Written questions by Hudson.

What steps she is taking to ensure that police forces receive adequate resources to tackle crime effectively.

The 2026–27 final police funding settlement provides up to £21.0 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an increase of up to £1.3 billion compared with the 2025–26 settlement, representing a 6.7% cash increase and a 4.4% real terms increase.Police forces will have up to £18.4 billion in 2026-27. This is an increase in funding to forces by up to £796 million, equating to a 4.5% cash increase and 2.3% real terms increase.The Chancellor set out at the Spending Review that there will be a real terms increase in funding over the next three years. Despite the importance of living within the fiscal constraints, this government is prioritising funding for policing.£200 million was made available in 2025-26 to support the delivery of 3,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel this year. We are on track to deliver that 3,000 by the end of March - and remain determined to reach 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of the Parliament.The 2026-27 settlement ringfences £363 million of total funding to incentivise forces to grow neighbourhood policing teams, which includes an additional £50 million following feedback from the provisional settlement.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding settlement for Essex Police.

The 2026–27 final police funding settlement provides up to £21.0 billion for the policing system in England and Wales.Total funding to police forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of up to £796 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. This equates to a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real terms increase in funding.Essex Police will receive up to £455.2 million in 2026-27. This is an increase of up to £21.1 million, equating to a 4.9% cash increase.

What steps she has taken to support the enforcement of legislation to tackle the illicit use of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023.The government has not provided specific support to the police for the enforcement of this legislation. There were 2,564 seizures of nitrous oxide by police and Border Force in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 237% upon the previous year’s figure (761). Police forces accounted for almost all nitrous oxide seizures (2,552).Further information about this data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024The most recent data about drug misuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, showed that 0.9% of those aged 16-59 in England and Wales used nitrous oxide in the year ending 31 March 2024, a reduction from 1.3% in the previous year. This is equivalent to a reduction from 419,000 to 311,000 users and the lowest figure since this data was first collected in the year ending March 2013.Further information about this data is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesyearendingmarch2024.

Whether Border Force publishes quarterly data on seizures of products of animal origin.

The Home Office does not publish quarterly transparency data on seizures of products of animal origin (POAO).

What discussions she has had with the (a) Mayor of London and (b) British Transport Police on reducing the theft of mobile phone thefts on the London Underground.

The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, British Transport Police, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and the data and personal information on their devices.

How much illegally imported meat coming has been seized in 2025.

Due to the way in which meat seizures are recorded, the data requested is not available in an accessible format.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the (a) categorisation of nitrous oxide as a Class C drug and (b) the potential impacts this categorisation has on levels of use of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023. At the same time the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 were amended to regulate its lawful use in healthcare, catering and other sectors. In the year to March 2024, the most recent year for which we have data, 0.9% of people aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales reported having used nitrous oxide in the last year, a decrease compared to the previous year (1.3%). Various factors underlie drug use and this decline cannot be attributed directly to the control implemented in 2023. The Government will continue to keep all drug legislation under review.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of regulations governing the sale of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023. At the same time the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 were amended to regulate its lawful use in healthcare, catering and other sectors. In the year to March 2024, the most recent year for which we have data, 0.9% of people aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales reported having used nitrous oxide in the last year, a decrease compared to the previous year (1.3%). Various factors underlie drug use and this decline cannot be attributed directly to the control implemented in 2023. The Government will continue to keep all drug legislation under review.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the police grant for 2025-26 on crime in Epping Forest constituency.

Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.5 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement.This includes funding to support the costs of the 24-25 pay award, the increase in the employer national insurance contributions, funding for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.Essex Police’s funding will be up to £433.3 million in 2025-26, an increase of £27.1 million compared to 2024-25. This represents a 6.7% cash increase and 4.2% real terms increase when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

What steps she is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of police officers in (i) Epping Forest constituency and (ii) Essex.

The retention of police officers is an important element of managing the police workforce. Voluntary resignation rates in England and Wales, at 3.4%, are low compared to other sectors.It is important that police forces use effective strategies to manage the retention and progression of existing officers, as well as continuing to recruit new officers.The Police Officer Maintenance grant provides funding to forces that successfully maintain officer headcounts as set out in the 2024/25 Police Funding Settlement.Funding arrangements for the coming year have been set out as part of the 2025-26 provisional police funding settlement.