Oral Answers to Questions

Andy Carter Excerpts

Monday 17th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

12. What progress the Government have made on improving resources for South Wales Police.

[Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)]

20. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

23. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kit Malthouse]

I am more than happy to join my right hon. Friend in congratulating his local police force on their work in this area, and I am pleased to hear that his non-human constituents are as important to him as the human ones. He will be aware that some of these truly appalling crimes need to be addressed much more assertively, and I hope he has noticed that, in the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, we are tabling amendments specifically on hare coursing, which will help to fight that awful crime.

[Andy Carter]

Bearing in mind the security statement coming after this question session, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he is working with both law enforcement and security services to understand what more can be done to increase capacity to counter hostile activity that has the potential to damage democracy but operates below the legal threshold?

[Kit Malthouse]

I know this is a matter of concern to the whole House, which I know is to be addressed by the Home Secretary shortly. As I hope my hon. Friend knows, police capacity—that relates specifically to the question—has been increased not just in territorial policing but in other arms of policing, recognising as we do that, while it is important to fight crime on the ground in all our constituencies, it is also important to fight it there as well.