Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support police forces to tackle (a) anti-social behaviour in town centres and (b) rural crimes in Staffordshire.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund 25/26, Staffordshire Police are in receipt of £1m.
On 10 April, the Prime Minister announced the details of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee as part of which forces are also getting 200m on neighbourhood policing.
The Safer Streets Summer Initiative launched on 30 June and ran until 30 September 2025, targeting over 600 town centres across England and Wales, through visible policing and swift, meaningful consequences. The Home Secretary has announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across will again partner with local businesses, authorities and police and crime commissioners to target shop theft and ASB. Staffordshire will be once again encouraged to participate.
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector. Under our Safer Streets Mission reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.
This financial year the Home Office will be providing the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (£450,000). This funding will enable them to tackle the crimes that mostly affect rural communities.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling online misogynistic radicalisation.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling misogyny, both online and offline, is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year. I have regularly engaged with VAWG stakeholders to help inform this work and held a roundtable on technological harms.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out a timeline for bringing forward guidance to bring the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to tackle violence against women and girls, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year.
Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims feeling unsafe on their own streets. That is why tackling that criminal behaviour will form an important part of our mission to halve VAWG within a decade.
We will confirm next steps on implementation of the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Act at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle drug related crime in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the considerable impact of drug use and dealing on individuals, families and communities. Tackling this is a vital part of our missions to deliver safer streets, improve health outcomes and contribute to opportunities. That is why we are taking a collaborative, cross-government approach to drugs at a national level.
This Government is dedicated to reducing drug-related harms through prevention and treatment, while acting quickly and decisively to stop the criminals peddling these harmful substances. We also expect the police to intervene to tackle illicit drug use, recognising the significant harms it causes.
Delivery focused local drugs partnerships across England provide a whole-system, multi-agency response from police, probation, public health, the NHS and other local partners. The partnership in Staffordshire, led by the Police and Crime Commissioner, has recognised and responded to the impact locally of the illicit supply and misuse of synthetic cathinones, sometimes referred to as ‘monkey dust’.
It is also crucial that the Government tackles the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation. County Lines are the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we will continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme has resulted in over 400 deal lines being closed, the arrest and charge of over 200 deal line holders, 500 arrests and 800 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people.
Also, by disrupting drug supply chains, increasing treatment access, and targeting organised crime, we can reduce anti-social behaviour, knife crime, and the exploitation of young people through county lines.
The Government will set out its approach to drugs in more detail later this year.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for domestic violence services in the next financial year.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
We understand the importance of specialist support services and their critical role in providing tailored support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse to help them recover and move forward with their lives.
Following the Spending Review announcements in October, the Home Office is now deciding how the total funding settlement is allocated across the department to deliver the Government’s priorities. We will provide more information in due course.