Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to tackle disproportionate use of full strip searches during stop and searches of (a) Black, (b) Asian and (c) other ethnic minority people.

Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police and its use must be fair, respectful and without unlawful discrimination. No one should be subject to the use of any police power based on their race or ethnicity. That is why the Government’s manifesto committed to introducing new legal safeguards around strip-searching children and young people.

This Government welcomes the recent reduction in the disproportionate use of stop and search powers, but there is more work to do. We are also increasing transparency in the use of these powers. Figures published in September, covering the 12 months to March 2024 includes, for the first time, data on whether the stop and search included a strip search.