Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Police Chiefs Council guidance on releasing to the press the ethnicity and nationality of suspects for serious offences.

On Wednesday 5 November the College of Policing launched their public consultation of the Media and Communications Authorised Professional Practice (APP), formerly the Media Relations APP.This guidance advises police forces on the information that they provide to the media and the public, particularly with regards to high profile cases.

Earlier this year the College published interim guidance for police forces on the disclosure of suspects’ ethnicity and nationality in serious cases. This interim guidance is included in the new draft guidance for consultation. The public are invited to share their views on this updated guidance as part of this consultation.