Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police forces maintain specialist crime capability for coastal communities under proposed policing reforms.

The Police Reform White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, set out the Government’s commitment to introduce a new model for policing, so that it is fit for the modern world and we have the right policing in the right places. We will ensure police forces are equipped to make their local communities safer and implement a new national approach to policing that protects us all. This includes ensuring every part of the country has access to high-quality specialist functions.

The Independent Review of Police Force Structures was launched on 17 March 2026 and will make recommendations on the number and configuration of police forces in England and Wales. The Review will report its recommendations to the Home Secretary in the summer.