Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce and (b) prevent equipment theft in (1) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (2) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Equipment theft can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.
That is why we are committed to the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and fully support its intentions to prevent the theft and re-sale of All-Terrain Vehicles, quad bikes and GPS systems. We will introduce the necessary secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
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. This will provide a valuable tool for police in tackling stolen equipment and machinery.
This financial year the Home Office has provided the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000). The National Rural Crime Unit provides police forces with specialist operational support in their response to rural crime, such as the theft of farming or construction equipment. They also help police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt organised crime groups.
We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2028. The strategy highlights how policing can assist in the prevention of crime in rural areas including equipment theft.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 placing a ban on a) machetes and b) large hunting knives.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Knife crime has a devasting impact on families and communities across the country, and the Government is aiming to halve knife crime in the next decade. We keep the law in this area under constant review, and this includes the continuing availability of machetes and large hunting knives.
The Government has already taken action to ban zombie style knives and zombie style machetes in September 2024, and more recently, we took action to ban ninja swords in August 2025. We are continuing to take measures to strengthen the law on knives.
In the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, currently going through Parliament, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence, a duty on sellers to report bulk or suspicious sales, strengthened age checks on online sales and delivery, and we are giving the police a new power to seize knives likely to be used in unlawful violence. On 16 December, the Government also published a public consultation paper on proposals to introduce licensing schemes for those who sell or import knives or other bladed articles and this builds on the earlier recommendations in the Independent End to End Review of Online Knife Sales published in February 2025.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help prevent bicycle theft in Eastbourne constituency.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Bike theft has a significant impact on individuals and for too long, many victims have felt not enough was being done to prevent their bikes being stolen or track down the thieves responsible.
The Crime and Policing Bill, now at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, 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.
Additionally, the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings have been held of the cross-government officials working group on research with controlled drugs.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 July, the Government responded to recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’) on how best to reduce barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs. The Government committed to set up a cross-government working group of officials to assist with delivery of those recommendations.
The group had its first meeting in September, followed by a series of bilateral discussions between Home Office officials and the organisations represented on the working group. The next meeting is planned for January. Alongside the working group, officials have ongoing engagement with relevant officials in wider departments and agencies, and with businesses, representative organisations and researchers who are likely to benefit from the proposals. Officials have also explored with international counterparts the provisions for research with controlled drugs in their jurisdictions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 phasing out the general sale of sharp-tipped culinary knives.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We recognise that the issue of knife crime and the harm caused by any knife has a very real impact on individuals, families and communities and we aim to halve knife crime in the next decade. The Government keeps the law in this area under constant review, but we do not have any plans to phase out the sale of sharp-tipped culinary knives.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police counters are kept open in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Decisions regarding the police estate, including the availability of front counters at police stations, are a matter for Chief Constables equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need and their experience.
Police stations are just one of the ways in which people can access their local police. They can also speak to police online, including to report crime, 24 hours a day or by using the 101 service for non-emergencies or 999 in an emergency. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, all forces now also have named and contactable neighbourhood officers dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the scale of people-smuggling facilitation activity with operational links to Northern Ireland since July 2024; and how many disruptions and arrests have been made.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Through the Border Security Command, we continue to work with all key partners, both across the UK and internationally to disrupt and deter people-smuggling facilitation. Our collective law enforcement powers, sharing intelligence, data, and expertise, and conducting joined-up operational activity support our aim of putting people-smuggling gangs out of business.
The National Crime Agency's National Strategic Assessment assesses that the Common Travel Area (CTA), and particularly the routes between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain, continue to be exploited by criminals for the purposes of immigration crime.
Tackling the threat from organised immigration crime, including illegal entry to the UK via the Common Travel Area (CTA), is complex and requires the coordination of approach and resource across the Home Office and with Policing Partners. Within Immigration Enforcement, our Officers work closely with law enforcement partners both in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland to maximise the use of resources and ensure the upstream disruption of out-of-country organised crime groups who seek to facilitate immigration crime through the CTA.
Our published national data on enforcement activity is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure police forces receive (a) adequate training and (b) resources to (i) identify, (ii) prevent and (ii) prosecute antisemitic hate crimes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, and the government is committed to tackling it in all its forms.
The government is committed to ensuring there are consistent, high standards in police training and leadership to help maintain public trust and confidence. That is why the Home Office continues to fund the College of Policing to deliver support to forces and improvements to leadership and training standards through the National Police Leadership Centre.
The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing in England and Wales, including publishing Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. This Authorised Professional Practice provides guidance on how police should respond to hate crimes and promotes a proportionate and consistent approach that upholds the rights of victims and protects free speech. While the College sets the overall framework, individual police forces are responsible for determining their own local delivery of training.
Police forces are operationally independent, but we expect them to use these standards, tools and guidance, and to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure robust charging decisions and prosecutions in cases of antisemitic hate crime.
The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. This review will assess whether police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and safeguarding the right to lawful protest.
It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of consistency of police hate crime recording practices across regional police forces.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively.
The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording.
Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK
The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics.
The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the meetings scheduled for the working group on any new issues involving research with controlled drugs during the next six months.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 July, the Government responded to recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’) on how best to reduce barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs. The Government committed to set up a cross-government working group of officials to assist with delivery of those recommendations.
The group had its first meeting in September, followed by a series of bilateral discussions between Home Office officials and the organisations represented on the working group. The next meeting is planned for January. Alongside the working group, officials have ongoing engagement with relevant officials in wider departments and agencies, and with businesses, representative organisations and researchers who are likely to benefit from the proposals. Officials have also explored with international counterparts the provisions for research with controlled drugs in their jurisdictions.