Parliament and Policing

A cross-party committee of MPs that scrutinises the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies including the IOPC, HMICFRS and the College of Policing. It conducts formal inquiries, takes written and oral evidence, and publishes reports to which the government must respond. Reports and government responses are public documents on the Parliament website.

How to give evidence to an inquiry

• Watch for inquiries at committees.parliament.uk/committee/83
• Calls for written evidence list the specific questions the committee wants addressed
• Submissions should be factual, referenced and focused on those questions
• Concise and evidenced is more effective than long and anecdotal
• Submissions can be made anonymously or with identifying details withheld
• Published submissions become part of the parliamentary record and are cited in reports
• You can request oral evidence; selection is at the committee's discretion

Any MP can submit a written question to any minister. Questions and answers are published in Hansard and searchable at questions-statements.parliament.uk. They are a powerful research and accountability tool: a written answer from the Home Secretary or Policing Minister acknowledging a specific problem creates a public parliamentary record. Ministers can decline on grounds of disproportionate cost or national security but must explain their refusal.

Peers ask written and oral questions, conduct debates and sit on committees including the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. The Lords contains substantial expertise across policing and criminal justice and peers can be approached directly within their areas of interest. VNS has engaged with peers including Baroness Chakrabarti and Lord Arbuthnot in relation to Amendment 21 on computer evidence reliability and the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

Your MP can raise concerns with ministers, ask parliamentary questions, write to the Home Secretary or Policing Minister, and refer matters to relevant bodies. They cannot intervene in operational decisions, direct an investigation or override a charging decision. A clear written brief is more effective than a phone call: set out what happened, what you have done so far, the response, and what you are asking your MP to do specifically.

Realistic requests

• Write to the Home Secretary or Policing Minister about a systemic concern
• Table a written question on national data, policy or guidance
• Raise the matter in a debate or questions session
• Write to the IOPC or HMICFRS expressing concern about a systemic issue
• Refer to the PHSO where public-body maladministration is involved
• Connect you with relevant parliamentary colleagues or committee members

The super-complaint system allows designated bodies to raise systemic concerns about policing that harm the public interest. A super-complaint triggers a joint investigation by HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the IOPC. Individual members of the public cannot bring super-complaints, but can provide evidence to designated bodies. The mechanism has produced significant changes, including the landmark super-complaint on police-perpetrated domestic abuse.

When a bill passes its Commons second reading it goes to a Public Bill Committee for line-by-line scrutiny. Written evidence submissions are published as part of the parliamentary record and can inform amendments, debates and ministerial attention. The window for submission is limited. VNS submitted written evidence to the Courts and Tribunals Bill Public Bill Committee on the implications of removing the right to elect jury trial in cases involving digital evidence failures. See the full record of VNS's submissions and how they were received in Parliament →