Written Statement

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Written Statements

Tuesday 19 November 2024

Police Reform

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)]

This Government have set out their safer streets mission, which is committed to reducing violence against women and girls and knife crime, and restoring confidence in our police service. A key part of this mission will see Government taking a more active leadership role on policing and crime.

Our police officers and staff perform an invaluable public service. They provide the safety and security on which everything else depends. Our brave police are emphatic about the importance of preventing crime and disorder, and every day seek to deliver impartial policing that the public can trust. At its best, policing in England and Wales is truly world class.

However, confidence in policing has fallen in recent years. Visible neighbourhood policing has been decimated. At the same time, crime has become more complex, and policing lacks the systems and technology to respond. Police, and the public they serve, need a system that is fit for purpose and fit for the future.

If we want our mission to succeed, we need to reform policing to ensure it can operate effectively and efficiently. We must look at changes to the system that can be delivered as a priority, preserving those vital elements of policing by consent and operational independence, so that we can begin to support forces in improving the service they provide for the public.

I outline some of the core components of our long-term plans for necessary and overdue reforms below. However, this will be a joint programme of work between Government and policing in recognition that the challenge of rebuilding confidence is a shared one, and we will work closely with policing over the coming months to develop the detail of these proposals. I am grateful for the support and enthusiasm from policing system leaders on this important work to date, and look forward to driving it forward together. Working closely and in partnership with policing, we intend to publish a police reform White Paper next year, outlining our plans for bold and comprehensive reforms to the policing system.

Our new neighbourhood policing guarantee will include, among other things, the restoration of patrols to town centres, the delivery of thousands of additional policing personnel into neighbourhood policing roles, and the assurance that every community has a named officer to turn to.

Halving knife crime and violence against women and girls requires effective cross-system working. Police and crime commissioners and mayors in different corners of the country have driven important local work on crime prevention, which the Home Office must take a more active role in supporting. In terms of preventing crime, we are driving new action, from curbing knife sales to tackling mobile phone theft, but we need to go much further, both locally and nationally, for the mission to be met.

To drive up performance and standards and ensure communities can have confidence in their local police force, a new performance unit will be established in the Home Office. The unit will harness national data to monitor performance and direct improvements, underpinned by a performance framework developed with the College of Policing, the policing inspectorate—His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services—the National Police Chiefs’ Council and PCCs.

We are determined to work with policing to consult on the creation of a new national centre of policing to bring together crucial support services, such as IT and forensics, that local police forces can draw upon, to raise standards and improve efficiency. Looking further ahead, and having heard representations from policing, we will explore additional opportunities to expand the remit of this new body, including around those operational responsibilities where effective co-ordination is critical for success.

The 2025-26 police funding settlement for police forces, including full details on Government grant funding and precept, will be set out to Parliament in the normal way before Christmas. But as part of that settlement, I am confirming today that direct central Government funding for policing next year will increase by over half a billion pounds. This includes an increase of over £260 million in the core grant for police forces, and additional funding for neighbourhood policing and counter terrorism. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will confirm the details on the precept limit in a policy statement later this month.

Next steps

Police leaders support the need for reform, and the Government are committed to working with them to bring the change needed to reconnect policing with the communities they serve. These key areas for reform are pivotal if we are to deliver effective and efficient policing. Collaboration will be key, and the Home Office will continue to engage across Government and with the sector in developing this ambitious reform programme. We will present our White Paper to Parliament next year ahead of legislation in due course.

We have a unique opportunity ahead of us to shape and implement the changes policing needs to deliver our priorities and keep the public safe. I look forward to working with policing on this ambitious programme of reform.

[HCWS232]