Police: Demonstrations

(asked on 2nd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) subsequently test police officers who are involved in policing demonstrations where demonstrators are failing to abide by the Government’s social distancing measures; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 10th June 2020

Our emergency services are doing a fantastic job keeping us safe, using their professional judgement to protect our NHS and save lives. We are committed to ensuring the police have the powers, resources and equipment they need to do their crucial work.

The Government recognises the importance of Personal Protective Equipment for all of those on the frontline. As of 29 May, the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) have distributed 345,733 masks to police forces across the country over the last two weeks. In total, 20,098,314 pieces of PPE have been procured and will be delivered over the following weeks. Over the course of this week, NPoCC is also set to supply over 200,000 masks and continue to receive additional stock to support forces.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have confirmed that police currently have a good supply of PPE and they are working to oversee its distribution to forces. The NPCC have issued guidance to all forces on the use of PPE tailored to their unique role to ensure officers and staff are protected sufficiently.

Testing continues to be available to all symptomatic police officers. This enables staff to be able to determine if they should remain isolated or can come back to the workplace in the immediate term. This is vital for our frontline resilience in areas such as policing, fire and Border Force.

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