Crime and Policing Bill Lords committee amendments
If you’re teaching or studying law and politics, here’s the quick context you need this week. The Home Office and Ministry of Justice have published fresh ministerial letters setting out government amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill ahead of House of Lords committee. The correspondence page was updated on 30 October 2025 and includes a new letter dated 27 October from Lord Hanson of Flint to Lord Davies of Gower.
So what is this Bill trying to do overall? In plain terms, ministers say it’s designed to curb antisocial behaviour and theft, tighten knife laws, protect children from exploitation, and update police powers for the digital age. The GOV.UK collection explains that the Bill supports the government’s “Safer Streets Mission” and includes measures on shop theft, spiking, public order, and new powers to search for GPS‑tracked stolen goods.
What’s new in the Lords letter of 27 October? Two things stand out for learners. First, maximum penalties for a range of offensive‑weapons and knife sales offences rise from six months to two years, with Scottish Ministers asking for equivalent changes to apply in Scotland. Second, age‑verification rules for remote sales and deliveries of knives and crossbows are aligned across the UK, with clarity that only copies of physical ID (passport or driving licence) are acceptable for now, while regulations could later allow digital identity checks.
What this means in everyday terms if you work in or study retail logistics: online sellers must check a valid passport or UK driving licence and a live photo at purchase; couriers must verify ID at the door; and collection points must do the same before handing over a package. Crossbows or parts can’t be left in lockers or on doorsteps. These safeguards sit alongside tougher penalties and a requirement for companies to report suspicious “bulk” knife purchases.
Earlier in the Commons, ministers flagged changes you’ll see referenced in exam mark schemes and classroom debates. In March, a letter to the Public Bill Committee trailed amendments adding new Bill offences-like child criminal exploitation and child sexual abuse image‑generators-to Schedule 4 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, limiting the availability of the statutory defence for victims in the most serious cases. It also proposed adding terrorism offences to that Schedule, following advice from Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.
In April, a second letter focused on Youth Diversion Orders (YDOs)-a new counter‑terrorism risk management tool for young people assessed by a court to have engaged in terrorism‑related conduct. The government clarified how courts determine a “terrorist connection”, set out examples of conditions a YDO could include, made breach of a YDO an either‑way offence with a two‑year maximum, and brought in independent oversight by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. Electronic monitoring would apply in England and Wales only.
By June, ministers outlined a wider package for Commons Report stage. Headline items included two new offences of coerced internal concealment (often linked to county lines), new powers for law enforcement to extract data stored in online accounts after seizing a device, offences to protect emergency workers from racially or religiously aggravated behaviour inside dwellings, steps towards directing “critical police undertakings” ahead of a proposed National Centre of Policing, repeal‑linked replacements for parts of the Vagrancy Act, and the removal of the civil time limit for child sexual abuse claims.
Knife and crossbow rules are a common class discussion, so let’s keep them clear. The factsheet confirms a two‑step age and identity check for online knife and crossbow sales, mandatory reporting to police when six or more knives are bought to the same person or address within 30 days, a new offence of possessing a knife with intent to use unlawful violence (maximum four years), content‑removal notices that can hit online companies and named executives with fines if illegal weapons marketing stays up, and a power for police to seize knives held in private where they reasonably suspect likely unlawful violence.
On protections for children and vulnerable adults, the Home Office factsheet explains three key elements for your notes: a new offence of child criminal exploitation (with linked civil prevention orders), a new offence targeting “cuckooing” or home takeover, and the bespoke offences covering coerced internal concealment of items inside a person’s body for criminal purposes, with a maximum sentence of 10 years on indictment. These measures are framed to recognise specific harms and to strengthen safeguarding and prosecution.
Where are we now in the parliamentary process? The Bill started in the Commons on 25 February 2025 and moved to the Lords on 19 June. As of 30 October 2025, it is in Lords Committee stage, with the official bill page listing the current version as HL Bill 111 (corrected). If you’re tracking progress for coursework, that page is your primary reference.
How to read documents like this with your class. Ministerial letters on GOV.UK set out what the government plans to change and why; the ECHR supplementary memoranda published alongside the Bill show how ministers believe amendments fit with human rights law. Encourage students to compare the policy claims with the legal text and the rights analysis before drawing conclusions.
What happens next? Ministers indicate more amendments may arrive as Lords Committee gets underway, so we should expect additional letters and updated factsheets. If you’re planning a lesson, build in time for a quick refresh when committee days conclude and new material lands on GOV.UK.