Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help improve the capability of police officers in West Dorset to support people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The College of Policing set the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health including their powers under section 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.
The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice.
Police officers are not mental health experts, neither are they expected to be. However, the training available to police officers in respect of mental ill health or other vulnerabilities is aimed at equipping them to identify potential issues and to know when interventions from partner agencies and health professionals may be needed.
Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of funding more neighbourhood police officers in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.
Based on their £2,588,427 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Surrey are projected to grow by 25 FTE NHP police officers in 2025-26, and in addition, the force is also projected to grow by 15 special constables (headcount) over the same period.
Arrangements for future years will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports have there been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores for (a) cash (b) drugs (c) weapons (d) jewellery (e) electronic goods (f) personal ID documents for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold central information on the number of reports there have been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores. The information may be held by individual police forces.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the training provided to police officers responding to mental health crises.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The College of Policing set the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health including their powers under section 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.
The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice.
Police officers are not mental health experts, neither are they expected to be. However, the training available to police officers in respect of mental ill health or other vulnerabilities is aimed at equipping them to identify potential issues and to know when interventions from partner agencies and health professionals may be needed.
Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 91633 on Police and Crime Commissioners: Cornwall and Devon, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) accountability of Policing and Crime Boards.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Policing and Crime Boards will have the necessary powers and levers to maintain strong local oversight of policing. They will exercise the same core governance functions and duties as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and will be supported by an appointed Policing and Crime Lead who will provide day-to-day oversight of the force. We have been clear that is not a return to the invisible, committee-based governance under previous police authorities.
Policing and Crime Boards will bring together the elected council leaders in the force area, maintaining democratic accountability for policing as well as the benefit of being better able to join up governance of policing with other local services. We are working closely with the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Association on the design and implementation of these arrangements, including ensuring that there will be robust scrutiny arrangements for Policing and Crime Boards.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to shotgun licensing on (a) rural hotels, (b) pubs and (c) tourism businesses reliant on shooting activity.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 on (a) rural and (b) semi-rural economies of merging (i) shotgun and (ii) rifle licensing systems.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has modelled the potential impact on levels of employment of stricter conditions on shotgun certificate holders.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to further consult stakeholders on potential changes to the firearms licensing system.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.
We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests and prosecutions have resulted from reported offences against churches in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and will not tolerate anti-Christian hatred in any form.
The Home Office does not hold arrest or crime data specifically relating to Christian places of worship.