Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the consultation entitled Amendments to secondary legislation on the police removal, storage and disposal of vehicles, closed on 8 July 2025, if her Department will make and assessment of the potential merits of (a) donating seized vehicles, motorbikes and e-bikes to charity and (b) using them for the delivery of public services.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has no plans to regulate the method of disposal following vehicle seizure. Decisions on the best method of vehicle disposal is an operational matter for Chief Officers of local forces to decide based on the specific circumstances and how they can recoup the vehicle recovery costs as set out in the statutory fees.
We will support the police and recovery operators to ensure they have the necessary tools to deal with vehicle recovery.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a comparative assessment of measures taken to prevent or restrict third-party resellers of Electronic Travel Authorisations in (a) the UK and (b) other countries.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We would always recommend that applications for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) be made via the official ETA app, and have consistently advised against the use of third party websites that offer ETAs. The overwhelming majority of applications are made via the app or the official web portal.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date the most recent assessment of the classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was conducted; and what evidence base was considered in reaching the conclusions of that assessment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has not made an assessment of the classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Ministers have a statutory obligation to receive and consider advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’) before seeking to make changes to the classification of drugs. It is our understanding that the most recent assessment of the classification of cannabis was undertaken in 2008. This followed a review by the ACMD in that year.
The then government published its response to the ACMD review setting out the reason for its classification decision at that time.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have the police issued to people smoking in private vehicles in which children are present (a) in total and (b) in each year since this became an offence.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures: Roads policing’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data, up to 2023, is available here:
However, data is not available on the specific offence of ‘Smoking in a vehicle in which a child was present’.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many motorhome thefts have been recorded in each of the last five years; and what assessment her Department has made of trends in motorhome theft in England and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Vehicle theft, including that of motorhomes, is a truly distressing crime for owners, businesses and industry.
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are closely working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be.
We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, through a National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to take forward a programme of work to drive down vehicle crime, focusing on prevention and deterrence. This includes training police on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. The Bill also introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically geolocation tracked, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.
The Home Office holds data on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including thefts of motor vehicles. However, statistics do not provide the level of detail necessary to separately identify thefts of motorhomes.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support local police forces in preventing motorhome theft.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Vehicle theft, including that of motorhomes, is a truly distressing crime for owners, businesses and industry.
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are closely working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be.
We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, through a National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to take forward a programme of work to drive down vehicle crime, focusing on prevention and deterrence. This includes training police on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. The Bill also introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically geolocation tracked, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.
The Home Office holds data on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including thefts of motor vehicles. However, statistics do not provide the level of detail necessary to separately identify thefts of motorhomes.