Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in relation to people from (a) Rochester and Strood constituency, (b) Medway and (c) Kent in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme below regional levels because it could enable a threat picture to be built which could be used for terrorist purposes.
The number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in the South-East region, in which the areas the Hon Member has asked about are contained, is provided in the table below.
Number of individuals referred to the Prevent Programme within the South East region each year since the financial year ending 2020
Financial year | Prevent referrals made within the South East region |
2019//20 | 867 |
2020/19 | 774 |
2021/22 | 1,115 |
2022/23 | 1,106 |
2023/24 | 1,200 |
Grand total | 5,062 |
Further information on the individuals referred to Prevent can be found in the published annual statistics on GOV.UK: Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2024.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the total value of investment made in research and development in the (a) public and (b) private sector in each of the last five years.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Office for National Statistics routinely publishes official statistics on Gross Expenditure on Research & Development (GERD), including breakdowns of expenditure by sector. These statistics show the total value of R&D performed, for each of the past five years for which data is available (2018 – 2022), was:
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| (a) Public (Government inc. UKRI) | 2,604 | 2,662 | 3,080 | 3,366 | 3,619 |
| (b) Private (Business Enterprise + Private Non-Profit) | 41,775 | 43,007 | 44,893 | 47,902 | 50,802 |
Current prices (£m)
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on tackling vandalism of bank branches.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including acts of vandalism and criminal damage.
It is for local areas and individual police forces to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances of each case, but the Government is determined to restore the neighbourhood policing that enables local forces to respond visibly and effectively to incidents of crime in our country’s high streets and town centres, including putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers back on the beat in local communities to help lead that fight.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to ensure that (a) cross-border energy projects and (b) the GridLink interconnector in Rochester and Strood constituency are completed to meet clean power targets.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines our approach to delivering a clean electricity system, including our approach to cross-border energy projects. It expects 12-14GW of electricity interconnection by 2030, up from the 9.8GW currently installed.
Under the UK-EU reset we are working with the EU to identify areas (such as electricity interconnection) where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit.
GridLink’s completion is, like all interconnector projects, contingent on the project receiving approval in both connecting countries. The project has regulatory approval in GB, however the French approval process remains ongoing. The UK Government has no role in this.