Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of training provided to frontline police officers on recognising and responding to neurodivergent people, including autistic people and people with ADHD.

The College of Policing set the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework. All new recruits must complete this training which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.

The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has also produced an e-learning course and a glossary of terms on neurodiversity, which are available to all police officers.

Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake.

The Home Office is a member of the National Neurodiversity Working Group chaired by the National Police Chiefs Council lead for Neurodiversity.