Written questions by Pochin.

If her Department will collect and publish city-specific data on the number of grooming gangs identified by police forces.

Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse set out stark findings on the scale and nature of offending by grooming gangs. This government is committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible.To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, we fund a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organized exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and abuse, with a focus on group-based offending, and bring more offenders to justice. They have created the Complex and Organised Child Abuse Database (COCAD) to improve our understanding of group-based child sexual exploitation cases. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/publications/hydrant-publicationsThe Taskforce do not publish data on offending within specific cities.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of public sector pay awards agreed since July 2024 on expenditure over the Spending Review period.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What analysis her Department has undertaken of the distributional impact of recent public sector pay awards across income deciles.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle UK defence capability gaps.

The Ministry of Defence employs a rigorous approach to identify and mitigate risks arising from gaps in defence capability, ensuring the delivery of defence's strategic and operational objectives. The Strategic Defence Review sets out recommendations to enhance the agility and lethality of our armed forces, which will be implemented through the Defence Investment Plan. The Integration of our defence capabilities will be driven through the Integrated Force Plan, ensuring that capability remains coherent and aligned with national defence strategy.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent public sector pay settlements on trends in the level of public sector net borrowing in future financial years.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the long term affordability of public sector pay settlements agreed outside the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent public sector pay settlements on forecast productivity growth in relevant sectors.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What assessment his Department has made of the UK’s ability to defend against a large scale conventional military attack.

The National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence Review acknowledge that the UK and European allies face a new era of threat. Defence plays a key role in the Cabinet Office-led Home Defence Programme, a whole of Government endeavour, to enhance our national security, resilience and preparedness for crisis and conflict. Defence is central to this, combining its strengths with those of wider Government, industry and society. The department maintains plans in coordination with NATO and wider Government, with the Armed Forces continually exercising their capabilities to ensure they can respond rapidly and effectively to keep Britian safe.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the UK’s defence industrial base to support rapid mobilisation and sustained conflict.

The Department regularly assesses the Defence enterprise’s ability to respond swiftly to sustained conflict. Additional measures to support rapid mobilisation and sustained readiness were outlined in the Defence Industrial Strategy and the Strategic Defence Review. The current strategy prioritises resilience by developing integrated and assured supply chains, scalable production capacity, and an “always-on” munitions capability that can be rapidly expanded. Working across Government and with international partners, significant progress is already underway. Key initiatives include regular wargaming exercises with industry, reforms to commercial processes, establishing a dedicated scenario planning and modelling capability and developing potential legislative powers to remove barriers and accelerate delivery of critical projects.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent public sector pay settlements on departmental budgetary flexibility in future financial years.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent public sector pay settlements on the fiscal rules.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of taking fiscal steps to offset the potential impact of recent public sector pay agreements on the public finances.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

What progress her Department has made on implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations on hate crime recording.

Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively. The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording. Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics. The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.

What steps the Government is taking to monitor and respond to changes in the military balance in the Arctic region, including Russia’s nuclear capabilities and posture, and what discussions he has held with NATO partners on this matter.

The Ministry of Defence keeps Russian military capabilities and investment under continuous review. We work closely with our NATO Allies to understand the implications of Russian military capability development for Alliance security. NATO is strengthening its deterrence and defence as a result of the increasing threat from Russia and will continue to adapt as necessary.

What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in levels of Russian nuclear submarine and naval activity within the Arctic Circle and the implications for the security of the United Kingdom and NATO allies.

The Ministry of Defence keeps Russian military capabilities and investment under continuous review. We work closely with our NATO Allies to understand the implications of Russian military capability development for Alliance security. NATO is strengthening its deterrence and defence as a result of the increasing threat from Russia and will continue to adapt as necessary.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that hate crime data reported by police forces is accurate and comparable across categories of characteristic.

Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively. The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording. Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics. The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of consistency of police hate crime recording practices across regional police forces.

Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively. The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording. Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics. The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.

What assessment his Department has made of whether current force levels across the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are sufficient to meet assessed threats.

Our Armed Forces are ready to deter, fight and win - today, tomorrow and together with our allies. Since elected, this Government has been committed to strengthening our Armed Forces. Through the Strategic Defence Review, we have outlined plans to increase the total number of Regular personnel, when funding allows. Additionally, we have embraced a whole-of-society approach to deterrence and defence, reinforcing our collective resilience, and are committed to increasing the number of Active Reserves by 20%, bolstering surge capacity and showcasing the UK's readiness to defend itself. We do not disclose Force levels, but they remain under constant review. However, we do routinely publish our UK Service personnel statistics on strengths, requirements, intake, applications and outflow, by Service available at the link provided below: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2025

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of training provided to police officers on identifying and recording incidents involving gender identity and sex characteristics.

Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively. The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording. Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics. The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.

What consideration the Home Office has given to mandating annual publication of police force level data on hate crime recording compliance.

Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively. The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording. Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics. The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.