Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will create a police covenant to provide retired and serving police personnel with the same level of support and respect as armed forces personnel.

This Government could not be clearer about the value we place on the role of police officers in cutting crime and keeping our local communities safe. We owe our police officers and staff a debt of gratitude for the courage, commit-ment and dedication they demonstrate in carrying out their duties.

The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. In July 2017 the Home Office awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund to the College of Policing over three years to pilot and, if these pilots were successful, roll out a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff. Following two years of development and piloting, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019. The NPWS has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff.

In July 2018, we launched ‘A common goal for police wellbeing – to be achieved by 2021.’ This requires that by 2021, policing will ensure that every member of the police service feels confident that their welfare and wellbeing is actively supported by their police force throughout their career. The goal was published by the Home Office and jointly owned by a number of different or-ganisations, including Public Health England. This goal represents the result of six months of engagement by the Home Office with policing partners and health experts, setting out a shared vision for ensuring police officers and staff have the support they need to flourish.