Police: Reorganisation
(asked on 23rd February 2026) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 41 of the policy paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing, published on 26 January 2026, CP 1489, what is meant by a pathfinder merger.
This question was answered on 3rd March 2026
The Police Reform White Paper set out an ambition to move to fewer, larger forces by the end of next parliament. This included a commitment to explore opportunities to undertake pathfinder mergers by the end of this Parliament.
A pathfinder merger would take place with the support of local forces and make progress towards the proposed end state of regional forces across England and Wales.