Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of police officer resignations; and what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) adequacy of police officer numbers and (b) long-term sustainability of the workforce.

The government has delivered its commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak before the Police Uplift Programme (PUP), in March 2010 before our unprecedented recruitment drive.

The retention of police officers remains a priority for the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors.

Forces plan their ongoing recruitment to replace officers who leave, and in order to maintain officer numbers. They have been fully funded to recruit and maintain the 20,000 additional officers and that is what they are doing.

As part of the funding announced in the police funding settlement for 2024/25, £425 million has been allocated to forces which Police and Crime Commissioners can access if they maintain officer numbers.

As part of the PUP we created the Uplift Hub, an online resource for all forces that contains learning, insights and guidance generated during the programme, themed around Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding and Retention. Forces are already accessing this learning to support retention activity which is ensuring officers are supported.