‘Every officer will need a licence to practise’: Federation responds

25 January 2026

As news breaks that every officer will need a licence to practise, Suffolk Police Federation says that while it backs any measure that strengthens policing, it stresses officers must be given genuine time and support to meet those requirements.

Branch secretary Ben Hudson says that implementing a licence to practise for police officers might help strengthen the organisation, enhance public confidence, and support officers in remaining skilled and effective throughout their careers.

However, he stressed that a licence to practise will only succeed if it is backed by genuine support for officers, not increased pressure on an already stretched workforce.

Ben said: “Officers want to develop their skills and provide the best possible service to the public. 

Support

“What they cannot continue to carry is the sense of guilt that comes with stepping away from frontline duties to complete training.

“Too often, officers undertaking mandatory learning do so knowing that their absence creates a gap elsewhere - a gap that colleagues must absorb in an already stretched system. That pressure discourages meaningful engagement with training and undermines the very purpose of professional development.

“If a licence to practise is to be effective, officers must be given protected, ring-fenced time to complete required learning during working hours, without being made to feel that they are letting their team or the public down.

"However, there are so many questions unanswered here. Until we see all of the details, it would be unfair for us to support a licence to practice or not."

Ben’s comments come ahead of this week’s announcement by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, whose police reform plans are expected to see the ‘biggest shake-up’ of the organisation in decades.

Policing model

Tomorrow (Monday 26 January), Ms Mahmood is set to outline the reforms in a white paper entitled: ‘From local to national: a new model to policing’.

Officers will have to renew their ‘licence to practice’ throughout their careers to ensure they are up to date with the latest methods and guidance. The aim is to ensure that all police forces across England and Wales are standardised.

But Ben said that for a licence to practice to be successful, forces must review their operating models to ensure that training and professional development are treated as essential parts of policing, not an operational inconvenience.

He explained that this approach includes moving away from over-reliance on web-based learning alone and from providing training that officers do not have the time or capacity to complete properly. 

Training

“If officers are required to renew a licence to practise annually, that requirement must be achievable within normal working time and without negatively impacting operational policing,” he added.

“A licence to practise must support officers, not place them in an impossible position where expectations increase but time and resources do not. Officers should not face - or fear they face - professional consequences because systemic pressures prevent them from accessing training.

“Strong foundations must be put in place nationally to ensure the process is fair, consistent, and realistic across all forces.

“I’d like to reassure all members that we will continue to work with Suffolk Police Force to ensure our members are fully supported as these changes from the police reform programme are rolled out.”

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