Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

7. What steps she is taking to help tackle drug dealing in rural communities.

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

Through the county lines programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs wherever they operate, including in rural areas, as part of our efforts to dismantle the organised crime groups behind that trade. Since the Government took office, the county lines programme has closed over 400 drug lines running across communities in England and Wales. In our manifesto, we committed to going after the gangs that lure young people into violence and crime. At the weekend, we announced that we will create a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the forthcoming crime and policing Bill.

[Vikki Slade]

It is well known that rural and seaside areas are targeted by drug gangs. Escapeline has assessed that up to 70,000 young people, some as young as six, are being trafficked. In my constituency, I have recently dealt with young girls who have been provided with drugs by trusted adults in dance schools, where no action is taken, because those adults are not seen as requiring a Disclosure and Barring Service check, and with vulnerable adults who are being controlled in their homes, where there has been no response at all from local police, because my small towns are simply not seen to be a priority and resources are directed elsewhere. How can I offer reassurance to my communities that their small towns are not being forgotten?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. Specific resources are available to police forces to be surged into tackling county lines. I know the police force in Dorset, in her area, has applied for that funding in the past, so I encourage her to have a conversation with the police and crime commissioner and chief constable about what more can be done to get that resource into the towns she talks about.

[Dr Roz Savage (South Cotswolds) (LD)]

8. If she will increase funding for Gloucestershire constabulary.

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales, which is an increase of £1.1 billion when compared to 2024-25. Of that, Gloucestershire will receive up to £168.2 million, an increase of over £10 million, including £1.5 million to kickstart the recruitment of additional neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers in Gloucestershire.

[Dr Savage]

My constituency straddles two large counties, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, which both languish near the bottom of the league table of funding for constabularies. Despite the modest rise in funding, those constabularies will have to cut policing numbers, so can the Minister assure my constituents that crimes will be addressed on a timely basis?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

More money is going into policing, particularly around the neighbourhood policing guarantee that this Government promised in their manifesto. We are providing £200 million to kickstart the recruitment of police officers, PCSOs and specials in all our communities. I take the hon. Lady’s point about the funding formula and how that affects the two forces that straddle her constituency. We are going into a spending review and I know officials have met representatives from Gloucestershire constabulary to talk about the financial situation. We will keep that under review as we work towards the spending review.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Like Gloucestershire police, Essex police is receiving additional funding this year; in fact, we are getting increased funding of £27 million. Despite that, the front desk at Harlow police station is under threat. Does the Minister agree that given the additional funding, police services in Harlow in Essex should be increasing not decreasing, and that any proposals not to do so are down to historical underfunding by the previous Government?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I am very pleased that Essex has got that increase in funding. I gently point out that the decisions around how those resources are used are for the police and crime commissioner and the chief constable, but, overall, more than £1.1 billion is going into policing, over and above what the previous Government put in in 2024-25.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking with international partners to counter the threat of terrorism.

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[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

18. What assessment she has made of trends in the level of retail crime.

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

In the last year of the previous Government, shop theft reached a record high, and violence and abuse towards retail workers increased to an unacceptable level. This Government will not tolerate these crimes. As a central part of our safer streets mission, we are committed to introducing a new stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker and ending the effective immunity for shop theft of goods under £200, because there is no such thing as low-level crime.

[Ruth Cadbury]

I was recently contacted by a constituent who works in a small high street supermarket. He and his colleagues have frequently been violently attacked by shoplifters, so what else can the Minister say about what the Government can do to protect shop workers?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

It is appalling to hear about cases such as the ones in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I am very struck—like everyone else across the House, I think—by how commonplace violence and abuse against shop workers has sadly become. The Government have made it absolutely clear that everybody who goes to work has the right to feel safe on the job, and we will not tolerate the criminality that we have seen in recent times. That is why, following years of campaigning from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the Co-op, this Labour Government will finally deliver a stand-alone criminal offence of assaulting a retail worker.

[Sally Jameson]

Shop workers in Doncaster have told me time and again that they are fed up with the amount of shoplifting going on and the antisocial behaviour that goes with it, which includes threats and sometimes physical violence. This kind of crime needs to be crushed. I am pleased to hear that a stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker is to be included in the legislation being introduced this week, but will the Minister confirm that the police will have the clout to enforce the law and make sure we eliminate this kind of activity?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Our commitment to neighbourhood policing and putting the police officers, police community support officers and special constables back into our neighbourhoods—into our communities, high streets and town centres—will enable the police to take the action we all want to see against the antisocial behaviour that my hon. Friend talks about.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

One of the best ways of tackling retail crime and associated antisocial behaviour among young people is through targeted preventive work with at-risk pupils in schools. An example is the guidance and welfare unit at Cavendish school in Eastbourne. That unit was set up by my former headteacher, Mr Fitzpatrick, who is in the Public Gallery today, along with my former head of year, Mrs Fitzpatrick, who is also in the Gallery. Will the Minister join me in congratulating inspirational teachers such as them on their critical safeguarding and prevention work with young people across Eastbourne and beyond?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I do not want to get into trouble; I would like to congratulate Mr and Mrs Fitzpatrick on the work they have done—we know how important that early preventive work is. That is why this Government are also committed to our prevention partnerships, identifying young people who are on the cusp of getting involved in criminality and diverting them, and putting the resources in to make sure they make much better choices in their lives.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Harrogate has a wealth of independent stores that attract people to the town from across the region—including shoplifters, unfortunately. I have been speaking with Harrogate business improvement district about what it can do to help tackle shoplifting. It has an increasingly good relationship with North Yorkshire police. What steps is the Minister taking to encourage North Yorkshire police and other police organisations to work with local community and business organisations to crack down on shoplifting?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I visited North Yorkshire last week, and one of the issues there is how well the police are working with communities and the retail sector to start to tackle some of the issues around retail crime. Over the next three years, £7 million will be allocated to support the police to tackle retail crime through the specialist team Opal, which is the national police intelligence unit. That unit is looking at the serious organised criminal gangs that are now involved in retail theft.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

11. What steps she is taking to reduce rural crime.

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

The Government are committed to tackling rural crime. We recognise the devastating consequences it can have on communities and the agricultural sector. Under our reforms, rural areas will be safeguarded through tougher measures to clamp down on antisocial behaviour, to strengthen neighbourhood policing and to take action to prevent fly-tipping.

[Leigh Ingham]

Antisocial behaviour in Tyrley, a small village in my constituency, has had a significant impact on the community. Small rural communities like these often feel overlooked and struggle to have their voices heard when it comes to policing and public safety. Will the Government ensure that rural communities, such as Tyrley, receive the named police officer guarantee, so that they have a dedicated point of contact for policing and for support?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

Yes, and my hon. Friend raises an important point about those small parts of larger rural communities and how they can feel that our neighbourhood policing guarantee will provide them with reassurance. There is the named officer guarantee, and it is worth recognising the use of things such as WhatsApp groups in big rural areas, where intelligence can be fed into the police. That can also be helpful for those communities to feel safe.

[Patrick Spencer (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)]

Policing in rural areas is increasingly complex, but rural constabularies receive much less funding than inner-city ones. I know the Minister will jump on this opportunity to complain about the last Government, but will she at least take a moment to commit to publishing the methodology behind the funding formula and open a conversation about fairer funding for rural police forces?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

The hon. Gentleman is right: I am going to say that the funding formula was introduced by the previous Government—I think in 2011. They had two goes at trying to update it, and they did not do anything about it. We have been in government for seven months now, and this is what we have inherited. In a lot of areas, we have inherited things that we would not necessarily have wanted to have inherited. As I have said before to the House, we will be looking at police reform going forward, and part of that conversation will be around financial issues.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

12. What steps she is taking to reduce the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

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[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

13. What steps she is taking to tackle phone theft.

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

The Government are determined to act to ensure that people feel safe on our streets. On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together law enforcement agencies and representatives of the mobile phone industry to discuss what more could be done to break the business model of mobile phone theft, and to bring about stronger collaboration across those agencies to crack down on the criminal networks that are operating in this trade.

[Gregory Stafford]

In earlier times mobile phone theft was seen as an urban issue, but as has been evidenced by my postbag over the last couple of weeks, it is increasing in our rural towns and villages. What discussions is the Minister having with her colleagues in the Ministry of Justice to ensure that repeat perpetrators of this crime face custodial sentences?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

While there is a concentration of phone thefts in the Metropolitan police area in particular, it is important to note that they are happening around the country, and it is being suggested that the good practice used by those who are starting to tackle the problem, notably the West Midlands police force, should be spread to all forces. The taskforce that I mentioned earlier in connection with a summit will meet again in three months, and I will certainly speak to my colleagues at the Ministry of Justice about the issue that the hon. Gentleman has raised.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

16. What steps her Department is taking to counter hostile state threats.

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[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

T6. Exactly two weeks ago today, Dariusz Serafin tragically died from a knife wound on the streets of West Ealing—on a road long blighted by antisocial behaviour, about which I had written to the police just the week before. How will the Government’s new respect orders and the crackdown on knives help bring reassurance to my constituents in West Ealing?

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

I am very sorry to hear about the incident to which my hon. Friend refers. She will know that we have a commitment to halve knife crime over the next decade. We have already introduced the ban on zombie knives and machetes, and we are moving forward with the ban on ninja swords. Last week, the Home Secretary announced the new measures under Ronan’s law to tighten the lethal loopholes in the online sale of knives, and we are developing the Young Futures programme, with prevention partnerships at their heart, to stop young people getting involved in knife crime.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

T4. My constituent Kia McNicoll is a mother of four children, and her three-year-old, Patryk, was recently diagnosed with cancer. Kia’s mother-in-law recently applied for a visa extension so that she can help the family with childcare through these most horrific of circumstances, but her application was rejected. Forgive me, Mr Speaker, but I cannot tell the difference between this Labour Government and the Tories who came before them. Will the Minister commit to looking at this application again, so that my constituent can focus on what matters most: the health of her son?

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[Dame Diana Johnson]

The abuse of animals using weapons of any type is an incredibly serious matter, and there are such provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. There is a range of offences, and I encourage anyone who witnesses this kind of event to report it to the police. I will certainly discuss what more we can do with my colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

Many of my constituents have raised concerns about e-bikes and e-scooters being a safety hazard when modified or misused. What is the Minister doing to tackle riders travelling at high speeds on pavements and other pedestrian areas, and help my constituents to feel safe on their streets again?

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[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

T10. On Friday night, I joined Bedfordshire police officers on a ride-a-long to see first hand the great work they do to help vulnerable people. However, the Policing Minister knows that Bedfordshire police rely heavily on specific grants to tackle serious, violent and organised crime. Will she confirm that those grants will continue, and when we might we hear about that?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I visited Bedfordshire police before Christmas, and I agree that it is an excellent force. Decisions around funding will be made in due course.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

Refugees here from Ukraine under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are not eligible to indefinite leave. They have a three-year visa, which in many cases, obviously, is about to expire. They have a very short window to apply for what is only an 18-month extension. Does the Home Secretary agree that that is not long enough for Ukrainian families here to be able to plan their future, and will she reconsider?