The Home Office collects information on the number of notifiable offences, and their investigative outcomes including community resolutions, recorded by the police in England and Wales

The latest data for Lancashire police force can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Defence Industry sites are protected under the National Security Act 2023 which provides police additional powers in responding to incidents at these sites.

We also maintain proactive communications with our Defence industry partners, ensuring that they are provided with up-to-date advice and guidance on the protection of their facilities and increasing vigilance of their staff to mitigate potential threats.

We recognise the deeply damaging impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living. We are determined to prevent those thefts from happening in the first place and, where they do occur, ensure those perpetrating them receive a criminal justice response. To do that, we need more police in our communities, tackling the local crimes that impact on people’s livelihoods. That is why this Government has increased funding for the policing system in England and Wales by up to £1.2 billion in 25/26 (compared with the 24/25 settlement), including an additional £200 million to kickstart delivery of our commitment to 13,000 neighbourhood policing roles. We will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems, including tool theft.

Alongside this, the Home Office funds, and works with, the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and senior policing leads to prevent the theft of tools and tackle the re-sale of stolen equipment. The NBCC shares information about theft with police forces and businesses and provides advice about preventing crime. The NBCC’s tool theft prevention guide can be found here: tool-theft-crime-prevention.pdf

The Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group have additionally secured a significant new commitment which will improve the security of vans, which may be targeted in relation to tool theft. Thatcham Research (an independent, not for profit, automotive risk intelligence organisation) has agreed expand their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) to increase van security. From February 2027, vans will have locks and alarms on the back doors (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice for tradespeople developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.

The Home Office does not hold data in relation to the number, status or levels of vetting for individuals working in policing. Vetting and recruitment matters are handled independently, and on a case-by-case basis, by each force. Decisions on vetting should be made in accordance with the statutory Vetting Code of Practice and vetting authorised professional practice (APP), issued by the College of Policing.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carries out regular inspections on the effectiveness of forces’ vetting arrangements. Details of these inspections are available on its website: https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/

The vetting APP outlines the criteria that forces should consider when determining the level of vetting clearance which is to be applied to a post rather than a particular rank. This includes whether the post requires access to particularly sensitive information and/or assets.

The Home Office collect and publish information on the number of police officers on long-term leave due to suspension as at 31 March each year as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication.

Information on the number of police officers, in Lancashire Constabulary, as at 31 March each year from 2007 to 2023, can be found in the ‘Absences Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172880/open-data-table-police-workforce-absence-260723.ods

The Home Office do not hold information on the number of police staff that are suspended from their duties.

These data should not be used to infer the total number of police officers suspended throughout a financial year as the data only cover instances where a police officer has been suspended for more than 28 calendar days. Furthermore, these data only cover officers on long-term leave due to suspension as a snapshot as at 31 March each year and does not include those suspended during the financial year where the suspension ends before 31 March. Moreover, an officer may appear in the data more than once if their suspension spans several years.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers and staff leaving the police service due to dismissal in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

Information on the number of police officers and staff leaving the police service due to dismissal, in Lancashire Constabulary, between the years ending March 2007 to 2023 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172932/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods

Dismissals includes individuals who have been required to resign, made compulsorily redundant, or have had their contract terminated. While these figures will include dismissals for misconduct, they are not exclusively misconduct or performance cases, as they also include redundancies and contract terminations.

The Government will provide a total police funding settlement of up to £15.2 billion in 2020/21, which is an increase of up to £1.1 billion compared to 2019/20. From this settlement, Lancashire Police are receiving up to £308.8m in funding in 2020/21, which is an increase of up to £22.6m on 2019/20. This figure includes the force’s £4.3m share of the £168m ringfenced funding for police recruitment. This funding is made available to forces when they can demonstrate that they are recruiting and are spending on the necessary supporting infrastructure.

The police have the government's full support in the fair and targeted use of stop and search to crack down on criminality and violent crime. That is why, last year, we started a national pilot to test a relaxation of voluntary restrictions on "no suspicion" Section 60 powers, used when the police anticipate serious violence.

Stop and search in Lancashire increased 39% in 2018/19 compared with 2017/18, the first year-on-year increase since 2010/11. This is similar to the national trend.

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of stop and searches conducted by each police force in England and Wales on an annual basis. Results are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2019

It is important that the police and local agencies have the powers they need to tackle local issues quickly and effectively. That is why we reformed the tools and powers available to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

In 2019/20 Lancashire Police are receiving £285.1 million of funding, an increase of £18.4 million, on 2018/19. Funding for 2020-21 for individual forces will be announced as part of the provisional police settlement later this year. Decisions about the allocation of police resources are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to meet the needs of their local community.

It is the duty of any responsible Governmnet to prepare for every eventuality including the scenario that we leave the EU without agreeing a deal.

We are working closely with operational partners - including the police - on contigency planning so we can ensure the safety and security of our citizens in all scenarios.

The new Emergency Services Network (ESN) is the next-generation critical communications system that allows the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services to operate safely, collaborate and innovate. ESN represents value for money for the taxpayer through delivering steady state savings of over £200m pa compared to Airwave.

The delay in rolling out ESN means that we will continue to pay for Airwave for longer, at current rates. Local forces will continue to have to pay some Airwave charges as well as for commercial broadband services. There will also continue to be some costs for supporting transition teams. We do not have precise figures for these local costs.

Spending information of this nature is not held centrally by the Home Office.

It is for elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how their force’s resources are deployed, including those to provide public order support to sporting events.

Under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), police forces and other agencies that seize and obtain the forfeiture of cash under s298 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 receive 50% of the amount forfeited. Lanca-shire Constabulary received the following amounts

2017/18 = £77,500
2018/19 = £142,500

The use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency but in-centive payments should be used to further drive up performance on asset recovery and, where appropriate, to fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community.

The amounts returned to Lancashire Constabulary from cash forfeited under section 298 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in the relevant financial years is given in the table below.

The use of returned money is a matter for the individual agencies, but there is an expectation that it will be used for driving up asset recovery performance and for reducing harm; including community project funding. In monitoring the use of the money, we are aware that most of the amount returned to Lancashire Constabulary has been used to build and maintain a financial investigation capacity and capability.

In line with the guidance issued to Jobcentre Plus staff, they are not required to keep records of the number of benefit claimants signposted to food banks in their local area.

This information is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

How forces deploy resources and equip police vehicles is an operational matter for chief constables.

The Home office does not hold any information centrally on the number of police horses deployed in each constabulary.

The Lancashire PCC has submitted an application for Special Grant funding for the costs of policing the anti-fracking protests in Lancashire. This is currently being reviewed by HMICFRS and a decision will be made in due course.

The police have statutory and common law powers and duties in relation to public order policing which must be used in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The police have a responsibility to facilitate peaceful protest and provide a lawful and proportionate policing response. This should balance the needs and rights of protesters with those affected by the protest, whilst ensuring they preserve the peace, uphold the law and prevent the commission of offences. Police tactics and decisions on how to achieve these objectives are a matter for the independent operational judgement of chief officers of police.

We do not hold information centrally on the number of illegal foreign registered vehicles seized and impounded by Lancashire Constabulary. This is an operational matter for the police and other partner agencies.