My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in an incredibly thoughtful debate this afternoon. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, to his first Committee and the tone in which he opened this debate. I also pay tribute to his father. I jolly well hope that he is sitting at home watching this afternoon. I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, and the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, for setting out their amendments to the first clause of the Bill, which relates to the police covenant.
I echo other noble Lords’ comments on PC Harper and Sergeant Matt Ratana, who gave their lives protecting the general public. To echo the words of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, there is no doubt that our brave police encounter some of the most challenging circumstances on a daily basis, often operating in some of the most difficult and traumatic situations imaginable. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, for outlining, albeit in very graphic detail, some of the experiences he has had to endure during his policing career. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Bach, for bringing to this House a unique experience as Parliament’s only PCC, and I wish him well in his retirement.
What we have talked about this afternoon is what makes the police covenant so important, with its central tenet the health and well-being of members and former members of the police workforce, their physical protection, and support for their families. It is a priority for the Government, and I am very pleased that we have brought this forward.
We recognise the very positive intention behind Amendments 1, 3 and 4, and I could not disagree what most noble Lords have said. However, what I would say is that they are not necessary, on the basis that consideration of mental health, including having regard to programmes offering advice on assessment and treatment, the impact of trauma and support and the training for health and resilience, are already well within scope of Clause 1, under the banner of health and well-being.
The noble Lord, Lord Coaker, asked me to outline what the provision includes, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Harris and Lady Brinton, talked about PTSD, which affects an awful lot of police officers, both when serving and after their career. I shall outline some of those things. First, we will ensure that occupational health standards are embedded in all forces, holding chiefs to account for providing the right quality and investment in their workforce. The National Police Wellbeing Service has been working hard to embed occupational health standards in forces, including for mental health. I think it was the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, who said that people should receive the right support that they need at the right time. That is absolutely central to providing effective mental health services.
The other thing that will be contained is consideration of a new chief medical officer for policing in England and Wales, and a review of what a good support model for families looks like, drawing on established good practice and research from other sectors and international partners. Once agreed, forces will be required to implement locally, bespoke to their local infrastructure, development of training for GPs around the role of the police, similar to military veterans GP training, and the development of pre-deployment mental health support provided to the police workforce, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the effect that this will have had on the police workforce, some of whom I have already spoken to.
There was quite a lot of talk about the interface between the Armed Forces and the police covenant, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester clearly made the distinction between the two forces, which are very different in terms of the demands on them. The work under the police covenant will recognise the specific issues that affect those working or who have worked in policing—to answer the question posed by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, it will include those who have retired—as a result of their role, and will seek to provide support to them and their families in addressing these issues. The police covenant and the legislation underpinning it have been drafted to ensure that they reflect the specific, unique needs of our police as they currently stand.
The heading is deliberately broad to allow the Secretary of State to consider the issues as they arise. We consciously framed the provisions in this way to enable a flexible approach to ensure that the issues that matter most to members and former members of the police can be taken into account and addressed in the annual report as they arise. This flexibility will allow the police covenant to evolve to respond to the most pertinent needs of current and former members of the police workforce in a timely manner. What we do not want to do is create a hierarchy of issues by explicitly listing specific issues in the Bill, where they will fall within those broader priorities.
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While we appreciate that this is not the intention, these amendments could give rise to doubt about the importance of scope of other critical issues identified by the current and former police workforce, simply because they are not listed in the Bill. We want the police to feel the benefit of a covenant based on
emerging issues and trends identified through collaboration with them and focused on removing the disadvantages they face as a result of their role in policing. To this end, the clause explicitly enables other pertinent priorities beyond the three broad categories specified in Clause 1(2)(a) to (c) to be addressed if considered appropriate. We think this strikes the right balance in directing the substance of the report without being too prescriptive.
Within the broad priorities identified in the legislation, work has already begun on the ground. Our initial focus with regard to the covenant includes improving mental health support for officers and staff, particularly ahead of deployment, as I think the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, mentioned; focusing on ensuring that occupational health standards are embedded in all forces; and considering options for appointing a new chief medical officer for policing, as I have said. These activities will be critical to ensuring that those officers suffering from the impact of trauma or mental ill-health have access to the support they need. This will include support and training on health and resilience as appropriate to the issues identified.
We will also continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk to mental health and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events. This includes signposting to mental health support and resources. This shows that the issues raised by noble Lords are already being taken very seriously and prioritised.
The noble Lord, Lord Paddick, asked about the resettlement programme. We understand that there is a need to look at support for former members of the police workforce and assure the noble Lord that this it is within the scope of the government. We will be looking at what the specific need is with our stakeholders, including NARPO, to determine what that support model should look like.
I think I have slightly pre-empted my answer to the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, but Amendment 2 would require the Secretary of State to consider the support needed by officers and staff on their retirement from the police workforce. The scope provided by the current wording of Clause 1 would include those people at or nearing the end of their police careers, and career transition support is being considered as part of the ongoing work. Through the governance process we have developed, we will keep under review the support our police receive to ensure that they have the right access at the right time.
Amendment 5 seeks to place the Police Covenant Oversight Board on a statutory footing, make provision for its membership and provide for an independent chair. Amendment 6 seeks to add the National Association of Retired Police Officers to the list in Amendment 5 of organisations to be represented on the board. We have established the Police Covenant Oversight Board on a non-statutory basis to drive the strategic direction of the police covenant, set priorities and monitor progress to feed into the Home Secretary’s annual report to Parliament. The board comprises key stakeholders from across the policing sector and first met in July. The second meeting, chaired by the Minister for Crime and Policing, took place earlier this month.
We expect the challenges that the police face will continue to change and develop. We intend the police covenant to evolve accordingly. We recognise that there will be many stakeholders critical to the resolution of the changing, emerging issues that the police workforce face. We have therefore sought to retain flexibility by creating a non-statutory board, through which we can involve relevant stakeholders, including NARPO, as appropriate, depending on the nature of the priorities identified. These arrangements are intended to reflect the flexibility underpinning the legislative provisions.
In preparing the police covenant report, which the board will feed into, the Secretary of State must seek the views of anyone she considers appropriate in preparing the report, which will naturally include the appropriate partners in policing. This broad approach provides the Secretary of State with the flexibility to seek the views of policing stakeholders outside membership of the board should she believe that is appropriate.
We think the current approach to the governance framework, including the arrangements for chairing the board, is entirely appropriate. The Home Secretary will be held accountable for the priorities of the covenant, through the annual report that she will be required to lay in Parliament. With that in mind, a government Minister must play an active role in this work, through chairing the board. We recognise that having an independent presence on the board is important though. To that end, we are progressing plans to appoint at least one independent board member. We aim to pursue an approach that retains joint accountability with policing stakeholders for the delivery of priorities identified under the covenant, while incorporating an element of independence in response to stakeholder feedback. We will review these governance arrangements periodically and, in doing so, will consider the independence of input and challenge to the board.
Finally, Amendment 7 seeks to create a duty on specified
“health service bodies to have due regard to police covenant principles”
in the exercise of relevant health functions. I recognise that this stems from provisions in the Armed Forces Bill, which amends the existing provisions in respect of the Armed Forces covenant. Again, I recognise the positive intention behind this amendment, but the two covenants are at totally different stages of evolution. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester says, they are in different contexts. The Armed Forces covenant has been in existence for some years, and its structure continues to evolve with increasing prominence. The police covenant has just begun and, while it too will evolve and grow, it must be given space in which to develop and embed as its own entity, operating in a different space.
At this stage, therefore, it is premature to include a duty on specific public bodies to have due regard to the police covenant, without first establishing the key issues involved, identifying robust evidence and the options to respond to those issues, and considering the need in consultation with relevant public bodies.
I hope, in light of my rather lengthy explanation and assurance, that the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, will be happy to withdraw his amendment.