including acts of vandalism and criminal damage.It is for local areas and individual police forces to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances of each case, but the Government is determined to restore the neighbourhood policing that enables local forces to respond visibly and effectively to incidents of crime in our country’s high streets and town centres, including putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers back on the beat in local communities to help lead that fight.

What information her Department holds on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in relation to people from (a) Rochester and Strood constituency, (b) Medway and (c) Kent in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not publish data on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme below regional levels because it could enable a threat picture to be built which could be used for terrorist purposes.The number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in the South-East region, in which the areas the Hon Member has asked about are contained, is provided in the table below.Number of individuals referred to the Prevent Programme within the South East region each year since the financial year ending 2020Financial yearPrevent referrals made within the South East region2019//208672020/197742021/221,1152022/231,1062023/241,200Grand total5,062Further information on the individuals referred to Prevent can be found in the published annual statistics on GOV.UK: Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2024.