Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in rural towns and villages in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government.
Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. West Mercia Police will receive £3,108,283 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.
In addition, 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, West Mercia Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.
The Winter of Action which commenced on the 1 December 2025 and will run to 31 January 2026, is currently underway, focusing on making town centres safer across England and Wales. This initiative builds on the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, continuing efforts to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, while also addressing retail crime and night-time economy offences, particularly during darker evenings when risks to public safety increase. West Mercia have listed 14 areas, and Shropshire have listed 3 areas as part of the Winter of Action.
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are making our streets and neighbourhoods safer by strengthening the powers available to the police and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour. This includes introducing new Respect Orders to give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most persistent adult anti-social behaviour offenders, and powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is available from her Department for local crime prevention measures in rural areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.
We are improving the protections for rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft, anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.
This financial year the Home Office has provided 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). The National Rural Crime Unit work with police forces and rural communities to promote the use of crime prevention measures such as Rural Watch.
We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2028. The strategy highlights how policing can assist in the prevention of crime in rural areas.
It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including Mayors who exercise PCC or equivalent functions, to take decisions around the allocation of their funding and resources.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action is being taken to increase scam awareness in rural communities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Whilst it is vital we continue to target the criminals behind fraud and make it harder for them to operate, we want to increase awareness across all communities to help people.
We are working with City of London Police (CoLP) to support their coordination of the Fraud Protect Network. The network is made up of local, regional and national law enforcement officers and is designed to reduce the threat of fraud and revictimisation by providing consistent protect messaging and safeguarding advice to the public, including those in rural communities.
Additionally, the Government has continued to fund the national ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ awareness campaign to equip the public with useful protective behaviours against fraud. The campaign, and supporting website, make it easier for the public to recognise fraud and take steps to protect themselves, their family and friends.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of shotgun licences on funding for youth activities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years and we intend to undertake more regular reviews in the future.
The need to increase firearms licensing fees to help address shortcomings in firearms licensing was highlighted by the Senior Coroner in his Preventing Future Deaths reports into the fatal shootings in Plymouth in August 2021.
It is important that the additional revenue from firearms licensing fees is used to support improvements in police force firearms licensing teams, and my predecessor, Dame Diana Johnson MP, wrote to all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to make clear that the increased fees must be used for this purpose.
Whilst the Government’s manifesto commitment referred to the money raised by full cost recovery fees being used to support youth interventions to prevent serious violence, it was decided instead ahead of the February 2025 increase to fees, that firearms fees income must be retained by police forces to support improvements in police firearms licensing.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the ability of police forces to implement the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee set out commitments for police forces to implement by July 2025. Forces are now delivering on the Guarantee across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing. Every neighbourhood now has named, contactable officers.
Additionally, the Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the number of police forces.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to addressing the strategic challenges policing faces. We specifically recognise the problems around fragmentation and resultant inefficiencies across the 43 police forces, which many police system leaders have highlighted.
The policing system must be equipped to serve the public effectively and to make efficient use of its funding and resources. This is why the Home Office will publish a White Paper on police reform later this year. It will include a comprehensive package of reforms to policing in England and Wales that will drive quality, consistency and efficiency.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales, wherever they live. On 10 April, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including that by July, every community, will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing issues facing their communities. Local communities and businesses will also have ongoing opportunities to engage with neighbourhood teams and raise local concerns and priorities through regular local beat meetings.
The Guarantee was developed through close working with the National Police Chief’s Council and other policing leads, and we continue to work closely with them to ensure it is delivered across all police forces in England and Wales.
The Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether funding will be allocated to roll out hotspot policing in rural areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government has awarded £66.3m in 2025/26 to all 43 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales for the Hot Spot Action Fund. This funding is for high-visibility patrolling in the areas with the highest densities (‘hotspots’) of knife crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as problem-oriented policing to tackle the longer-term drivers of crime.
This funding can be used to roll-out hotspot policing in rural areas if the area has a high density of knife crime and anti-social behaviour relative to the force area. Where funding is specifically targeted is an operational decision for individual PCCs and police forces. West Mercia Police (which includes South Shropshire) has been awarded £1m from this fund in 2025/26.
We are also providing over £800,000 in 25/26 for the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit. This funding will support police forces to tackle rural and wildlife crimes, including organised theft and disrupting serious and organised crime groups.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in rural towns and villages.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, sets out how we will reduce ASB. Every police force across England and Wales will have a dedicated lead officer for ASB, working with communities, including rural towns and villages, to develop a local ASB action plan.
We are delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, putting 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities – including rural communities - so residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced tougher powers to tackle repeat offending, including the new Respect Order to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders. Breach of a Respect Order will be a criminal offence and courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the projected savings that will be raised via the police collaboration and efficiency programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In her Written Ministerial statement of 19 November (Statement UIN HCWS232) the Home Secretary set out her intention to work with policing on a package of reforms to ensure it can operate efficiently and effectively, deliver the Safer Streets Mission and support the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. In particular, she announced a new Police Efficiencies and Collaboration Programme to deliver commercial efficiencies and make cashable savings.
We continue to work with policing to further develop this programme, identify and unlock immediate cost savings and lay the foundations to deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of efficiency savings by the end of this Parliament.