News story: Policing minister listens to first-hand experience at police wellbeing roundtable

The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd has heard from experts and senior officers on police wellbeing, including a chief superintendent who wrote a personal memoir on policing and mental health, at a roundtable on Tuesday 16 January.

The roundtable, chaired by the minister, focused on how the government can assist police chiefs in their statutory duty to manage the welfare of their officers. It was attended by police leaders, including Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, who is the National Police Chiefs Council Lead on Wellbeing, as well as experts from across government, Public Health England, and mental health charities.

Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent John Sutherland, author of ‘Blue: A Memoir’, which details his struggles with mental health during a 26-year career in policing, also addressed the event about his personal experiences.

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:

Policing can be a very demanding job. Officers have demonstrated extraordinary courage and fortitude in the face of major challenges over the past year, including terrorist attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire. I am grateful to them for their tireless work and dedication to duty.

It is imperative that policing provides excellent support to its officers and staff – which is why I’m keen to listen to those with the most experience on how to do this best.

The government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously, and this event provides an opportunity to review progress so far and put plans in place for the future.

The roundtable builds on existing work by the sector. In July 2017, the Home Secretary awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund over 3 years to pilot and, if it is successful, fund a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support. The new service will complement the support already delivered at force level to serving police officers and staff.

The government has also awarded £7 million since 2014, using funds from the LIBOR fines imposed on banks, to the charity Mind, which has funded targeted support and programmes for emergency services.

The College of Policing has also carried out important work in this area. CC Rhodes and Dr Ian Hesketh of the College have led the design of The Blue Light Wellbeing Framework – the first ever sector-specific self-assessment management tool. It is available via Oscar Kilo, a website that brings together those responsible for wellbeing and shares learning and best practice.

Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, National Police Chiefs Council Lead on Wellbeing, said:

Our police officers and staff work in a physically and emotionally demanding environment, putting their bodies and their minds on the line 24/7 to keep us safe.

This roundtable sends out a clear message that we are relentless in our commitment to provide the world-class welfare support police need to deliver a high-quality service for the public.

The event brought together experts and national leads to review progress and agree priorities for the future, including significant investment from the Police Transformation Fund. This investment will enable us to accelerate our efforts and significantly step up our activity over the coming years.

News story: External systems notice

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News story: Keep updated with email alerts from Companies House

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News story: War disablement pension rates 2018

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Tobias Ellwood) has announced the new rates of war pensions and allowances proposed from April 2018 are set out in the War disablement pension 2018 rates document. The annual uprating of war pensions and allowances for 2018 will take place from the week beginning 9 April. Rates for 2018 are increasing by 3.0% in line with the September 2017 consumer prices index.

Press release: Colne man sentenced for running illegal landfill

John Leslie Allison has been ordered to remove waste he illegally disposed of on land off Delves Lane, Colne.

John Leslie Allison (72) of Southfield Lane, Colne, Lancashire, was sentenced on Friday 5 January 2018 at Preston Crown Court having pleaded guilty and been convicted on 7 July 2017 to the offence of operating an unpermitted waste facility. He was also ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s investigation costs of £9,190.64 in full.

Sentencing was postponed whilst the Court directed investigations into Mr Allison’s means.

In September the Court heard how Mr Allison had deliberately, over a 10-month period, between 20 September 2015 and 15 June 2016, been seen to repeatedly dispose of waste on land previously used for grazing livestock. This activity had continued despite a number of verbal and written warnings from the Environment Agency and a formal notice requiring him to clear waste from the land.

Sites where waste is disposed of by burying require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency and are subject to strict conditions and considerable investment in infrastructure to manage risks to the environment.

The illegal operation of this site has caused considerable concern to a number of local residents and potential harm to the environment.

The Environment Agency had sought to work with Mr Allison to bring about a change in his behaviour and had provided him with a number of opportunities to take action to remove waste from the land off Delves Lane.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

Mr Allison has entirely failed to respond to our efforts and, even following an interview under caution, continued to import waste to the land without regard to warnings given by the Environment Agency.

Waste crime is a serious offence, which can damage the environment, undermine legitimate business and cause misery for local residents.

The Environment Agency is determined to make life hard for criminals. Our specialist crime unit uses intelligence to track and prosecute those involved in illegal waste activity and we rely on information from the public to bring those responsible to justice.

People can report waste crime 24/7 to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.