Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect emergency service workers.

Our brave workers across the emergency services do an extraordinary job in the most difficult situations, keeping us safe, day in and day out. It is absolutely right that we should ensure that they are supported and protected. We have accelerated work to introduce a Police Covenant, which will be enshrined in law, and ensure our police get the support and protection they need.

The Covenant will focus on health and wellbeing, physical protection and support for families. It will be put on a statutory footing as part of an ambitious package of measures to strengthen protection for the police and the public through the policing legislation, announced in the Queen’s Speech and to be introduced later this session. The legislation will also include other measures to support the police, for example, ensuring special constables are able to join the Police Federation and increasing the legal protection for police drivers involved in accidents while doing their jobs.

This Government has also been clear that any assault on an emergency worker is completely unacceptable in any circumstances. We want to send a clear message that these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated. Which is why we recently announced our intention to legislate to double the maximum penalty for assaults on emergency workers, from 12 months to two years.