Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the lack of paid leave on the take-up of the Employer Supported Policing scheme.

The Home Office endorses the Employer Supported Policing (ESP) scheme and has been clear that by supporting staff to volunteer in policing, employers can help keep their communities safe and at the same time help their employees learn valuable skills.

It is for individual employers to consider whether they are able to offer paid leave for employees to access special constable training and undertake special constable duties. The Home Office allows up to ten days a year of paid special leave for Home Office employees to carry out special constable duties or training.