Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that Bedfordshire Police have sufficient resource to hit officer number targets.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.

For 2025/26, £376.8 million has been made available to forces to support achievement of officer number targets. This funding was distributed as follows:

• £270.1 million in ringfenced funding has been made available, which PCCs have been able to access, as in previous years, by demonstrating that they have met their officer headcount targets.
• £106.7 million has been paid to forces who received additional recruitment allocations in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This funding has been provided as an additional recruitment top up grant. It is unconditional, and the funding has been distributed according to how much additional recruitment forces were allocated.

For 2025/26, Bedfordshire Police have been allocated a total of up to £3,155,659 through the officer maintenance ringfenced grant, and £1,580,578 through the top-up grant, to maintain a total headcount of 1,466 officers.

Published statistics show the force achieved this target at the mid-year point. As at 30 September 2025, Bedfordshire Police had a total of 1,467 police officers (headcount).

For 2025/26, a total of up to £1,803,234 was also made available to Bedfordshire Police through the neighbourhood policing grant to grow by 38 FTE Neighbourhood Policing officers (30 FTE police officers and 8 FTE PCSOs).

As at 30 September, Bedfordshire Police had grown their neighbourhood policing function by 13 FTE.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will integrate Special Grant funding into the core settlement provided to Bedfordshire Police.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2026-27 Final Police Funding Settlement confirmed £49.6m for Special Grant in the coming financial year. Funding for Bedfordshire Police will be up to £175.8m, an increase of up to £7.5m from 2025-26. Special Grant awards will be confirmed in due course.

The government has set out an ambitious programme of police reform in the Police Reform White Paper, and has committed to reform of the police funding model.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will provide an update on the status of Special Grant funding to Bedfordshire Police.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2026-27 Final Police Funding Settlement confirmed £49.6m for Special Grant in the coming financial year. Funding for Bedfordshire Police will be up to £175.8m, an increase of up to £7.5m from 2025-26. Special Grant awards will be confirmed in due course.

The government has set out an ambitious programme of police reform in the Police Reform White Paper, and has committed to reform of the police funding model.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee report on Tackling HIV transmission, HC 1663, what the basis is for the estimate that Cabotegravir injectable PrEP will impact 2,000 people; whether that figure is a cap on availability; and what steps his Department will take to ensure equitable access to injectable PrEP.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Cabotegravir pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a clinically and cost-effective use for people who cannot have oral PrEP on 5 November 2025.

NICE estimated that up to 1,000 people would be eligible to receive cabotegravir injectable as PrEP but there is no cap on the number of people who may be eligible and therefore require and receive cabotegravir PrEP.

The new HIV Action Plan, published on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

The Government will work with local authorities to expand alternative and digital delivery routes for injectable PrEP and audit current HIV technologies to identify gaps in provision. The UK Health Security Agency will publish local PrEP indicators to support action to reduce inequalities.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what process will be followed in determining the location of the headquarters for a new Strategic Mayoral Combined Authority that would include Luton.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Any decision regarding the headquarters of a strategic authority would be the responsibility of that strategic authority, and not central Government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to promote (a) culturally competent and (b) community-led prevention measures for older black men.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This Government recognises the evidence that men of Black ethnicity are at a higher risk of some diseases. Tackling these inequalities is a top priority for the Government.

For example, black men are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease yet evidence shows that men in Black and Mixed ethnic groups are the least likely to receive lipid-lowering therapy or reach blood pressure targets. The National Health Service is tackling these inequalities through the Core20PLUS5 programme, a national approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities in the most deprived areas. Hypertension and lipid management are one of the top clinical priorities for the framework, and the NHS is supporting systems where the burden of undiagnosed hypertension and untreated cholesterol is highest. Community based delivery models, such as pharmacy blood pressure checks and BP@Home, are also increasing access for underserved groups, including those in deprived and ethnically diverse communities.

Prostate cancer is another example where incidence rates are higher among Black men. We are jointly delivering the £42 million TRANSFORM trial with Prostate Cancer UK, with £16 million from the Department, which aims to find better ways of detecting prostate cancer and address inequalities, ensuring at least 10% of those invited to participate are Black men. In November, the first men began receiving letters from their general practitioners, inviting them to join the landmark trial designed to make diagnosis earlier, safer, and more effective.

There are around 17,000 people living with sickle cell disease in England. It is the fastest growing genetic condition in the country and is more common in people of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage (77% of patients) and in more deprived communities (47% of patients). NHS England, through the Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Quality Improvement programme, has stepped up a programme of work aligned to the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan particularly focusing on the shift to prevention, through a new education programme, that aims to develop a series of e-learning modules, training and communication material, which will focus on improving the knowledge and awareness about the condition, including for black men.

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee Cc: Dame Caroline Dinenage, Chair

Found: Current members Attendance Sarah Owen (Labour, Luton North) (Chair) (added 11 Sep 2024) 49 of 50

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Owen (Chair); Alex Brewer; David Burton-Sampson; Dame Nia Griffith

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Owen (Chair); David Burton-Sampson; Rosie Duffield; Dame Nia

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: sincerely, Lord Alton of Liverpool Chair, Joint Committee on Human Rights Cc: Ms Sarah Owen

Found: The Brew Eagle House, 163 City Road, London, EC1V 1NR Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee

Found: 2AS Sarah Owen

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Owen (Chair); Alex Brewer; Rosie Duffield; Christine Jardine

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee Cc: Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: parliament.uk +44 (0)20 7219 4432 Social: @houseofcommons parliament.uk Yours sincerely, Sarah Owen

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Owen (Chair); Alex Brewer; David Burton-Sampson; Rosie Duffield

Found: Marie Tidball MP (EHC0010), Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (EHC0011), Mr Toby Perkins MP (EHC0013), Sarah Owen

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Owen (Chair); David Burton-Sampson; Dame Nia Griffith; Christine

Submit Evidence (by 8 May 2026)

The Women and Equalities Committee will examine different ways women and girls can be involved in sport beyond participating as athletes, players and competitors.