Policy background Police Covenant
The Front Line Review announced by the then Home Secretary at the Police Federation Annual Conference in May 2018 invited police officers, police community support officers and police staff in England and Wales to share ideas to change and improve policing. The subsequent report published by the Home Office in July 2019 highlighted the concerns of police officers and staff and the need to do more to help them. Following the publication, on 18 July 2019 the then Home Secretary announced plans to establish a Police Covenant, similar to the covenant that exists for the armed forces to provide support to those working in policing.
	The Home Secretary announced in September 2019 a consultation into the Police Covenant, which ran from 26 February to 22 April 2020. The consultation paper sought views on the principle of implementing a Police Covenant in England and Wales, to enhance support for the police and their families. The consultation attracted 1,113 responses with over 90% of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the idea of establishing a Police Covenant and enshrining it in legislation. A response to the consultation was published in September 2020, setting out the initial focus of the Covenant as:
Physical Protection;
Health and Wellbeing;
Support for Families.
	The Government’s report also proposed that legislation should be brought forward to require the Home Secretary to report annually to Parliament on the Covenant. It was thereafter decided that the scope of the Covenant, and the duty to report, should extend to cover non-Home Office forces – British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, MoD Police, and National Crime Agency officers, meaning the provision extends UK wide, to ensure those forces which operate outside of England and Wales are properly captured by the provisions.
	The Covenant itself will take the form of a declaration and is not set out in the legislation. The legislative provisions comprise a duty on the Secretary of State to produce a report annually, addressing key issues in respect of the Covenant, specifically the health and wellbeing of members and former members of the police workforce in England and Wales, their physical protection, and the support for members of their families, taking into account any disadvantages experienced by the police workforce as a result of working in policing.
	Enshrining the Police Covenant report in law is designed to embed the importance of these issues in public consciousness, and to introduce accountability and encourage action to prevent detriment being suffered by members of the police workforce. The report must be laid before Parliament, providing an opportunity to scrutinise the nature of the issues facing those working in policing, and any work being done in these areas. These provisions will be underpinned by a non-statutory governance structure to support the Home Secretary in fulfilling these new duties. Section 1 gives effect to these proposals.