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 concentrations of houses in multiple occupation and supported exempt accommodation on the number of incidents of serious crime in the West Midlands; and what guidance her Department provides to police forces on identifying and addressing associated risks.

The Home Office works closely with policing partners to understand and address the drivers of serious violence, including through programmes such as the Knife Crime Concentrations Fund (KCCF), which supports a targeted, data-led approach to tackling violence in the areas most affected. In addition, the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance for policing (owned by the College of Policing), recognises living conditions such as HMOs as potential indicators of exploitation.

The Department has not, however, undertaken analysis or made a specific assessment of the impact of concentrations of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or supported exempt accommodation on the number of incidents of serious crime in the West Midlands. Nor does it provide specific guidance to police forces on houses in multiple occupancy and supported exempt accommodation.