Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Police Funding

Monday 17 January 2022 · 10 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 5 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are proposing a total police funding settlement approaching 17,000 million in 2022-23, an increase of up to 1,100 million compared with this year.
  • The Minister is willing to meet Peter Gibson to discuss how to better tackle crime related to off-road biking in Darlington.
  • The Minister is happy to join Alun Cairns in congratulating the Vale of Glamorgan Police on their work addressing animal welfare incidents.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Saqib Bhatti Con Meriden and Solihull East
Policing & Resources
Context

The question arises from the ongoing debate about adequate police funding to reduce crime.

Question

What steps is her Department taking to ensure that the police are adequately funded to enable them to reduce crime?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

The Government are proposing a total police funding settlement approaching £17,000 million in 2022-23, an increase of up to £1,100 million compared with this year. Assuming full take-up of precept flexibility, overall police funding available to police and crime commissioners will increase by a whopping £796 million next year.

Answered
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Q2 Peter Gibson
Crime & Law Enforcement Community Security
Context

The question stems from the issue of off-road biking causing anti-social behavior and crime in Darlington despite receiving safer streets funding.

Question

Although Darlington has received almost £1 million in safer streets funding, off-road biking continues to be an antisocial behaviour problem causing crime in my constituency. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what more can be done to tackle this?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I am pleased to hear that that substantial award from the safer streets fund is making a difference in my hon. Friend's constituency, and of course I would be more than happy to meet him to talk about how we can better fight crime in his patch.

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Q3 Alun Cairns Con
Crime & Law Enforcement Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question is related to the significant animal welfare incidents experienced in rural areas, including illegal dog breeding, hare coursing, fly-grazing, and horse neglect.

Question

Vale of Glamorgan, like many rural areas, experiences horrendous animal welfare incidents from illegal dog breeding and hare coursing to fly-grazing and horse neglect. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Chief Inspector Rees and her team on how they have used the additional resources that have been made available to combat some of the worst crimes we could possibly imagine?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I am more than happy to join my right hon. Friend in congratulating his local police force on their work in this area, and I am pleased to hear that his non-human constituents are as important to him as the human ones. He will be aware that some of these truly appalling crimes need to be addressed much more assertively, and I hope he has noticed that, in the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, we are tabling amendments specifically on hare coursing, which will help to fight that awful crime.

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Q4 Andy Carter
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement Democracy & Elections
Context

The question is prompted by the upcoming security statement, focusing on increasing capacity to counter activities that threaten democracy.

Question

Bearing in mind the security statement coming after this question session, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he is working with both law enforcement and security services to understand what more can be done to increase capacity to counter hostile activity that has the potential to damage democracy but operates below the legal threshold?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I know this is a matter of concern to the whole House, which I know is to be addressed by the Home Secretary shortly. As I hope my hon. Friend knows, police capacity—that relates specifically to the question—has been increased not just in territorial policing but in other arms of policing, recognising as we do that, while it is important to fight crime on the ground in all our constituencies, it is also important to fight it there as well.

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Q5 Saqib Bhatti Con Meriden and Solihull East
Policing & Resources
Context

The question is regarding the decision by a Labour police and crime commissioner to close a local police station, undermining safety.

Question

I am pleased that the Government are well on their way to delivering on their pledge to deliver 20,000 police officers, 867 of whom are in the west midlands, but does my right hon. Friend agree that the decision by the Labour police and crime commissioner to close Solihull police station goes a long way to undermining safety and security for my constituents in the north and the south of my constituency?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

My hon. Friend will know that there was a passionate Adjournment debate just the other night to discuss issues in west midlands policing. As I said during that debate, it is strange that at a time of unprecedented expansion in UK policing, the impression is being given, in his constituency and elsewhere, of a retreat. I was in the west midlands on Thursday and I know that the chief constable and others are working hard to get on top, but I would hope that in the light of the expansion of policing in my hon. Friend's part of the world, their property strategy would be reviewed again.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the specific impact of closing Solihull police station

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Q6 Daniel Zeichner Lab Cambridge
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The question arises from concerns about organized ramraids and threats of violence faced by workers in local food shops.

Question

Workers in local food shops in Cambridge have had a tough time in recent years, facing organised shoplifting and threats of violence. It took the intervention of E. J. Matthews, a notable PC, to help to sort that out, but they are now facing organised ramraids. What resources can be made available to Cambridgeshire police to tackle this awful crime?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

As I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, Cambridgeshire police has expanded quite significantly, in terms of pure police numbers, over the past couple of years, but I hope he will also have noticed the work that is being done by the national retail crime steering group, which I chair, to look specifically at crime in this area. Given what he has mentioned about ramraiding in his constituency, I will go away and look at whether a pattern is emerging across the east of England and hope that I can encourage the police to address it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific additional resources for Cambridgeshire police

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Q7 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Crime & Law Enforcement Community Security
Context

The question is about the increase in antisocial behavior despite an unprecedented expansion in UK policing.

Question

The Minister has just said that there is an unprecedented expansion, but back in the real world, antisocial behaviour increased by 7% last year: it is a growing problem across so many communities in my constituency and around the country. Although the new officers are beginning to come on-stream, does he even begin to understand the damage that the cuts not only to police numbers but to services such as youth services have done to communities like the ones I represent?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

Year on year, last year and the year before, we actually saw a fall in police-recorded incidents of antisocial behaviour, but we have seen fluctuations in that crime type over the past few months as the variations in covid lockdown regulations have changed. We are keeping a close eye on it. The hon. Gentleman will have noticed that in our “Beating crime plan”, published in July last year, we encouraged police and crime commissioners—I hope he will encourage his to do this as well—to form their own antisocial behaviour taskforces so that they can really pinpoint and address this most local of crime problems very effectively.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the specific impact of cuts on communities

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Q8 Munira Wilson Lib Dem Twickenham
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

Since the Prime Minister was Mayor, community policing in London has been reduced significantly, leading to a doubling of knife crime. A recent stabbing incident involving an 18-year-old Afghan refugee raised concerns about the situation.

Question

Proper community policing is vital for preventing crime and saving lives, yet across London, community policing has been slashed since the Prime Minister was Mayor, with Richmond borough seeing officers redirected to other events. Knife crime has doubled in this period. Will there be a boost to community policing in Twickenham and Richmond borough as promised by this Government?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

The hon. Lady is stretching it a bit to say that crime over the past three or four years was the fault of the previous Mayor, who has not been in office for some time. Nevertheless, I hope she will welcome the recent decision by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to reinstitute neighbourhood policing, and that she will see the extra numbers of police officers—many hundreds—that have now been recruited in London appearing in her constituency soon.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific boost to community policing was not addressed directly, instead discussing a general increase in officer numbers.

How: Stretching It A Bit, Blaming The Previous Mayor

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Q9 Jessica Morden Lab Newport East
Policing & Resources
Context

Since 2010, there have been significant cuts to police staffing levels resulting in a reduction of over 24,000 officers, community support officers and staff across the country.

Question

Current recruitment efforts are welcome, but will the Minister acknowledge that there are 24,000 fewer police officers since 2010 due to Government cuts, which has a real impact?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I will certainly acknowledge that police numbers fell post the 2010 election, but only as long as the hon. Lady acknowledges that her party crashed the economy, causing us to make much-needed and very vital economies in our national spending.

Not addressed: The specific reduction in police staffing levels was not acknowledged directly.

How: Crashed The Economy, Blaming The Previous Government

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Q10 Jonathan Gullis
Policing & Resources Community Security
Context

Tunstall town missed out on a recent safer streets fund bid, despite facing issues such as high burglary rates, aggressive begging and antisocial behaviour.

Question

Analysis shows that Tunstall suffers disproportionately from crime including burglary, aggressive begging and antisocial behaviour. We want improved lighting, CCTV extension and alleyway gates to enhance safety. Will the Minister meet me to discuss why Tunstall deserves this investment?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I am certainly happy to meet my hon. Friend. We will see future rounds of the safer streets fund, and I hope his police and crime commissioner and his local authority will make a bid. I will be more than happy to meet him.

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