Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much additional funding her Department plans to provide to Avon and Somerset Police as part of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2025-2028.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This financial year the Home Office has provided the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (£450,000). The National Rural Crime Unit assists all police forces, including Avon and Somerset, in tackling rural crime.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2025-2028 is a vital step in our mission to deliver safer streets everywhere and comes as we give the police new powers to take on the organised criminal gangs targeting the agricultural sector.
As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales. Of this, Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 for an increase of 70 police officers.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of making wildlife crimes notifiable offences; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of doing so on (a) data collection and (b) the monitoring of wildlife crime trends.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.
There are no plans currently to make all wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to police can be investigated as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime including gathering intelligence from a number of organisations to determine the wildlife crime priorities.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to extend visas issued under the Ukraine Extension Scheme beyond the initial three-year period.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We are mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead, for example if remaining in the UK, entering into rental agreements and living here independently. As a result, we actively keep the Ukraine schemes under consistent review.
The UK Government stands with Ukraine and firmly believes that Ukraine will be safe again. When it’s safe to do so, Ukraine will need the repatriation of its citizens to help recover and rebuild their economy and infrastructure.