Every parliamentary written question tabled by Lee Pitcher this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–6 of 6 · Home Office
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Licensing Act 2003 in regulating the placement of alcohol products in retail premises near products primarily intended for children
The Licensing Act 2003 provides the legal framework for the sale and supply of alcohol in England and Wales. The regulatory regime provided by the Act is underpinned by four core licensing objectives, one of which is the protection of children from harm. ...
What steps her Department is taking to encourage the use of digital asset management systems by local retailers to support crime prevention.
the Retail Crime Forum to ensure we understand the needs of retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement. This is an opportunity to share best practice and awareness of different initiatives to tackle the range of drivers of shop theft, including technology.
What steps her Department is taking to regulate the use of privately owned e-scooters involved in anti-social behaviour.
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 e-scooters, 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 e-scooters which have been used anti-socially. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.There are various offences relating to e-scooter use that the police can enforce with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). Riding an e-scooter on the pavement can result in a FPN of £50.The Government has made no decisions on micromobility regulation, however, resolving the longstanding problems and missed opportunities of micromobility, including e-scooters, is a priority for the Government.
When she plans to announce the remaining local authorities selected for the pilot inquiries into group-based child sexual exploitation.
The Government is committed to getting to the truth of both historical and current group-based child sexual exploitation or grooming gangs offending, to ensure that perpetrators are punished and to deliver justice and accountability for victims and survivors. That is why the Home Secretary commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to undertake a national audit into the nature, scale and characteristics of this type of offending.The Home Secretary wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 28 May 2025 to explain that Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to complete her audit, as she continues to speak directly to victims, fully assess the scale of the issue and submit meaningful recommendations to further tackle this vile crime.We expect to receive Baroness Casey's report in the coming weeks, and the Home Secretary has already committed to publishing it at that point. It is important that the government has all the information available so we can set out a comprehensive response to this horrific crime, taking into account Baroness Casey's findings, including next steps on local inquiries.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of drones to record footage over police cordons at emergency scenes on privacy; and whether she plans to introduce additional (a) legal protections and (b) enforcement powers to prevent drone use impacting the (i) privacy and (ii) dignity of people involved in such incidents.
The use and deployment of drones by policing is an operational matter made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs while ensuring they have the tools necessary to protect the public.However, in the use and deployment of drones, police forces must have due regard to Data Protection legislation and the Air Navigation Order (ANO) 2016, which specifies the requirements and conduct drone operators must abide by to use drones in a manner which is both safe and does not unduly endanger or negatively impact members of the public.To support development of a national drone capability for policing which is effective and safe, in FY24/25, the Home Office allocated over £4m to national police-led programmes of work to drive standardisation and improve coordination in police drone operations to support public safety outcomes.Furthermore, to support development of these programmes and improve the safe and legal use of drones by policing, police forces work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Drone activities conducted by members of the public is a matter for the CAA, who are responsible for regulating the activities of civilian drone operators.
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle (a) grooming gangs and (b) child sexual exploitation.
On 6 and 16 January, the Home Secretary announced to Parliament a raft of measures to go further in tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation, including 'grooming gangs' offending.The Home Secretary has written to the National Police Chiefs' Council requesting officers look again at these unsolved and closed grooming gangs cases, backed by £2.5m in funding for stronger investigations The remit of the Independent Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel has also been extended so that it covers not just historic cases before 2013 but all cases since to ensure victims of abuse have the right to an independent reviewThis includes appointing Baroness Louise Casey to oversee an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.We will provide stronger support for local areas which are interested in undertaking work to better understand and tackle local grooming gang issues and improve their own local responses going forward.We will also be working across Government to set out a clear timeline for taking forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by Easter.