Government announces new welfare fund
POLICE officers are to benefit from a new £7.5m welfare fund, the Government has announced.
The National Police Welfare Service will initially be tested as a pilot and, subject to its success, be rolled out to all 43 forces between 2018 and 2020.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the money – over three years – would fund a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support “which if you need it, you can rely on.”
The Police Federation of England and Wales welfare survey, carried out in 2016, reported that almost half (42%) of officers felt they were poorly, or very poorly, supported by the police service when they did seek help.
It also stated that two thirds of officers (65%) said they still went to work even though they felt they shouldn’t because of the state of their mental wellbeing.
It was recently revealed that 9,267 UK police officers have taken time off with mental health illnesses in the last year – that’s a 47% increase on the number of officers taking time off for stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in the past 5 years.
PFEW Chair Steve White said officers are working “in high-stress situations” which have been “exacerbated over the years because policing numbers have been cut to the bone.”
He added: “Now they will have access to a properly funded welfare service offering specialist help which the Federation has been calling for years. While forces have tried hard to provide support, it has been very difficult in the current austerity climate to ensure good provision across the board.”
Ms Rudd added: “The new service will complement the support already delivered at force level to serving police officers and staff, covering mental health advice and welfare support.”
According to the Home Office, plans will be developed over the coming months by the College of Policing, working very closely with Police Federation.
The college’s work to deliver a national police welfare service will complement their existing work on staff welfare, which includes guidance on officer and staff safety and support in high stress environments.