The funding will support delivery of the wellbeing commitments set out in the Police Reform White Paper, with Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), leading delivery of key national measures for officers and staff.
The announcement also reinforces the move towards mandatory national wellbeing standards for policing. Developed by the NPWS and the Chief Medical Officer for Policing, these standards will help end the postcode lottery in police wellbeing support, making sure officers and staff can expect a more consistent level of support wherever they serve.
This is a significant step forward. It builds on the foundations already put in place over recent years, while recognising that there is still more to do. It brings new investment behind services designed to help people earlier, prevent issues escalating into crisis, reduce pressure on forces, and improve consistency of support across all forces.
What has been announced
The investment will support national wellbeing commitments across all 43 forces in England and Wales. It will help to:
- expand confidential online psychological health checks to around 100,000 officers and staff in operational roles each year, building on the 50,000 checks already in place for those in front-facing and high-risk roles
- continue the rollout of ResetU, the private sleep, fatigue and recovery app built around the realities of shift work and operational policing
- support the rollout of trauma tracking in every force, so that exposure to traumatic incidents is recognised, understood and acted on
- continue the Mental Health Crisis Line for officers and staff, providing free, confidential, 24/7 support for those in crisis
- develop future access to the Crisis Line for those who have left the service
The Police Reform White Paper also commits to mandatory national wellbeing standards, developed by NPWS and the Chief Medical Officer for Policing. The NPWS Workforce Prioritisation Guidance already provides the six-area framework that will form the backbone of these standards, giving forces a clearer way to prioritise, embed and benchmark wellbeing strategically and operationally.
Delivery of these commitments will be led by the National Police Wellbeing Service, working with the College of Policing, NPCC, the Home Office, forces and wider policing partners.
Mandatory standards
For too long, the support officers and staff can access has varied between forces. Some areas have made strong progress, while others have faced barriers around capacity, consistency, awareness or local provision.
Where someone serves should not determine the support they receive.
Mandatory national standards, backed by HMICFRS inspection, will help close that gap. They will set clearer expectations for forces, while NPWS provides the national infrastructure to support delivery, including standards, products, services, guidance, evidence and practical tools.
Chief Constables will retain responsibility for local implementation, but this announcement gives policing a clearer national framework and stronger support to help make consistency achievable.
What this means for officers and staff
This announcement puts national investment behind the foundations that have been built over recent years.
The Mental Health Crisis Line, ResetU, national workforce and wellbeing survey insight, the Workforce Prioritisation Guidance, support for families and leavers, and more consistent guidance for forces have all changed what is possible. But we know there is still more to do, and that for some people, wellbeing can still feel like something that is talked about more than it is felt.
This investment is about moving further from words to action.
It marks an important shift towards prevention and early intervention. The aim is to help officers and staff understand their wellbeing, recognise when they may need support, and access the right help earlier. That is better for individuals, better for teams, and helps reduce pressure on forces, occupational health services and crisis provision over time.
Support must be practical, confidential and easy to access. It must give people choice and control over how, when and where they use it.
Andy Rhodes, Service Director for the National Police Wellbeing Service, said:
"This is a significant moment for police wellbeing.
“Policing asks a huge amount of the people who serve the public. Officers and staff work in high-pressure environments, are repeatedly exposed to trauma, risk and fatigue, and often carry the impact long after an incident has ended. They deserve support that is practical, confidential and available before problems reach crisis point.
“They also need to work in environments that help them stay well and recover from these pressures. The move towards mandatory national wellbeing standards is a major step in tackling this more explicitly and consistently across policing.
“This Police Reform funding gives us the opportunity to strengthen support across England and Wales. Through the National Police Wellbeing Service, it will help expand access to psychological health checks, trauma tracking, ResetU and the Mental Health Crisis Line, giving officers and staff more ways to understand their wellbeing, manage the demands of the job and get the right help earlier.
“Our focus is prevention and early intervention. By identifying need sooner and helping people access the right support at the right time, we can reduce the risk of issues escalating into crisis, while also easing pressure on forces, occupational health teams and other support services.
“The commitments set out today were informed by the voices of more than 40,000 people who took part in the 2025 National Police Wellbeing Survey, providing invaluable insight into the realities of working in policing and where support is needed most.
"Since then, a record number of officers and staff (over 56,000) have participated in the 2026 survey, and these latest findings will help to continue to guide the next phase of wellbeing improvement across the service.
“I know wellbeing has been talked about a lot in policing, and that for some people, words have not always been matched by action. We understand that. But we have made significant strides in the last few years and we’ll continue that work.
“Our role is to turn these national reform commitments into support that forces can use and the workforce can feel. This investment will help us go further, faster, improve consistency across forces, and make sure support for the people who protect the public is treated as a central part of policing, not something that sits on the margins.”
What’s coming next
Work is already underway in many of these areas, and we will continue to work alongside forces, staff associations, charities and partners to make sure new and expanded services are practical, accessible and genuinely useful to the people they are for.
Over the coming months you’ll be hearing more from us about:
- how and when the new lighter-touch mental health check will reach operational-facing roles
- the continued rollout of ResetU across England and Wales
- how trauma tracking will be implemented locally
- the development of mandatory national wellbeing standards
- the development of a national welfare standard for those facing investigation
- our wider work on suicide prevention, leadership and culture, and support for families and leavers
- the extension of the Mental Health Crisis Line
- the results from the 2026 National Workforce and Wellbeing Survey.
In the meantime, support that is already in place remains available today.
Strengthening the Police Covenant
The Police Reform White Paper also signals a strengthening of the Police Covenant and links it directly to reform delivery.
For NPWS, that means helping to move the Covenant from commitment into reality. The individual offer is increasing, national standards are being developed, and impact will become more tangible and measurable over time.
Chief Officers have a critical role in this. This is about listening, learning and improving, championing the use of national support, and making sure force-level action reflects what the workforce has told us.
The aim is simple: that officers, staff, volunteers, families and those who have left the service can see and feel the difference in the support available to them.
Where to find support
Access our resources, signposting and support for you, your family, and those who have left the service, here on the Oscar Kilo website.
Mental Health Crisis Line Call 0300 131 2789. Free, confidential and available 24/7. Nobody at your force will know you called. Mental Health Crisis Line for policing | Oscar Kilo
ResetU, in selected forces ResetU is a private app for sleep, fatigue and recovery, built for the reality of shift work and operational policing. It is currently available in selected forces and will continue to roll out further. Your usage is personal and private. Nobody in your force can see it. Find out more: Reset U - Helping you reset and recover | Oscar Kilo