Written questions by Savage.

Whether she has had discussions with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on its compliance with Section 9.4 of the IOPC Statutory Guidance, published on 1 February 2020; and what guidance her Department has issued on whether the IOPC has discretion to decline to investigate matters that fall within the mandatory referral criteria.

The IOPC has powers to issue statutory guidance under section 22 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to local policing bodies, the 43 Home Office territorial police forces in England and Wales and other law enforcement bodies, such as the National Crime Agency. Paragraph 9.4 of this guidance is directed not at the IOPC but at such police forces and bodies (known as “appropriate authorities”). Paragraph 9.4 places a requirement on them to “notify the IOPC where concerns or issues arise after the initial referral that indicate the matter should be referred [to the IOPC] again” in line with mandatory referral criteria.The 2002 Act itself sets out the requirements on the IOPC as to how should carry out its functions. It gives the IOPC discretion to decide whether it is necessary that cases that have been referred to it under the mandatory referral criteria should be investigated and, if so, how they should be investigated. For example, the IOPC can decide it is necessary for it to investigate a case independently itself or it can decide that the appropriate authority should do so on its own behalf or that the appropriate authority or another force should investigate as directed by the IOPC. Paragraph 15 of Schedule 3 of the 2002 Act specifically sets this out. Other requirements on the IOPC are set out elsewhere in the 2002 Act and in the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020.

What steps she is taking to tackle hate crime against LGBTQ+ people.

There is no excuse for violence or abuse driven by hatred and discrimination, and we support the police in taking strong action against those crimes.We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes, including those which target sexual orientation and transgender identity.The Government is carefully considering our next steps to tackle the full range of hate crime offences, and we have committed to ensuring parity of protection under aggravated offences.The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal called True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We are also continuing to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime.

Whether she has plans to allocate additional funding to fire and rescue services to improve their wildfire and flood response rates.

Government funding for fire and rescue services is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Local Government Finance Settlement in the form of revenue support grant (RSG) and retained business rates. As a recommendation in phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Prime Minister has announced a Machinery of Government change, which will see all responsibility for fire and rescue transfer to MHCLG from 1st April. Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Additionally, Government supports fire and rescue authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capability comprising 45 HVPs. These are available to be used by fire & rescue services across the country during major flood incidents. The Government maintains regular engagement with the National Fire Chiefs Council to monitor and review sector led improvements to wildfire response and mitigation. In addition, the Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.

Whether her Department has plans to introduce dedicated capital investment funding for fire and rescue services to help improve (a) infrastructure, (b) fleet renewal and (c) training facilities.

Government funding for fire and rescue services is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Local Government Finance Settlement in the form of revenue support grant (RSG) and retained business rates. As a recommendation in phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Prime Minister has announced a Machinery of Government change, which will see all responsibility for fire and rescue transfer to MHCLG from 1st April.

What steps the Government is taking to improve the finances of fire and rescue services.

Government funding for fire and rescue services is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Local Government Finance Settlement in the form of revenue support grant (RSG) and retained business rates. MHCLG published the Final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 on 3 February 2025 which sets out grant allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. Standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of up to £65.5 million in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25. Officials will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of funding provided to Gloucestershire Constabulary for the 2024-25 financial year on frontline policing; and if she will take steps to increase that level of funding.

Gloucestershire Police received funding of up to £158 million in 2024-25. This is in addition to £1.3m provided for the 2024-25 pay award which was allocated outside of the police funding settlement.In 2025-26, Gloucestershire will receive up to £168.2m, an increase of £10.1m compared to last year’s settlement. This represents a 6.4% cash increase and 3.9% real terms increase.The 2025-26 funding settlement provides new funding of £200 million to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers and special constables.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of funding provided to Gloucestershire Constabulary for the 2024-25 financial year on the effectiveness of frontline policing in Gloucestershire; and if she will take steps to increase that level of funding.

Gloucestershire Police’s received funding up to £158 million in 2024-25. This was in addition to £1.3m provided for the 2024-25 pay award which was allocated outside of the police funding settlement.In 2025-26, Gloucestershire will receive up to £168.2m, an increase of £10.1m compared to last year’s settlement. This represents a 6.4% cash increase and 3.9% real terms increase.The 2025-26 funding settlement provides new funding of £200 million to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers and special constables.