Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 46185 on Police: Recruitment, and with reference to the document entitled Transparency data: Cambridgeshire Constabulary, published on 9 April 2025, whether the projected growth for Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the only police recruitment budgeted for in Cambridgeshire in the 2025-26 financial year.

The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to tackle crime effectively and protect the communities they serve. We have been clear with all forces that they are required to deliver sufficient recruitment to maintain officer numbers through funding provided in the 2025-26 police funding settlement in parallel with neighbourhood policing commitments.Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding. This includes funding to support the costs of the 2024-25 pay award, the increase in the employer national insurance contributions, funding for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood policing roles.A total of up to £376.8 million has been allocated to support the maintenance of police officer numbers in England and Wales in 2025-26. It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to put in place robust workforce plans that will ensure forces can continue to manage budgets whilst delivering sufficient recruitment to maintain officer numbers and their neighbourhood policing commitments.

How many people who arrived illegally via small boat (a) before and (b) since 5 July 2024 are living in hotel accommodation.

The Home Office does not publish asylum support statistics broken down by method of arrival.However, data is published quarterly, on both the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and the number of small boat arrivals, and can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Whether her Department has a strategy to reduce instances of male rape.

The Government’s definition of violence against women and girls (VAWG) encompasses crimes which disproportionately, but not exclusively, affect women and girls. We recognise that men and boys experience these crimes, including rape, and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need. The Government has made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences for all victims. This includes introducing free, independent legal advice advisors for victims of adult rape; and fast-tracking rape cases.In far too many cases, we know victims aren’t getting the justice they deserve. That's why it is so important that police and prosecutors continue to drive forward the transformational change through Operation Soteria, a joint policing and Crown Prosecution Service programme, that has developed new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of adult rape. We are continuing to fund Operation Soteria to support policing and prosecutors to build the strongest possible, suspect-focused cases. In addition, the Home Office has invested in specialist support services, such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. We will publish a new VAWG Strategy this year to help ensure all victims of these crimes are better supported.

What steps she is taking to improve support for male victims of crime categorised as violence against women and girls.

The definition of VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) encompasses crimes which disproportionately, but not exclusively, affect women and girls. We recognise that men and boys experience abusive and violent crimes, such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual abuse and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors also get the support that they need. The Home Office have invested in services, such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. We will publish a new VAWG strategy this year to better support all victims of these appalling crimes.

How many ASPEN cards have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen since 5 July 2024.

Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.

How many asylum claims have been (a) made and (b) processed since 5 July 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims and initial decisions on asylum claims is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to 2024.

What the (a) lowest, (b) highest and (c) average administrative cost to the public purse is of processing an asylum claim.

The requested data is not centrally held, but Tab ASY_04 at the link below details 2023/24 Asylum Support costs for the average claimant:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q4-2024.

Whether the (a) College of Policing and (b) National Police Chiefs' Council policing framework for violence against women and girls include male victims.

The Government adopts a single consistent definition of violence against women and girls (VAWG) which recognises that women and girls are disproportionately affected by certain crimes but includes all victims, including male victims. The police are operationally independent and have developed their own working definition as part of their policing framework, which recognises the same offences but does not include men and boys.These differences do not impact the way VAWG crimes are investigated or recorded by the police. The different definitions also do not impact on the Government measuring trends, for which we utilise all available data that aligns with the agreed Government definition.

What accommodation is being used to house people who have arrived in the UK illegally in Huntingdon constituency.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

How many Aspen cards have been issued to asylum seekers since 5 July 2024.

Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.

What the cost is of Aspen cards issued since 5 July 2024.

Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.

If she will publish the number of (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers, (c) special Constables and (d) redeployed police officers to be recruited by each police force in year one of the neighbourhood policing grant allocation programme.

The Government has committed to restoring neighbourhood policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. As set out in the 2025-26 police funding settlement, £200 million of funding has been allocated to forces in England and Wales in 2025-26 to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of this Parliament.On 9 April, the Government published force allocations and projections for total neighbourhood policing growth in year one as agreed with each force.This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-policing-grant-allocations-and-projections-2025-to-2026

How many licences for the use of animals for scientific purposes were granted (a) in 2023-24 and (b) since 5 July 2024.

The number of licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act for the use of animals in scientific procedures is published in the Regulator’s Annual Report.The Report for 2023 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports.During 2023, 460 new project licences were granted. The Report for 2024 will be published later this year.

How the neighbourhood policing grant allocation for each police force has been calculated.

As a central part of the Safer Streets Mission, £200 million has been made available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel.In 2025-26, funding for this grant has been allocated using the Police Funding Formula, and details of the force-level allocations have been confirmed in individual letters directly with forces.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a criminal offence of honour based violence or abuse.

‘Honour’-based abuse (HBA) is an umbrella term, covering specific crimes such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, but also other forms of abuse that take place in an 'honour' context. While there is not a specific offence of Honour Based Abuse, there are a number of measures in place to help ensure consistency. The college of policing has published policing guidance and a national policing strategy for HBA, FGM and forced marriage and the government has in place statutory multi-agency guidance and free e-learning on forced marriage and FGM to support all professionals. The sentencing guidelines for cases involving domestic abuse also apply to Honour Based Abuse. Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and the new VAWG strategy will include action to tackle HBA. The strategy will be published later this year.

What neighbourhood policing grant allocations can be spent on.

The approach to delivery in 2025/26, which will be year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible, and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands.In year one of the programme to ensure that funding effectively contributes to neighbourhood policing aims and is limited to expenditure that is critical for the programme, funding must be used for personnel in roles that fulfil neighbourhood policing functions (defined by CIPFA Category 1A), items that directly support them in their neighbourhood roles and Special Constables.

How many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by their Department since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July 2024 there have been 140 phones, 155 laptops and 186 other electronic devices recorded as lost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2025 to Question 44365 on Offenders: Deportation, what the cost to the public purse was of returning the 3,594 Foreign National Offenders.

The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What items of equipment currently issued to police officers in are manufactured in China.

At present, the procurement of equipment for individual police forces is a matter for their chief constables.

What the maximum (a) population size and (b) geographical area is that each neighbourhood police officer acting as the named point of contact will be required to cover.

The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales, no matter where they live. As the Prime Minister announced on 10 April, by July, every community will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities as part of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.We are working with forces to guarantee neighbourhood areas are of a size that are recognisable to local communities, such as council wards.