Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of police funding for Wales on crime levels in Newport West constituency.

I have regular discussions with my Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of subjects, including policing and criminal justice matters in Wales.

Welsh Police Forces will receive £820 million in total in 2022/23, an increase of up to £39.2 million on the 2021/22 settlement, and Gwent Police Force, which covers the Newport West constituency, will see an increase of £7.7 million in its 2022/23 funding.

Furthermore, Police forces in Wales have been allocated a combined total of 603 additional officers for years one and two of the police uplift. At 31 December, they had recruited 479 officers towards this allocation, with Gwent Police Force having recruited 93 additional uplift officers against an allocation of 124 officers.

It should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on the levels of crime across the country, during this reporting period. In respect of the levels of crime in Newport West, Gwent Police Force recorded a 6% drop in crime (excluding fraud) on the previous year in September 2021.