Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the ability of police forces to implement the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee set out commitments for police forces to implement by July 2025. Forces are now delivering on the Guarantee across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing. Every neighbourhood now has named, contactable officers.
Additionally, the Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of drone-related incidents reported to the police by type of incident for each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police provide the Home Office with analysis of general trends in drone misuse across the UK to help co-ordinate work and allocate resources across government.
Over the past five years these trends have shown a consistent increase in both legal and illegal drone use.
The police maintain detailed central reporting and recording which is used for operational and planning purposes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) disciplinary actions and (b) dismissals of Home Office officials have there been for unauthorised access to personal data since July 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not hold data specifically on the number of cases involving unauthorised access to personal data and would otherwise be disproportionate effort to retrieve.
The nearest category for which we hold data is ‘Unauthorised Access IT Systems, Databases and Record Systems’, the following have been prepared using these figures.
(a) Number of discipline actions ‘Unauthorised Access IT Systems, Databases and Record Systems’ | 19 | |
(b) Number of dismissals where the charge type is ‘Unauthorised Access IT Systems, Databases and Record Systems’ | 12 |
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many aircraft are currently operated by the National Police Air Service by (a) type and (b) operational status.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As NPAS is a police-led collaboration, it is their National Strategic Board which is responsible for setting and evaluating the strategic direction of NPAS, as well as for all operating and financial decisions. Policing leaders are best placed to determine their requirements for air support and how to meet this using the resources available. However, Home Office officials remain closely involved and continue to monitor and support NPAS and each year agree objectives and deliverables for NPAS within the funding envelope available.
The NPAS Strategic Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of NPAS, the terms of the Collaboration Agreement arranged through section 22A of the Police Act 1996 agreed between forces, and for all operating and financial decisions within the scope of the grant funding agreement, such as the number and location of NPAS bases.
The total budget allocation for NPAS in each of the last five years was as follows:
NPAS currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, comprising 20 rotary (8 EC135 T2, 8 EC135 P2, and 4 EC145 models), and 4 fixed wing. NPAS is in the process of partially replacing this fleet.
NPAS operates a network of 15 strategically located bases across England and Wales, providing vital air support to police forces nationwide. In addition to these regional bases, NPAS also operates a 24-hour service from Lippitts Hill in Epping Forest, supporting the Metropolitan Police Service and ensuring continuous air coverage for London. There are currently no changes to the base network planned for the next two years.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many operational bases the National Police Air Service maintains; and what changes to the base network are planned for the next two years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As NPAS is a police-led collaboration, it is their National Strategic Board which is responsible for setting and evaluating the strategic direction of NPAS, as well as for all operating and financial decisions. Policing leaders are best placed to determine their requirements for air support and how to meet this using the resources available. However, Home Office officials remain closely involved and continue to monitor and support NPAS and each year agree objectives and deliverables for NPAS within the funding envelope available.
The NPAS Strategic Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of NPAS, the terms of the Collaboration Agreement arranged through section 22A of the Police Act 1996 agreed between forces, and for all operating and financial decisions within the scope of the grant funding agreement, such as the number and location of NPAS bases.
The total budget allocation for NPAS in each of the last five years was as follows:
NPAS currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, comprising 20 rotary (8 EC135 T2, 8 EC135 P2, and 4 EC145 models), and 4 fixed wing. NPAS is in the process of partially replacing this fleet.
NPAS operates a network of 15 strategically located bases across England and Wales, providing vital air support to police forces nationwide. In addition to these regional bases, NPAS also operates a 24-hour service from Lippitts Hill in Epping Forest, supporting the Metropolitan Police Service and ensuring continuous air coverage for London. There are currently no changes to the base network planned for the next two years.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total budget allocation for the National Police Air Service was in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As NPAS is a police-led collaboration, it is their National Strategic Board which is responsible for setting and evaluating the strategic direction of NPAS, as well as for all operating and financial decisions. Policing leaders are best placed to determine their requirements for air support and how to meet this using the resources available. However, Home Office officials remain closely involved and continue to monitor and support NPAS and each year agree objectives and deliverables for NPAS within the funding envelope available.
The NPAS Strategic Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of NPAS, the terms of the Collaboration Agreement arranged through section 22A of the Police Act 1996 agreed between forces, and for all operating and financial decisions within the scope of the grant funding agreement, such as the number and location of NPAS bases.
The total budget allocation for NPAS in each of the last five years was as follows:
NPAS currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, comprising 20 rotary (8 EC135 T2, 8 EC135 P2, and 4 EC145 models), and 4 fixed wing. NPAS is in the process of partially replacing this fleet.
NPAS operates a network of 15 strategically located bases across England and Wales, providing vital air support to police forces nationwide. In addition to these regional bases, NPAS also operates a 24-hour service from Lippitts Hill in Epping Forest, supporting the Metropolitan Police Service and ensuring continuous air coverage for London. There are currently no changes to the base network planned for the next two years.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Police Air Service in meeting its strategic objectives since its establishment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As NPAS is a police-led collaboration, it is their National Strategic Board which is responsible for setting and evaluating the strategic direction of NPAS, as well as for all operating and financial decisions. Policing leaders are best placed to determine their requirements for air support and how to meet this using the resources available. However, Home Office officials remain closely involved and continue to monitor and support NPAS and each year agree objectives and deliverables for NPAS within the funding envelope available.
The NPAS Strategic Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of NPAS, the terms of the Collaboration Agreement arranged through section 22A of the Police Act 1996 agreed between forces, and for all operating and financial decisions within the scope of the grant funding agreement, such as the number and location of NPAS bases.
The total budget allocation for NPAS in each of the last five years was as follows:
NPAS currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, comprising 20 rotary (8 EC135 T2, 8 EC135 P2, and 4 EC145 models), and 4 fixed wing. NPAS is in the process of partially replacing this fleet.
NPAS operates a network of 15 strategically located bases across England and Wales, providing vital air support to police forces nationwide. In addition to these regional bases, NPAS also operates a 24-hour service from Lippitts Hill in Epping Forest, supporting the Metropolitan Police Service and ensuring continuous air coverage for London. There are currently no changes to the base network planned for the next two years.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and searches in have led to an arrest for (a) possession of a knife and (b) bladed article in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has recent discussions with police forces on their use of stop and search powers under Section 60 of the Public Order Act 2023.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
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 recent guidance she has issued to police forces on the (a) lawful and (b) proportionate use of stop and search powers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.