Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with constabularies on reducing response times for burglary and neighbourhood crime.

The Government's Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. We are committed to giving forces the resources they need to keep the public safe.

It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal to provide responses to emergency calls alongside all the other services and support they provide to communities.

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement - a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding. This includes £376.8 million for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.