Written questions by Pinkerton.

What discussions she has had with police forces on improving (a) public guidance and (b) awareness around (i) garage security and (ii) burglary prevention in Surrey.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities.In 2024/25, the Home Office funded the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) to provide a burglary prevention course for police officers to improve understanding about home security. The course helps inform the advice and guidance police forces across England and Wales provide to members of the public.More broadly, the Government is delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be 13,000 additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with each neighbourhood having named, contactable officers dealing with local issues by July of this year.As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing. Surrey Police will receive up to £328.3 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £19.7 million when compared to the 2024-5 police settlement equating to a 6.4% cash increase.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce sexual assault incidents in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling rape and sexual offences is a key part of our mission to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). To meet this ambition, we will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy, which we are aiming to publish this summer.We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right powers are available for them to tackle sexual crimes, bring perpetrators to justice and manage sex offenders.In addition, we are investing £13.1m for a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to transform the police response across England and Wales and help deliver our commitment for strengthened specialist VAWG training, ensuring consistent protection for victims and that perpetrators are relentlessly pursued.We have also made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences. This includes rolling out, later this year, free, independent legal advisers for victims of adult rape to help uphold their legal rights, and fast-tracking rape cases.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce garage burglaries in Surrey Heath constituency.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities.In 2024/25, the Home Office funded the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) to provide a burglary prevention course for police officers to improve understanding about home security. The course helps inform the advice and guidance police forces across England and Wales provide to members of the public.More broadly, the Government is delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be 13,000 additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with each neighbourhood having named, contactable officers dealing with local issues by July of this year.As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing. Surrey Police will receive up to £328.3 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £19.7 million when compared to the 2024-5 police settlement equating to a 6.4% cash increase.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using injunctions to protect asylum accommodation.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to staff in asylum accommodation who experience harassment in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What recent discussions her Department has had with police forces on safeguarding asylum accommodation in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent unauthorised activity around asylum accommodation sites in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the public safety risk around asylum hotels.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.We have already taken radical action to get dangerous knives off Britain’s streets, including implementing a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and introducing new legislation to ban ninja swords which will come into effect from 1 August.We have also announced “Ronan’s Law” following an independent review into online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, which sets out a range of measures including strengthened age verification and delivery checks and a requirement on retailers to report bulk sales to the police.With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.The Young Futures Programme is another key part of the Safer Streets Mission and the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade. Under this programme the Government will intervene earlier to ensure children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.In Surrey, the government has allocated £1m for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the forthcoming immigration white paper on the ability of universities to attract international students.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the number of domestic burglaries in Surrey Heath constituency.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities. This includes delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues. As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing.

What steps she is taking to (a) help tackle domestic abuse and (b) improve support services for domestic abuse survivors in Surrey Heath constituency.

This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. The Government has increased funding to all local authorities 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. We will deliver a cross-Government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year. This will take into account the needs of all victims, including those in rural areas.The Government has committed to introduce domestic abuse specialists in every 999 control room, under a new approach named Raneem's Law. Delivery began in February, with the first specialists embedded in five police forces to support and improve the police response to victims of domestic abuse.We have launched new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) in three select areas and with the British Transport Police. These orders are the first to introduce a robust range of restrictions for perpetrators such as the ability to impose electronic tagging and attendance on behaviour change programmes, substance misuse and mental health interventions.The health sector has a vital role to play in preventing, identifying and responding to violence and abuse, and providing healthcare to victims. Domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) is more likely to be disclosed to a healthcare professional than any other professional. Therefore, it is vital that all health professionals including GPs, midwives and health visitors recognise the signs early and know how to respond. DHSC has published and disseminated a working definition of trauma informed practice for the health and care sector.

What assessment she has made of the efficiency of response times of Fire and Rescue Services in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their important work and to keep the public safe. In 2024/25, fire and rescue authorities received around £2.87 billion. Standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA) saw an increase in core spending power of £95.4m during 2024/25.Decisions on how FRA resources, including staff, are best deployed to meet their core functions including crewing and meeting response times, is a matter for each fire and rescue authority, based on risks identified within local Community Risk Management Plans.

What steps her Department has taken to (a) prevent and (b) tackle wildlife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), a specialist police unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.The NWCU operates nationally; however, its activities include offering specialist support on tackling rural and wildlife crime to local forces, as well as training for frontline police officers.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of dispersal orders to reduce (a) theft and (b) anti-social behaviour in market towns in Surrey.

Engagement with policing partners suggests that police consider dispersal orders straightforward to use and effective in the short-term.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will be legislating to extend dispersal orders from 48 to 72 hours, making them more effective.Additionally, to tackle persistent adult ASB offenders, the Crime and Policing Bill has also introduced Respect Orders. Breach of a Respect Order will be a criminal offence and courts will have a wider range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.

What assessment she has made of the fire service's preparedness to effectively (a) manage and (b) respond to forest fires in Surrey.

Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire) through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), while having regard to the views of other key local responders. In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector. Landowners and land managers are also encouraged by DEFRA to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland to make them more resilient to the risk of wildfire.

What steps she is taking to ensure that fire services in Surrey can guarantee public safety during periods of insufficient staffing.

Firefighters play a vital role in keeping the public safe and we are grateful for the work undertaken by fire and rescue services across the country in support of their local communities.The Government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion during 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m during 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.It is for the Fire Authority to guarantee that their Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) can secure sufficient resources to meet public safety during periods of insufficient staffing. This includes ensuring that their FRS has sufficiently trained, qualified and competent persons to meet their legislated functional requirements.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) theft in market towns across Surrey.

Tackling anti-social behaviour, theft and other crimes affecting local communities are a top priorities for this Government, and represent a key part of our Safter Streets Mission.The Government recently announced Respect Orders, which will be introduced ...