Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
The National Audit Office reported that the vetting process used during recruitment had a disproportionate...
Recommendation
The National Audit Office reported that the vetting process used during recruitment had a disproportionate effect on ethnic minority applicants. Applicants of Asian and Black heritage had lower pass rates than those of White heritage and were more likely to succeed in an appeal.14 The Department told us there were a lot of different issues that can play into vetting and why outcomes are as they are. For example, it explained that in the case of Asian females under 26 years old there were a disproportionate number of failures relating to third party associations within the wider family. The Department told us that it had put in place training for vetting managers and those in charge of appeals, and have put in place data standard so it can compare forces.15
Government Response Summary
The government agreed to include a table setting out the diversity of individual police forces compared to their 2021 local populations within each Uplift statistical release, after the ONS releases the 2021 census data.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5a. PAC recommendation: The Department and its partners should assist forces in monitoring their workforce by including within each statistical release on progress a table setting out the diversity of individual police forces compared to that of their local populations. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2023 5.2 The government assists police forces in monitoring their workforce by providing, on a monthly basis, force level diversity data compared to local populations. This uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) census data from 2011 (the most recent data available). 5.3 Police diversity data is published on a quarterly basis in the Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) including sex, ethnicity and age. This includes commentary comparing the ethnicity of police officers to the population in England and Wales using the 2011 census. The ONS release of the 2021 census is expected to be published in October 2022. Post publication of the ONS 2021 census, the department will include within each Uplift statistical release a table setting out the diversity of individual police forces compared to their 2021 local populations. 5.4 Police forces are working hard to improve equality and diversity – training has improved and the workforce is more diverse than ever before. The latest figures, as of 30 June 2022, shows the highest proportion of ethnic minority (excluding white minority) and female police officers in policing since records began. The government is committed to supporting efforts to achieve the diverse police workforce that communities need and to ensure progress is accelerated. 5.5 Sharing best practice, engagement with police staff associations, upskilling recruitment teams, enhanced data capture and delivering a campaign designed to reach the most diverse audience possible, are just some of the efforts being made to improve police diversity through the Police Uplift Programme.