Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help increase the number of police officers in rural parts of England.

We are recruiting an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023. This is unprecedented and reflects the biggest recruitment drive in decades, and will help ensure the public is better protected, including in rural communities.

The latest data publication published on 27 April shows that as at 31 March 2022 over 13,500 additional officers have been recruited as part of the police uplift Programme in England and Wales, 68% of the 20,000 officer target.

The deployment of these officers is an operational decision for Chief Constables.