The Home Office coordinates the government’s homeland counter-drone policy and closely monitors how drones are being used in all threat areas. This includes organised crime, terrorism, and innovations coming out of conflict zones. We work closely with other Government departments and operational partners such as the police and the military, as well as the scientific community, to understand current and emerging drone and counter-drone technologies and the threats and opportunities they present, and to develop the necessary technical capabilities and legislation in response.

It would of course not be appropriate to comment on specific details of threat assessments.

The Government recognises the significant psychological demands of policing and is committed to ensuring officers are supported throughout their careers, from initial training through to retirement. The College of Policing sets clear standards for forces through the National Policing Curriculum for initial training. This includes required content on preparing officers for the operational and emotional demands of the role.

We are also taking further action through the Government’s Police Reform White Paper, including strengthening trauma prevention and early intervention and providing protected time for trauma and suicide prevention training for new recruits and supervisors to help build resilience and ensure officers receive the support they need throughout their careers.

While the Home Office is not undertaking research in this area directly, we continue to fund the College of Policing’s National Police Wellbeing Service, which works to develop and promote evidence-based approaches to psychological wellbeing and trauma support.

The presumption is that misconduct hearings, held for officers facing serious allegations of gross misconduct, should be open for the public and media to attend. This is in keeping with a general principle that discipline proceedings are as open, transparent and fair as possible for both the public and parties to the procedures.

However, by exception, misconduct hearings may be held in private, or reporting restrictions may apply when circumstances outweigh the public interest. This could be to protect sensitive operational or national security material or to safeguard individuals involved.

It is critical that officers involved in disciplinary procedures receive the support they need and that due process is maintained in accordance with principles of fairness and natural justice. The Police Reform White Paper commits to improving the consistency of wellbeing support across policing, including introducing more consistent wellbeing checks throughout officers’ careers to help identify and respond to wellbeing needs at an early stage.

This project, among other research, sits within the Government’s broader strategy to support research that advances the understanding of major public health challenges. The expected scientific benefits of this work include improving understanding of how brain cells, together with brain chemicals, support key mental processes including learning, memory, planning and decision-making. In the longer term, this evidence base is expected to aid the development of therapies for neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions, such as depression, addiction and dementia.

All project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) are assessed by medically or veterinary qualified inspectors within the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU). Under ASPA, no project can be granted without a harm-benefit analysis, where an ASRU inspector makes a rigorous assessment of the scientific rationale for the programme of work, and must assess that the harms of the proposed project are justified by the likely benefits. Inspectors assess the appropriateness of the scientific methods being proposed for achieving the stated benefits and must be confident that these benefits are likely to be realised. The project must also demonstrate full application of the legal requirements of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). This means that animal use cannot be approved if a practicable nonanimal alternative method exists, the number of any animals used must be minimised, and the most refined methods must be used for animal testing to minimise harms.

In 2023, the Home Office commissioned the University of Birmingham to conduct a study on the feasibility of producing a prevalence estimate of forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).

Building on this, “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published in December 2025, committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the University’s recommended approach to producing a national prevalence estimate. The additional study concluded in March 2026

The Government is currently reviewing the findings of both studies and considering next steps.

As the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is independent of Government, its internal and decision-making processes are matters for the ACMD.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’) published its review of the use and harms of ketamine on 28 January. The report provides a detailed assessment of the evidence on harms and trends in use and includes 15 recommendations.

Ministers will consider the recommendations carefully and will respond to the report as soon as possible. In advance of that, in October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to raise awareness among young people about the dangers of ketamine misuse, and law enforcement is taking action against the threat from criminal gangs supplying the drug.

The Home Office will be publishing updated Areas of Research interest later this year.

The Government responded to ACMD recommendations on reducing barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs in July 2025. A cross-government officials group is in place and is developing the policy and has engaged with other departments, agencies, stakeholders and international partners. The Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations and will publish further plans in due course.

The Government responded to ACMD recommendations on reducing barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs in July 2025. A cross-government officials group is in place and is developing the policy and has engaged with other departments, agencies, stakeholders and international partners. The Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations and will publish further plans in due course.

Ministers of State in the Home Office and DSIT have actively engaged on transferring responsibility for animal testing and research to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Agreement has been reached that the portfolio under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act will remain in the Home Office for the foreseeable future.

A meeting of the cross-government working group on reducing barriers to research with Schedule 1 drugs took place on 23 January. The working group is comprised of officials from the relevant government departments and regulatory bodies. The group’s role is the formulation of policy. As such its considerations are not agreed government policy and we have no plans to publish them. The Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on reducing barriers to research with Schedule 1 drugs and we will publish our plans in this area in due course.

The Home Office has not made a final assessment of the cost‑effectiveness of police use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in comparison to traditional policing methods. However, when the government introduces legislation on a new framework this will be accompanied by an impact assessment. This will include consideration of costs, operational benefits and wider impacts, alongside legal, ethical and equality considerations.

With regards to the integration of facial recognition into existing CCTV, police forces must comply with data protection, human rights, equality and other relevant laws. This means that police can use live facial recognition only for targeted, intelligence led, time-bound deployments to locate specific individuals on a watchlist, such as wanted offenders or people who may pose a risk of serious harm.

The Home Office is aware that both the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police have piloted the use of facial recognition cameras mounted on fixed street infrastructure. This involves adding standalone LFR cameras and does not involve changing the use of existing CCTV, which remains separate.

The Home Office is working with the Animals in Science Regulation Unit, funders and wider stakeholders to progress implementation of the Rawle report recommendations. Specifically, the Animals in Science Committee, a ministerial advisory body, has been commissioned for advice on leading practice in delivery of the responsibilities of Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs); addressing a key finding from the Rawle report.

The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

The Home Secretary has commissioned UK Research and Innovation to deliver this new programme of research, which will address evidence gaps in our understanding of the backgrounds, motivations, and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation offending. We expect the programme of research to be a multi-year project, with individual research projects reporting through its duration. Further details will be announced in due course.