Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to support the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme into the future.

Demands on the police are changing and becoming increasingly complex, so it is important that we have a police workforce that has the knowledge and skills needed for the future.

This Government is keen to see police forces recruit the best and brightest into their ranks, from all walks of life, as we work to deliver on our key manifesto pledge to recruit an additional 20,000 officers. In doing so, we support the implementation of the new Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF), which is putting in place new entry routes for police constables to ensure that new recruits across all forces meet the same high standards.

The College of Policing has been clear from the start of developing these new routes that full implementation will be delivered at a pace with which forces are comfortable. PEQF has now been implemented in 38 out of 43 forces and the College of Policing plans to phase out the old Initial Police Learning and Development Programme entirely by March 2023.