Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing, published on 26 January 2026, CP 1489, what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum size will be for each of the new forces.

The Police Reform White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, set out an ambition to significantly reduce the number of police forces across England and Wales by the end of next Parliament.

We will imminently launch an Independent Review of Police Force Structures, which will make recommendations on the optimum number and configuration of forces. The specific end-state of policing will be informed by the Independent Review which is due to report in summer.