Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and in order for them to work, they must be communicated effectively to engage the public and effect positive behaviour change. However, this has to be done with cost efficiency in mind and there are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising.
The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
The Home office operates the following social media accounts X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. There are no paid subscriptions linked with these accounts.
The table below sets out the amount the Home Office spent on advertising space on social media platforms over the last 3 years, exclusive of VAT. Advertising was purchased via media buying agency OmniGov.
Home Office | Meta Platforms | Nextdoor | Reddit Inc. | Snapchat | Tiktok | X (Twitter) | Total | ||
2022 | £89,471 | £1,196,046 |
| £2,895 | £130,995 | £472,956 |
| £461,964 | £2,354,327 |
2023 |
| £141,080 | £14,784 | £6,655 | £86,350 | £150,644 |
| £48,996 | £448,509 |
2024 | £52,093 | £260,666 | £13,603 | £10,381 | £203,484 | £88,374 | £60,235 |
| £688,836 |
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had on updating the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Rural Crime Strategy to better prevent farm machinery, plant and vehicle theft when the current strategy expires in 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council is expected to publish its next four-year Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy in April. We fully support the aims of the Strategy and are working closely with the NPCC, including to ensure wider Government priorities are reflected.
We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, offences involving agricultural crime cannot be separately identified from the data held centrally.
NFU Mutual estimated that the total cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims in 2023 was £10.7 million. This estimate only includes costs of agricultural vehicle thefts where a subsequent claim was made through NFU Mutual.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the costs associated with the theft of agricultural vehicles in each year since 2010 in (a) cash terms and (b) 2024-25 real terms prices.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council is expected to publish its next four-year Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy in April. We fully support the aims of the Strategy and are working closely with the NPCC, including to ensure wider Government priorities are reflected.
We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, offences involving agricultural crime cannot be separately identified from the data held centrally.
NFU Mutual estimated that the total cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims in 2023 was £10.7 million. This estimate only includes costs of agricultural vehicle thefts where a subsequent claim was made through NFU Mutual.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences involving agricultural crime resulted in (a) charges or summons, (b) evidential difficulties outcomes and (c) investigations completed but no suspects identified. in each year since 2010.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council is expected to publish its next four-year Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy in April. We fully support the aims of the Strategy and are working closely with the NPCC, including to ensure wider Government priorities are reflected.
We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, offences involving agricultural crime cannot be separately identified from the data held centrally.
NFU Mutual estimated that the total cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims in 2023 was £10.7 million. This estimate only includes costs of agricultural vehicle thefts where a subsequent claim was made through NFU Mutual.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences involving agricultural crime were investigated in each year since 2010 in (a) England and Wales, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Calderdale District.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council is expected to publish its next four-year Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy in April. We fully support the aims of the Strategy and are working closely with the NPCC, including to ensure wider Government priorities are reflected.
We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, offences involving agricultural crime cannot be separately identified from the data held centrally.
NFU Mutual estimated that the total cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims in 2023 was £10.7 million. This estimate only includes costs of agricultural vehicle thefts where a subsequent claim was made through NFU Mutual.