Every parliamentary written question tabled by Matt Vickers this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 301–320 of 888 · this parliament
What steps she is taking to improve the timeliness and adequacy of information shared between her Department and local police forces.
The Home Office works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s to address any concerns about information sharing between the department and police forces.
Whether she plans to improve oversight of biometric data storage and retention across law enforcement agencies.
The Home Office launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.The responses received will inform the creation of a bespoke legal framework and oversight for the use of biometric, facial recognition and similar technologies.One aspect the consultation looks at is the oversight of biometric data storage and retention across law enforcement agencies.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress she has made in supporting international efforts to deter hostile state activity.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK humanitarian support in conflict-affected regions over the last 12 months.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of climate-related disasters on UK development priorities.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to enhance the UK's diplomatic presence and influence in emerging economies.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
What assessment she has made of the impact of the recent visa reforms on workforce shortages in key sectors.
The Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK. This approach will be important to enabling delivery of the Government’s broader agenda.
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of measures to deter small boat crossings in the English Channel.
The Government’s Plan for Change sets out our ambition to secure borders and control immigration. We are committed to tackling illegal migration and the criminal networks behind it.The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 has now received Royal Assent and the overarching impact assessment for this can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-impact-assessment/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-impact-assessment-accessible#impact-assessment The Government is continuously monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our measures in place to tackle small boats. As stated in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, the Border Security Command will be publishing an annual report, which must state the Commander’s views on the performance in the financial year of the border security system. This is set out in the Act here:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/31/section/4/enactedBorder security is fundamental to both our national security and economic security and evaluating our approach is a critical part of that.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to support British nationals overseas who are subject to arbitrary detention.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
What discussions the Department has had with the police on improving protection for retail workers experiencing abuse or violence.
The Home Office has regular discussions with the police and other partners on protecting retail workers and tackling shop theft.The Home Office and Department for Business and Trade recently held a joint meeting of the Retail Crime Forum and Retail Sector Council, attended by representatives from policing and the retail sector, which included discussion on the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’. The strategy was jointly developed by the police and industry and aims to provide a collaborative and evidence-based approach to preventing retail crime, including abuse and violence against retail workers.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
What steps her Department is taking to help support police forces to tackle rising levels of online fraud and scams.
The Government, working with City of London Police, has recently replaced Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cybercrime. The new service (Report Fraud) went live on 4 December. Report Fraud will provide better intelligence to support police and other partners with responding to online fraud and scams.In addition, the Government has completed recruitment of the National Fraud Squad (NFS) of specialist posts, led by the NCA and City of London Police. The NFS will take a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters operating in the online space and targeting the UK public.The Home Office has also undertaken a comprehensive review of the fraud training and skills landscape - we will implement the recommendations from this to ensure officers have the right skillset to respond to online fraud and scams.More broadly, under the Online Safety Act, companies in scope must now tackle fraudulent content at source, or face the possibility of significant fines from the regulator.The Government will set out a comprehensive Fraud Strategy early in the New Year. It will include measures to both protect consumers and disrupt criminal networks and ensure that the UK remains the most difficult environment possible for fraudsters to operate in.
What steps her Department is taking to improve border security technology at ports of entry.
The Immigration White Paper, published in May 2025, sets out a range of measures to transform the border, including using technology to maintain security at ports of entry.The introduction of a ‘universal permission to travel’ requirement means that we know more about everyone wishing to travel to the UK including Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and eVisa holders. This will allow for more interventions to take place upstream, with enhanced data and intelligent technologies also being used to target interventions on arrival, as well as using facial comparison technology to deliver consistent identity verification. We are currently reviewing the findings of a contactless eGate pilot and will announce further information on its implementation in due course.
What plans she has to increase support for victims of domestic abuse, including early intervention and safeguarding.
This government recognises the devastating impact of domestic abuse on victims, which is why we have set the ambitious target to halve VAWG in a decade. Prevention and early intervention will sit at the heart of the forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, with a focus on addressing the root causes of VAWG including supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent.In May 2025 we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG, increase awareness of VAWG and actively prevent these horrific crimes. This includes over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking and £2.5m on prevention and early intervention.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions the Department has had with international partners on securing global energy supply stability.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
What recent steps she has taken to disrupt organised criminal gangs involved in human trafficking.
The Government is committed to tackling all forms of modern slavery, including human trafficking and ensuring that victims are identified and supported and offenders are brought to justice. The Modern Slavery Action Plan for 2025-2026 sets out the Government’s ambition to do this.Under the Action Plan, we are working closely with law enforcement partners in the UK and internationally, to share intelligence to identify organised criminal gangs and tackle the enablers of human trafficking to disrupt offending. This includes implementing measures through the Online Safety Act; providing support through the Modern Slavery Fund to tackle modern slavery at source and reduce the threat both overseas and to the UK; and commissioning research to better under the nexus between organised immigration crime and modern slavery, to identify new ways to break criminals’ business models.The National Police Chief Council Lead for Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime is also developing a new national framework for investigating modern slavery, which is designed to support police officers at every stage of the investigative process to secure better outcomes.
What assessment her Department has been made of the level of police recruitment and retention rates; and what steps she is taking to help constabularies maintain the number of frontline police officers.
The Government is clear that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police. To support this aim, for 2025/26, £376.8 million will be available to forces to support officer numbers. This funding will be distributed as follows:£270.1 million will be ringfenced funding, which PCCs will be able to access, as in previous years, by demonstrating that they have met their officer headcount targets.£106.7 million will be paid to forces who received additional recruitment allocations in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This funding will be provided as an additional recruitment top up grant. It will be unconditional, and the funding distributed according to how much additional recruitment forces were allocated.The retention of police officers is a priority for the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Experienced officers are incredibly valuable which is why forces should be using effective evidence-based strategies to manage retention and progression of existing officers. Voluntary resignations rates for police officers remain low at 3.2% compared to other sectors.As at 31 March 2025, 90.3% of police officers worked in frontline roles (including visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline roles; excluding National Policing, unknown, and ‘Other’ functions), the same proportion as the previous year.Forces are operationally independent, and the deployment of officers remains an operational decision for Chief Constables.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve cooperation with European partners on countering organised crime and illicit finance.
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
What recent discussions her Department has had with constabularies on reducing response times for burglary and neighbourhood crime.
The Government's Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. We are committed to giving forces the resources they need to keep the public safe.It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal to provide responses to emergency calls alongside all the other services and support they provide to communities.The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. 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 £376.8 million for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.
Media and Sport, what progress has been made in increasing the accessibility of major cultural institutions for people with disabilities.
The Equality Act 2010 sets out the core legal obligations for cultural venues in the UK regarding disability access. Under this Act, venues must implement "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. These adjustments cover both physical modifications, such as installing ramps and accessible toilets, and changes to services and policies. The latter includes provisions like permitting assistance dogs, offering information in formats that are accessible, and providing aids like sign language interpretation or audio description. DCMS-funded Capital funds, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund all fund renovations across major cultural institutions designed to repair and modernise buildings, including improvements to access and interpretation for visitors with disabilities. The Creative Foundations Fund is a major government investment supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. The Creative Foundations Fund has a specific aim relating to access, supporting capital projects that address equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to: improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances, installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets and installing signage that meets best practice guidelines. The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). DCMS is supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.
Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on (a) museums, (b) theatres, and (c) other cultural venues.
We recognise the challenges that museums, theatres and cultural venues face, including rising energy costs. The Government is committed to supporting these sectors, and that’s why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year which will commit over £270 million to support arts and cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, through the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund, and the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, theatres, museums, galleries and other arts and cultural venues can access grants to address urgent issues with their estates. This includes works to improve the energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of their buildings and equipment, ensuring their infrastructure is fit for future generations to benefit from. The department regularly assesses pressures faced by sectors for which ministers are responsible. Recognising that our regional museums - many of which run multiple sites or large estates - are facing increased operating costs, the government has introduced a new, £20 million Museum Renewal Fund this year. The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. Museums and Galleries Exhibition tax relief was also made permanent. On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and culture through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to theatres, museums and cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes. DCMS will continue to engage constructively across the arts and cultural sectors to monitor the impact of rising energy costs.