Written questions by Smart.

What information her Department holds on the number of contacts that UK Fire and Rescue Services have had with (a) people experiencing suicidal ideation and (b) where a suicide is in progress; and if she will publish this data by each UK Fire and Rescue Service.

The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) through the Incident Recording System (IRS), with this including non-fire incidents such as suicide / attempts. This data is published available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics.The latest available data on the number of suicide / attempts incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England is published in FIRE0901: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6787b920868b2b1923b64653/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire0901-230125.xlsxThe table below provides the number of suicide/attempts incidents in England between the years ending March 2011 and March 2024.Year ending MarchNumber of suicide/attempts incidents20111,17220121,16920131,07120141,11220151,10120161,30120171,49320181,62520191,91520202,04120212,09620222,58220232,82920243,113The data in this table are consistent with records that reached the IRS by 26 November 2024, and was published on 23 January 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of hate crimes against transgender people.

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

What the most recent statistics for hate crimes against transgender people are.

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

If she will take steps with police forces to review the (a) effectiveness of policies to place police officers potentially experiencing mental ill-health on restricted duties and (b) adequacy of (i) the provision of psychological support and (ii) recovery time for those officers.

It is the responsibility of Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, including ensuring appropriate health and wellbeing support is in place for all officers and staff. The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority, and we continue to work with police partners to ensure that consistent standards apply across all forces.Police Regulations require forces to follow standard procedures in the management of officers placed on limited duties following a period of ill health and this includes for periods of recuperation. The College of Policing has also provided specific guidance for line managers on the use of reasonable adjustments, including a toolkit for forces, a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit and a disability passport.The Government continues to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service which provides evidence-based mental health guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers.

Whether her Department plans to introduce mandatory mental health support for police officers who have been exposed to distressing or traumatic incidents.

Chief Officers have a duty of care to manage their workforce effectively, including ensuring the wellbeing of all their officers and staff. This Government has been clear that the wellbeing of our police is a priority. We will continue to work with police partners to ensure that all police officers and staff have the appropriate support in place to thrive in their careers and deliver the best service to the public.We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers, including guidance on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Policing. All officers receive pre-deployment mental health training and through the Police Covenant, and all forces now meet the new Occupational Health (OH) foundation level standards. Measures are also in place to ensure forces continually develop and improve their OH standards.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue the Refugee Employability Programme on the ability of refugees to (a) secure employment, (b) integrate into local communities, and (c) access local childcare and healthcare services.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.

For what reason her Department discontinued the Refugee Employability Programme.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) accuracy and (b) reliability of personal immigration status information generated by the Government View and Prove system; and what safeguards her Department plans to introduce to avoid system failures.

The transition towards eVisas is already underway, with millions of people already receiving and using eVisas successfully, by logging into the View and Prove service using their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account.While most people are able to use the online services successfully without problems, where issues do occur, we have robust processes in place. Any person experiencing issues with their eVisa should contact the UKVI Resolution Centre which provides a full range of digital and telephone support. The Resolution Centre can assist users who are experiencing technical issues with their eVisa, and where necessary, enable a person’s status to be verified through alternative means. As part of our move to an immigration system which is more digital and streamlined, we stopped issuing any new BRPs and BRCs on 31 October 2024. People with existing permission in the UK are encouraged to take action now to create a UKVI account if they have not already done so, to access their eVisa. Most people will be able to see their status right away. Anyone who cannot do so should be able to see their status shortly. Those who cannot see their status can use the existing Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Prove your right to rent in England: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) online services in the meantime, and, if they still have it, use their BRP to prove their rights for other purposes. Otherwise, they should contact the UKVI Resolution Centre. We have designed our digital services to be highly resilient, with rigorous testing to build assurance, and deployed across multiple data centres. Our online services and their constituent parts are also proactively monitored for failures, which highlight any potential problems to allow support teams to triage and resolve them as quickly as possible. We are constantly improving the accuracy, reliability and accessibility of our digital status services, including the View and Prove service. This includes proactive work to enhance the service as well as resolving issues reported to us by customers. We also continue to engage with stakeholders to test whether any improvements to implementation or our communications need to be made. The View and Prove platform is rigorously tested for security and stability and proven to be reliable in terms of availability.

What percentage of police officers are currently classified as deployable; and what the primary reasons are for officers being deemed non-deployable.

The Home Office does not have an official measure of ‘deployable’.The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number and proportion of police officers available for duty as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Table H1 of the data tables accompanying the publication provides the number and proportion of police officers available for duty, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024. The number of police officers available for duty is calculated by excluding those on long-term absence (that has lasted for more than 28 calendar days). Long-term absence includes career breaks, compassionate leave, maternity or paternity leave, sickness, special leave, study leave and suspension.The number of police officers available for duty includes police officers that are on recuperative (duties falling short of full deployment, undertaken by a police officer following an injury, accident, illness or medical incident) or adjusted (duties falling short of full deployment, in respect of which workplace adjustments have been made to overcome barriers to working) duties. The Home Office does not collect data on the reason for recuperative or adjusted duties.Table W5 and W6 of the data tables accompanying the publication provide the number and proportion of police officers on recuperative and adjusted duties, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024.The Home Office does not collect data on officers that are non-deployable due to management restricted duties.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) recruitment and (b) retention in police forces.

The latest Home Office statistics for the overall Police Workforce show a 1.2% increase when compared to the previous year. The total paid police workforce in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales was 236,588 full-time equivalents (FTE) as at 31 March 2024; an increase of 2,752 FTE, compared to 233,836 FTE as at 31 March 2023. This includes 147,746 FTE police officers (up 0.2% on 147,434 in March 2023); and 81,303 FTE police staff and designated officers (up 3.4% on 78,596 in March 2023).This Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to tackle crime effectively. As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, the Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This includes getting thousands of additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs back on the beat in communities across the country.