Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Home Secretary on 19 November 2024 (HCWS232), whether there are plans in place to assess the progress of the bodies created as part of the announced policing reforms.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In her Written Ministerial statement of 19 November (Statement UIN HCW232) the Home Secretary set out her intention to work with policing on a package of reforms to ensure it can operate efficiently and effectively to deliver the Safer Streets Mission.
In particular she announced that a new performance unit would be set up within the Home Office to drive-up standards, performance, and consistency, as well as a new National Centre of Policing to bring together crucial support services that local police forces can draw upon.
We are working with policing to deliver these important reforms and have established a Joint Reform Team, co-located within the Home Office, that brings established representatives from National Police Chief's Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and wider policing bodies together, to work directly with the Home Office to co-design and deliver the reforms.
We will publish a Police Reform White Paper later this year and undertake a consultation to seek further views on these proposals to inform next steps.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans are in place to protect rail customers and staff following reports that dozens of British Transport Police stations are facing possible closure.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The safety of passengers and rail staff on the network is a priority for the Department and the rail industry, including the British Transport Police (BTP).
We will continue to work with BTP and the rail industry to consider how best to deploy their available budget in the coming financial year to ensure the safety of those on the rail network. It is important to stress that no final decisions have yet been made.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services report, State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2023, published on 19 July, and in particular its findings in relation to efforts to address rape and sexual violence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this government and we will treat it as a national emergency. Our mission is to halve levels of VAWG within a decade, using every lever available to us. This means reforming the police response to these crimes, strengthening the criminal justice system, and empowering victims by providing access to specialist support when they need it.
We are grateful to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’, for their yearly State of Policing Report, which provides an invaluable evaluation of the most pertinent issues facing policing across England and Wales, including their response to violence against women and girls.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they have made to retain skilled and experienced police officers following the recommendation of the Police Remuneration Review Body in its Tenth Report for 2024 published in July (CP 1124) that each force should have discretion to set the starting salary for new constables at either pay point 1 or pay point 2.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 29 July, the Government announced that it had accepted the Police Remuneration Review Body’s recommendation to award officers in the federated and superintending ranks a consolidated pay award of 4.75%, with effect from 1 September 2024.
The Government also announced it had accepted the recommendation that the chief officer of police in each force should be given the discretion to set the starting salary for new constables at either pay point 1 or pay point 2 on the constables’ pay scale. Implementation of the recommendation is subject to detailed proposals from the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on the circumstances in which this discretion should be used, along with transition arrangements for those constables on pay point 1, to inform amendments to the Police Regulations 2003. These proposals will be submitted to the Government in due course.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns raised by police officers about the supply of personal protection equipment for frontline duties; and what (1) guidance they have issued, and (2) support they have provided, to police forces in England and Wales in relation to the provision of such equipment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have confirmed that the police have a good supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and they are working to oversee its distribution to forces. The Government continue to work closely with the police to ensure this continues.
The Government has published guidance on appropriate PPE for emergency workers, including the police. The NPCC and the College of Policing have issued operational guidance to all forces on the use of PPE tailored to their unique role to ensure officers and staff are protected sufficiently. The guidance covers how, when and what type of PPE to wear across a range of practical scenarios.
An explanatory note of the guidance is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/COVID-19/Documents/Personal-Protective-Equipment-Operational-Guidance-1.pdf
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the timeline for the delivery of the proposed 20,000 new police officers in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government has committed to increasing the number of police officers by 20,000 over the next three years.
The Home Office has confirmed the recruitment targets for every force in England and Wales in the first year of the uplift, and 6,000 additional officers will be recruited in forces across England and Wales by the end of March 2021. Details of the allocations in years two and three are still to be determined. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-office-announces-first-wave-of-20000-police-officer-uplift
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional measures, alongside the introduction of 20,000 police officers, they are taking to address the rate of retention of serving police officers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Around 7,500 police officers leave the service each year, the majority through normal retirement. Forces will continue to fill these vacancies as a matter of routine. The Police Uplift Programme will deliver 20,000 completely new posts across policing in addition to replacing leavers.
Relatively few officers choose to leave their job before retirement, compared to other public and private sector workforces. Voluntary resignations remain low at a rate of under 2% of the workforce and the independent pay review bodies have concluded that police officer retention rates a stable.
Nevertheless, the Government is not complacent, and we believe that more can be done to improve the retention of key skills to support the uplift in police officer numbers. The Home Office is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and other policing partners, to consider what further action may be needed to support retention.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the (1) numbers, and (2) use, of Tasers by police officers in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Secretary has already announced up to £10 million of additional funding for forces to increase the number of officers carrying TASER®. This will help forces to better protect themselves and the public from harm.
The use of TASER® remains an operational matter. Chief Officers decide the number of TASER® and the number of TASER® officers deployed based on their assessments of the threats and risks in their areas.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the current structure of Police and Crime Commissioners; and in particular, whether that structure is able to support the desired approach towards combatting knife crime.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Since their introduction, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have brought real local accountability to how chief constables and their forces perform, and they are working hard to ensure that local communities have a stronger voice in policing. Beyond policing, PCCs have brought focus and drive to work with local partners, including on wider crime and criminal justice matters.
PCCs are already at the forefront of delivering local solutions to the issue of serious violence. In the 18 worst affected areas, the Government has provided locally accountable PCCs with up to £63.4m through surge funding in 2019-20 to help support operational and preventative activity; as well as an additional £35m in the same period to invest in Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). In December 2019, the Home Secretary announced a further £35m to continue funding VRUs in 2020-21.
The Early Intervention Youth Fund is also supporting 40 projects match-funded by PCCs, with £22m being made available over two years (2018-19 and 2019-20) to support communities in tackling the root causes of serious violence.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the use of water cannons by police to respond to outbreaks of public disorder.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
There are no plans to introduce water cannon into UK policing. The Home Office works closely with the National Police Chiefs Council on police capability and the measures that can be used in response to public disorder.
All less lethal weapons use by police must be approved by the Home Secretary. A stringent authorisation process is set out in the UK’s Code of Practice on armed policing and police use of less lethal weapons.