Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what actions her Department will be taking to increase the number of unannounced inspections of establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is fully committed to continuous improvement in regulation and strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in science and innovation. As part of this, the Home Office is in the final stages of delivering a comprehensive programme of regulatory reform to strengthen the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to retain confidence and maintain robust compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).
As part of this programme, the number of inspectors will increase from 14.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at the end of 2017 to 22 FTE positions by March 2026.
Audit is based on assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. The Regulator’s audit programme for compliance assurance purposes is delivered in accordance with the requirements defined in ASPA.
As part of the regulatory reform programme, the Regulator will be updating its audit programme, which is scheduled for release later in 2026.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of merging Section 1 and Section 2 licensing on existing waiting times for firearms licensing; and whether the merger could exacerbate current delays.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has committed to publishing a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025.
Recommendations to strengthen the controls on shotguns had been made to Government by the Coroner following the inquest into the deaths of those who were shot and killed in Keyham, Plymouth in August 2021. Similar recommendations had also been made by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following its investigation into the Plymouth shootings, and by the Scottish Affairs Committee following a fatal shooting with a shotgun in Skye in August 2022.
We intend to publish the consultation shortly and we will carefully consider all of the views put forward in response to it, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we intend to bring forward, including to policing and to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of drug misuse crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The ONS publishes data from Crime Survey in England and Wales on the extent and trends of illicit drug use and it can be found here:
The Home Office publishes police recorded crime data for trafficking of drugs and possession of drugs and it can be found here:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK children are currently missing with active investigations to locate their whereabouts.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this data centrally.
Information about current missing persons incidents is held by individual police forces. The National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Unit holds the national database for all missing incidents that are unresolved after 72hours, allowing the police to have access to missing persons information across force boundaries.
In addition, annual missing persons statistics, broken down to police force level,are published by the National Crime Agency’s Missing Person’s Unit in its annual data report which can be found here: Downloads - National Crime Agency
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when does she intend to launch the consultation on changes to firearms licensing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We intend to publish this consultation shortly.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent glassware attacks at late night venues; and whether her Department plans to engage with the Bottle Stop campaign.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police are responsible for protecting the public by detecting and preventing crime. The government expects the police to respond to all allegations made, including those involving violence in the night time economy, and treat them seriously, investigate and consider any arrests or charging decisions as required.
The Home Office has responsibility for the Licensing Act 2003, which determines the regime for the licensing of, among others, venues which sell alcohol. The Act sets out four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; the prevention of public nuisance; upholding public safety and protecting children from harm.
Local licensing authorities are responsible for making licensing decisions in England and Wales and ensuring the licensing objectives are upheld. The Government publishes statutory guidance to assist licensing authorities in fulfilling these duties. The guidance sets out matters that should be considered by a licensing authority in relation to public safety. This explicitly includes giving consideration to requiring, as part of a premises licence, the use of plastic containers and preventing customer access to glass bottles.
The Government regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders on matters relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the sale and supply of alcohol.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of licensing laws for supporting rural and community pubs.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Hospitality businesses are vital to our communities, both in town centres and in rural areas. As well as providing local jobs and supporting local supply chains, they help create places where people want to live, work, visit and invest.
No assessment has been made specifically of the link between licensing laws and supporting rural and community pubs, however a wider reform programme is underway following the report of a Licensing Taskforce and consultation with stakeholders over the past year. The Government aims to support all hospitality businesses, by developing reforms which lead to a more responsive and enabling licensing system for hospitality and leisure businesses that also protects and safeguards communities.
As part of the licensing reforms programme a Call for Evidence closed in November with over 2,000 responses to a range of questions about changes that could be made to the licensing regime. Following that we published a new National Licensing Policy Framework (NLPF) for the hospitality sector, which set how the Licensing Act should be applied to support the growth of hospitality businesses and highlights examples of good practice.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025, to Question 90236, on Traveller: Caravan Sites, what information her Department holds on whether any police forces have been able to use the powers following the court’s declaration of incompatibility.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
In May 2024 the High Court made a declaration of incompatibility directed to sections 60C(3), 61(4ZA)(a), 62(1A)(a) and 62B(2) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, in so far as they identify a 12-month no-return period to an unauthorised site after being directed to leave.
This legislation remains in force until it is amended or repealed by the government. It is an operational matter for individual police forces to determine whether and how to enforce the legislation and the Home Office does not collect this information.
The government is working on a response to the Court’s judgment. In the Crime and Policing Bill Committee stage debate on 17 November, Home Office Minister Lord Hanson committed to set out the Government’s response to the judgment ahead of the Report stage of the Bill.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers retired due to ill health in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service and their reasons for leaving, including medical retirements, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information on the number of police officers leaving the police service by reason for leaving, including medical retirements, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2025 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a364d312ee8a5f0806b7c/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-230725.ods
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers hired in the last ten years in England underwent standard vetting procedures prior to their hiring.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the vetting of new recruits over the last ten years. This information is held by each individual police force.
Following the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) Operation Jorica review, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect them on their recruitment and vetting practices and asked them to provide an assessment in relation to other forces in England and Wales.