Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Police Efficiency

Monday 5 January 2026 · 4 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Bedfordshire police are using modern technology and AI to manage resources effectively despite facing high levels of serious and organised crime.
  • A freeze in recruitment of police support staff has led to frontline officers being reassigned to support roles, reducing their presence on the streets.
  • The Home Secretary has introduced a neighbourhood policing guarantee to address the reduction in visible policing and community reassurance.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

Bedfordshire Police faces a high level of demand due to serious and organised crime, relying on special grant support. The MP is concerned about the protection of these grants.

Question

Bedfordshire police have been using both modern technology and AI to ensure that they make the best use of resources over the medium term. However, Bedfordshire faces a disproportionate level of demand due to complex, serious and organised crime, and it relies on special grant support to tackle these challenges. Can the Secretary of State confirm that she will ensure these special grants are protected for Bedfordshire police? When might we expect an announcement on that?

Answer from The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood)

First, let me say that I recognise the challenges posed by serious and organised crime, and I thank Bedfordshire police for their tireless work to tackle the issue. Applications for special grants in 2026-27 will be considered shortly, and details will be confirmed with police and crime commissioners in due course.

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Q2 Shockat Adam Ind Leicester South
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

A freeze in police support staff recruitment has led to officers being deployed to fill these roles, reducing their visibility on the streets.

Question

In addition to police officers, our police staff play a vital role in fighting crime. However, a freeze in recruitment of those staff has led to police officers being taken off the beat to fill support staff roles, meaning fewer officers on our streets. Can the Secretary of State shed some light on the situation and commit to relaxing the rules on recruiting more support staff?

Answer from The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood)

That is why we have our neighbourhood policing guarantee: to get those police officers back on the beat and in neighbourhoods, providing reassurance and dealing with the types of crimes that we know are going up, which have a huge and deleterious effect on our communities. Of course, total funding for territorial police forces and counter-terrorism policing will be up to £19.5 billion, which is an increase on 2025-26.

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Q3 Matt Vickers Con Stockton West
Policing & Resources
Context

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners reported a £470 million shortfall in police funding, leading to a reduction in the number of police officers.

Question

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has today said that this Government’s funding settlement leaves our police forces with a shortfall of almost half a billion pounds. We have already seen the number of police officers fall under this Government, and that shortfall could make the situation worse. With crime on the rise and prisoners being released early, will the Government commit to getting police numbers back up to the level they were at before they came into office?

Answer from The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood)

It would be a bit easier to take the hon. Gentleman more seriously if it were not true that 94% of the reduction in police officers he refers to occurred when his Government were in office. From March 2024 to June 2024—before the general election— there was a reduction of 1,232 officers, so I will not take any lessons from him. The details of the police funding settlement will be clarified by the end of this month.

Not addressed: Restoration of previous levels of police officer numbers

How: Redirecting Blame To Previous Government

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Q4 Max Wilkinson Lib Dem Cheltenham
Policing & Resources
Context

Between March 2024 and March 2025, the number of frontline police officers reduced by over 4,000 under the current government.

Question

The Tories left us without enough police to tackle burglaries, car thefts and shoplifting. People voted for change, but between March 2024 and March 2025, that legacy and the new Government’s actions meant that we lost more than 4,000 frontline police officers. Will the Home Secretary reassure us and the country that the next set of police numbers in March 2026 will show a net increase in frontline police compared with when this Government took office?

Answer from The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood)

I had hoped that the hon. Gentleman would have welcomed the neighbourhood policing guarantee, which is designed to deal with exactly the problem he has recognised—a decrease in officers visible in our communities. That is what this Government are setting right, with our pledge to have 13,000 by the end of this Parliament and 3,000 by the end of March this year. We are on track to deliver that. As I said earlier, the final details of the police funding settlement will be clear at the end of the month, and I will set out my proposals on wider policing reform in a White Paper in a few weeks’ time.

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