Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the monthly 16-hour expectation for special constables on the number applications for special constable roles.

Special constables are recruited locally by all 43 forces in England and Wales. The minimum number of hours a special constable is required to do is set locally at the discretion of Chief Officers.

The Home Office Employer Supported Policing scheme is a partnership between employers and the police service aimed at encouraging employers to enable their staff to volunteer as special constables in the communities they serve. The Home Office will continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Citizens in Policing Programme and the College of Policing to support the development of a national approach to the attraction and training of special constables.