Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve police efficiency in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The policing system must be equipped to serve the public effectively and to make efficient use of its funding and resources.The Government has established a Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme which will save £354 million and free up millions of officer hours by 2029 across policing. The programme’s initiatives are available to all 43 forces across England & Wales. Surrey has already started to participate in some of the programme’s offerings including signing up to a new commercial energy strategy to increase price certainty and reduce risk in a volatile market.In the coming weeks, we will be setting out further reforms in a white paper on policing.Surrey Police will receive up to £343 million in 2026/27, an increase of up to £14.8 million when compared to the 2025/26 police funding settlement.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of automatic number plate recognition cameras in operation across (a) England and (b) Wales.

At present UK Law Enforcement Agencies have access to ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) data from 12,076 camera locations in England, Scotland and Wales via the National ANPR Service (NAS).Further cameras will be used by Local Authorities in the UK use ANPR cameras to enforce traffic rules, manage restricted zones like Low Emission Zones (LEZ), School Streets, and Lorry Controls, monitor traffic flow, and tackle anti-social behaviour, issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for violations like driving in bus lanes or breaching HGV access times. Many more are used privately by petrol station forecourt and car parking operators.

What assessment she has made of the reliability of ANPR data in (a) preventing and (b) detecting (i) road traffic and (ii) wider criminal offences.

ANPR is a valuable tool to help the police tackle crime and keep the road safe. We keep the effectiveness of police and law enforcement use of ANPR under regular review, to ensure it remains a robust tool for identifying vehicles of interest to the police and drivers who break the law. Reads in the National ANPR Service are usually accompanied by a close-up image of the number plate (plate patch) and an overview image of the vehicle to enable users to corroborate the data.

How inaccuracies in vehicle databases are accounted for when ANPR data is used in policing decisions.

ANPR is a valuable tool to help the police tackle crime and keep the road safe. We keep the effectiveness of police and law enforcement use of ANPR under regular review, to ensure it remains a robust tool for identifying vehicles of interest to the police and drivers who break the law. Reads in the National ANPR Service are usually accompanied by a close-up image of the number plate (plate patch) and an overview image of the vehicle to enable users to corroborate the data.

What steps she is taking to protect civil liberties in the (a) development and (b) implementation of (i) public order and (ii) policing policy.

All protest legislation has been and is developed in line with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Articles 10 and 11. The government remains committed to protecting civil liberties, including the right to peaceful protest.It has long been a principle in this country that individuals may gather and express their views, provided they do so within the law. Where protests contravene the law, it is essential that the police who are operationally independent have appropriate powers to respond.The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October led by Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC. The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and upholding the right to lawful protest.It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.The review is underway and will conclude by Spring 2026.

What steps she is taking to ensure that police counters are kept open in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions regarding the police estate, including the availability of front counters at police stations, are a matter for Chief Constables equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need and their experience.Police stations are just one of the ways in which people can access their local police. They can also speak to police online, including to report crime, 24 hours a day or by using the 101 service for non-emergencies or 999 in an emergency. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, all forces now also have named and contactable neighbourhood officers dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most to their communities.

What steps she is taking to deliver effective community policing in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee makes sure that every neighbourhood has named, contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including in Surrey Heath.£200 million has been made available in 2025/26 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 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026. Based on their £2,588,427 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Surrey Police are projected to grow by 25 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025/26.

What steps she is taking to tackle hate crime in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it. We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October.  The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and upholding the right to lawful protest. It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe. In addition, the government funds an online hate crime reporting portal, True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime, providing expert advice to police to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle domestic abuse in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve VAWG in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.In advance of the strategy, we have already introduced measures designed to strengthen the police response to VAWG, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account. These include: funding to rollout Drive Project to tackle high-risk and high-harm domestic abuse perpetrators across England and Wales; embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces; measures to tackle spiking; measures focusing on preventing and tackling ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA), and launching the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts which go further than any existing orders.The Home Office has provided the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Surrey with an annual funding allocation of £998,248 for 2025/26 for interventions around perpetrators of domestic abuse. PCCs in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.Furthermore, this government has increased funding to local authorities, which includes Surrey Heath constituency, to £160 million for 2025-26, an uplift of £30 million from the previous year, to provide further support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors, including tailored support for protected groups.

What steps she is taking to help tackle drug dealing in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

To deliver on our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation. County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade.Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response. We also have a dedicated fund to help local police forces, including Surrey Police, tackle county lines.As part of the Programme, the NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 23-29 June 2025 and resulted in 241 lines closed, as well as 1,965 arrests, 1,179 individuals safeguarded, and 501 weapons seized. In Surrey, proactive activity during this period resulted in 7 deal lines seized, 16 arrests, and 4 weapons seized.

What steps she is taking to tackle phone theft in Surrey Heath constituency.

Mobile phone theft causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality, and the Government is determined to reduce it.Our aim is to disrupt, design-out and disincentivise mobile phone theft. We are working closely with law enforcement partners, the tech companies and other industry representatives to make swift progress to deliver practical and effective measures to crack down on this criminality and break the business model of mobile phone thieves.This includes relevant partners playing their part to disrupt the resale of stolen phones, explore technological solutions to make devices harder to register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and their devices. In addition, the Government is giving the police the power to enter premises to search for and seize stolen items which have been electronically tracked to the premises without requiring a warrant from a court, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. This will significantly enhance the ability of the police to act swiftly and effectively.The Government will deliver real results on crime by reducing opportunities for theft and ensuring offenders are caught and that victims see swift and effective action.

If she will provide additional resource to Surrey Police to help process outstanding firearm and shotgun licence applications.

The issuing of firearms certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.The Government has taken action to increase the fees for firearms and shotgun licensing applications that are charged by police forces. On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. The extra income from fees will help police forces, including Surrey Police, to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams. This was the first increase in fees for 10 years since 2015 and we intend to conduct more regular reviews of fees in the future.In the interests of consistency and transparency, the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Firearms Licensing is now publishing quarterly performance data for firearms licensing teams in all police forces. This includes a new performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months. We welcome this greater transparency and forces making improvements in performance, subject to ensuring public safety remains the priority and suitability checks are carried out properly.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of local collision investigation teams in Surrey Heath constituency.

The police are the lead agency for collision investigation and have the primary duty to investigate and establish the circumstances that have led to road deaths and life changing injuries.The policing of fatal and serious injury road collisions and how available resources are deployed in Surrey is the responsibility of Surrey Police’s Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

What support her Department provides to police forces to tackle driving offences linked to (a) alcohol and (b) drug use in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police. Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.

What steps her Department is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) police forces in promoting road safety in Surrey over the festive period.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police. Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current measures to deter antisocial behaviour in car parks in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. Surrey Police will receive £2,588,427 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, Surrey Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary has announced a "Winter of Action" in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.In February, we introduced the new Respect Order in the Crime and Policing Bill, along with a range of other enhancements to the existing ASB powers. Respect Orders will be behavioural orders, issued by the civil courts. They will enable courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in harmful anti-social behaviours and can also compel adult perpetrators to take action to address the root cause of their behaviour. Breach of the order will be a criminal offence, allowing the police to immediately arrest anyone suspected of breach. Courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, imprisonment.

What assessment she has made of the impact of (a) alcohol and (b) drug impairment on road safety in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police. Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of dangerous driving offences in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is completely unacceptable and there are tough penalties in place and we expect the police to enforce them. Drink-driving penalties - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade which they intend to publish by the end of the year. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the police the power to arrest and detain an individual if they have provided a specimen of breath, blood or urine that exceeds the prescribed drink or drug driving limit or the individual’s ability to drive properly is impaired. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police. Under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an individual is guilty of an offence if their ability to drive is impaired by drink or drugs.The Government continues to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation.The Government’s flagship road safety campaign THINK! aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, by changing attitudes and behaviours. The Government launched a drug drive awareness campaign to coincide with THINK! for the first time on 24 November.The campaign will be supported by coordinated enforcement activity by the police under Operation Limit, which aims to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.

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.

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.

What plans her Department has to further consult stakeholders on potential changes to the firearms licensing system.

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.