New year, same regular update from me to help keep you informed of what the Federation is doing on your behalf. As we look ahead to the coming year, I have no doubt that it will be a busy and challenging twelve months.
Priorities for 2026
My focus is on strengthening our visibility, deepening our connection with both our members and the wider Federation, and ensuring that our collective voice remains heard and understood. I am committed to maintaining a constructive and balanced approach with the Force, continuing to offer support where it is needed, while also providing appropriate challenge to ensure the best outcomes for our members and the organisation as a whole.
What I make no apologies for is my desire to remain vocal in highlighting the excellent work that you all do. What must also happen is for you to feel that support, not just from this Federation, but also from the Force and the BTPA.
Police Reform
I’m not sure where to start with this one, if I’m being honest. There have been plenty of media sound bites from the Government ahead of the recently released white paper, From local to national: a new model for policing.
It’s clear they plan to make ambitious changes; initiatives that help police evolve in modern society can only be a good thing. However, it must never come at the expense of the officers who, time and time again, face danger when others run away or turn a blind eye.
These plans will radically reshape police forces in England and Wales. It’s yet to be determined what impact things such as the police ‘licence’ will have on non-Home Office forces, including ours, and on our Scottish officers.
One point in particular that stands out is the return of targets. I cannot fathom what there is to be gained by what appears to be a reinvention of the wheel. It’s not a new thing; targets have been tried and have failed before. It strikes me that those who make decisions like these simply don’t have an attachment to the frontline. I do hope this is an area the government can reflect on and reconsider.
We will watch with interest to see how this develops. I have written to the Rail Minister requesting a meeting on outstanding matters, such as free rail travel for our officers, and policing reform is also on my suggested agenda.
I’ll update you all as soon as I receive further information, but I will finish by saying that I look forward to the day when the government puts substantial funds and resources into the foundations of policing, i.e. proper pay and conditions, quality equipment, and extra bodies on the frontline.
Vetting Regulations
The introduction of the new Vetting Regulations 2025 marks a significant strengthening of professional standards across policing, including the British Transport Police. These regulations create a formal legal duty for all serving officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance, ensuring that only individuals who meet strict integrity and suitability criteria remain in roles that grant them considerable authority and public trust.
This change has resulted from several high-profile cases of police misconduct across the UK, which exposed gaps in the previous framework and undermined public confidence. We should all support forces having proper vetting procedures in place, but we cannot support police forces or Authorities using incorrect processes. From the offset, it’s crucial to ensure that vetting processes and challenges are conducted in a fair and consistent manner.
In my view, police forces have a responsibility at the recruitment stage to ensure robust checks at the point of entry - including clear background checks and consistent vetting thresholds - so that forces can mitigate future risks, reduce the likelihood of misconduct, and ensure that those entering the service uphold the values expected of policing. The strengthened legal duty to maintain vetting clearance further underscores the importance of getting these decisions right from the outset, helping build a safer, more trustworthy policing environment.
There’s more on this topic in the NNM update later in the blog.
Federation Support for Victims and Witnesses
Over the last few months, we have been in discussions with PSD about improving communication and signposting to ensure Victims and Witnesses are informed about the support the BTP Federation and other Employee Support Associations can offer. This was a necessary discussion, as the Federation is often viewed as available only to those under investigation, and we're keen to make sure we are accessible to all.
As a result, a new checklist of support services (including the Federation and a range of wellbeing options) is being finalised. This will mean that any victim or witness who forms part of a PSD investigation will understand the support available from BTP Federation and how to access it if needed. We thank Martin Turner in PSD for his work on this.
There is also a commitment to maintaining and engaging in regular meetings with staff associations, which we welcome.
Management Board Meeting
Federation Chairs and Secretaries have taken part in the first meeting of the Federation’s Management Board this year. Several common concerns and challenges were raised, which we will take up with BTP. These included significant strain linked to OPM, the impact of officer attrition and the timeliness of conduct investigations. There are also welfare concerns resulting from repeated long shifts.
Among other topics, we also discussed our plans to modernise the Federation’s Constitution to reflect the modern policing environment and the recent appointment of a law firm to provide additional support for off-duty matters, alongside our current providers, JMW.
All of our Chairs and Secretaries shared positive updates on the exceptional work members across the network are delivering. This is especially encouraging as we will shortly open the nomination process for our Awards of Excellence. Read more about this below.
Welfare Vehicle
If you’ve ever spent long hours at a major incident or out on the network in the cold – and given the patch we cover, that’s fairly common - you will know how a little comfort can make a huge difference. This is why our welfare vehicle has the potential to be such a game-changer.
It’s not just a van, it’s a warm brew, a quiet moment, and a much-needed breather all rolled into one. Fully equipped with comfortable seating, a private space for calls, hot drink and food-heating facilities, and charging points, it provides the basic comforts often missing during long deployments.
What matters to me is that the welfare vehicle brings people together. It gives Federation reps, wellbeing advisors, and member services a space to meet officers face‑to‑face, wherever they’re working.
You’ll hopefully see the vehicle out and about in your area soon; please look out for updates. Already this year, it has been out in Liverpool and parts of London, and we are keen that it gets to as many of you as possible.
National Negotiating Meeting
At the time of writing, the first NNM meeting of the year has just finished, and the main focus of the agenda was the Vetting Regulations 2025. Throughout the process to adopt the regulations, we have obtained legal advice and submitted balanced arguments for discussion, which have been noted.
We confirmed that consultation with the Federation had concluded and that the new regulations would be adopted. BTP has circulated communications on the new regulations, and we’re rolling out a training programme for our reps to ensure they’re fully briefed.
About NNM
I know that there are some members who are keen to understand more about NNM, what it is and why we have it, so I wanted to provide information about it and the legislation behind it.
Under Regulation 40 of the Railway and Transport Safety Act, we are entitled to something known as the Machinery of Negotiation. Part 4 of the Machinery of Negotiations is titled National Negotiating Meeting. This section states the following:
4.1 The National Negotiating Meeting will consist of representatives of the BTP on the one side and representatives of the BTPF on the other, chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable.
4.2 The function of the National Negotiating Meeting shall be to consider:
The application in relation to any agreement relating to the terms and conditions of service
Issues where there has been a failure to agree are referred to the National Negotiating Meeting
Application of the existing promotion and redundancy arrangements, except for the promotion of specific persons
Application for reclassification or re-grading of police officer posts ranked Constable to Chief Inspector
4.3 The National Negotiating Meeting will:
Be the formal meeting for consultation and negotiation between the BTP and the BTPF
Aim to prevent matters from being referred to the Police Conference for resolution
Meets at least quarterly
Appoint sub-committees if and where necessary to consider specific issues in depth
Refers matters of disagreement to the Police Conference
Propose agreed changes to past and present Police Conference Agreements to the BTPA
Circulate Minutes to National Negotiating Meeting attendees.
This is a valuable meeting that provides us with the opportunity to raise issues with the force and, in its current form, enables an official agreement on a range of matters.
And Finally...
Who do you think deserves an Award of Excellence?
Nominations are now open for our annual awards, which recognise the dedication, commitment, and, in many cases, bravery of our colleagues. It takes just a few minutes to nominate one of your colleagues, and to make it even easier, we have compiled a guide to what we’re looking for in each category.
Read more about the award categories here, or…
Jump straight to making your nomination(s) here.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Glasgow in September, and the videos telling their unique stories will be available on our social media channels shortly after the awards night. It’s an honour for us to be able to recognise colleagues in this way, so we’re looking forward to reading about the officers you put forward.
That’s all for this month's blog. I hope you found it useful. Stay safe, and thank you for all that you do.
Stuart Cowan - BTP Federation Chair