Found: The Home Secretary has today tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to provide for replacement

Found: Whilst we understand the opportunity the Crime and Policing Bill offers, we are carefully considering

Found: Chair: I have an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill on the issue of parental rights for offenders

Found: CPB0024 - Crime and Policing Bill Youth Justice Board Written Evidence

Found: CPB0023 - Crime and Policing Bill Justice Written Evidence

Found: services and cost savings 47Conclusions and recommendations 48 Annex 1: Draft amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: and cost savings 78 Conclusions and recommendations 80 Annex 1: Draft amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Joint Committee on Human Rights Uncorrected oral evidence: Crime and Policing Bill, HC 830 Wednesday

Found: With the Crime and Policing Bill currently before the House, there is an opportunity to act now.

Found: As part of the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing stronger powers for police to seize the

Found: and Sex Education lessons can significantly reduce violence in partner relationships 13 Crime and Policing Bill

Found: CPB0021 - Crime and Policing Bill Amnesty UK Written Evidence

Found: CPB0020 - Crime and Policing Bill University of Birmingham Written Evidence

Found: CPB0019 - Crime and Policing Bill Amnesty International UK Written Evidence

Found: CPB0022 - Crime and Policing Bill Mandate Now Written Evidence

Found: CPB0016 - Crime and Policing Bill Southall Black Sisters (SBS) Written Evidence

Found: CPB0017 - Crime and Policing Bill Northumbria Law School Written Evidence

Found: CPB0018 - Crime and Policing Bill Transition to Adulthood Alliance Written Evidence

Found: CPB0010 - Crime and Policing Bill Redress Written Evidence

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) shoplifting in Wythall.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including delivery of a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to the police and other relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to tackle persistent adult ASB offenders, and extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 to 72 hours. Other measures in the Bill include enhancing the powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.

In the same bill, we are repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried in a magistrate’s court, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. In addition, we have brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

The Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence, and anti-social behaviour. West Mercia police will receive £1,000,000 of this funding.

We will continue to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers. We will provide £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.

We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft. The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help disrupt county lines operations in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the drug gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation. That is why we are investing £42m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.

Between July 2024 and March 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 1,200 deal lines closed, 2,000 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 800 deal line holders) and 2,100 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people. Over 320 children and young people also received dedicated specialist support through the County Lines Programme support service in that time.

While the the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which affects all forces. That is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Lincolnshire Police.

The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) also regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 25 November to 1 December 2024. During this period, law enforcement activity delivered by Lincolnshire Police resulted in 18 individual arrests, and £10,000 in cash and £33,000 worth of drugs being seized.

As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we have introduced a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring children into violent crime. We are also introducing a new criminal offence of ‘coerced internal concealment’ as an amendment to the Bill, which will crack down on the dangerous practice of anyone, including gang leaders, who forces people to hide items inside their bodies to avoid detection often as part of horrendous and exploitative drugs trade.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shop theft in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 20% on year up to December 2024. We will not stand for this.

We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers.

We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried a magistrate’s court. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.

The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime in Nottinghamshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and we are determined to tackle the scourge of serious knife crime on our streets.

To date, we have implemented a ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August 2025. We will also be running an extended surrender scheme in July to allow knives and offensive weapons to be handed in safely and securely. Limiting the availability and accessibility of knives and dangerous and illegal weapons is a central part of our work.

To that end, we have also announced “Ronan’s Law”, following an independent review into online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, the national policing lead on knife crime, which set out a range of measures including strengthening age verification and delivery checks and reporting bulk sales to the police. These changes are now included in the Crime and Policing Bill currently passing through Parliament.

In the Crime and Policing Bill, we are also increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and providing the police with a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

In Nottinghamshire, the Government has allocated c.£1.5m for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

Through our Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in Nottinghamshire, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £1.1m available to the Nottinghamshire VRU this year.

This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, such as youth workers in custody, school and community settings, sports programmes, mentoring, healthy relationships programmes, and intensive cognitive behavioural therapies for individuals involved in or at risk of serious violence, to divert young people away from crime.

A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £139k available to Nottinghamshire.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has with representative bodies to ensure that plans to provide protection from assault to front-line retail workers include (a) bank and (b) building society staff.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

My officials have met with UK Finance and Barclays Bank to discuss the issue of assaults on bank and building society staff, which is an issue we also take extremely seriously.

Assaults against workers in the bank and building society sectors are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle car theft in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to reduce vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible. I have recently met the NPCC vehicle crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, as well as other law enforcement representatives and representatives from industry, to discuss how we work together to tackle these damaging crimes.

Working with the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

In the Crime and Policing Bill we also have banned electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to ensure their vehicles as secure as possible.

In addition, we provided £250,000 funding in the financial year 2024-25 to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including providing additional staff and specialist equipment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, ⁠what guidance her Department has provided to (a) police officers and (b) security personnel on interacting with people wearing face coverings that obscure identity in public places.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 provides a power for police officers to demand the removal of disguises in certain circumstances to prevent crime. In addition, if the officer believes that someone is wearing an item for the purpose of concealing identity there is also a power to seize such items.

Statutory guidance on the use of this power is set out in Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The College of Policing is responsible for providing operational guidance to police on the use of their powers.

We will also use the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a new offence to use a face covering to conceal identity in an area the police assess a protest is likely to occur that may involve the commission of offences.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had discussions with counter-terrorism police on the potential impact of full-face coverings in public settings on national security.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has regular and routine discussions with counter-terrorism policing on a wide range of national security issues.

The Crime and Policing Bill contains a new criminal offence of wearing, or otherwise using, an item that conceals identity in an area designated by police due to the risk of criminal activity taking place at protests. This will enable the police to put a stop to individuals hiding behind masks to avoid conviction for criminal activity at protests.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle aggressive begging.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Begging is a complex issue, though where it causes a nuisance or distress to communities, local areas need appropriate tools to maintain community safety.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 already provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers to respond to ASB, including ASB that occurs in the context of begging.

The Home Office will be updating their statutory guidance to ensure it is clear to agencies how ASB powers could be used in this context if an individual’s aggressive begging reaches the ASB threshold. The Home Office have also introduced measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to tackle exploitative organised begging facilitated by others.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with police forces on tackling phone theft.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary has been clear that tackling mobile phone theft is a priority.

On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, local government representatives, leading technology companies and others to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves. The Summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the problem, better understand the role of organised crime networks and identify the most effective means of tackling these crimes.

The Home Office continues to regularly engage with the police and other stakeholders to progress work to tackle this criminality and the Home Secretary will reconvene this group shortly to agree further actions.

Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will place thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles to provide a more visible and effective service to the public, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues, including the theft of mobile phones.

In addition, the Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property that has been electronically geo-location tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) affordability checks and (b) the harmonisation of gambling duties on levels of black market gambling.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the important contribution horseracing and the wider sports sector makes to the national economy and cultural life. We remain committed to engagement with stakeholders across the sector with a view to bolstering and protecting this contribution.

Future proposals on Gambling Duties are a matter for HMT, and we would encourage all interested parties to engage with ongoing consultations on the matter, which runs until the 21st of July. Ministerial engagement has taken place between DCMS and HMT, and should legislative changes come about following this consultation, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.

A new system for financial risk assessments is currently being piloted by the Gambling Commission. Stage 1 of the pilot showed that 95% of checks were frictionless and this increased to 97% of checks in stage 2.

We are working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of harmonising gambling duties on (a) horseracing and (b) other sports.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the important contribution horseracing and the wider sports sector makes to the national economy and cultural life. We remain committed to engagement with stakeholders across the sector with a view to bolstering and protecting this contribution.

Future proposals on Gambling Duties are a matter for HMT, and we would encourage all interested parties to engage with ongoing consultations on the matter, which runs until the 21st of July. Ministerial engagement has taken place between DCMS and HMT, and should legislative changes come about following this consultation, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.

A new system for financial risk assessments is currently being piloted by the Gambling Commission. Stage 1 of the pilot showed that 95% of checks were frictionless and this increased to 97% of checks in stage 2.

We are working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating the registration of Sex Offenders under the Sexual Offenders Act 2003 to include a private police record of (a) email address, (b) telephone numbers, (c) (i) registration and (ii) monitoring of any tablet and computer devices and (d) other information.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Crime and Policing Bill has already introduced a number of measures which will strengthen the management of sex offenders, including requiring registered sex offenders to provide notification in advance of changing their name and placing restrictions on certain offenders changing their name without seeking police authorisation.

In addition to the above measures, regulations will be made under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which expand the notifiable information that must be provided by registered sex offenders. The additional notifiable information will include:

• Change of gender;
• Changes in the cohabitants at their home address;
• Telephone numbers;
• Email addresses;
• Details of any employment, self-employment or voluntary positions;
• User-to-user internet service accounts (e.g., social media or dating app accounts); and
• Details of all identity documents held.

The changes to the notifiable information will allow the police to monitor registered sex offenders more closely and protect the public from the risk of sexual harm. We will continue to keep this area under review as we formulate our long term strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 54073 on Anti-social Behaviour: Lancashire, what performance indicators will be used to measure the effectiveness of additional policing resources in reducing anti-social behaviour in town centres.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to monitoring and evaluating the delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and have worked collaboratively with policing to agree a full performance framework for the Guarantee and its five pillars. To monitor the crackdown on anti-social behaviour we will be measuring public perceptions and experience of ASB in their local area, how many dedicated lead officers there are for ASB, presence of ASB action plans, police recorded incidents of ASB and police use of ASB powers. The performance framework is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-policing-guarantee-performance-framework

As part of their Hotspot Action Fund grant agreement forces are required to return precise data returns outlining the times spent patrolling ASB hotspots. This data is used by Home Office analysts to understand levels of patrolling and impact on volumes of ASB. Forces are also required to return data on the work they are undertaking as part of Hotspot Action Fund to problem solve the causes of ASB in their identified hotspots.

The Respect Order was introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on persistent anti-social behaviour and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres. We will be piloting Respect Orders in police force areas prior to national rollout. Its use will be monitored to ensure that they are as effective as possible.

In addition, through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government will be introducing a duty for key relevant agencies including local authorities to report ASB data to the Government.

Following commencement, regulations will be laid to specify which data the relevant agencies should provide, and the form and regularity of submission. This will improve the national data on how powers are being used and why, allow better monitoring of targeted ASB interventions, and help to inform future government work to tackle ASB. Additionally, a wide range of police data is already collected through the Home Office’s Annual Data Requirement. From April 2025, this includes data on police use of ASB powers in the 2014 Act. This is initially on a voluntary basis and subject to data quality, will be made mandatory from April 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 54073 on Anti-social Behaviour: Lancashire, how the effectiveness of the Respect Order in tackling persistent anti-social behaviour in town centres will be evaluated.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to monitoring and evaluating the delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and have worked collaboratively with policing to agree a full performance framework for the Guarantee and its five pillars. To monitor the crackdown on anti-social behaviour we will be measuring public perceptions and experience of ASB in their local area, how many dedicated lead officers there are for ASB, presence of ASB action plans, police recorded incidents of ASB and police use of ASB powers. The performance framework is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-policing-guarantee-performance-framework

As part of their Hotspot Action Fund grant agreement forces are required to return precise data returns outlining the times spent patrolling ASB hotspots. This data is used by Home Office analysts to understand levels of patrolling and impact on volumes of ASB. Forces are also required to return data on the work they are undertaking as part of Hotspot Action Fund to problem solve the causes of ASB in their identified hotspots.

The Respect Order was introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on persistent anti-social behaviour and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres. We will be piloting Respect Orders in police force areas prior to national rollout. Its use will be monitored to ensure that they are as effective as possible.

In addition, through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government will be introducing a duty for key relevant agencies including local authorities to report ASB data to the Government.

Following commencement, regulations will be laid to specify which data the relevant agencies should provide, and the form and regularity of submission. This will improve the national data on how powers are being used and why, allow better monitoring of targeted ASB interventions, and help to inform future government work to tackle ASB. Additionally, a wide range of police data is already collected through the Home Office’s Annual Data Requirement. From April 2025, this includes data on police use of ASB powers in the 2014 Act. This is initially on a voluntary basis and subject to data quality, will be made mandatory from April 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standalone offense of assaulting a retail worker that includes (a) bank and (b) building society workers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has also introduced a specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years, and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is provided to police officers to help (a) identify and (b) handle illegally modified e-bikes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The training provided to police officers to help identity and handle illegally modified e-bikes is an operational matter for Chief Officers of police forces.

The Government announced proposals in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen existing powers to clamp down on vehicles, including illegally modified electric bikes, involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially, or which have been ridden without insurance or a driving licence, from 14 days to 48 hours and 7 days respectively. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) her Department's proposals on gambling harmonisation and (b) affordability checks on levels of black market gambling.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is consulting on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one – reducing complexity and improving compliance.

A new system for financial risk assessments is currently being piloted by the Gambling Commission. Stage 1 of the pilot showed that 95% of checks were frictionless and this increased to 97% of checks in stage 2.

DCMS works closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with powers to move quickly and effectively to take down illegal gambling websites.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to protect girls and young women from the impact of sexualised AI deepfakes.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Sharing or threatening to share a deepfake intimate image without consent is illegal. Synthetically created content is regulated by the Online Safety Act where it is shared on an in-scope service and is illegal content or content harmful to children. Government is also legislating to ban the non-consensual creation of sexualised deepfakes in the Data (Use and Access) Bill.

Where a sexualised deepfake is of a child this is child sexual abuse material and is illegal, and Government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models optimised to create this content.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle (a) low level and (b) county lines drug dealing.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle all drug supply, including gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. That is why we are investing £42m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.

From July 2024 to March 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 1,200 deal lines closed, 2,000 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 800 deal line holders) and 2,100 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people. Over 320 children and young people also received dedicated specialist support through the County Lines Programme support service in that time.

As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we have introduced a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. We are also introducing a new criminal offence of ‘coerced internal concealment’ as an amendment to the Bill, which will crack down on the dangerous practice of anyone, including gang leaders, who force people to hide items inside their bodies to avoid detection often as part of horrendous and exploitative drugs trade.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to give powers to the police to tackle illegally modified exhausts for (a) cars and (b) motorcycles.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Any form of anti-social, dangerous or inconsiderate behaviour involving vehicles is a serious issue.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.

On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

This will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial vehicles will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty on the part of (a) therapists and (b) other mental health professionals to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on child abuse convictions.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.

The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.

The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.

As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.

We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on dissuading offenders unknown to the police from coming forward for psychiatric treatment.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.

The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.

The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.

As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.

We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Bill on levels of trauma in children who are not (a) ready and (b) willing to report such abuses.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse considered such issues very carefully in the course of compiling its report to Government, and concluded that a mandatory reporting law was necessary to improve the protection of children and young people.

The Crime and Policing Bill will establish a clear, consistent requirement that allegations of child sexual abuse are shared promptly with appropriate safeguarding agencies, who are best placed to consider it further and take appropriate action to safeguard and support the child involved where necessary.

The Government already sets clear expectations through statutory and non-statutory guidance that those engaging with children should make an immediate referral to the relevant local authority children’s social care or the police if they are concerned about a child.

As they are now, impacted services will be responsible for explaining the detail and limitations of their confidentiality policies to their service users, including children and young people. Setting out a clear explanation of the need to pass certain concerns on to appropriate authorities should not undermine trusted relationships, or dissuade people from accessing the services they need.

We will be working with regulators and professional standards-setting bodies to ensure the new duty is clearly communicated ahead of implementation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with Police and Crime Commissioners on tackling vehicle nuisance in residential areas.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Any form of anti-social, dangerous or inconsiderate behaviour involving vehicles is a serious issue.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.

On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

This will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial vehicles will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to give the police increased powers to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.

Unlike the existing Civil Injunction, which the Respect Order partially replaces, breach will be a criminal offence, enforceable by arrest and tried in the criminal court. Penalty for breach will include community sentences, unlimited fines, and prison time for the most serious breaches.

We are also introducing, through the Crime and Policing Bill, the following measures:

• Removing the requirement for a police officer to issue a warning before seizing a motor-vehicle being used to cause ASB.
• Extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 hours to 72 hours, with a mandatory review at 48 hours.
• Increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breaches of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) or a Community Protection Notice (CPN) from £100 to £500.
• Extending the timeframe that relevant agencies can apply to a magistrates’ court for a closure order from 48 hours after service of a closure notice to 72 hours.
• Extending the power to issue closure notices to registered social housing providers.
• Extending the powers available under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) to allow CSAS officers to issue fixed penalty notices for breach of CPNs and PSPOs.
• Creating a duty for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to promote awareness of the ASB Case Review in their police force area and provide a route for victims to query decisions via their office.

Introducing new ASB data reporting requirements by creating a power for the Home Secretary to make regulations requiring local bodies, such as councils and social housing providers, to report specified ASB data to the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on the number of instances where police have been unable to disclose (a) cautions and (b) convictions for child sexual offences to voluntary youth organisations due to legal restrictions.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme was introduced in 2011 and allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child. The police guidance for the Scheme was updated in April 2023, which both modernised the Scheme and also formalised the process by which the police can make proactive disclosures when they are in receipt of information about a risk to a child or children without the need for an application by a member of the public.

The police have the common law power to disclose information about an individual where it is necessary to do so to protect another individual from harm. The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, including its proactive disclosure route, does not replace statutory safeguarding processes in place – such as the Disclosure and Barring Service, Subject Access requests, or Freedom of Information requests – and relevant referrals will still need to be made as required.

That being said, through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are working to place the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme on a statutory footing. This will ensure that police officers follow published guidance as they consider the disclosure of information when they suspect someone might pose a risk of sexual harm.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the threshold is for police to make a proactive disclosure under the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme in the absence of a named child at immediate risk; and if she will review that threshold in the context of voluntary youth organisations.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme was introduced in 2011 and allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child. The police guidance for the Scheme was updated in April 2023, which both modernised the Scheme and also formalised the process by which the police can make proactive disclosures when they are in receipt of information about a risk to a child or children without the need for an application by a member of the public.

The police have the common law power to disclose information about an individual where it is necessary to do so to protect another individual from harm. The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, including its proactive disclosure route, does not replace statutory safeguarding processes in place – such as the Disclosure and Barring Service, Subject Access requests, or Freedom of Information requests – and relevant referrals will still need to be made as required.

That being said, through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are working to place the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme on a statutory footing. This will ensure that police officers follow published guidance as they consider the disclosure of information when they suspect someone might pose a risk of sexual harm.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to create national guidelines for preventing adult grooming.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government is taking a range of actions to prevent the grooming and exploitation of vulnerable adults.

To tackle criminal exploitation, we are introducing a new cuckooing offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to target criminals who groom and exploit vulnerable people in order to take over their homes for criminal purposes. We are also introducing a new offence of coerced internal concealment to address the appalling practice whereby criminals exploit children and vulnerable adults to cause them to internally conceal items such as drugs for criminal purposes. Both offences will be supported by statutory guidance for police as well as non-statutory multi-agency guidance which will include information on preventative action to protect those at risk of these terrible forms of adult grooming and exploitation.

In terms of adult grooming for sexual exploitation, we are working closely with police and others to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through law enforcement operational intensifications aimed at tackling modern slavery threats and targeting prolific perpetrators.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55229 on Electric Bicycles: Sales, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to implement a cross-Government strategy on tackling illegally modified electric bikes.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department believes a cross-Government strategy on illegally modified e-cycles is not needed.

E-cycles, including those that have been modified, can only be legally used on the roads where they comply in full with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Unit has a market surveillance unit and has the powers to act against retailers selling non-complaint e-cycles.

Where such e-cycles are used on the roads, the police have powers to seize them. The powers for the police to act are being strengthened in the Crime and Policing Bill, with the police no longer required to provide a warning before seizing any vehicle, including an e-cycle, where it is being used anti-socially.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce antisocial behaviour in town centres in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver an additional personnel into neighbourhood policing . Lancashire Constabulary has been allocated £5,090,296 and will deliver an increase of 53 police officers and 30 PCSOs by 31 March 2026.

​These officers will be equipped with tougher powers, such as the Respect Order, which was introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on persistent anti-social behaviour and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres. Other measures in the Bill include enhancing the powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.

The Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. Lancashire Police will receive £1,713,512 of this funding.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps has she taken with the relevant authorities to reduce car and other road vehicle theft in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible. I have recently met the NPCC vehicle crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, as well as other law enforcement representatives and representatives from industry, to discuss how we work together to tackle these damaging crimes.

Working with the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

We are adding to the armoury the police have to drive down vehicle theft. In the Crime and Policing Bill we have banned electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to make their vehicles as secure as possible.

In addition, we provided £250,000 funding in the financial year 2024-25 to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including providing additional staff and specialist equipment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will include retail delivery drivers within the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling retail crime. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Assaults against delivery drivers are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those delivering goods to customers and other public-facing roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent dangerous car racing.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.

On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, including dangerous street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

This will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial street racing will not be tolerated.

Excess speed is a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads and anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanctions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the safety of retail delivery drivers when they are carrying out government-mandated enforcement checks with customers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling retail crime. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Assaults against delivery drivers are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those delivering goods to customers and other public-facing roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) support and (b) guidance provided to local authorities on the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders to prevent the use of disposable barbecues in areas at high risk of wildfire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB), including the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.

PSPOs may be put in place by a local authority to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. This may include for example a prohibition on use of barbecues in a specific location.

Failing to comply with a requirement of a PSPO is a criminal offence. Depending on the behaviour in question, the enforcing officer could decide a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) would be the most appropriate sanction. As set out in legislation, FPNs have a fixed upper limit of £100. Provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill will increase the upper limit for breach of a PSPO to £500.

The Home Office publishes statutory guidance for frontline professionals on the use of the powers in the 2014 Act. The guidance is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6422a19b60a35e00120cae63/2023_Update_ASB_Statutory_Guidance_-_FINAL__1_.pdf

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the use of illegally modified electric bikes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Ministers and officials meet with their counterparts on a regular basis and discuss a wide range of topics.

The police have powers under the Police Reform Act 2002 to deal with vehicles being used anti-socially and under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to deal with vehicles being ridden without insurance or driving licence. How the police use these powers is an operational matter.

The Government announced proposals in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen existing powers to clamp down on vehicles, including illegally modified electric bikes, involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially and which have been ridden without insurance or a driving licence from 14 days to 48 hours and 7 days respectively. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the powers the police have to prevent the use of illegally modified electric bikes that do not conform to regulations on roads.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Ministers and officials meet with their counterparts on a regular basis and discuss a wide range of topics.

The police have powers under the Police Reform Act 2002 to deal with vehicles being used anti-socially and under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to deal with vehicles being ridden without insurance or driving licence. How the police use these powers is an operational matter.

The Government announced proposals in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen existing powers to clamp down on vehicles, including illegally modified electric bikes, involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially and which have been ridden without insurance or a driving licence from 14 days to 48 hours and 7 days respectively. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of (a) electric bikes and (b) e-scooters by youth gangs involved in (i) drug dealing, (ii) theft and (iii) anti-social behaviour.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.

Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially from 14 days to 48 hours. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. This includes funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help reduce the number of shoplifting offences in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue funding a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers.

We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will end the effective immunity for shop theft of and below £200 sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

I chair regular meetings of the Retail Crime Forum, which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers promote collaboration, share best practice, and work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft – Tackling Retail Crime Together.

The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the online exploitation of children; and whether she plans to increase funding for police cybercrime units.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are committed to taking robust action across Government to better safeguard children from all forms of abuse, including online exploitation, and to ensure that perpetrators of abuse face the full force of the law.

It is crucial that police and law enforcement have the capabilities and skills to effectively tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation, and engage sensitively with children, victims and survivors.

The Home Office continues to invest in a network of Undercover Online Officers in Regional Organised Crime Units who deploy online to identify and pursue offenders seeking to sexually exploit children. In addition, Home Office funding supports both the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, and GCHQ’s aim to significantly reduce harm to children by addressing the volume and scope of online offending and helping to bring offenders to justice. The Home Office has also developed the world-leading Child Abuse Image Database (CAID), in collaboration with the police and other partners, using cutting-edge technology, including AI tools, to help identify and safeguard victims of online exploitation and abuse.

To ensure we keep pace with changes in technology, under the Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a suite of new measures to keep children safe online by tackling the growing threat of Artificially-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). In addition, the Online Safety Act protects citizens – especially children – by placing new duties on tech companies to address priority illegal content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse. This Government will continue to proactively review legislation, and we will not hesitate to legislate further to ensure the protection of children online.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in communities in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

​The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.

These officers will be equipped with tougher powers, such as the Respect Order, which was introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on ASB and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.

The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles.

The Home Office is also providing £66.3m funding this financial year (2025-26) to police forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime and ASB. Avon and Somerset Police will receive £1,641,063 of this funding.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support community groups in Milton Keynes to prevent youth involvement in violent crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Milton Keynes, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in Thames Valley, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including representatives from local education institutions and from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.

In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing £1.5m in grant funding to Thames Valley VRU, alongside £280k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.

This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, which includes continuation of a Focussed Deterrence intervention in Milton Keynes. This project will be targeted at young people who carry knives and providing them with tailored multi-agency support to desist from violence, alongside enforcement measures. Funding will also support the development and roll out of training for parents, schools and community groups in Thames Valley on the signs of criminal exploitation, in order that young people at risk are identified and supported.

Alongside investment in local violence prevention approaches, we are also committed to removing weapons from our streets. Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime. Last year 16,066 stop and searches led to offensive weapons or firearms being found and taken off our streets.

On 24 September 2024 we implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and from 1 August 2025 it will also be illegal to sell or own ninja swords. We have announced “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives including strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage age verification system at the point of purchase and on delivery, and we are also intending to consult later this year on a registration scheme for online sellers of knives.

With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support schools in Milton Keynes in delivering anti-violence education programmes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Milton Keynes, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in Thames Valley, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including representatives from local education institutions and from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.

In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing £1.5m in grant funding to Thames Valley VRU, alongside £280k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.

This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, which includes continuation of a Focussed Deterrence intervention in Milton Keynes. This project will be targeted at young people who carry knives and providing them with tailored multi-agency support to desist from violence, alongside enforcement measures. Funding will also support the development and roll out of training for parents, schools and community groups in Thames Valley on the signs of criminal exploitation, in order that young people at risk are identified and supported.

Alongside investment in local violence prevention approaches, we are also committed to removing weapons from our streets. Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime. Last year 16,066 stop and searches led to offensive weapons or firearms being found and taken off our streets.

On 24 September 2024 we implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and from 1 August 2025 it will also be illegal to sell or own ninja swords. We have announced “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives including strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage age verification system at the point of purchase and on delivery, and we are also intending to consult later this year on a registration scheme for online sellers of knives.

With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to remove dangerous weapons from the streets in Milton Keynes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Milton Keynes, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in Thames Valley, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including representatives from local education institutions and from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.

In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing £1.5m in grant funding to Thames Valley VRU, alongside £280k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.

This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, which includes continuation of a Focussed Deterrence intervention in Milton Keynes. This project will be targeted at young people who carry knives and providing them with tailored multi-agency support to desist from violence, alongside enforcement measures. Funding will also support the development and roll out of training for parents, schools and community groups in Thames Valley on the signs of criminal exploitation, in order that young people at risk are identified and supported.

Alongside investment in local violence prevention approaches, we are also committed to removing weapons from our streets. Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime. Last year 16,066 stop and searches led to offensive weapons or firearms being found and taken off our streets.

On 24 September 2024 we implemented the ban on zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and from 1 August 2025 it will also be illegal to sell or own ninja swords. We have announced “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives including strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage age verification system at the point of purchase and on delivery, and we are also intending to consult later this year on a registration scheme for online sellers of knives.

With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on levels of protections for (a) bank, (b) building society and (c) banking hubs workers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work. The Government does not plan to include bank, building society or banking hub workers within the new offence.

Assaults against workers in these sectors are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the levels of knife crime in the West Midlands in the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and driving down serious violence across the UK, including in the West Midlands, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

In the West Midlands, the government has allocated c.£3.7m for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

We routinely monitor police recorded crime data trends for all forces. West Midlands Police recorded 4,664 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument in the year ending December 2024, a 12% fall compared with the previous year (5,323 offences). The fall was driven by a 14% fall in knife-enabled robbery (from 2,684 to 2,309 offences) and a 11% fall in assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm (from 1,952 to 1,730).

Through our Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in the West Midlands, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Midlands VRU this year.

This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes such as youth workers in hospital settings (A&E Navigators), social skills training, and tailored support to individuals at risk of involvement in gangs and county lines to divert young people away from crime.

A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £254k available to the West Midlands.

Additionally, we have launched the Knife Enabled Robbery (‘KER’) Taskforce, focusing on reducing KER in the highest volume police force areas, including the West Midlands. The Taskforce identified school-age KER as a specific operational challenge and has worked with the Department for Education and school leaders to tackle it by developing bespoke “KER school action plans”.

To ensure community leaders, campaign groups, families of those who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime and young people who have been impacted are involved in our plans, the Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime in September 2024. The Coalition contributes to policy development in key areas. I (Minister for Crime Prevention and Policing) have attended several coalition meetings since it was founded, chairing its most recent meeting. The Coalition has discussed key policy issues, including the online sale of knives, child criminal exploitation and the banning of ninja swords.

To date, we have implemented a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August. We are planning an expanded surrender scheme in July to allow those who currently own dangerous weapons to hand them in safely and securely.

In the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) (i) community and (ii) campaign groups and (b) families affected by knife crime to participate in the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and driving down serious violence across the UK, including in the West Midlands, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

In the West Midlands, the government has allocated c.£3.7m for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

We routinely monitor police recorded crime data trends for all forces. West Midlands Police recorded 4,664 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument in the year ending December 2024, a 12% fall compared with the previous year (5,323 offences). The fall was driven by a 14% fall in knife-enabled robbery (from 2,684 to 2,309 offences) and a 11% fall in assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm (from 1,952 to 1,730).

Through our Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in the West Midlands, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Midlands VRU this year.

This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes such as youth workers in hospital settings (A&E Navigators), social skills training, and tailored support to individuals at risk of involvement in gangs and county lines to divert young people away from crime.

A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £254k available to the West Midlands.

Additionally, we have launched the Knife Enabled Robbery (‘KER’) Taskforce, focusing on reducing KER in the highest volume police force areas, including the West Midlands. The Taskforce identified school-age KER as a specific operational challenge and has worked with the Department for Education and school leaders to tackle it by developing bespoke “KER school action plans”.

To ensure community leaders, campaign groups, families of those who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime and young people who have been impacted are involved in our plans, the Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime in September 2024. The Coalition contributes to policy development in key areas. I (Minister for Crime Prevention and Policing) have attended several coalition meetings since it was founded, chairing its most recent meeting. The Coalition has discussed key policy issues, including the online sale of knives, child criminal exploitation and the banning of ninja swords.

To date, we have implemented a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August. We are planning an expanded surrender scheme in July to allow those who currently own dangerous weapons to hand them in safely and securely.

In the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Coalition to Fight Knife Crime on tackling knife crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and driving down serious violence across the UK, including in the West Midlands, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

In the West Midlands, the government has allocated c.£3.7m for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

We routinely monitor police recorded crime data trends for all forces. West Midlands Police recorded 4,664 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument in the year ending December 2024, a 12% fall compared with the previous year (5,323 offences). The fall was driven by a 14% fall in knife-enabled robbery (from 2,684 to 2,309 offences) and a 11% fall in assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm (from 1,952 to 1,730).

Through our Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in the West Midlands, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Midlands VRU this year.

This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes such as youth workers in hospital settings (A&E Navigators), social skills training, and tailored support to individuals at risk of involvement in gangs and county lines to divert young people away from crime.

A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £254k available to the West Midlands.

Additionally, we have launched the Knife Enabled Robbery (‘KER’) Taskforce, focusing on reducing KER in the highest volume police force areas, including the West Midlands. The Taskforce identified school-age KER as a specific operational challenge and has worked with the Department for Education and school leaders to tackle it by developing bespoke “KER school action plans”.

To ensure community leaders, campaign groups, families of those who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime and young people who have been impacted are involved in our plans, the Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime in September 2024. The Coalition contributes to policy development in key areas. I (Minister for Crime Prevention and Policing) have attended several coalition meetings since it was founded, chairing its most recent meeting. The Coalition has discussed key policy issues, including the online sale of knives, child criminal exploitation and the banning of ninja swords.

To date, we have implemented a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August. We are planning an expanded surrender scheme in July to allow those who currently own dangerous weapons to hand them in safely and securely.

In the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce youth-related violence in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and we are determined to tackle the scourge of serious youth violence on our streets.

To date, we have implemented a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes and a ban on ninja swords will come into effect from 1 August. We are planning an expanded surrender scheme in July to allow those who currently own dangerous weapons to hand them in safely and securely. Limiting the availability and accessibility of lethal blades is a central part of our work.

To that end, we have also announced “Ronan’s Law”, following an independent review into online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, which sets out a range of measures including strengthening age verification and delivery checks and reporting bulk sales to the police. These vital changes are included in the Crime and Policing Bill currently making its way through Parliament.

We are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.

The Young Futures Programme is another key part of the Safer Streets Mission and the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade. Through this programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in the West Midlands, to intervene earlier and ensure that Children and Young People who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Midlands VRU this year.

This funding will support the delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes such as youth workers in hospital settings (A&E Navigators), social skills training, and tailored support to individuals at risk of involvement in gangs and county lines to divert young people away from crime.

A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty with £254k available to the West Midlands.

Additionally, we have launched the Knife Enabled Robbery (‘KER’) Taskforce, focusing on reducing KER in the highest volume police force areas, including the West Midlands. The Taskforce identified school-age KER as a specific operational challenge and has worked with the Department for Education and school leaders to tackle it by developing bespoke “KER school action plans”.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle levels of anti-social behaviour involving catapults in Surrey.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are clear that catapults should not be used for illegal or anti-social purposes, whether against wildlife, people or property.

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including the misuse of catapults.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to relevant agencies to tackle ASB, including introducing new Respect Orders to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.

The police have powers relating to the use of any item as an offensive weapon, including a catapult. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, the police also have powers to deal with cases where wildlife is attacked, including cases involving the misuse of catapults.

We continue to keep all relevant legislation under review in the interest of public safety.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) shoplifting and (b) violence against shopworkers (i) in Beckenham and Penge constituency and (ii) nationally.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling retail crime and is absolutely clear that everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

The Bill will also repeal existing legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried in a magistrate’s court. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

We will provide £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the national policing intelligence unit for serious, organised acquisitive crime.

We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

Further, the National Police Chiefs' Council will receive funding to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics. The training will aim to empower retailers to develop and implement tactics to prevent retail crime across all of the UK.

I speak regularly with representatives of the retail sector and chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together policing and industry to discuss practical ways to work together to tackle retail crime.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of current regulations on the use of illegally modified electric bikes on public highways.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A modified e-cycle is only road-legal where it complies in full with the requirements set out in the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983. Where this is not the case, the e-cycle is classed as a motor vehicle and needs to be approved and registered with the DVLA, as well as being taxed and insured. Enforcement of these requirements is a matter for the police, who already have powers to seize illegally modified e-cycles and to fine individuals who fail to stop when instructed to do so.

The Government is also providing the police with more powers to make it easier for them to seize any vehicle, including illegally modified e-cycles, where it is being used in an anti-social manner. Measures contained in the Crime and Policing Bill will allow the police to seize the vehicle without first being required to provide the rider with a warning. This will help get dangerous and unsafe e-bikes off our roads for good.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for to e-bikes to reduce the number of injuries involving e-bikes.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Everyone who cycles, whether they are riding an e-bike or a conventional pedal bike, has a duty to behave in a safe and responsible matter and must follow the rules set out in the Highway Code.

E-bikes can only be ridden legally on public roads where they comply in full with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983. These Regulations are there to ensure the safety of e-bikes both for the riders and for other road users.

The enforcement of any offences relating to cycling is a matter for the police, and the Government is providing the police with more powers to make it easier to seize any vehicle, including an e-bike, where it is being used in an anti-social manner. Measures contained in the Crime and Policing Bill will allow the police to seize the vehicle without first being required to provide the rider with a warning. This will help get dangerous and unsafe e-bikes off our roads for good.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what recent steps she has taken to help increase prosecution rates for knife crime.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

This Government is committed to halving knife crime in the next decade as set out in our Safer Streets Mission.

The number of cases that the CPS prosecuted for possession of a knife under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and Prevention of Crime Act 1953 has risen from 26,500 (2022-2023) to 27,818 (2023-2024).

The Crime and Policing Bill introduces several knife crime specific measures including a new offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon with intent to use it for violence; and increasing the maximum penalties for offences relating to the sale and possession of offensive weapons from six months to two years imprisonment. We will also give police power to seize and destroy knifes that they suspect will be used for violence.

Additionally, the Government has set up a national taskforce with policing leaders, which the CPS is supporting. This taskforce is exploring actions to prevent, tackle and reduce knife enabled robbery.

The Government is also acting to address the deadly cycle of knife crime by getting more dangerous weapons off our streets and preventing young people from being drawn into violent crime in the first place, with a radical new Young Futures prevention programme and early intervention for those at-risk. Working with our criminal justice partners, we will also introduce tough consequences for youths caught with knives, including more referrals to Youth Offending Teams.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of retail workers who have experienced violent crime at work in each of the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on the number of incidents of violent crime recorded by the police in England and Wales. The latest data can be found here:

Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK

The data includes incidents of robbery of business property, which includes robbery of retail premises as well as other business premises. Other types of violent crime against retail workers will fall under other categories of violent crime, such as assault with injury. It is not currently possible to identify which of these incidents were committed against retail workers during the course of their work.

In the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing forward a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

The offence will be allocated a specific Home Office Crime Recording Rule, which will help provide a more complete picture of the problem, in turn informing future policy decisions and enabling the police to respond accordingly.

The Home Office has also published estimates from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) on the proportion of retail premises which experienced at least one incident of violent crime. This data can be found here:

Crime against businesses statistics - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the definition of retail premises in clause 14 of the Crime and Policing Bill includes (a) travel ticket offices, (b) train stations and (c) commercial passenger trains.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. This applies only to shop workers.

The new offence is aimed specifically at shop workers due to the unacceptable, soaring levels of retail crime and assaults against retail workers in recent years.

Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those working in retail and other public-facing roles, including those working in the transport sector.

We will use the parliamentary process to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and will consider carefully amendments tabled as well as evidence put forward in support of such amendments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the definition of retail workers in clause 14 of the Crime and Policing Bill includes staff selling tickets at (a) train station gate lines and (b) train station platforms.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. This applies only to shop workers.

The new offence is aimed specifically at shop workers due to the unacceptable, soaring levels of retail crime and assaults against retail workers in recent years.

Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those working in retail and other public-facing roles, including those working in the transport sector.

We will use the parliamentary process to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and will consider carefully amendments tabled as well as evidence put forward in support of such amendments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the definition of retail workers in clause 14 of the Crime and Policing Bill includes transport revenue protection staff with the facility to sell tickets.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. This applies only to shop workers.

The new offence is aimed specifically at shop workers due to the unacceptable, soaring levels of retail crime and assaults against retail workers in recent years.

Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those working in retail and other public-facing roles, including those working in the transport sector.

We will use the parliamentary process to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and will consider carefully amendments tabled as well as evidence put forward in support of such amendments.

Found: Crime and Policing Bill 2024-25: Progress of the bill

Found: May 2025 The RCOG calls on MPs to decriminalise abortion and support an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 proposes to overhaul many aspects of the confiscation regime under

Found: Pornography depicting any act of strangulation to be made illegal through Crime and Policing Bill

Found: So in the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing: The long overdue mandatory reporting duty which

Found: for a dedicated National Crime Agency (NCA) barred and advisory list within the landmark Crime and Policing Bill

Found: The new measures, tabled today as amendments to the government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill, will

Found: Government amendments to the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill will focus on real crime and not rough

Found: offence of ‘coerced internal concealment’, to be introduced as an amendment to the landmark Crime and Policing Bill

Found: In a sign of further change, the Crime and Policing Bill creates a new offence of criminal exploitation

Found: The Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, introduced on 25 February 2025, proposes to remove the requirement

Found: The Home Office has today (10 June) tabled amendments to the flagship Crime and Policing Bill which will

Found: to Matt Vickers MP regarding the government amendments tabled for the Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: to Matt Vickers MP regarding the government amendments tabled for the Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: to Matt Vickers MP regarding the government amendments tabled for the Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: to Matt Vickers MP regarding the government amendments tabled for the Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: time of writing (2024), cuckooing is to be made criminal offence in Scotland through the Crime and Policing bill

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any steps it is taking, including in relation to legislation, to prevent registered sex offenders from changing their name, and for what reason it has not already taken any such action, in light of the legislative changes being pursued by the UK Government.

Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements documentation includes the recording of any aliases. Sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

We are aware that the Crime and Policing Bill, recently introduced to the UK Parliament, contains legislative change in this area. A Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) was lodged on 16 May 2025 recommending that the Scottish Parliament consents to the legislative provisions around sex offender management contained in the Bill. We await the outcome of the Parliamentary process which will determine whether or not consent is given to the provisions.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will legislate to prevent registered sex offenders from changing their name.

Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use. Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements record any aliases in their documentation. The current position in legislation is that sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

We are aware that the Crime and Policing Bill, recently introduced to the UK Parliament, contains legislative change in this area. We are exploring the possibility of extending the provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill to Scotland. Any such amendment would be the subject of the legislative consent process.

Found: advocate for a statutory definition of Child Criminal Exploitation as part of its forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill

Found: advocate for a statutory definition of Child Criminal Exploitation as part of its forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill

Found: advocate for a statutory definition of Child Criminal Exploitation as part of its forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Constitution Committee The Welsh Government’s Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Constitution Committee to consider and report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: 1 LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM CRIME AND POLICING BILL 1.

Found: . • Work with UK Government to ensure the provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill include criminalising

Found: Parliament on 8 May 2013, included a commitment to bring forward a Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill ...................................... 7 3.3.