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More police funding

by Mark Rowe

Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Tuesday, December 19 announced a £450m increase in police funding across England and Wales as part of a comprehensive settlement for forces and counter terrorism policing.

She said: “Whether it is your local forces, the national picture or counter terrorism capabilities, this is a strong settlement that ensures forces have the resources they need to keep us safe. Taxpayers will invest more money in forces because the work our officers do to protect us is absolutely vital, and we recognise demand is changing. However, my message to police forces is that this increased investment must mean we raise the pace of reform. For too long embracing digital and increasing productivity have been tomorrow’s policing problems – now they are today’s necessities. The government is committed to meeting this challenge and we want policing to do the same.”

The Home Office admitted that more victims of serious, hidden crimes such as domestic abuse, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation coming forward has placed greater demand on policing. Counter terrorism police funding will also increase by around £50m to £757m, a rise of 7pc. The provisional police grant report for 2018 to 2019 sets out the amount of grants proposed for the police in England and Wales.

Labour West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson complained of a real terms cut in Government funding. He said: “Despite warm words over the last few months, this is once again a disappointing settlement that falls a long way short of what police forces require. West Midlands Police or other local forces across the country will not receive a single extra penny from the government. Local police forces will not benefit from this announcement, there is no new money in this announcement for local forces. In fact it is a real terms cut.

“Just to stand still West Midlands Police requires an extra £22m. This announcement falls well short of that number. Crime and the threats that the country faces are rising. Police forces therefore require additional funding to meet that demand. The government expects council tax payers in the West Midlands to pay millions more, at a time when wages are stagnant and living standards are squeezed.”

APCC comment

At the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Finance Lead, Essex Police and Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst said PCCs welcomed the settlement. “We have worked closely with the Home Office and Police Chiefs in recent months to make a detailed, evidenced based case for more investment in policing. Demand on policing is increasing as is the complexity of the cases forces deal with and this trend is predicted to continue over the next few years. This further investment by the Government will help forces across the country invest in the prevention and public protection that the public expect and deserve.

“The majority of PCCs will also warmly welcome the Government’s decision to allow flexibility around local council tax precept levels. We have strongly argued that democratically elected local representatives, such as PCCs, should be able to decide the funding of services in their areas and be held to account by their local communities for the decisions they make.

“However, given the different levels of precept and share of budget accounted for by council tax across different forces we must recognise that some forces still face significant challenges and we look forward to the conclusion of the work on a fairer funding formula ahead of the next spending review.

“In terms of future productivity and efficiency, there is a good deal of symmetry between what the Home Office is looking for police leaders to deliver and the work that we are progressing. PCCs clearly understand the need for further action in this area and we continue to work with the Home Office on this.

“While we welcome the additional £50 million funding for counter terrorism announced by the Government we remain concerned as to whether there is sufficient funding to meet increases in demand. PCCs will want to ensure that their communities are protected and will be mindful of the local policing support which is required to deliver this effectively.”

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