Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current levels of police recruitment in England and Wales.

The government has delivered its manifesto commitment to deliver 20,000 additional officers. At the end of March 2023, we had the highest number of officers on record in England and Wales, with 149,566 officers in post surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 officers in post in March 2010.

We expect police forces to maintain officer numbers and Chief Constables will be held to account for ensuring that officer numbers continue to match. The next available data on officer numbers will be published as part of the Police Workforce Statistics for England and Wales on 24 January 2024.