The Home Office and Ministry of Justice have published further ministerial letters setting out government amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill ahead of Lords Committee. The GOV.UK correspondence page, first published on 27 March 2025 and last updated on 4 November 2025, now includes letters dated 26 March, 23 April, 25 April and 10 June to the Commons, and 27 October and 3 November to the Lords. A 3 November letter was updated on 13 November 2025 with an accessible version, confirming the latest package for peers to scrutinise.
On protest management, ministers propose to require senior officers to consider the cumulative impact of frequent demonstrations when deciding whether to impose conditions under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. The 3 November Home Office letter explains this reinstates, with modifications, provisions previously contained in the 2023 Serious Disruption regulations that were ruled ultra vires for unrelated reasons. The measure would apply in England and Wales and is intended to give operational commanders a clearer legal footing when recording decisions.
The same 3 November letter outlines a new offence and dispersal power covering protests outside the private homes of public office holders, including MPs, candidates and peers. The change removes the current requirement for the activity to relate to a specific future decision and, for public office holders, treats presence outside the home to influence official actions as harassment by default. The offence would carry a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment or a level 4 fine and would not apply to official residences or constituency offices.
Earlier Commons-stage correspondence set out additional public order measures. A 25 April letter introduces a power to impose conditions where protests intimidate people attending places of worship, clarifies who may act as the “senior officer” authorising conditions during an operation, and fixes British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police powers so they can exercise specified public order and stop-and-search provisions in their jurisdictions. The changes largely apply in England and Wales, with certain BTP provisions extending across Great Britain.
Knife crime measures are expanded across several letters. On 25 April ministers set out “Ronan’s Law” for England and Wales, tightening age checks on online sales and deliveries of knives and crossbows, requiring packages to be marked and handed only to the named buyer following ID verification at both sale and delivery, and obliging retailers to report bulk or suspicious purchases. The letter also creates a UK‑wide regime allowing police to issue content removal notices to online platforms for illegal knife and offensive weapon listings, with company fines up to £60,000 and personal liability for a designated UK-based executive up to £10,000 if notices are ignored.
A 27 October Lords letter confirms the increase in maximum penalties for a range of offensive weapons offences will also apply in Scotland. This extends to importation, manufacture, sale, supply and possession of specified weapons, aligning sentencing ceilings beyond the earlier England and Wales changes. Retail compliance teams and marketplaces will need to update seller guidance and sanctions policies to reflect the higher penalties and devolved reach.
Digital evidence powers are widened in a 10 June report‑stage letter. Ministers propose explicit authority for law enforcement to extract data from specified online accounts where a device has been lawfully seized, to permit limited interception of two‑factor authentication messages needed to access those accounts, and to extend the maximum retention period for items held under ports and border powers from seven to fourteen days when authorised by a senior officer. A statutory code of practice would govern use. The provisions would apply UK‑wide and are framed as necessary to address cloud storage and encrypted services.
Several amendments tidy data protection interactions. The 3 November letter removes Bill text that duplicated new section 183A of the Data Protection Act 2018, inserted by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and commenced on 20 August. The Home Office notes section 183A establishes a presumption that general data-processing duties are not overridden by other enactments unless Parliament clearly provides otherwise, making bespoke “no override” clauses in this Bill unnecessary.
Child protection provisions are refined and extended. The 3 November letter clarifies that the new offence of child criminal exploitation can be committed against a child below the age of criminal responsibility, sets rules for cross‑border cases, and empowers Scottish Ministers and the Northern Ireland Department of Justice to make consequential provision. It also places child criminal exploitation prevention orders on a civil standard of proof, enables their introduction in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and provides for cross‑border enforcement so breach in one jurisdiction is prosecutable in the others.
New offences relating to child sexual abuse material are expanded. Ministers propose UK‑wide coverage for offences targeting digital files or models designed to generate child sexual abuse images, with equivalent clauses requested by the Scottish Government and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland. Amendments also adjust liability to capture responsible individuals behind corporate offending and refine protections for internet services acting as mere conduits or caches, as set out in the 10 June correspondence and annex.
The 3 November letter strengthens intimate image provisions by extending the time limit for prosecuting certain summary offences, and ensures courts can order the deprivation of images and devices linked to the ‘breastfeeding voyeurism’ offence. Separate 10 June changes align deprivation powers in the service justice system and tidy penalty definitions introduced via the Data (Use and Access) Act. These steps aim to create a consistent route for image seizure across civilian and service courts.
Management of registered sex offenders is tightened across jurisdictions. The 3 November letter extends restrictions that prevent issuing a replacement driving licence in a new name where there is a risk of sexual harm to cover Northern Ireland licensing, and makes reciprocal provision so Great Britain and Northern Ireland licence regimes recognise each other for this purpose. Departments would also gain regulation‑making powers to operationalise the checks.
Youth Diversion Orders are adjusted at multiple points. Commons letters on 23 April and 10 June expand examples of measures that can be imposed, clarify definitions of terrorism‑related conduct, set out appeals routes, and remove magistrates’ court time limits for applications in Northern Ireland. Electronic monitoring requirements would be available in England and Wales and, per the 3 November letter, police would have a clear basis to access cloud data for compliance checks where an individual is subject to a YDO, TPIM or STPIM.
Workforce integrity measures are widened beyond territorial forces. The 10 June letter proposes extending barred and advisory lists to the National Crime Agency, British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary, responding to HMICFRS findings on officers dismissed from one body seeking roles in another. The approach mirrors the regime in Part 4A of the Police Act 1996 and would apply UK‑wide.
Ministers also propose amendments to extradition law to address ‘in absentia’ cases after the Supreme Court’s decision in Merticariu v Romania. The 10 June letter explains that revisions to sections 20 and 85 of the Extradition Act 2003 would restore the pre‑judgment position by allowing a domestic assessment of deliberate absence and align with the UK‑EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The stated intent is to reduce the risk of public safety cases being discharged.
Civil routes to redress for historic abuse are opened up. The 10 June letter confirms removal of the three‑year limitation period for personal injury claims relating to child sexual abuse in England and Wales, reversing the burden of proof while preserving fair-trial safeguards. This gives effect to a recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Transport law is updated to introduce offences of causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling, matching existing motoring offences across Great Britain. The 25 April letter indicates the offences would apply on roads and other public places, creating parity of treatment for similar risk‑creating behaviour whether by riders or drivers.
Commemorative protections are widened. The 10 June letter adds the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square to the list of protected memorials for the Bill’s new offence of climbing specified memorials and allows ministers to add other memorials where there is a significant public interest. This responds to concerns that commonly targeted sites might fall outside the initial list in Schedule 12.
Institutional plumbing accompanies the reforms. The 10 June letter introduces a paving power for the Home Secretary to direct “critical police undertakings” to support preparatory work for a proposed National Centre of Policing, with directions published and laid before Parliament. Ministers say the consultation and a white paper will follow the Home Secretary’s November 2025 announcement, and that primary legislation would be required to establish the centre.
The correspondence packages include supplementary delegated powers and ECHR memoranda for peers and committees. The UK Parliament Bills service confirms the Crime and Policing Bill is at Lords Committee stage as of 13 November 2025. Delivery of many measures will depend on secondary legislation, statutory guidance and operational codes once the Bill completes its passage.