Written questions by Davies.

What steps she is taking to help protect children from AI-generated abuse online.

The Government recognises the serious and evolving threat posed by artificial intelligence being misused to create child sexual abuse material. We have taken world-leading action to address this risk.AI-generated child sexual abuse material is not a victimless crime. The material often includes depictions of real children, escalating the risk of contact abuse. The volume and realism of this material can make it increasingly challenging for safeguarding partners to identify and protect children. Offenders can also use these images to groom and blackmail children.Working in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Alan Turing Institute, and the Accelerated Capability Environment, the Home Office has led the Deepfake Detection Challenge. This initiative brought together experts and stakeholders to develop and evaluate detection tools, which are essential in addressing serious harms including online child sexual abuse. As offenders increasingly exploit AI, we must harness its potential for good.A key outcome has been the creation of a UK Government Benchmarking capability which enables scientific evaluation of detection technologies, offering data to support informed procurement decisions for the most effective solutions. The next phase will continue to identify and benchmark AI-driven solutions.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing specific offences to make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material, as well as so-called “paedophile manuals” that instruct offenders on how to exploit AI for abuse. These offences carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment for AI tools and up to three years for manuals.We have recently announced a further amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to empower authorised bodies- including AI developers and child protection organisations- to scrutinise AI systems to prevent them generating harmful content. This will help to improve safeguards within AI models to prevent them being misused to create child abuse material.Where AI models fall under the Online Safety Act as a user-to-user service or an online search provider, companies are required to provide highly effective age assurance to protect children from exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.We recognise there are concerns about AI chatbots, or AI companions, and the risks of harm to children these may pose. At the recent Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, we confirmed that we are considering if all AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act and what more may need to be done. If it requires legislation, then this is what we will do.We have been clear as a government that our steps so far with the Online Safety Act are the foundation for a safer online experience for children. But it is not the end of the conversation.The UKG will also be supporting to host an event in the new year with the NSPCC focusing on children and AI.Our approach combines robust legislation, proactive technology safeguards, and international cooperation to keep children safe online and we will not hesitate to go further.

What training is provided to police officers to (a) identify and (b) respond to offenders with unmet (i) health and (ii) social needs to divert them away from the criminal justice system.

The Home Office has previously published guidance for police forces and local partners outlining approaches they should consider, collectively, to support people they encounter who have mental health problems, learning difficulties and drug misuse issues.That sets out that when the police identify a person whom they suspect of committing an offence as being vulnerable, forces have systems in place to refer people into a Liaison and Diversion scheme.Health professionals within criminal justice Liaison and Diversion teams will then: assess the person’s health needs, refer them for treatment or support (when appropriate), and provide relevant information to police and courts to help inform charging and sentencing. Moreover, the College of Policing has published guidelines for ‘recognising and responding to vulnerability-related risks’, which provides a framework to ensure vulnerable people receive appropriate help during interactions with the police

What role neighbourhood policing teams play in identifying people at risk of repeated low-level offending linked to homelessness or substance misuse.

Prolific offenders and those in a cycle of reoffending commit a disproportionate amount of crime and societal harm and generate outsized demand for the police, criminal justice system and public services, making them an important focus for intervention.Every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named and contactable neighbourhood officer, dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most by working closely with their communities, businesses, and partner agencies, using local intelligence to problem solve complex issues such as repeat offending.The Government supports the use of diversion and early intervention, recognising that we cannot tackle prolific offending through policing alone. Police forces have a range of powers available, such as out of court resolutions, to divert offenders away from the criminal justice system where appropriate.Drugs are a major cause of crime and continued investment in treatment and recovery services will be vital to help reduce levels of reoffending. Part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Improvement Grant funds treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping who have a drug need. This helps deliver integrated, cross-sector working in preventing homelessness and supporting substance misuse treatment and recovery.In addition, Combating Drugs Partnerships play an important role in tackling prolific offending. These partnerships bring together police, probation, public health, the NHS and other local partners to deliver a whole-system, multi-agency response to drug-related harms, including tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour linked to drugs.Overall, given the demand prolific offenders generate across various services and the complexity of their needs, the Home Office has ongoing discussions with other government Departments, the police, local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on how to continue to strengthen our approach to this cohort.

What assessment she has made of the role of (a) early intervention and (b) diversion in reducing reoffending among repeat offenders.

Prolific offenders and those in a cycle of reoffending commit a disproportionate amount of crime and societal harm and generate outsized demand for the police, criminal justice system and public services, making them an important focus for intervention.Every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named and contactable neighbourhood officer, dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most by working closely with their communities, businesses, and partner agencies, using local intelligence to problem solve complex issues such as repeat offending.The Government supports the use of diversion and early intervention, recognising that we cannot tackle prolific offending through policing alone. Police forces have a range of powers available, such as out of court resolutions, to divert offenders away from the criminal justice system where appropriate.Drugs are a major cause of crime and continued investment in treatment and recovery services will be vital to help reduce levels of reoffending. Part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Improvement Grant funds treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping who have a drug need. This helps deliver integrated, cross-sector working in preventing homelessness and supporting substance misuse treatment and recovery.In addition, Combating Drugs Partnerships play an important role in tackling prolific offending. These partnerships bring together police, probation, public health, the NHS and other local partners to deliver a whole-system, multi-agency response to drug-related harms, including tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour linked to drugs.Overall, given the demand prolific offenders generate across various services and the complexity of their needs, the Home Office has ongoing discussions with other government Departments, the police, local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on how to continue to strengthen our approach to this cohort.

What steps her Department is taking with (a) DHSC and (b) MHCLG to ensure (i) policing, (ii) health and (iii) local authority partnerships (A) identify and (B) respond effectively to individuals at risk of entering a cycle of reoffending.

Prolific offenders and those in a cycle of reoffending commit a disproportionate amount of crime and societal harm and generate outsized demand for the police, criminal justice system and public services, making them an important focus for intervention.Every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named and contactable neighbourhood officer, dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most by working closely with their communities, businesses, and partner agencies, using local intelligence to problem solve complex issues such as repeat offending.The Government supports the use of diversion and early intervention, recognising that we cannot tackle prolific offending through policing alone. Police forces have a range of powers available, such as out of court resolutions, to divert offenders away from the criminal justice system where appropriate.Drugs are a major cause of crime and continued investment in treatment and recovery services will be vital to help reduce levels of reoffending. Part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Improvement Grant funds treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping who have a drug need. This helps deliver integrated, cross-sector working in preventing homelessness and supporting substance misuse treatment and recovery.In addition, Combating Drugs Partnerships play an important role in tackling prolific offending. These partnerships bring together police, probation, public health, the NHS and other local partners to deliver a whole-system, multi-agency response to drug-related harms, including tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour linked to drugs.Overall, given the demand prolific offenders generate across various services and the complexity of their needs, the Home Office has ongoing discussions with other government Departments, the police, local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on how to continue to strengthen our approach to this cohort.

What plans she has to support Police and Crime Commissioners to implement local strategies to reduce reoffending among repeat offenders.

Prolific offenders and those in a cycle of reoffending commit a disproportionate amount of crime and societal harm and generate outsized demand for the police, criminal justice system and public services, making them an important focus for intervention.Every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named and contactable neighbourhood officer, dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most by working closely with their communities, businesses, and partner agencies, using local intelligence to problem solve complex issues such as repeat offending.The Government supports the use of diversion and early intervention, recognising that we cannot tackle prolific offending through policing alone. Police forces have a range of powers available, such as out of court resolutions, to divert offenders away from the criminal justice system where appropriate.Drugs are a major cause of crime and continued investment in treatment and recovery services will be vital to help reduce levels of reoffending. Part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Improvement Grant funds treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping who have a drug need. This helps deliver integrated, cross-sector working in preventing homelessness and supporting substance misuse treatment and recovery.In addition, Combating Drugs Partnerships play an important role in tackling prolific offending. These partnerships bring together police, probation, public health, the NHS and other local partners to deliver a whole-system, multi-agency response to drug-related harms, including tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour linked to drugs.Overall, given the demand prolific offenders generate across various services and the complexity of their needs, the Home Office has ongoing discussions with other government Departments, the police, local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on how to continue to strengthen our approach to this cohort.

Whether her Department plans to publish a strategy to help tackle motorcycle theft.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime. We do not currently plan to publish a specific strategy on motorcycle theft.The Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group is represented on the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to ensure police, motorcycle groups and Government can work together to reduce these thefts. The National Vehicle Crime Working Group includes a network of vehicle crime specialists, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime.

If she will extend the Fire Kills campaign to raise awareness of fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Home Office’s Fire Kills campaign raises awareness of fire safety advice and seeks to educate people on how to keep themselves and those they care for safe from the risks of fire in the home.The campaign supports fire and rescue authorities in delivering their statutory duty to promote fire safety through the provision of fire safety resources, materials and campaign initiatives.Other bodies, such as the Gas Safe Register promote gas safety messages for the public.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to police forces advising them to offer independent return home interviews to adults who have been missing.

Any missing person incident, especially when a person is vulnerable or has been missing previously, significantly increases the risk of harm occurring, and the Home Office continues to work with partners on the issue.The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice (APP), issued by the College of Policing, sets out best practice guidance for all missing person investigations for police forces in England and Wales. This includes steps to be taken when a person returns from a missing incident and considerations regarding police prevention interviews and return interviews. More importantly, the APP offers advice on how information disclosed in a return interview should be fed into multi-agency safeguarding decisions. The APP for missing persons is publicly available on the College's website.In addition to the APP, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Missing Persons has developed the 'Multi-agency response for adults missing from health and care settings' framework, which currently is being rolled out. The framework outlines good practice that can be adopted by local areas when setting up their own multi-agency protocols for the strategic and operational response to a missing person incident. The framework aims to ensure that the appropriate safeguarding partner responds in the best interest of the missing person and sets out how return conversations can improve safeguarding outcomes for vulnerable adults and prevent future incidents.The Government recognises the need for an effective multi-agency response to missing person investigations. We will continue to work closely across Government Departments to achieve this aim.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the levels of wholesale crime.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this Government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.Partnership working to tackle retail crime is essential. I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum, which the Federation of Wholesale Distributors are a member of, to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.This Government will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse. The scope of this new offence will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.The Home Office Commercial Victimisation Survey 2023, published in May 2024, showed that theft by customer was the most prevalent type of theft experienced in the retail and wholesale sector, experienced by 26% of premises. The wholesale and retail sector experienced a higher prevalence of victimisation (41%) compared with most other commercial sectors.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect wholesale workers from crime.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this Government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.Partnership working to tackle retail crime is essential. I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum, which the Federation of Wholesale Distributors are a member of, to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.This Government will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse. The scope of this new offence will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.The Home Office Commercial Victimisation Survey 2023, published in May 2024, showed that theft by customer was the most prevalent type of theft experienced in the retail and wholesale sector, experienced by 26% of premises. The wholesale and retail sector experienced a higher prevalence of victimisation (41%) compared with most other commercial sectors.

Whether she plans to introduce specific protections for wholesale workers.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this Government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.Partnership working to tackle retail crime is essential. I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum, which the Federation of Wholesale Distributors are a member of, to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.This Government will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse. The scope of this new offence will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.The Home Office Commercial Victimisation Survey 2023, published in May 2024, showed that theft by customer was the most prevalent type of theft experienced in the retail and wholesale sector, experienced by 26% of premises. The wholesale and retail sector experienced a higher prevalence of victimisation (41%) compared with most other commercial sectors.

What steps her Department is taking to help (a) monitor and (b) prevent moorland fires through patrolling.

Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) while having regard to the views of other key local responders. The Government does not issue guidance on the operational use of helicopters.Fire and Rescue Services undertake a range of activities alongside local partners, including prevention and educational activities. Additionally, Defra encourage landowners and land managers to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland – wetter, healthy-functioning peatlands are more resilient to the risk of wildfire.In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Whether her Department has issued guidance on the criteria to be used to determine when to use a helicopter to help put out moorland fires.

Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) while having regard to the views of other key local responders. The Government does not issue guidance on the operational use of helicopters.Fire and Rescue Services undertake a range of activities alongside local partners, including prevention and educational activities. Additionally, Defra encourage landowners and land managers to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland – wetter, healthy-functioning peatlands are more resilient to the risk of wildfire.In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.