Minister’s praise for policing of the pandemic

1 November 2021

The Minister for Social Justice has spoken of the Welsh Government’s gratitude at the policing of the pandemic.

Jane Hutt, the Welsh Labour Member of the Senedd (MS) for the Vale of Glamorgan, made the comments in a meeting with Nicky Ryan, the Police Federation’s Welsh lead.

Nicky said: “The minister wanted officers to know that she was aware of the pressures and risks they faced policing the pandemic and assured me that she kept a close eye on what was going on.

“She asked that officers were made aware of how they were appreciated by the Welsh Government.”

Nicky’s online meeting with the minister and accompanying officials was the latest in a series she’s held with politicians in Wales to discuss the issues facing the Federation and members.

Nicky raised officers’ concerns around the lack of any priority being given to officers in the initial roll-out of the Covid jabs and also discussed the policing of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26), which is being held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.

“Mrs Hutt was interested in the size of the deployment of officers attending COP and acknowledged the undertaking that officers would be making, particularly those deploying to the conference for almost three weeks,” said Nicky.

Nicky explained the Police Covenant, which is included in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently going through the Westminster Parliament.

It follows a campaign by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) for a covenant to ensure welfare of officers, police staff and their families is placed under regular Parliamentary scrutiny at Westminster.

The covenant will provide serving officers and former police personnel with long-term support and protection. It will focus on health and wellbeing, the physical protections officers need on the job and support for families, but while it will cover officers in England, it will not necessarily automatically apply to their Welsh colleagues.

They also discussed Time Limits, another of the Federation’s campaigns which aims to ensure that any police disciplinary investigations are concluded within 12 months from the moment an allegation is made.

The meeting concluded with a discussion about the Welsh Policing Board, of which the Federation would like to be part.