Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to improve police training.

The Government is committed to improving standards in policing and ensuring that the police workforce remains fit for the future in serving our communities. The College of Policing is the professional body for policing in England and Wales and is an operationally independent arms-length body of the Home Office. It was established in 2012 to set and improve standards for excellence in policing, including recruitment, leadership, professional development and assessment.

Training standards and the national policing curriculum are set by the College of Policing. The College regularly reviews the policing curriculum, to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

Forces also provide local training and development at several different levels ranging from initial entry, leadership and ongoing development to reflect and reinforce organisational values. Decisions on how to use funding and resources for police training are an operational matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.