Found: Number Title Reference 6th Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains HC 633 5th Legislative Scrutiny: Crime and Policing Bill

Found: linked to judicial capacity, and prospective legislative changes such as those under the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: We are calling on the Government to:  Amend the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure that online pornographic

Found: 5th Report - Legislative Scrutiny: Crime and Policing Bill HC 830 Report

Found: To achieve this, the Committee proposes an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which in turn amends

Found: CPB0012 - Crime and Policing Bill Usdaw Written Evidence

Found: The Crime and Policing Bill published in February 2025 introduces a duty on individuals in certain roles

Found: We will ensure that we bring forward an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill here in the House of

Found: Legislation such as the Crime and Policing Bill and the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

Found: www.counterterrorism.police.uk/terrorism-related-arrests-hit-a-five-year-high/ 21 HM Home Office (2025) “Crime and Policing Bill

Found: To ensure we keep pace with changes in technology, under the Crime and Policing Bill, this Government

Found: , should involve extensive consultation with keys stakeholders identified in s152 of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: CPB0008 - Crime and Policing Bill Liberty Written Evidence

Found: CPB0008 - Crime and Policing Bill Liberty Written Evidence

Found: CPB0006 - Crime and Policing Bill Northumbria University, Northumbria University, and Northumbria University

Found: CPB0006 - Crime and Policing Bill Northumbria University, Northumbria University, and Northumbria University

Found: CPB0005 - Crime and Policing Bill Leeds Trinity University Written Evidence

Found: CPB0005 - Crime and Policing Bill Leeds Trinity University Written Evidence

Found: CPB0002 - Crime and Policing Bill The Institute of Customer Service Written Evidence

Found: CPB0002 - Crime and Policing Bill The Institute of Customer Service Written Evidence

Found: CPB0001 - Crime and Policing Bill The Institute of Customer Service Written Evidence

Found: CPB0001 - Crime and Policing Bill The Institute of Customer Service Written Evidence

Found: CPB0026 - Crime and Policing Bill Crisis Written Evidence

Found: We are currently also taking written evidence on the Crime and Policing Bill.

Found: We very much welcome the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is going through at the moment

Found: CPB0025 - Crime and Policing Bill RESOLVE Written Evidence

Found: CPB0025 - Crime and Policing Bill RESOLVE Written Evidence

Submit Evidence (by 4 Sep 2025)

Organisers and facilitators of major sporting and cultural events are invited to give evidence to a new inquiry from MPs examining the challenges faced by the industry and how the sector can tap into new opportunities for growth and collaboration.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the police on tackling illegal motorbike driving in public spaces in the West Midlands.

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.

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

On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.

Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially in West Midlands 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 His Majesty's Government what proportion of reported shoplifting offences result in police attendance.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Data published by the NPCC (Policing Retail Crime Action Plan shows early impact), from a dip sample of 1,500 shoplifting incidents in December 2023, show that police attended:

• 60% of incidents where violence was used, with 16% of forces reporting 100% attendance for this type of incident.

• 76% of incidents where a suspect had been detained, with 21% of forces reporting 100% attendance.

Our Safer Streets Summer Initiative will see increased police patrols and local action in over 500 town centres this summer. As part of our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to restoring neighbourhood policing, and as a result of our £200 million investment, we will see an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers and PCSOs on the beat in communities across the country this year.

In the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February, we brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also repealing legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

To help tackle retail crime, 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of hate crime around places of worship.

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

This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer. The Government and police work closely together to review threats and strengthen protections for communities against terrorism and hate crime.

In 2025/26, up to £50.9 million is available to protect faith communities and places of worship, including £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, and £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools.

As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding religious freedom and community safety, we are also introducing a new measure within the Crime and Policing Bill that strengthens police powers around all places of worship.

Further to their existing powers, this measure will enable the police to place conditions on protests near places of worship, preventing disruptive tactics and ensuring worshippers can practise their faith peacefully.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that survivors of (a) domestic violence and (b) stalking are given (i) regular and (ii) timely updates on their case to equip them to safeguard themselves from further risk.

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

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto set out an unprecedented mission to halve it in a decade.

The Victims' Code is statutory guidance that sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive from the criminal justice system. The Victim's Code includes the Right for a victim to be provided with updates on their case and to be told when important decisions are taken. If their case goes to court, the victim also has the Right to be told the time, date and location of any hearing and the outcome of those hearings in a timely way. Furthermore, the Victim's Code includes the Right to be told the outcome of the case and, if the defendant is convicted, to be given an explanation of the sentence.

The Government will consult on a new Victims' Code in due course to ensure that we get the foundations for victims right. We will also spend time developing the right framework for oversight of the delivery of the Code this year, making sure we make the most effective use of data and get the metrics right.

Additionally, through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is introducing provisions to issue multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking. This will set out, for the first time, a robust framework for how agencies such as the police, local authorities and healthcare should work together to pursue perpetrators and support victims. The Government is also introducing statutory guidance to set out the process by which the police should release identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims so appropriate safeguards can be put in place.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing legislation surrounding violence against women and girls.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is taking action to deliver a transformative, cross-government approach to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) underpinned by a new strategy which will be published later this year. We have already sought to strengthen the legislation surrounding violence against women and girls. We have introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill a range of measures including a new spiking offence, provisions strengthening the law on child sexual abuse on managing sex offenders, and on strengthening the law on stalking, taking intimate images without consent, and exposure offences. In the Data (Use and Access) Act we are banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.

I also look forward to reviewing the Law Commission’s recommendations on how we can introduce legislation to change practice relating to the use of evidence in sexual offence prosecutions, so that practitioners do not rely on or perpetuate so-called rape myths and misconceptions at court. In particular, the Law Commission will make recommendations on the admissibility of evidence relating to so-called false allegations, sexual behaviour evidence, and the use of special measures.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance for local authorities.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. Following Royal Assent, we will carry out a consultation with relevant stakeholders including local authorities. Once the consultation has concluded and responses taken into account, we will look to publish the guidance as soon as is practical.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support police to enforce laws prohibiting e-scooters being ridden on pavements.

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.

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

On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as e-scooters, which have been used anti-socially.

Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

There are various offences relating to e-scooter use that the police can enforce with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). Riding an e-scooter on the pavement can result in a FPN of £50.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to require AI developers to demonstrate that their models include technical protections against the generation of (a) child sexual abuse imagery and (b) other (i) illegal and (ii) harmful material.

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

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

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 ensure that AI technologies which fall outside the scope of the Online Safety Act are subject to appropriate regulatory oversight of their potential use in generating child sexual abuse material.

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

We are committed to ensuring our laws keep pace with technology and are building on the Online Safety Act by taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create child sexual abuse material.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. We are working proactively with regulators, including Ofcom, to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to include statutory obligations for AI developers to adopt safety-by-design measures to prevent the creation of child sexual abuse content.

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

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

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 ensure that AI models are developed with safeguards to prevent their use in generating child sexual abuse material.

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

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment his Department has made of the risk of generative AI being used to produce child sexual abuse material.

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

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase sentences for sexual predators.

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

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors.

Courts are assisted in setting a sentence by sentencing guidelines which are issued by the Sentencing Council, and which the courts must follow unless it is not in the interests of justice to do so. The Government continues to keep maximum penalties under review to ensure they reflect the seriousness of offending behaviour.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill we are legislating to make grooming a statutory aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of local authorities’ (a) powers and (b) resources to enforce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) requiring dogs to be kept on leads in public parks; and what steps her Department is taking to support councils in (i) extending PSPO coverage where necessary and (ii) improving public (A) awareness and (B) enforcement to reduce dog-related incidents in shared green spaces.

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

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible tools and powers, including Public Spaces Protection Orders, that they can use to tackle dog-related incidents in public spaces.

Appropriate use of the powers is a local decision for local authorities, police and other agencies. The Home Office regularly engages with police and local authority partners to discuss the effectiveness of the legislation.

We are making changes to some of the powers in the 2014 Act via the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure the powers – based on engagement with police and local authorities – are as effective as possible. These changes include increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order from £100 to £500 to act as a stronger deterrent to anti-social behaviour, including dog-related incidents in public spaces.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour by people on motorbikes in Surrey Heath constituency.

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.

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

On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.

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 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the findings of the Children's Commissioner's report ‘A lot of it is actually just abuse' - Young people and pornography, published in January 2023, what progress they have made in reducing the harms to adolescents and children caused by violent photography, including non-fatal strangulation and incest in pornography.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Independent Pornography Review was a thorough assessment of a complicated and multi-faceted set of issues. Government departments are undertaking detailed work to consider how best to tackle the important set of issues raised.

The Government has recently announced that pornography depicting acts of strangulation will be made illegal through Crime and Policing Bill. The Online Safety Act will prevent children from accessing pornography, with duties requiring highly effective age assurance in force from 25 July.

Ofcom's draft guidance summarises measures for platforms to tackle the abuse that women and girls disproportionately face online. The finalised guidance will be published by the end of the year.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the draft guidance A safer life online for women and girls, published by Ofcom on 25 February under the Online Safety Act 2023; and what assessment they have made of whether there is a gap in the guidance on online pornography regulation.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Independent Pornography Review was a thorough assessment of a complicated and multi-faceted set of issues. Government departments are undertaking detailed work to consider how best to tackle the important set of issues raised.

The Government has recently announced that pornography depicting acts of strangulation will be made illegal through Crime and Policing Bill. The Online Safety Act will prevent children from accessing pornography, with duties requiring highly effective age assurance in force from 25 July.

Ofcom's draft guidance summarises measures for platforms to tackle the abuse that women and girls disproportionately face online. The finalised guidance will be published by the end of the year.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 15 May (HL7084), what is the timetable for implementing the recommendations of Creating a Safer World–the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography (HC 592), published on 27 February.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Independent Pornography Review was a thorough assessment of a complicated and multi-faceted set of issues. Government departments are undertaking detailed work to consider how best to tackle the important set of issues raised.

The Government has recently announced that pornography depicting acts of strangulation will be made illegal through Crime and Policing Bill. The Online Safety Act will prevent children from accessing pornography, with duties requiring highly effective age assurance in force from 25 July.

Ofcom's draft guidance summarises measures for platforms to tackle the abuse that women and girls disproportionately face online. The finalised guidance will be published by the end of the year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle mobile phone theft.

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

The Home Secretary has been clear that tackling mobile phone theft is a key priority. In 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 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 Secretary will reconvene the group shortly to review progress made and determine next steps to ensure that the police, technology companies and the Government continues to work together to tackle this criminality.

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. This power will support efforts to recover stolen phones before they can be resold.

Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will also 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.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to take steps through a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to (a) mandate safety-by-design principles, (b) mitigate potential harms and (c) prevent AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

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

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

On Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) specifically, creating, possessing, or distributing AI-generated CSAM is illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to identify and remove it. We are also taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create CSAM.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposals for a Remote Betting & Gaming Duty on (a) levels of investment in the UK, (b) consumer costs and (c) levels of illegal 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. The Government welcomes views from stakeholders, as part of the consultation process.

No final policy decisions have been made. If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts, including to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

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 Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing police forces with new enforcement powers to seize (a) unsafe and (b) non-compliant e-bikes.

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

Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including e-bikes, 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 six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles such as e-bikes, 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of police powers to tackle bike thefts.

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

As part of this Government’s Plan for Change, our Safer Streets Mission is determined to clamp down on the crime that damages our communities, and affects people’s lives, and tackling theft – including bike theft - is a crucial part of that work.

We are delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, recruiting 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood roles by the end of the Parliament and ensuring every community has named, contactable officers to turn to on local issues.

As a part of this pledge, the Metropolitan Police Service have been allocated £45,639,456 funding in 2025/26 to bolster their neighbourhood policing teams. Based on their funding allocation, the Metropolitan Police Service’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 will be 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE).

The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June 2025, will amend the Theft Act 1968 to give police new powers. Officers will be able to enter and search premises where stolen items – such as GPS-tracked bicycles – are reasonably believed to have been stolen and located, and where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a court warrant. This will significantly enhance the ability of the police to act swiftly and effectively in recovering stolen property.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle fly-tipping in (a) rural and (b) suburban communities.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights communities and places significant costs on both taxpayers and businesses.

Local authorities are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their areas and we want to see an effective enforcement strategy at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. We are therefore taking steps to help councils make good use of their powers, including seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. We are also reviewing their powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities and the National Farmers Union to share good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. The NFTPG has developed various practical tools, guidance and case studies highlighting best practice. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce violence against women and girls in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

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

The scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy later this year.

In May 2025, we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG and increase awareness to prevent these horrific crimes. This includes over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking, and £2.5m on prevention and early intervention.

Specifically in Lancashire, we have allocated £442,000 to Lancashire PCC for perpetrator funding. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support to meet that need.

Lancashire PCC currently receives funding from the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund. Using this funding, they deliver the Drive Project, which works with high-risk, serial domestic abuse perpetrators who are deemed to cause the most harm, in a few local authority areas.

At the national level, we have embedded domestic abuse specialists and dedicated domestic abuse teams in the first five 999 control rooms under Raneem’s Law, launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts and announced a new package of measures to tackle spiking, including committing to introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and piloting new spiking training for bar staff.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a range of legislative measures to improve the response to sex offender management and stalking. Under the Bill, the police will be given new powers to issue a notice prohibiting registered sex offenders who pose a risk from changing their name without prior authorisation. Other measures include requiring registered sex offenders to provide advance notice before entering premises where children are present, and improving the management of stalkers. This includes statutory guidance for the police in releasing identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims as part of the “right to know”.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support high street businesses.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This government is committed to supporting high street businesses. DBT is working across government to reform business rates, empower local authorities to address vacant properties through high street rental auctions and to tackling anti-social behaviour and crime in town centres through the Crime and Policing Bill.

We also provide a range of existing services to SMEs. This includes Growth Hubs – run in Cambridgeshire by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority – providing local businesses with access to advice and support.

Our forthcoming SME Strategy will set out the government’s plan to do more to support small businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the total value of stock lost through shoplifting in each of the last five years.

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

The Home Office has published data from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) which collects data from business premises in England and Wales about their experience of crime.

The data includes an assessment, made by the business, of the level of the financial impact of crime they experienced in the previous year as a result of being the victim of crime. This includes incidents theft committed by customers. Separate estimates were published for the retail sector. Data is not collected on the exact value of any goods stolen by customers, or the impact of customer theft separate from other types of crime. The most recent data is from 2023, and can be found here: Crime against businesses statistics - GOV.UK

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to ensuring that people feel safe on our streets and in their communities. To help tackle retail crime, 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 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.

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. We will also 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the average market value of off-road bikes that have been (a) seized and (b) destroyed under powers introduced in 2025 to help tackle antisocial 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.

The Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles, including off-road bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Crime and Policing Bill is expected to secure Royal Assent around the turn of the year.

On 28 May 2025, we published a consultation on amendments to secondary legislation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles such as off-road bikes, which have been used anti-socially from 14 days to 48 hours. We expect any changes to secondary legislation to come into force in early 2026.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number or value of off-road bikes that have been seized or destroyed under existing powers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) across England and Wales.

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 that every police force in England and Wales will have a dedicated lead officer by the end of July, who will work 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. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support this commitment. The Metropolitan Police has been allocated £45,639,456 and will deliver an increase of 420 police officers and 50 PCSOs by 31 March 2026.

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. The Metropolitan Police will receive £8,139,508 of this funding.

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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to key reforms to ensure people feel safe on our streets and in their communities, including reducing shop theft.

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.

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. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle online radicalisation in Northern Ireland; and whether she plans to introduce region-specific counter-extremism initiatives.

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

This Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that divide communities and inflame tensions across the entirety of the UK.

Alongside the Online Safety Act, the Home Office encourages industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.

We also work closely with like-minded international partners both bilaterally and through multilateral fora such as the Global internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align policies where possible.

In addition, Youth Diversion Orders (YDOs) are being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide a new counter-terrorism tool for police to manage the risks posed by young people involved in terrorism-related activity, including online. The new legislation will apply across the whole of the UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to work with local authorities to reduce instances of fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, to share good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. The NFTPG has developed various practical tools including guides on how councils and others can present robust cases to court, set up and run effective local partnerships to tackle fly-tipping and raise awareness of the household and business waste duty of care. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/

The Government encourages councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans go give additional powers to policing forces to deal with allegations of (a) trespassing and (b) modern slavery and human trafficking, in the context of the commencement of the abolition of the Vagrancy Act 1824.

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

This Government is repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act and introducing new offences which deal with specific risks.

Repealing the Vagrancy Act 1824 will leave a gap for the police to tackle organised begging and trespassing, which police have highlighted as a particular concern.We have therefore introduced, in the Crime and Policing Bill, a new offence of facilitating begging for gain and a new criminal offence of trespassing with intent to commit a criminal offence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle drug-related crime in Eastbourne.

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

To deliver on our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation.

County Lines are the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we will continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade.

From July 2024 to March 2025, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme 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.

Through our County Lines Programme we are funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. We also have a dedicated fund to help local police forces, including Sussex Police, tackle the scourge of county lines.

In addition, as committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we are introducing a new offence of the criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will support the police and NCA to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring.

We are also going further in our response to wider criminal exploitation introducing a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ and have also introduced a new offence to tackle coerced internal concealment. These three new offences will all work to tackle the interconnected and exploitative practices often used by criminal gangs, especially in county lines.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is provided to frontline police officers to improve the (a) identification and (b) handling of spiking cases.

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

The Government have introduced through the Crime and Policing Bill a new criminal offence for spiking, to help police better respond to this crime.

The Home Office has funded specialist spiking training for staff in the hospitality industry to ensure they have the skills to better detect spiking incidents, support victims who have been spiked and support law enforcement with evidence collection.

The Home Office is currently working with the police-led National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP) on the development of police guidance across a range of VAWG crimes, including spiking.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging police forces to establish ringfenced neighbourhood policing units with a dedicated remit to tackle (a) illegal e-scooter use, (b) public disorder, (c) low-level crime and (d) other antisocial behaviour.

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

Restoring neighbourhood policing is at the heart of the Government’s Plan for Change and on 10 April the Prime Minister and Home Secretary outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Through the Guarantee, by July, every community will have named, and contactable officers dedicated to addressing local issues. These officers will play a vital role in preventing and responding to crime at all levels by building trust, gathering intelligence, and maintaining a visible presence in communities.

The Guarantee will also ensure that neighbourhood policing teams hold regular local beat meetings that residents and businesses can use to raise concerns and help shape local policing priorities.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to police and other relevant agencies under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to improve the tools agencies have at their disposal to tackle ASB. This includes introducing new Respect Orders to tackle the most persistent adult ASB offenders, extending the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directions from 48 to 72 hours, and increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breaches of a Public Spaces Protection Orders or a Community Protection Notice from £100 to £500.

The Bill will also enhance 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.

To reinforce neighbourhood policing teams, we have made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by 31 March 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, whether the £2 million funding for the National Business Crime Centre will support the development of new training or resources for police officers and business owners.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what role the National Business Crime Centre will play in the implementation of the Safer Streets Mission.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) retail staff and (b) police officers are aware of the new offence of assaulting a retail worker.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, how the £5 million allocated to fund Opal will be distributed annually; and what specific metrics will be used to assess its impact on serious organised acquisitive crime.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Safer Streets Mission in (a) reducing crime and (b) improving public perceptions of safety.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of Opal in tackling serious organised acquisitive crime.

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Work being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.

We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.

This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,

The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) police forces and (b) community groups on the potential impact of Respect Orders on community cohesion.

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

Respect Orders, which were introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill in February, will be behavioural court orders which focus on combatting anti-social behaviour. We have undertaken extensive consultation with policing partners, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), and other key stakeholders in the Anti-social Behaviour sector to ensure the Respect Order will be as effective as possible.

Respect Orders will enable courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in harmful anti-social behaviour. They can also compel adult perpetrators to take action to address the root cause of their behaviour.

Breach of the order will be a criminal offence, allowing the police to arrest anyone suspected of breach. Courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, imprisonment.

The Respect Order will be piloted prior to national rollout to ensure it is as effective as possible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the proposed standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker under the Crime and Policing Bill to include retail delivery drivers.

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, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to give (a) police and (b) councils powers to issue (i) nuisance begging directions, (ii) nuisance begging prevention notices, (iii) nuisance begging prevention orders, (iv) nuisance rough sleeping directions, (v) nuisance rough sleeping prevention notices and (vi) nuisance rough sleeping prevention orders.

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

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously provided for under the 1824 Act.

We know police forces make effective use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour that occurs in this context, and we will update statutory guidance on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to provide more certainty on how existing powers can be applied to anti-social behaviour where it occurs in these scenarios.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to create an offence of (a) engaging in nuisance begging, (b) arranging or facilitating begging for gain and (c) trespassing with intent to commit a criminal offence.

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

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously provided for under the 1824 Act.

We know police forces make effective use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour that occurs in this context, and we will update statutory guidance on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to provide more certainty on how existing powers can be applied to anti-social behaviour where it occurs in these scenarios.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that victims of (a) spiking and (b) prank spiking have adequate access to justice.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government committed, in its manifesto, to create a new offence covering spiking. Our aim is to create a clear and modern offence that covers the wide range of behaviours currently associated with spiking, encourage victims to report such incidents and help the police respond effectively. In developing this new offence, included in the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government listened to the views of stakeholders, such as Spike Aware and Stamp Out Spiking, survivors and worked with other organisations, such as law enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Government has designed the new offence to capture all incidents of spiking, including drink spiking, and where the substance is administered by other methods, such as by needle, food, vape etc.

Whilst every case will turn on its facts, if someone administers a harmful substance as a prank, they would likely be found to have intent to “injure, aggrieve or annoy” the other person. This offence is part of a package of measures designed to tackle spiking and ensure victims can receive justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with (a) organisations and (b) stakeholders on the creation of a criminal offence specifically targeting drink spiking.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government committed, in its manifesto, to create a new offence covering spiking. Our aim is to create a clear and modern offence that covers the wide range of behaviours currently associated with spiking, encourage victims to report such incidents and help the police respond effectively. In developing this new offence, included in the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government listened to the views of stakeholders, such as Spike Aware and Stamp Out Spiking, survivors and worked with other organisations, such as law enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Government has designed the new offence to capture all incidents of spiking, including drink spiking, and where the substance is administered by other methods, such as by needle, food, vape etc.

Whilst every case will turn on its facts, if someone administers a harmful substance as a prank, they would likely be found to have intent to “injure, aggrieve or annoy” the other person. This offence is part of a package of measures designed to tackle spiking and ensure victims can receive justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the findings in the report National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published on 16 June, what plans they have to provide compensation to victims.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is making reforms to better support victims of child sexual abuse and prioritise their rights, including making it easier for victims to pursue compensation claims in the civil court.

The Government has included a measure in the Crime and Policing Bill to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil personal injury child sexual abuse claims, so that claims do not need to be brought within three years of turning 18. This change is significant because we know that it can take decades for survivors to disclose sexual abuse.

Victims, including children, who suffer a serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime such as physical and sexual abuse, may also be able to access compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Payments under the Scheme are an expression of public sympathy and are intended to be an acknowledgment of the harm that eligible applicants have experienced.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) has worked to improve its service for compensation applicants, including providing its staff with specific training on the impact of psychological and emotional trauma in sexual abuse cases, and guidance on applying the exceptional circumstances discretion to sexual abuse cases - particularly child sexual abuse.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of delivery drivers using e-bikes on other road users.

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

Only e-bikes that are fully compliant with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 are legal to use on the roads.

I have previously written to the Chief Executives of food delivery companies, making clear that riders should be fully aware of the relevant legal requirements and that they should only be using safe and road legal e-bikes. This is in addition to guidance on safe use of e-bikes that has been published by the Government, most recently by the Department and Business Trade in their “Buy Safe, Be Safe” campaign.

Furthermore, the Government has tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce new cycling offences. These new offices will tackle instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycle behaviour. These new offences will also ensure parity across the “motoring” offences framework. This is so that all road users, whether they are drivers or cyclists, whose behaviour results in the death or serious injury of another road user, will face the same penalties.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of informing residents when convicted paedophiles move into local communities.

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

At present, registered sex offenders are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). Section 327A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 places a duty on MAPPA Responsible Authorities – comprising the police, probation and prison services - in each local criminal justice area to consider disclosing information to members of the public about the previous convictions of any child sex offender managed by the Responsible Authority.

Further, the police can and do disclose information regarding child sex offenders (whether MAPPA managed or not) to relevant persons when they believe a child is at risk, utilising their common law disclosure powers as formalised by the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, also known as ‘Sarah’s Law’.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will strengthen the Child Sexual Offender Disclosure scheme by placing it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the published police guidance.

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 resale of stolen mobile phones.

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

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. This includes work to disrupt the resale of stolen phones, including exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and working with the police to better understand the routes used to sell stolen phones.

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.

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. This power will support efforts to recover stolen phones before they can be resold.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is she taking to help reduce the number of GPS thefts from tractors on farms.

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

This Government is committed to tackling rural crime, safeguarding rural areas through stronger measures to prevent equipment theft and strengthened neighbourhood policing.

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting. We hope to introduce the necessary secondary legislation later this year.

This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit, a national policing unit which help forces tackle rural crime priorities and is a great example of farmers and police working together at national and local level including tackling equipment theft.

Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and where it has not been reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to implement stalking protection notices that would be issued by police officers pending a full application to court.

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

Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) are civil orders which can be imposed on anyone who has carried out acts associated with stalking and who poses a risk. They are available to the police on application to the court and can impose restrictions considered necessary. The police may also apply for an interim SPO, for example, if there is an immediate risk of harm but further investigation is required to meet the criteria for a full SPO, or when the court is unable to provide the full order in time.

We are legislating through the Crime and Policing Bill to enable the courts to impose SPOs on conviction and acquittal of their own volition.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when statutory fly‑tipping enforcement guidance for local authorities will be published; and what his planned timeline is for its implementation.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. Following Royal Assent, we will carry out a consultation with relevant stakeholders including local authorities. Once the consultation has concluded and responses taken into account, we will look to publish the guidance as soon as is practical.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the police, (b) women's groups, (c) representatives of the legal profession, (d) human rights organisations and (e) civil liberties organisations on amendments 61 to 63 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

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

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.

An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.

The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

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 time allowed for consideration of amendments 61 to 63 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

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

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.

An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.

The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what pre-legislative consultation she undertook on amendments 61 to 63 at Report Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.

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

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.

An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA. The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.

The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will conduct an equality impact assessment for new offences created by amendments 61 to 63 at Report Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.

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

The Home Office engaged with law enforcement and third sector partners prior to introduction of the Bill. The Home Office continues to engage with these stakeholders to ensure that the measures meet the needs of operational colleagues as well as victims and survivors.

An equality impact statement for the new offence has been published alongside the Bill and is available at: EIA

The Government also published on introduction a memorandum addressing issues arising under the ECHR in respect of measures in the Bill.

The programme motion agreed by the House on 17 June extended from one to two days the normal time available for the remaining stages of the Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help protect (a) disabled and (b) vulnerable people from people who seek to take over their homes for illegal activities.

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

The Government recognises the appalling harm caused by criminals who take over vulnerable people’s homes for illegal activities. This is why we are introducing a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ in the Crime and Policing Bill to target criminals who exploit vulnerable people to take over their homes for criminal purposes. The new offence will be supported by statutory guidance for police, as well as non-statutory guidance for other agencies, to provide information on how to identify, protect and support vulnerable people at risk of cuckooing.

It is a matter of deep regret that His Majesty’s Official Opposition chose to vote against these measures at the Third Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill on 18 June.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent vandalism on war memorials.

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

The Government is committed to protecting war memorials from vandalism and disrespect. Causing criminal damage to such memorials is a serious offence, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

The Crime and Policing Bill introduces an additional new offence of climbing on specified memorials without a lawful excuse, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, reinforcing our efforts to safeguard these important sites.

It is a matter of deep regret that His Majesty’s Official Opposition chose to vote against these measures at the Third Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill on 18 June.

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 Justice on the length of prison sentences for people convicted of offences in connection with paedophile rings.

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

Home Office Ministers have regular discussions with their counterparts across Government, including the Ministry of Justice, on measures to tackle the heinous crime of child sexual abuse and exploitation and ensure perpetrators face the full force of the law.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is legislating to make grooming a statutory aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences. This will include (but is not limited to) offences committed by individuals involved in grooming gangs.

Where a sentencing court concludes that a child sex offence was involved or was facilitated by grooming behaviour, it will be obliged to treat this as an aggravating factor, for which a more substantial penalty is accessible.

Question to the Home Office:

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

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

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to ensuring that people feel safe on our streets and in their communities.

To help tackle retail crime, 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 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.

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. We will also 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.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many referrals made by police to Local Authority Designated Officers for concerns about people (a) working and (b) volunteering with children resulted in direct action being taken by the (i) local authority, (ii) employer and (iii) voluntary organisation in each of the last three years.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold this information. Information about referrals to Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO) is held at a local level by individual police forces and the local authorities.

The outcomes of LADO investigations are also held at local level and contained in the respective LADO annual reports. The department does not collate LADO annual reports and so does not have data on the action being taken by local authorities, employers and voluntary organisations within the last three years.

Keeping children safe could not be more important to this government and we are swiftly acting to reform the child protection and safeguarding system.

That is why the department is legislating through our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to stop children falling through the cracks and to ensure they are not out of sight of those who can keep them safe.

The department has also introduced a new mandatory reporting duty in the Crime and Policing Bill for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children in England to report sexual abuse.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the prevention of violence against retail workers.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.

We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with retailers on the prevention retail crime.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.

We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether groomed children have been placed on the sex offenders register.

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

Baroness Casey's Audit signalled concerns that victims of child sexual exploitation have been unjustly criminalised and treated as perpetrators for actions taken whilst under the coercion of groomers. As an immediate first step, we will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a disregard scheme for individuals who as children were convicted or cautioned for the offence of loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution. We will work with relevant bodies across the criminal justice system to ensure any such cases are identified, reviewed and that victims are properly supported.

The notification requirements for sex offenders (often referred to as "the sex offenders' register") are an automatic consequence of a conviction or caution for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Offenders subject to the notification requirements must notify their personal details (e.g., their name(s), address(es) and national insurance number) to the police annually or whenever their details change. The notification requirements apply to adult and juvenile offenders, although their duration is halved for juveniles.

The offence of loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution has never been in Schedule 3 to the 2003 Act, so convictions or cautions for that offence have not triggered the notification requirements for sex offenders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that children who experience child sexual abuse feel more confident (a) to report that abuse and (b) that all reports will be listened to and taken seriously.

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

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is legislating to introduce a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse for those undertaking regulated activity with children in England.

It will ensure that the words of children who are seeking help are heard, and it will provide much-needed clarity for those working with young people on how to respond appropriately when faced with these concerns. It will also apply the strongest possible measures to anyone who seeks to cover up abuse of this kind.

The introduction of this measure will be an important moment for young people who do not speak out because of fears they would not be listened to – a mandatory duty to report means they can speak to trusted adults with confidence on the next steps that will be taken.

Since 2016, the Home Office has also funded the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (‘CSA Centre’) to improve understanding of the scale and nature of child sexual abuse, and strengthen the ability of professionals to identify and respond effectively to it through the provision of evidence-based training and practice resources. The CSA Centre supports professionals across policing, justice, children’s services, education, health and the third-sector.

Its resources include a ‘Signs and Indicators’ template, which supports professionals in recording and communicating their concerns about possible child sexual abuse and a ‘Communicating with Children’ guide, which provides guidance on how to talk to children about child sexual abuse, and what professionals can do to help children communicate what is happening.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Law Commission’s report entitled Hate crime laws: Final report, published on 7 December 2021, whether her Department is taking steps to implement the recommendation to extend aggravated offence provisions to include hostility based on (a) sexual orientation and (b) gender identity.

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

We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes.

The Government has committed to ensuring parity of protection for aggravated offences and will bring forward a suitable amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill at the Lords' Committee stage to give effect to that commitment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with retailers on the prevention of shoplifting.

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

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level and we will not stand for it. That’s why our Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. Also included as part of the Bill, we will be 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.

Retail crime is regularly discussed with the sector at both Ministerial and official level. I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum, which has held two very productive meetings to date. The Forum brings together representatives from the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime.

This work includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by retail sector representatives and policing. 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.

Found: Crime and Policing Bill: HL Bill 111 of 2024–25

Found: CCE) We welcome the new stand -alone offence of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: We have also introduced the Crime and Policing Bill to drive forward the mission and equip law enforcement

Found: The new administration is progressing a revised Crime and Policing Bill that reintroduces those powers

Found: Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service To discuss Police Accountability and the Crime and Policing Bill

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Found: This was introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill in February 2025 and can be found on parliament.uk

Found: YDOs), proposed by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and contained in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Following the Accountability Review, the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 seeks to align the threshold for

Found: Ronan’s Law will be included in the Crime and Policing Bill.  

Found: Act 2024 • Armed Forces Commissioner Bill • Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill • Crime and Policing Bill

Found: We have provided prosecutorial expertise on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Border Security, Asylum

Found: • Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 made • Crime and Policing Bill introduced •

Found: This was introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill in February 2025 and can be found on parliament.uk

Found: YDOs), proposed by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and contained in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Following the Accountability Review, the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 seeks to align the threshold for

Found: Other legislation currently being considered by the UK Parliament, including 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 what its response is to reports that more than 400 children a day are targeted by online predators in Scotland.

Answered by None

Protecting children from harm is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Child sexual abuse and exploitation are abhorrent crimes and have a devastating impact on victims and their families. In Scotland, we are working closely with partners to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency response to preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms. We are committed to ensuring that robust measures are in place across Scotland to make sure our services can identify and support victims of online harm, including children and young people.

We are taking forward a range of work with our partners to both prevent abuse and intervene early to ensure that risk and harm to children and young people is recognised and acted on quickly and effectively. This includes the establishment of a new National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, comprising of operational partners, including Police Scotland, and other expert stakeholders, to review current action and agree where additional focus is needed to better protect children from abuse and exploitation, including online-enabled harm. This group’s overarching priority is prevention. Members are working together to identify priorities and actions to more effectively prevent, disrupt and provide support to victims of child sexual abuse and their families, including those facing online harms.

The Scottish Government is also a member of Police Scotland’s Multi-Agency Group on Preventing Online Child Sexual Abuse which monitors emerging online threats to develop a shared approach to using technological advancements to tackle abuse, improve data-gathering, improve support for victims and survivors and promote key activities delivered by our partners.

While regulation of the internet remains a reserved matter, we have successfully engaged with the UK Government on its Online Safety Act to strengthen protections for young people. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the UK Government on extending relevant Crime and Policing Bill provisions to Scotland, including offences relating to the possession, creation and distribution of Artificial Intelligence tools designed to create child sexual abuse material.

It is also important to emphasise the responsibility of tech firms in protecting children and young people. This is why I met Ofcom in August and again last week alongside the Minister for Community Safety to ensure pressure is put on tech companies to deliver effective safeguards for young people online, including the need for more prescriptive guidance to providers. The First Minister wrote directly to tech firms last year to remind them of their responsibilities and, alongside the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, I recently wrote to social media companies to invite them to meet to discuss the protection of children and young people from online harm.

We will continue to engage with the UK Government and Ofcom on implementation of legislation and to press for stronger protections to help keep children and young people in Scotland safe online.

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: Government Employment Rights Bill - supplementary memorandum 3 April 2025 Consent recommended Crime and Policing Bill

Found: granted Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Consent recommended 26 June 2025 Consent granted Crime and Policing Bill

Found: The Crime and Policing Bill - reform of the law of child abduction for England and Wales The Crime and

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: 1 SUPPLEMENTARY LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM (MEMORANDUM NO 2) CRIME AND POLICING BILL

Found: , June 2025, paragraph 55; The Welsh Government’s Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: consider and report on the Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (No.2) on the 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