Leadership Commission
Report Explained
The Police Leadership Commission's July 2026 report proposes a senior constable rank, a rebuilt promotion process with a modernised legal exam and no temporary promotions, accreditation for PCEP recruits and a large leadership fast stream. This guide sets out what it actually says, read from the full report, and what has and has not been decided.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 18 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Nothing yet. The report, published on 6 July 2026, makes 27 recommendations. The ones that affect most officers are a new senior constable rank, reformed sergeant and inspector promotion with leadership learning before a modernised legal exam, probation in rank instead of temporary promotion, PCEP accreditation and standard annual reviews. They are recommendations. We found no Government response, and the College still lists the 2027 NPPF exam sittings.
The report at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full title | Professionalism and performance: police leadership for the future |
| Published | 6 July 2026 (College of Policing web page; the College press release was embargoed to 00:01 that day) |
| Set up | October 2025, by the College of Policing with the support of the Home Office |
| Co-chairs | Rt Hon Lord Blunkett and Rt Hon Lord Herbert of South Downs CBE |
| Scope | Leadership across the whole police workforce in England and Wales: officers, staff and volunteers at every level |
| Evidence | Force visits, a call for evidence, surveys (including a 2026 survey of sergeants and inspectors), roundtables and focus groups |
| Recommendations | 27 |
| Status on 18 October 2026 | Recommendations only. We found no published Government response or implementation timetable |
We read the full report text, not summaries of it. Paragraph and recommendation numbers on this page refer to the report PDF, so you can check any point yourself.
What is decided, and what is not
Everything in the report is a recommendation to the Home Office, the College of Policing and the service. None of it changes the Police Regulations, the promotion regulations, pay or the exam on its own. On 18 October 2026 we found no published Government response and no implementation timetable.
What we can say for certain is what exists now. The College's NPPF step two hub lists the 2026 and 2027 sergeants' and inspectors' exam sittings on the usual pattern, and its 2027 candidate handbook was updated on 10 September 2026. The Commission's own recommendation on promotion describes rolling out the tested process as an interim measure as soon as possible, which also tells you it has not happened.
What the Commission concluded
The co-chairs' foreword says that despite reductions in crime and many examples of outstanding leadership, the overall quality of police leadership is inconsistent and fails to provide the policing the public deserves. The executive summary puts it as leadership not being consistently of a high enough standard.
- The core problem. A collective failure, of the service and successive governments, to invest enough time, resources and priority in developing leaders.
- First-line leaders. The failure is described as particularly serious for the more than 22,000 sergeants, who receive inadequate training and support.
- Investment. Central spending on leadership development is about £4 million a year, around 0.02 per cent of total police funding in 2026/27.
- Promotion. 78 per cent of sergeants and 64 per cent of inspectors responding to its survey disagreed that promotion processes identify officers who go on to be effective.
The recommendations that affect officers directly
The full list has 27 recommendations; several concern national structures. These are the ones with a direct effect on serving officers or recruits:
| No. | Recommendation (summarised) | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | PCEP recruits should gain accreditation and recognition of their learning | New constables on PCEP |
| 9 | Forces should help recruits choose the right training programme; no lock-in at application | Applicants and new constables |
| 10 | Mandatory, standardised annual performance reviews feeding a digital passport and supporting a licence to practise | Everyone |
| 11 | National recognition of learning and experience | Everyone |
| 12 | A police leadership fast stream, at least 400 a year, open to officers up to inspector | Constables to inspectors with senior ambitions |
| 13 | A new senior constable rank | Experienced constables, tutors |
| 14 | Reformed sergeant and inspector promotion: leadership learning, modernised legal exam, probation in rank, no temporary promotions, central oversight | Aspiring sergeants and inspectors |
| 15 | More routine secondments | Everyone, especially senior officers |
| 18 | National leadership development programmes for everyone | Everyone |
| 21 | Standardised promotion to chief inspector, superintendent and chief superintendent | Inspectors and above |
| 23 | A central appointments panel for chief constables | Chief officers |
| 27 | A Home Office implementation group, with 2026/27 priorities | Everyone |
A new senior constable rank
Recommendation 13 says a new senior constable rank should be introduced to recognise experience and effective leadership on the front line. The Commission points out that around three quarters of warranted officers are constables, and that once a constable reaches the top of the scale the only way to earn more basic pay is promotion to sergeant.
| Aspect | What it says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Recognise experience and effective leadership on the front line and give constables a progression pathway | Recommendation 13 |
| Status in the rank structure | A formal rank with a level of seniority | Recommendation 13; paragraph 35 |
| Route to sergeant | Not a required step: it should not be necessary to have been a senior constable to be promoted to sergeant | Recommendation 13; paragraph 178 |
| Duties | Mentoring and coaching, role-modelling professional standards, supporting frontline supervision, supervisory responsibilities | Recommendation 13; paragraph 177 |
| Tutoring | The rank would incorporate the tutor constable role, with a nationally consistent approach to selecting, training and rewarding mentors | Recommendation 13; paragraph 177 |
| Pay | The rank should include a pay increment (amount not stated) | Paragraph 177 |
| Selection | A fair, transparent, capability-based process identifying judgement, integrity, communication and the ability to develop others (to be developed) | Recommendation 13 |
| Acting up | Should provide stable leadership cover and reduce reliance on extended acting-up arrangements; money now spent on acting up should be identified | Recommendation 13 |
| Consultation | Further work should involve consultation with staff associations | Recommendation 13 |
| Timing proposed | Introduce at the earliest opportunity; implementation group to draft amendments to police regulations, after consultation, in 2026/27 | Recommendation 13; paragraph 283 |
The context the Commission gives
| Measure | Figure | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Officers at the top of their pay scale | Around 53 per cent (over 77,000), quoting the Police Remuneration Review Body | Paragraph 170 |
| Constables per sergeant (June 2025) | Around 5 on average; 5.2 in neighbourhood teams and 8 in teams responding to 999 calls | Paragraph 173 |
| Sergeants who acted up before substantive promotion | Over three quarters of survey respondents; over half for 13 months or longer | Paragraph 36 |
| Sergeants citing high workloads as a barrier | 53 per cent of survey respondents | Paragraph 172 |
The Commission also cites senior constable ranks in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany and the Netherlands, and says its engagement with Australian jurisdictions found benefits for retention, with the rank offering an attainable milestone backed by a pay increase. Our police pay by country guide includes Australian forces where senior constable is part of the constable pay range.
No pay figure, no minimum length of service and no number of posts. Anyone quoting those for England and Wales is going beyond what the Commission wrote.
Reforming promotion to sergeant and inspector
The report calls promotion processes at sergeant and inspector level broken and says the reforms currently being piloted do not provide the re-engineering needed. Recommendation 14 says promotion should be reformed to equip these ranks to lead teams, use frontline talent to the full and support the talent pipeline.
| Element | What it proposes |
|---|---|
| Build on the current test | Roll out the process being tested in five forces nationally as soon as possible, as an interim measure, before full re-engineering |
| Clear criteria | Based on an agreed definition of police leadership, at every stage |
| Eligibility | Assessed using annual performance reviews and completion of leadership development learning |
| Required learning | National leadership development programmes, followed by a modernised legal exam, required to gain promotion at each rank |
| Probation in rank | Probationary periods for the new rank, with extra support and supervision |
| Temporary promotions | Abolished |
| Oversight | Central oversight for transparency and independent assurance of fairness |
The five-force process it refers to is the College's sergeant and inspector promotion and progression process (SIPP). The College's May 2024 article said the test phase ran from April 2024 to March 2026 and that no decision had been made about the future process. See our SIPP guide.
What it says about the legal exam
This is the part of the report that has caused most concern among candidates. Read closely, it does not propose ending legal testing. It proposes changing when the exam is taken and what it covers.
| Point | What it says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| How the exam is described | An out-of-date exam that only half of prospective sergeants and just over a third of prospective inspectors pass | Paragraph 36 |
| Pass rates quoted | Average NPPF pass rate March 2024 to October 2025 around 54 per cent for sergeants and 31 per cent for inspectors (unpublished College data); rates vary widely between forces | Paragraph 183 |
| Current rules described | Can be sat twice a year, unlimited attempts, pass valid five years | Paragraph 183 |
| The concern | Too much weight on an exam widely seen as a poor indicator of leadership competence; it dominates how officers experience promotion | Paragraphs 183 and 184 |
| The pilot | The process being piloted in five forces uses a new, shorter, more focused exam on the same curriculum plus a portfolio assessment; the Commission says this does not go far enough | Paragraph 184 |
| Proposed order | The legal exam should come later, after a leadership development course and an assessment of suitability for the next rank | Paragraph 184 |
| Proposed content | Essential law used regularly in the new rank, and how to find and understand other law using AI and other modern technology | Paragraph 185 |
The College's press release summarised this as a new sergeant qualification to replace an outdated exam that fewer than half of candidates currently pass. The report text itself speaks of a modernised legal exam taken after leadership learning. Both describe a future process that does not yet exist.
The current exam is still running and is still required for promotion outside SIPP forces. Our is the sergeant exam being scrapped? page explains what this means for 2027 candidates.
Ending temporary promotion
Under the current process, the report says, officers spend at least 12 months on temporary promotion after passing a local selection process and being matched to a vacancy, then must pass another board before becoming substantive. The pilot allows a first board between 6 and 18 months, but still requires time in temporary rank.
- The problem found. Up to a fifth of survey respondents reported acting up or being on temporary promotion for more than two years (12 per cent of inspectors, 21 per cent of sergeants), and the report heard of officers failing boards several times.
- The proposal. Abolish temporary promotion. Newly promoted officers would serve a probationary period with extra support and supervision, and forces could reverse promotions in rare cases where an officer assessed as competent does not meet the required leadership capability.
Today's rules on acting and temporary pay are unchanged; see acting up and temporary promotion pay.
New constables: PCEP accreditation and route choice
Chapter 5 says the constable training landscape is confusing for applicants and inconsistently delivered, and focuses on the police constable entry programme (PCEP), introduced in 2024.
| Measure | Figure | Where |
|---|---|---|
| PCEP share of new joiners, 2025/26 | 63 per cent (including DCEP and Police Now entrants) | Paragraph 127 |
| Forces training only through PCEP | At least seven; the College expects 12 by the end of 2026/27 | Paragraph 127 |
| Off-the-job days | PCDA 190, PCEP 144 | Paragraph 128 |
| PCEP accreditation in place (April 2026) | Seven forces at level 5, one with level 6 arrangements | Paragraph 130 |
| Forces recruiting in April 2026 | 25, of which 15 offered at least two programmes | Paragraph 132 |
- Recommendation 8. Forces should have a formal arrangement for PCEP recruits to gain accreditation of their initial learning, through the proposed national academy, a university or another awarding body, with an option to top up to a qualification equivalent to the degree apprenticeship, and a robust check that all PCEP recruits reach the standard.
- Recommendation 9. Forces should offer a range of programmes, and recruits should not be locked into the programme chosen at application.
For what student officers face now, see our guide to your first two years as a student officer.
Annual reviews, a digital passport and the licence to practise
Recommendation 10 proposes a mandatory, standardised annual performance review across policing. Records would eventually form a professional digital passport covering development, training, qualifications, conduct and performance. The proposed National Police Service would hold a national database of passports, which the report says should support the delivery of a licence to practise for police officers in a light-touch, non-bureaucratic way. Recommendation 11 adds a national scheme for recognising learning and experience.
Under recommendation 14, these reviews would also be used to assess eligibility for promotion. See our licence to practise guide for the wider proposals.
A police leadership fast stream
Recommendation 12 proposes a fast stream of five to ten years' structured development, aiming for at least 400 entrants a year, open to officers up to inspector, police staff, volunteers and external joiners, with no degree requirement. The most experienced participants would aim to reach superintendent by the end. All forces should take part.
This would sit alongside, or replace, today's College Fast Track schemes; the report does not say which in the passages we read. For the current schemes, see Fast Track constable to inspector explained.
Senior ranks and chief constables
- Recommendation 21. Standardised, centrally overseen promotion to chief inspector, superintendent and chief superintendent, with the same features as the reformed sergeant and inspector processes.
- Recommendation 16. A targeted direct entry scheme bringing proven leaders from adjacent professions into senior roles.
- Recommendations 20, 22 and 23. Annual reviews for chief officers, a senior workforce planning function, and a central appointments panel for chief constables. The report says there were fewer than three applicants on average per chief constable role.
A National Academy of Police Leadership, and funding
Recommendation 24 proposes a National Academy of Police Leadership within the proposed National Police Service, responsible among other things for the leadership definition, the fast stream, standards and central oversight of the new promotion processes, and national leadership programmes. Recommendation 25 asks for a dedicated building. Recommendation 26 asks the Government to restore central funding for leadership development, bringing it in line with the military and the NHS.
What happens next
Recommendation 27 asks the Home Office to set up an implementation group, led by the Home Office and the new National Police Service, with people from inside and outside policing, a clear timeline and defined milestones. It lists priorities for the financial year 2026/27:
| Priority | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Finalise and promote the definition of effective leadership | Recommendation 2 |
| The first comprehensive workforce strategy and data reform | Recommendations 3 to 5 |
| A mandatory, standardised annual performance review process | Recommendation 10 |
| Draft amendments to police regulations to create the senior constable rank, after consultation | Recommendation 13 |
| Outline fair, transparent and trusted promotion processes at every rank | Recommendations 14 and 21 |
| A senior workforce planning function | Recommendation 22 |
| Establish the National Academy of Police Leadership | Recommendations 24 and 25 |
Note the wording: for senior constable the priority is draft regulations after consultation, and for promotion it is to outline new processes. Neither is a commitment that anything takes effect in 2026/27.
How policing bodies responded
- College of Policing (6 July 2026). Chief executive Sir Andy Marsh said the work now begins to replace what he called the postcode lottery of training and development. The response gives no timescales.
- Police Federation (25 August 2026). The Federation welcomed the proposed promotion reforms and the senior constable role, said the Home Secretary must fund the change, and raised questions about how a fast stream would give enough operational experience.
- Government. We found no published Government response when we checked on 18 October 2026.
What it means for you right now
- Sitting the sergeants' or inspectors' exam in 2027. Nothing changes for you yet. The College lists the March and October 2027 sergeants' sittings and the May and November 2027 inspectors' sittings. Prepare for the exam as it stands. See is the sergeant exam being scrapped?
- In a SIPP force. Your force is already running the tested process the Commission wants rolled out. Follow your force's guidance; the College says the SIPP legal test events run at the same time as the NPPF exams.
- Acting or temporary sergeant. The Commission's survey found long periods of acting up are common, and it wants temporary promotion replaced by probation in rank. Until anything changes, the current rules and pay for acting up apply.
- Experienced constable or tutor. Senior constable is the proposal most likely to affect you. Watch for consultation through the Police Federation, which has asked the Home Secretary to fund it.
- Student officer or recent joiner. PCEP accreditation, route choice and a reformed tutor role are proposals. Your current programme and probation rules are unchanged.
- Considering Fast Track. The proposed fast stream is a recommendation. The current College Fast Track schemes are what exist today.
We will update this page when the Government responds or the College announces changes to the promotion process.
What we could not verify
- Government response. We found no published Government response to the Commission when we checked on 18 October 2026. We could not open the House of Commons record of 6 July 2026, so we do not report what ministers said.
- Senior constable pay and numbers. The report says the rank should include a pay increment but gives no amount, no service requirement and no number of posts.
- Timetable. The report sets priorities for 2026/27 but no dates for any change taking effect.
- Survey data. Many figures come from the Commission's own 2026 survey or unpublished College and NPCC data, which we cannot check.
- Which five forces. The report says the new process is being tested in five forces but does not name them in the passages we read. The College's May 2024 article named three.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Leadership Commission?
An independent commission set up by the College of Policing with the support of the Home Office in October 2025 to examine police leadership in England and Wales. It was co-chaired by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert of South Downs. Its report, Professionalism and performance: police leadership for the future, was published on 6 July 2026 with 27 recommendations.
Is there going to be a senior constable rank?
The Commission recommended one (recommendation 13): a formal rank with a level of seniority, not required for promotion to sergeant, with mentoring, coaching and supervisory duties, a pay increment and the tutor constable role built in. It asked for draft amendments to police regulations, after consultation, in 2026/27. It is a recommendation; we found no Government decision when we checked on 18 October 2026.
Does the report scrap the sergeants' exam?
Not in the way some headlines suggest. It calls the current exam out of date and says legal knowledge carries too much weight, but it recommends a modernised legal exam taken later in the process, after leadership development and an assessment of suitability. The College's press release described a new sergeant qualification to replace an outdated exam. Nothing has changed yet: the College still lists the 2027 NPPF sittings.
Will temporary promotion be abolished?
The Commission recommended abolishing temporary promotion at sergeant and inspector and replacing it with probationary periods in the new rank, during which newly promoted officers get extra support and promotions could be reversed in rare cases. That is a recommendation only.
When will the changes happen?
No dates have been set. The Commission asked the Home Office to set up an implementation group and listed priorities for 2026/27, including draft regulations for senior constable and an outline of new promotion processes. We found no published Government response or implementation timetable when we checked.
What does the report mean for PCEP officers?
It recommended that PCEP recruits gain accreditation of their initial learning, with an option to top up to a qualification equivalent to the degree apprenticeship (recommendation 8). It said 63 per cent of new joiners were trained through PCEP in 2025/26.
Does the report recommend a licence to practise?
It recommended a mandatory, standardised annual performance review whose records would feed a professional digital passport held in a national database by the proposed National Police Service, and said the database should support the delivery of a licence to practise for police officers (recommendation 10).
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 18 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Police Leadership Commission: Professionalism and performance, police leadership for the future (full report, PDF, July 2026) : read in full text on 18 October 2026: foreword, executive summary, the 27 recommendations, chapter 5 (constable training), chapter 8 (senior constables, promotion, legal exams, temporary promotion, paragraphs 169 to 188) and the implementation section (paragraph 283) (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Police Leadership Commission report (web page) : read via the College's production mirror (production.copweb.aws.college.police.uk) because the www host returned an error. First published 6 July 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Police Leadership Commission list of recommendations : read via the production mirror; 27 recommendations (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing press office: Police leadership requires fundamental overhaul, landmark review warns (embargoed to 6 July 2026) : the College's summary, including its description of a new sergeant qualification to replace an outdated exam (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing press office: Police Leadership Commission, College of Policing response (6 July 2026) : Sir Andy Marsh's response; no timescales (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Police Federation of England and Wales: Federation responds to Leadership Commission report (25 August 2026) : Federation position on senior constable funding, promotion and the fast stream (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing: NPPF step two exam hub (via the production mirror) : 2026 and 2027 sergeant and inspector exam dates; SIPP legal test events run alongside NPPF exams (accessed 18 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Testing a new process for promotion and progression for sergeants and inspectors (23 May 2024, via the production mirror) : SIPP test phase April 2024 to March 2026, three named forces, three stages, no decision made on the future process (accessed 18 October 2026)
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