Written Statement: Welsh Government Response to UK Government Police Reform White Paper

Yesterday, the UK Government published its White Paper on policing reform in England and Wales, entitled “From local to national: a new model for policing”. 

Key elements of the White Paper include: 

• an ambition to significantly reduce the number of police forces, to be taken forward after an independent review, with force mergers to take place over the course of this and the following UK Parliament;
• Local Policing Areas to be established for each town, city or borough; 
• increased powers for the Home Secretary, for example with regard to intervening in forces perceived to be failing; 
• provision for the establishment of national strategic policing priorities, which will in time lead to centrally generated and published targets and revised mechanisms for performance monitoring and inspection; 
• the establishment of a new National Police Service uniting the capabilities of the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing and Regional Organised Crime Units, under a single organisation;
• the appointment of a National Police Commissioner to lead the new service, as the most senior police officer in England and Wales; and 
• proposals for greater use of AI, greater professionalism of neighbourhood policing, and directing more resources to local crime response and prevention.

The White Paper also provides more details on previously announced plans to abolish the role of Police and Crime Commissioner, on which I answered a topical question in the Senedd on 19 November 2025 and commented further during a topical question on 17 December 2025 regarding police force mergers.

I am grateful to the current and former Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales and their staff for their work in holding our police forces to account, shaping local priorities and representing the voices of our communities. Our PCCs remain committed to this important work throughout the transition period. 

Since that announcement, there has been significant and constructive discussion between the Home Office, Welsh Government and other key stakeholders in Wales to develop options for replacing PCCs. As part of this engagement, I have had further conversations with the Policing Minister, and she attended the Policing Partnership Board for Wales in December 2025. My goal is that the present Welsh Government agrees a future form of governance with the Home Office during this Senedd. Such an approach will need to build on what currently works well and strengthen the devolution settlement. There is a clear opportunity to do both. The longer-term goal of the Welsh Government is to devolve policing in Wales as recommended by the Thomas Commission and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

We will now need to study the detail of the White Paper and consider its implications for Wales. I am encouraged by the constructive approach of the Home Office in engaging with the unique Welsh landscape, which is recognised in the paper. 

The White Paper proposals are significant, far-reaching and require detailed consideration. I recognise, for example, that there may be advantages in the centralisation of some operational functions. However, it is important that the mechanisms for achieving this ensure that funds raised in Wales are retained in Wales. Similarly, the introduction of centrally devised targets and changes to the oversight of police force performance may have merit, but it will be essential that any targets and oversight arrangements that apply in Wales are designed for the Welsh context, from the outset. The White Paper notes that funding reform is required; it is important that police funding is safeguarded to enable communities to be safer and victims supported.

Likewise, on a reduction of police forces, it is right that such decisions are not rushed and are subject to an independent review. The Welsh Government will engage with that review fully and consider its findings. To support the review, at a minimum, we would expect to make the case to that review that, given the difference in laws and working practices between Wales and England, no single regional police force should operate across both sides of the Anglo-Welsh border.

Finally, I welcome the consideration being given to vetting processes and to the maintenance of professional standards for police officers. The great majority of Wales’s police officers are brave and committed public servants, dedicated to the communities they serve. However, trust and confidence in the police remain too low, especially among women and some minority communities. Unfortunately, this is sometimes for good reason. I hope that through working with the UK Government on these reforms we can improve the effectiveness of Policing in Wales. We are proud of the partnerships we have built with policing partners in Wales, and we continue to work collaboratively with the united purpose of keeping Wales safe.