Notwithstanding the Metropolitan Police’s appeal from the High Court’s decision in that case, the immediate answer appears to lie in the Police (Vetting) Regulations 2025, which came into force today.
These regulations set out comprehensive provisions for the vetting of police officers in England and Wales. They may be seen as complementary to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 and the Police (Performance) Regulations 2020. These new provisions require every police officer to hold and maintain vetting clearance and establish procedures for withdrawing vetting clearance when there is evidence that a police officer may no longer be suitable to hold it.
The regulations are structured into several parts:
- Part 1 includes interpretive provisions and defines key terms such as “vetting clearance” as well as terms familiar from the Conduct regime such as the “harm test”.
- Part 2 outlines the general requirements for “Vetting Clearance”. Regulation 5 mandates that every police officer must hold and maintain vetting clearance and that every officer must promptly notify the vetting authority of any matter (including their personal circumstances) which may reasonably affect their suitability to hold such clearance. Regulation 6 terminates a police officer’s vetting clearance when they cease to be a police officer and regulation 7 requires chief officers or local policing bodies to keep a record of applications for vetting clearance, including the decision on outcome.
- Part 3 introduces the process by which an officer’s vetting may be withdrawn; this is the “withdrawal assessment”. Regulation 8 sets out the harm test (circumstances in which information in documents can be withheld from the officer concerned) and regulations 9 and 10 deal with the officer’s ability to choose a police friend (and what that friend can do) and the officer’s right to legal representation; these are broadly analagous to similar provisions in the Conduct regulations. Regulation 11 addresses service of documents (including the provision for service by email before 4.30pm on a working day), regulation 12 addresses whether a withdrawal assessment should be delayed pending other proceedings and the vetting authority’s power to suspend an officer during the assessment is set out in regulation 13.
- Part 4 details the actual procedure for conducting withdrawal assessments, including at regulation 15 an initial “severity assessment”, namely consideration of “whether the matter could reasonably lead to vetting clearance being withdrawn”; if it could not be withdrawn then the vetting authority must consider whether it should be referred to be dealt with under the Conduct or Performance Regulations. Regulation 16 addresses the appointment of an assessor to carry out a timely withdrawal assessment (and its purpose at regulation 17) and the requirement to serve written notice on the officer concerned is set out at regulation 18; again in terms broadly analogous to those which are served under the Conduct regulations. Per regulation 19 the Officer concerned may also make oral or written representations, provide documents and per regulation 20 may be interviewed, either at the request of the assessor or at their own request. Under regulation 22 If at any time during their assessment the assessor believes that the matter is no longer such that vetting clearance would be withdrawn, they must inform the vetting authority of that belief and provide reasons. The vetting authority must then make a further vetting severity assessment and can either require the withdrawal assessment to be continued or can discontinue such proceedings and refer the matter to be considered under the Conduct or Performance regulations. Once the assessor has completed their assessment per regulation 23 they must as soon as practicable submit to the vetting authority a report, together with any relevant documents and including their views on whether or not the officer concerned’s vetting clearance should be withdrawn. Per regulation 24 the vetting authority must either take action regarding the officer’s vetting (impose conditions, downgrade it with or without conditions or withdraw it) or refer the matter to be considered under the Conduct or Performance regulations. If an officer’s vetting clearance is withdrawn, the officer must be dismissed without notice.
Per regulation 26 an officer has a right to appeal, but only on limited grounds, namely that the decision was unreasonable, that there is evidence that could not reasonably have been considered as part of the withdrawal assessment which could have materially affected the decision or that there was a breach of procedures or unfairness which could have materially affected the decision. The panel must determine whether the notice of appeal sets out arguable grounds; if they decide it does not they must dismiss the appeal. Regulation 27 sets out the composition of the appeal panel, namely three persons made up of the chief officer, a senior officer or staff member of equivalent seniority and a suitably qualified lay member appointed by the local policing body. At the ‘appeal meeting’ the panel may confirm or reverse the decision appealed against or impose any other ‘action’ which the vetting authority could have imposed per regulation 24 and must give written notice of its determination.
Under Part 5 an officer has a right of appeal against this panel’s decision to the Police Appeal Tribunal on the (same) grounds, namely that the decision was unreasonable, that there is evidence that could not reasonably have been considered as part of the withdrawal assessment which could have materially affected the decision or that there was a breach of procedures set out in the Vetting Regulations or unfairness which could have materially affected the decision.
