Written questions by Shastri-Hurst.

Whether her Department holds data on instances in which police forces have declined to investigate alleged serious criminal offences, including fraud, money laundering or organised crime, on the grounds of resource limitations or internal case-triage decisions; and whether any national guidance exists governing how such decisions should be made.

Operational decisions on case investigations are matters for operationally independent police forces. The Home Office does not issue guidance directing police forces on whether individual cases should or should not be investigated.

What guidance is available to local authorities under the licensing regime to restrict the operating hours of retail premises where there is evidence of persistent antisocial behaviour linked to those premises.

The Secretary of State issues statutory guidance under section 182 of the Act to support licensing authorities in the discharge of their functions - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-memorandum-revised-guidance-issued-under-s-182-of-licensing-act-2003.This includes guidance on the process to follow if evidence becomes available that a licensed premises is failing to uphold one of four licensing objectives, two of which relate to the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance.If concerns are raised about a particular premises, the licensing authority may conduct a review of the premises’ licence and take appropriate action up to and including revoking the licence.

What discussions her Department has had with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on the interaction between specialist veterinary training pathways and the Skilled Worker visa salary requirements.

The Home Office regularly engages across Whitehall departments on the immigration system, including Department for Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency, on areas such as salary and broader route requirements.Those working towards professional registration and qualification can qualify for a reduced salary requirement under the new entrant provision in the Skilled Worker immigration route.

What data her Department holds for each police force on the time taken to resolve complaints brought in relation to policing standards and policy.

The Home Office does not hold complete data on the time taken to resolve police complaints.As overseers of the police complaints system in England and Wales, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) collect and publish data on public complaints, including information on the time taken to finalise complaint allegations.Published information can be found at:https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics/police-complaints-statisticsBreakdowns of timeliness by allegation type (nature of allegation) are not published.

How much funding her Department has allocated to support (a) leisure, (b) recreation and (c) entertainment activities for people accommodated in asylum contingency hotels since July 2024.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reducing the physical fitness standards required of serving police officers on (a) public safety and (b) operational effectiveness.

Chief Constables are able to locally determine the standards and assessment at recruitment for physical fitness of police officers. At the same time, chief officers have a statutory duty of care to their officers, and the public, and they must, therefore, satisfy themselves that officers can be deployed safely in a role and fulfil the duties of a police officer.The College of Policing holds guidance to support forces on the implementation of fitness testing and standards for officers. Work is underway, led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College, to commence a review of the current demands of operational policing to inform future decisions on fitness standards at recruitment.

What assessment she has made of the causes of recent trends in serious violent crime.

The Office for National Statistics publishes information on crime, including serious violent crime, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, for the year ending March 2025, shows that serious violence has fallen, including the first fall in knife crime for four years.Homicide has also fallen, to 535 offences, down from 567 the previous year and there has been a 21% decline in offences involving firearms, to 5,103 offences.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of violent crime on community cohesion in high-incidence areas.

This Government recognises the devasting effects of violence on communities, that is why we work closely with community groups, including through the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime to understand the impacts and help shape the Government’s plan to halve knife crime in ten years.To support communities in high-incidence areas, the Government has made £47m available for Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to continue their valuable work in 2025/26. VRUs bring together local partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. They facilitate the sharing of data across organisational boundaries to build a collective understanding of the root causes of violence locally.Additionally, the Government has awarded £66.3m in 25/26 to all 43 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales for the Hot Spot Action Fund. This funding is for high-visibility patrolling in the areas with the highest densities (‘hotspots’) of knife crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as problem-oriented policing to tackle the longer-term drivers of crime.

What estimate she has made of the proportion of violent crime that is linked to gang activity.

The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and Home Office police recorded crime data contains information on violent crime and is published by the ONS (Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics and the nature of violent crime: appendix tables - Office for National Statistics).

How many officers in frontline roles are assigned to violent crime prevention units.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Information is collected on the primary function of each officer, however, the specific team an officer is assigned to, such as “violent crime prevention unit”, is not collected. Information on the primary function of police officers is available in Table F1 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687f89ac37c38e28f3846871/police-workforce-mar25-tables-230725.ods.Frontline policing is comprised of visible operational frontline roles and non-visible frontline roles, each of which contains specific functions. Further information on the functions included under visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline, including the definitions of each category can be found in Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687f89ac37c38e28f3846871/police-workforce-mar25-tables-230725.ods

How many and what proportion of recorded violent crimes resulted in a (a) charge and (b) summons in the last 12 months.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of violence against the person offences, and their investigative outcomes, including those assigned a charge/summons outcome, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, to the year ending March 2025, has been published on 24th July, and can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tablesIt is not possible to separately identify charges and summonses.

With reference to the report entitled Pre-charge bail and released under investigation: Striking a balance, published on 8 December 2020, what recent discussions she has had with police forces on the (a) timeliness of (i) regular case reviews and (ii) updates to people released under investigation and (b) the steps those police forces are taking to (A) ensure the rights of those subject to investigation are respected and (B) maintain public confidence in relation to how suspects are dealt with after they are released from custody.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services regularly inspects police forces on their use of tools such as pre-charge bail and released under investigation (RUI) to manage offenders and protect victims and the wider public from harm. The College of Policing publishes and maintains the statutory guidance on the use of pre-charge bail, including guidance on RUI.Recent police data suggests that the proportion of suspects on RUI is reducing, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of suspects on pre-charge bail. The Home Office continues to monitor the use of these powers. The latest data, covering the year to March 2024, was published on 27 February 2025 Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

What data her Department holds on the (a) delivery and (b) effectiveness of knife crime prevention training provided by police forces in schools.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), the government-funded what works centre for protecting children from involvement in violence, provides detailed, practical and evidence-based guidance for schools and education settings on how best to protect children from involvement in violence. To further understand how it can support schools, the Department for Education has commissioned research with 40 schools on the ways in which they identify and respond to serious violence and knife crime. The research report will be published later this year.

How many Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders have settled in the UK under the bespoke immigration route since its launch; and what integration support is being provided.

The Home Office publishes statistics relating to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the Immigration system statistics publication. Data on the number of grants of ILR to those on the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route, is published in table Se_D02.To help those on the route integrate into their new communities, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has a Welcome Programme through which BN(O)s can access support on a range of issues including employment, education, housing, and access to English language provision. In March 2025, MHCLG announced its fifth year of funding for the UK-wide Welcome Programme.

How many people have been (a) arrested and (b) charged under espionage-related offences linked to the People’s Republic of China in the last five years.

The Home Office routinely collects and publishes information on arrests and charges in the 'Police Powers and Procedures', and 'Crime Outcome' statistics respectively. However, the requested data is not published at the level of detail requested.

What steps the Government is taking to (a) assess and (b) help tackle the potential risk of threats posed by the People's Republic of China on the United Kingdom's (i) national security, (ii) cyber security, (iii) economic influence and (iv) military capabilities.

We have a broad suite of powers available to respond to state threats. This includes measures in the National Security Act 2023 which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts, as well as the National Security and Investment Act 2021 which gives the government powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions, where necessary and proportionate, to protect national security.We are taking a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China. We will co-operate where we can; compete where we need to; and challenge where we must, including on issues of national security.

Whether she plans to allow time spent under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme to count towards the five-year qualifying period for settled status.

We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why the temporary sanctuary Ukraine Visa Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK. Similarly, time spent in the UK with permission granted under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be relied upon towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application. There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements. The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025, will provide up to an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK for those with existing Ukraine Scheme permission.UPE is a new grant of permission; it is not an extension of a person's existing permission. An automatic extension of existing permission would mean providing further unnecessary permission, even to a person who has now left the UK and is no longer in need of temporary sanctuary in the UK.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that police resources for tackling knife crime at a local level are used effectively.

This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.As part of the £1 billion increase for policing in 2025-6 set out by the Home Secretary at the provisional police funding settlement, the Home Office is providing £49.7m for the continuation of the Violence Reduction Unit programme in 20 areas across England and Wales.VRUs are delivering a whole system approach to tackling violence, including knife crime, bringing key local partners together to understand the local drivers of violence, and agree and deliver a coordinated response, including delivery of early intervention and prevention programmes aimed at diverting young people from involvement in crime and violence.We will continue to build on, and learn from, this work during the development of our new Young Futures Programme

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help deter Russian interference in democratic processes in the UK.

Protecting the integrity and security of UK democratic processes from threats of foreign interference is a priority across government.The National Security Act 2023 provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools and powers they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats. The Act includes the Foreign Interference Offence and the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), both of which will contribute to the toolkit available to law enforcement and the intelligence agencies to disrupt foreign interference activity, protect the British public and address the evolving threat to our national security.The Defending Democracy Taskforce also seeks to protect the democratic integrity of the UK from threats of foreign influence. The Taskforce works across government and with Parliament, the UK’s intelligence community, the devolved administrations, local authorities, the private sector, and civil society on the full range of threats facing our democratic institutions.In recent years, the UK has taken several measures to clamp down on the malign activities of the Russian State and its intelligence services, which have been supported across Parliament. These include the expulsion of 24 Russian intelligence officers from the Russian Embassy; the sanctioning of individuals responsible for malign activity against the UK and our allies; and exposing Russia’s malicious cyber activity.