Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the suicide rate amongst police officers.

The death of any police officer is a tragedy. The Government and police leaders take this matter very seriously and are working to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all police officers and staff.

We have invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. This includes £7.5million to fund the development of the National Police Wellbeing Service, which was launched in 2019. The service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, developing work around building resilience, as well as supporting those who need it in response to traumatic events.

The Government has also accelerated work to introduce a Police Covenant, which will ensure our police get the support and protection they need. The Covenant will be enshrined in law, with provisions being brought forward later this session, and the Home Secretary will have a duty to report annually to Parliament on the work undertaken.

Our focus will be on health and wellbeing, physical protection and support for families, with a real emphasis on mental health support. Together with our policing partners we are working to ensure the Covenant has a lasting impact on both those who work, or have worked in, policing.