Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of theft of plants and shrubs from gardens; and what action they intend to take in response.

This Government recognises the distress and disruption that theft and vandalism can cause to local communities.

That’s why we’re putting 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with the first 3,000 in place this year. This will ensure that everyone has named, contactable officers they can turn to on local issues.

The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of recruitment for the additional neighbourhood policing roles.