Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on average police response times to incidents in rural areas by police force area in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not currently hold a national dataset of average police response times to incidents in rural areas.

The Home Secretary has been clear that she wants the Home Office to play a greater role in monitoring and improving police performance. The Home Office are currently developing a nationally comparable dataset for response times and further details on this will be set out in due course.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) regularly inspect forces’ response to the public as a part of their Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspections. As a part of this, they examine whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.