PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Police: Deployment (1 November 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of police officers are currently classified as deployable; and what the primary reasons are for officers being deemed non-deployable.

Asked by:
Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat)

The Home Office does not have an official measure of ‘deployable’.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number and proportion of police officers available for duty as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Table H1 of the data tables accompanying the publication provides the number and proportion of police officers available for duty, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024. The number of police officers available for duty is calculated by excluding those on long-term absence (that has lasted for more than 28 calendar days). Long-term absence includes career breaks, compassionate leave, maternity or paternity leave, sickness, special leave, study leave and suspension.

The number of police officers available for duty includes police officers that are on recuperative (duties falling short of full deployment, undertaken by a police officer following an injury, accident, illness or medical incident) or adjusted (duties falling short of full deployment, in respect of which workplace adjustments have been made to overcome barriers to working) duties. The Home Office does not collect data on the reason for recuperative or adjusted duties.

Table W5 and W6 of the data tables accompanying the publication provide the number and proportion of police officers on recuperative and adjusted duties, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024.

The Home Office does not collect data on officers that are non-deployable due to management restricted duties.

Answered by:
Dame Diana Johnson (Labour)
11 November 2024