Recruitment via Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) – Jan 2020 – June 2026

Response

Avon and Somerset Police holds information relevant to your request. However, we are unable to provide a response without exceeding the cost limit set out under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is because the information requested in question 4 is not recorded in a way that allows for automated retrieval, and would require extensive manual review.

 

Information relevant to your request is held within our HR recording system, SAP. Within this system, there is no specific data field that would enable us to identify the number of route transfers via an automated search. To identify data on movement between courses, it would be necessary to load and review all 78 monthly data files. Due to the way our systems work, it would not be possible to load these files in the background while completing other work, meaning the time required to complete a response would include the time taken to load each file. As this part of the process can take a significant amount of time, we estimate that the process would take between 15-20 minutes in total, per monthly file. Overall, therefore, we estimate that it would take more than 18 hours to complete a response.

 

Section 12 of the Act allows public authorities to refuse requests where the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit. For police authorities, this limit is £450 or 18 staff hours. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2.5 working days determining whether the department holds the information and locating, retrieving, and extracting it.

 

Where Section 12 is engaged, it applies to the request as a whole, even where only part of the request would exceed the appropriate limit. In accordance with ICO guidance, public authorities are not required to provide information up to the limit and may refuse the entire request where the cost threshold is met. However, under our duty to provide advice and assistance (Section 16 of the Act), you may wish to submit a refined request. By narrowing the scope of your request, it may be possible to bring it within the appropriate cost limit and enable disclosure of information most relevant to your interests.

 

To assist further, outside of the Freedom of Information Act, I have provided below the information we have been able to retrieve within the appropriate limit, in relation to question 1, 2 and 3. Further below, I have also provided advice on additional information we would be able to provide if you would like to submit a further, refined request.

 

1. Recruitment under PEQF
   The total number of police officers recruited via PEQF entry routes, broken down by entry route:
   * Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)
   * Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP)
   * Pre-Join Degree (PJD) (if applicable)

 

The table below shows the number of new starters with Avon and Somerset Police in each year from 01 January 2020 to 30 June 2026, broken down by entry route.

 

Entry Route	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026*
PCDA (PEQF)	351	205	214	144	140	128	47
DHEP	0	90	96	116	29	59	25
Professional Policing Degree	0	0	7	0	3	0	4
Total	351	295	317	260	172	187	76

 

2. Programme Completion
   For each of the above entry routes, please provide:
   * The number of officers who have successfully completed the programme

 

The information retrieved to this point is an overall figure for the full timeframe of your request. This has been provided in the table below.

 

Please note that this information is based on the recorded rank of individuals within SAP. Completion of the course has been identified based on whether there has been a change recorded from a trainee rank to Police Constable or Detective Constable. Such changes may be recorded retrospectively and so the data may not be a complete and accurate reflection of the true figures.

 

 

Completed

Total

 

PCDA (PEQF)	622
DHEP	265
Professional Policing Degree	7

 

3. Attrition (Non-Completion)
   For each entry route, please provide:
   * The number of recruits who left the programme before completion
   * If available, a breakdown of reasons for leaving (e.g., voluntary resignation, dismissal, medical, academic failure)

 

Once again, we have provided below the overall figure for the full timeframe of your request, based on information available within SAP. As with question 2, the data recorded on this system may not be a complete and accurate reflection of the true figures. For example, for PCDA students who have left, it is not always possible to identify the reason. In some cases, it is possible that the course was completed but the individual left to use the degree in another profession.

 

Left Before Completion	Total
PCDA (PEQF)	266
Transfer to other Force	3
Resignation	246
Deceased	1
Dismissed	15
Other	1
Retirement	0
DHEP	48
Transfer to other Force	3
Resignation	42
Deceased	0
Dismissed	2
Other	1
Retirement	0
Professional Policing Degree	0

 

If you would like to refine your request, we would be able to provide an annual breakdown for questions 2 and 3, based on the start date in each case – ie, of those who started in each year, the number who completed at any time (broken down by entry route) and the number who left at any time (broken down by reason). If requesting this information, please note the caveats provided above regarding accuracy.