Every parliamentary written question tabled by Natasha Irons this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–7 of 7 · Home Office
What progress her Department has made on tackling knife crime.
We have set an ambitious but essential target: to halve knife crime over this decade. We are already seeing results. Knife crime is falling.Since the start of this Parliament, knife crime has fallen by 8% and knife homicides are down by 27%.We have banned ninja swords and zombie style machetes, we have taken nearly 60,000 knives off our streets and we have established new Young Futures Panels.
What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of independence of the National Age Assessment Board.
The introduction of the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) in March 2023, a decision-making body comprising of social workers who can conduct Merton age assessments on behalf of local authorities, offers significant improvements to our processes for assessing age. It aims to create greater consistency in age assessment practices and increase capacity and expertise in the system.We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the NAAB is distinct from the Home Office’s asylum and immigration decision making functions and the two sit under separate management functions. In addition, the information acquired by the NAAB when conducting age assessments is not accessible to asylum and immigration decision making teams, other than the final decision on age.
What information her Department holds on the number of assessments undertaken by the National Age Assessment Board that were subject to a legal challenge in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024; and how many and what proportion of those decisions found in favour of the National Age Assessment Board.
The number of age assessments undertaken by the National Age Assessment Board that were subject to a legal challenge was 22 in total (1 in 2023 and 21 in 2024).20 of the 22 age assessments decisions were successfully defended (91%).
What her planned timetable is for (a) decision-making and (b) funding allocation for embedded youth work in A&Es to support young victims of (i) violence and (ii) exploitation.
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission. Prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn into crime is an integral part of that mission. That’s why the Government’s manifesto committed to offering young people a pathway out of violence by placing youth workers and mentors in A&E units and Alternative Provision Schools.A&E navigator programmes are currently funded by Violence Reduction Units that are located in the areas worst affected by serious violence. These programmes place navigators, such as youth workers, in hospital emergency rooms to support children and young people with a violence-related injury and offer a pathway out of violence. We have provided £49.7m in 2025/6 for the continuation of the VRU programme, which includes provision for A&E navigators in VRU areas.This year (25/26), we will continue to build on, and learn from, the work already underway on A&E navigators as well as working with the Youth Endowment Fund to further strengthen provision and ensure victims of violence and exploitation are supported.
Whether the Windrush commissioner will consider the reimbursement of legal costs for the victims of the Windrush scandal.
We are establishing a Windrush Commissioner to act as an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review and act as a trusted voice for communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.On appointment, the Commissioner will engage with Windrush stakeholders and communities to understand what they need and how the Commissioner can drive delivery of that change.To ensure claimants are supported, we are also allocating £1.5million in government grant funding, which will be used to increase advocacy support for victims applying for the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police have adequate resources to tackle knife crime in (a) Croydon East constituency and (b) other constituencies.
The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are personally committed to halving knife crime over the next decade. It is a key part of the Government’s mission to take back our streets.This Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle all crime effectively. The 2024-25 police funding settlement provides the Metropolitan Police Service with funding of up to £3.5 billion in 2024-25. This includes £185.3 million in recognition of the demands the force faces in policing the capital city.The Home Office will also provide £175m of additional funding in 2024-25 to police forces to help with the cost of the pay award, of which the Metropolitan Police will receive a further £37.4 million for support with those costs.As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the settlement will increase the core government grant for police forces and help support frontline policing levels across the country. Further details and force level allocations will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.The Home Office is also providing £66.3m funding this financial year (2024/25) to police forces in England and Wales for hotspot policing to tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence. This includes £8.1m allocated to the Metropolitan Police.
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial behaviour in (a) Croydon East constituency and (b) other constituencies.
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and we will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers, including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.