Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of police response times.

Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) regularly inspect forces’ response to the public as a part of their Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspections. As a part of this, they examine whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.

As highlighted in their ‘Getting a Grip’ report on police performance, HMICFRS found wide-ranging issues with the recording of data on attendance times at incidents. The NPCC are exploring options for a standardised measurement of police response in light of recommendations in HMICFRS's ‘Getting a Grip’ report, and the Home Office are supporting them with this work.

The Home Secretary has been clear that she wants the Home Office to play a greater role in setting performance measures and monitoring and driving system performance in the police. Plans will be set out for this in due course.