From tomorrow no member of the public should have to pay for 101 non-emergency calls to the police.

Currently callers to the 101 number are connected to their local police force, or a force of their choice, and charged 15p a time.

The vast majority of people will be able to use the service free of charge from tomorrow. However, from 1 April to 1 July there remains a chance that users of small operators will be charged for using the 101 service. The Home Office will be urging those providers to refund their customers.

In May last year the Home Office announced it will invest £7 million a year to make the service free, which receives around 30 million calls annually.

The Home Office have also worked with the police to ensure that everyone in England and Wales can report crime online free of charge.

There are 20 forces currently using the Single Online Home. This is a web platform that hosts the website of each force, enabling them to provide a free non-emergency crime reporting service online. The Single Online Home currently reaches more than half of the population of England and Wales.

Forces that are not currently on this platform also provide online forms or alternative online channels for reporting non-urgent crime, which are processed in the same way as a call.

The Home Office also continues to provide funding to forces for a new Police.uk website, which once launched, will provide a single point of access to police information and services, including online reporting.

The 101 service was launched nationally in December 2011, providing an accessible number for non-emergency contact with the police.

The service should be used when an emergency response is not required. For example:

• if your car has been stolen
• if your property has been damaged
• if you suspect drug use or dealing in your neighbourhood
• to give the police information about crime in your area
• to speak to the police about a general enquiry

Members of the public should continue to call the free 999 service for emergencies.

Published 31 March 2020

Last updated 16 April 2020
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• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

As part of the national effort to combat coronavirus, doctors, nurses and paramedics will automatically have their visas extended, free of charge, for one year.

The extension, announced today (31 March) by the Home Secretary Priti Patel, will apply to around 2,800 migrant doctors, nurses and paramedics, employed by the NHS whose visa is due to expire before 1 October.

The extension will also apply to their family members, demonstrating how valued overseas NHS staff are to the UK.

By giving them the peace of mind that they do not need to apply for a visa extension, this will allow those at the frontline – working around the clock in hospitals to treat the most seriously ill – to focus fully on combatting coronavirus and saving lives.

To get more doctors and nurses on the frontline, the Home Office has also lifted the restriction on the amount of hours student nurses and doctors can work in the NHS.

On top of these changes, pre-registered overseas nurses who are currently required to sit their first skills test within 3 months and to pass the test within 8 months, will now have this deadline extended to the end of the year as well.

This will give overseas nurses more time to pass their exams, whilst they spend the immediate term working on the frontline.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do.

I don’t want them distracted by the visa process. That is why I have automatically extended their visas – free of charge – for a further year.

The extension to NHS visas will be automatic, there will be no fee attached and it will be exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Trainee doctors and nurses will also not be limited by the number of hours they can work in the NHS during term time.