Dear Mr Chote,
I am writing to formally complain about the use of unpublished statistics by the Minister of State for Police, Crime and Fire during a statement made in the House of Commons chamber when closing the debate on the Police Funding Settlement on 5th February 2025.
During the statement, the Minister cited a police workforce figure “had been reduced by 1,232 to 148,536 officers” in June, despite the official publication schedule dictating that police workforce statistics are only released in March and September. As I understand it, the release of this figure is a clear breach of established statistical protocols and raises concerns about the proper and transparent use of official statistics.
The UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics emphasises the importance of orderly release and preventing the misuse of statistics. The Minister’s announcement appears to contravene these principles by disclosing unpublished figures without making them publicly available in a consistent and transparent manner. As I understand it, no previous publications of police headcount numbers were announced in the month of June in previous years – making it impossible for trends or changes to be compared.
I request that the UK Statistics Authority investigates this matter and provides clarification on whether the Minister’s actions were in line with the Code of Practice. Additionally, I would appreciate a response outlining any steps the Authority may take to ensure ministers adhere to proper statistical procedures in the future.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Matt Vickers
Member of Parliament for Stockton West
Shadow Minister of State for Police, Crime and Fire
Related links
Letter from Sir Robert Chote to Matt Vickers MP – police workforce figures