Written questions by Dhesi.

What steps her Department is taking to support policing in Anguilla.

Working in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the Home Office continues to provide a range of support to the Royal Anguilla Police Force (RAPF) and this has included development of Anguilla’s crime scene investigation capabilities. Additional training on strengthening Anguilla’s international ports of entry has also been provided to RAPF, Anguilla’s Immigration Department and Customs Department.

What percentage of reported incidents of shoplifting result in a (a) suspect being arrested and (b) prosecution being authorised by the CPS.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting and bicycle theft offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes a breakdown of those where a suspect has been charged. However, the data held centrally does not provide a breakdown on whether the police have made a charging decision themselves or had it authorised by the CPS.The data is published every quarter as official statistics and the latest can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of people arrested for shoplifting or bicycle theft.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stop-and-search-arrests-and-mental-health-detentions-march-2024However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘theft offences’, and further details are not provided.

What percentage of reported bicycle thefts result in a (a) suspect being arrested and (b) prosecution being authorised by the CPS.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting and bicycle theft offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes a breakdown of those where a suspect has been charged. However, the data held centrally does not provide a breakdown on whether the police have made a charging decision themselves or had it authorised by the CPS.The data is published every quarter as official statistics and the latest can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of people arrested for shoplifting or bicycle theft.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stop-and-search-arrests-and-mental-health-detentions-march-2024However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘theft offences’, and further details are not provided.

How their Department defines strategy.

The definition is detailed in the Functional Standards Common Glossary, which is published on the gov.uk website.

What recent steps has she taken to help tackle crime in (a) Slough constituency and (b) Thames Valley region.

This Government has put prevention front and centre of our plans to improve the lives of people across the United Kingdom. The Safer Streets Mission is the vehicle to drive delivery across Government to halve violence against women and girls, halve knife crime, and restore confidence in the policing and justice system.As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, the Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This includes delivering an additional 13,000 police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles up and down the country and ensuring every community has a named officer to turn to. Every part of the country needs to benefit from this pledge and that includes Slough and the Thames Valley region.Finally, we are committed to intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime, improving opportunities for children, and the mental health of young people. An essential part of achieving this will be the delivery of the Young Futures Programme. This will consist of the creation of Prevention Partnerships in every area and a network of Young Futures Hubs which will support young people, including those identified by Prevention Partnerships, with early adopters commencing in financial year 25/26.

What steps she is taking to reduce levels of drug offences in Slough constituency.

Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority for this Government and is part of our mission to drive down crime and antisocial behaviour.An additional £267 million in drug and alcohol treatment is being invested into services this year to improve quality and capacity, which has the potential to reduce crime and reoffending.As part of the Government’s work to reduce drug-related harms and crime, every area in England has a dedicated Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP). Slough sits within Berkshire, where the Government has supported the establishment of a Berkshire Combating Drugs Partnership to help bring together key local partners to address drug related-crime, drug use and drug deaths, in line with local context and need. Between March 2022 and August 2024 there has been an increase of 72 treatment places in Slough.Broader work across the county to reduce drug offences has included targeting drug treatment referrals at offenders. As well as continuing work with the National Police Chiefs Council to increase police referrals into drug treatment.We are committed to reducing drug offences in supply of illicit drugs. Recent police activity on County Lines has resulted in over 5,100 drug dealing line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. In addition, we are working continuously to disrupt the organised criminal gangs behind the importation and supply of drugs in the UK.

What steps they are taking to use (a) artificial intelligence and (b) data to help increase their Department's productivity.

The Home Office manages directly, and on behalf of operational partners, significant data assets measured in the tens of billions of rows of data and millions of data subjects. This data is used every day to deliver public services, manage performance and deliver insight into policies. Its careful use, including sharing with key partners, supports the delivery of the government’s objectives as a whole.We are moving much of this data off legacy systems, including some up to 50 years old, and on to modern platforms. This is enabling improvement in the productivity of key operational activities, better performance management and improved strategic analysis. This is part of a broader programme of technology-enabled business change that supports productivity enhancements, through optimising business processes and improving safe and secure access to the data that staff need to perform their roles.We already make use of well-established artificial intelligence and automation enabled systems within the Home Office to improve business delivery as part of overall digital improvements in the department. In addition, we are running a small number of Generative AI trials to test their potential for productivity and quality improvements. These are supported by changes in our processes and policies, to ensure appropriate guidance and controls are in place for responsible adoption.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the number of hoax calls to the emergency services.

Making a hoax phone call to the emergency services is a criminal offence. All calls to the emergency services are recorded and the number can be traced, even if withheld. Local services regularly remind the public of the serious consequences of hoax calls.Emergency services may also request a Communications Provider to place a temporary restriction on the account of the hoax/nuisance caller. However, contact management, including the management of hoax calls, is an operational matter for services.There are existing mechanisms in place for emergency services to share information on hoax callers. The decision to share data and take or request further action is an operational one for services.

If she will take steps to improve information sharing between emergency services on hoax callers.

Making a hoax phone call to the emergency services is a criminal offence. All calls to the emergency services are recorded and the number can be traced, even if withheld. Local services regularly remind the public of the serious consequences of hoax calls.Emergency services may also request a Communications Provider to place a temporary restriction on the account of the hoax/nuisance caller. However, contact management, including the management of hoax calls, is an operational matter for services.There are existing mechanisms in place for emergency services to share information on hoax callers. The decision to share data and take or request further action is an operational one for services.

What steps she is taking to reduce instances of post traumatic stress disorder within the (a) police and (b) fire service.

(a) PolicingThe Government has been clear that the wellbeing of our police is a priority, and we want to ensure that all police officers and staff have the appropriate support in place to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public. Chief Constables have a responsibility to manage their workforce effectively and this includes ensuring the wellbeing of all officers and staff.Through the Police Covenant, and led by the Chief Medical Officer, all forces now meet the new Occupational Health foundation level standards. We also continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers, including guidance on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Policing. The NPWS is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it, including trauma support.(b)FireResponsibility for health and wellbeing ultimately rests with Fire and Rescue Services.The National Fire Chiefs Council’s Health and Wellbeing lead has established a health and wellbeing board to drive positive change across the sector which focuses on prevention, early intervention and support for individuals. The Home Office supports the board’s work

What the average cost is of hoax calls made to the (a) police and (b) fire service.

The Home Office does not hold this data.

How many surrender bins there were during the knife amnesty between 26 August 2024 and 23 September 2024.

Between 26 August 2024 and 23 September 2024, the Government ran a surrender and compensation scheme to allow owners of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes to surrender them and claim compensation before these weapons became prohibited by law on 24 September 2024.All police force areas in England and Wales designated specific police stations where weapons could be surrendered, and a list of the designated police stations was published at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66c8a1f099faef7c8c117834/Zombie-Style_Knives_-_List_of_Designated_Police_Stations.pdfThis Government is working with its new Coalition to tackle knife crime on the design of future surrender and compensation schemes.The scheme required those surrendering a weapon to attend a designated police station where a staff member or police officer would take control of the weapon, and if the person was claiming compensation, their details would be taken.

If she will make an estimate of the number of knives that were surrendered during the knife amnesty between 26 August 2024 and 23 September 2024.

We will be shortly publishing the outcome of the surrender and compensationscheme for zombie style knives and machetes. This will include the numbers surrendered under the scheme.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime in Slough.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, and we are taking immediate action to tackle the scourge of serious violence on our streets. We have implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and machetes, outlawing the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of those lethal blades, and we will go further – with a consultation on the ban of ninja swords being launched shortly.We will also create a new Young Futures programme – with new Prevention Partnerships and youth hubs so we can intervene earlier to prevent at-risk young people from being drawn into violent crime.The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime, and we will set out more detail on this in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to help prevent the (a) distribution and (b) use of synthetic opioids.

The Government takes seriously the threat from potent synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, and is taking action to disrupt this deadly trade. Reducing drug harms has important benefits for public health and for the Government’s mission to deliver safer streets.The HMG Synthetic Opioids Taskforce is working with partner agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Department for Health and Social Care and the National Police Chiefs Council to deliver an evidence-based response to the level of risk posed by synthetic opioids and implement a range of policies and mitigations to counter the distribution and use of these dangerous substances.To stem the supply of illicit synthetic opioids to and within the UK, the NCA, Police and Border Force are working together to ensure all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued. This involves mapping and targeting key offenders, including those operating within dark web markets.Additionally, to support people with drug dependency who may be at risk of synthetic opioid harm, £267 million has been invested in drug and alcohol treatment this year, improving the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment services in England.The unlawful sale of controlled drugs online is listed as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act, meaning that under this legislation, technology companies must proactively remove this type of content from their platforms and use proportionate systems designed to minimise the risk of users from encountering such content.

What steps she is taking to prevent the sale of (a) illegal and (b) prescription drugs on dark web marketplaces.

The Government takes seriously the threat from potent synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, and is taking action to disrupt this deadly trade. Reducing drug harms has important benefits for public health and for the Government’s mission to deliver safer streets.The HMG Synthetic Opioids Taskforce is working with partner agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Department for Health and Social Care and the National Police Chiefs Council to deliver an evidence-based response to the level of risk posed by synthetic opioids and implement a range of policies and mitigations to counter the distribution and use of these dangerous substances.To stem the supply of illicit synthetic opioids to and within the UK, the NCA, Police and Border Force are working together to ensure all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued. This involves mapping and targeting key offenders, including those operating within dark web markets.Additionally, to support people with drug dependency who may be at risk of synthetic opioid harm, £267 million has been invested in drug and alcohol treatment this year, improving the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment services in England.The unlawful sale of controlled drugs online is listed as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act, meaning that under this legislation, technology companies must proactively remove this type of content from their platforms and use proportionate systems designed to minimise the risk of users from encountering such content.

What recent steps she has taken to support (a) the police and (b) local authorities in tackling antisocial behaviour.

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 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.The Government recognises that effective multi-agency working is crucial to reducing anti-social behaviour and ensuring safer communities. We will continue to work with police, local authorities, NPCC, LGA and the voluntary sector to identify and share best practice.

What assessment she has made of the current availability of fire appliances in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to determine how to allocate funding based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances, including the availability of fire appliances. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.