Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department provides for (a) injured and (b) disabled police officers.

The wellbeing of our police is a priority for this Government, and we want to ensure that all officers have the appropriate support in place to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public.

Through the Police Covenant, we have appointed the first Chief Medical Officer for policing who is developing a national health strategy for all staff and officers. We have also improved occupational health standards across all forces, introduced pre-deployment mental health training and continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers.

The Government also continues to work with the College of Policing, National Police Chiefs’ Council and senior leaders to ensure the right support is in place for officers with additional needs, disabilities or other health conditions by effectively adopting flexible work practices and workplace adjustments. The College of Policing has already provided specific support for line managers when considering reasonable adjustments, including a toolkit for forces to support the development of flexible and/or part-time working pathways, a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit and a disability passport.

Where an officer is assessed as permanently medically unfit and leaves the service, there are a range of benefits that may be payable under the occupational pension and injury benefit schemes, depending on the particular circumstances.