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Police Grant Report 2025-02-05
05 February 2025
Lead MP
Diana Johnson
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Policing & ResourcesCrime & Law EnforcementEmployment
Other Contributors: 34
At a Glance
Diana Johnson raised concerns about police grant report 2025-02-05 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Today, I present the final police funding settlement for 2025-26, marking a commitment to rebuild neighbourhood policing and support frontline policing. The Labour Government is providing £19.6 billion in overall funding, an increase of £1.1 billion compared to the previous year, representing a 6.6% cash increase. This includes an additional £376.8 million for maintaining officer numbers across police forces, with conditional and unconditional grants provided based on recruitment achievements. The Government will double funding for neighbourhood policing to £200 million, aiming to strengthen connections between communities and the police, and combat issues such as antisocial behaviour and shop theft.
Chris Vince
Lab/Co-op
Harlow
Question
Does the Minister welcome the fact that threats to reduce the number of police community support officers in Essex have been withdrawn, and will she recognise the £27 million in extra funding for Essex police?
Minister reply
I am delighted that the threats about reducing PCSOs will not come to pass. All police forces will benefit from the settlement, including an additional £27 million for Essex.
James Wild
Con
North West Norfolk
Question
In Norfolk, four officers on duty over 2,000 square miles is insufficient due to a £4 million funding gap. Why is the Minister not giving Norfolk and other rural areas the settlement they need?
Minister reply
All police forces are getting additional money in the police settlement, with further discussions ongoing about how best to deliver neighbourhood policing guarantees for each area.
Oliver Dowden
Con
Hertsmere
Question
How much of the uplift will be taken up by increased national insurance contributions as a result of Labour’s policy?
Minister reply
The national insurance increases are fully funded in the settlement, with £230 million allocated to cover these costs.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Question
Does extra funding for Welsh police forces plug gaps left by Labour's reduction of police community support officer funding? Is it time to review police funding in Wales and consider devolution?
Minister reply
The issue is historical, inherited from the previous Government. While national insurance contributions are covered, issues such as precept in Wales remain matters for the Welsh Government.
Becky Gittins
Lab
Clwyd East
Question
How will the extra funding bolster neighbourhood policing teams to tackle retail crime and shoplifting?
Minister reply
The increase in neighbourhood policing presence will be crucial for tackling antisocial behaviour, shop theft, and assaults on retail workers.
Gareth Snell
Lab/Co-op
Stoke-on-Trent Central
Question
Why does the shadow Minister seem to have a new moral high ground now compared to his former stance on similar issues?
Minister reply
The Minister questions whether the opposition knows where funding for policing comes from, emphasising that it is ultimately taxpayers who fund police forces.
Jessica Toale
Lab
Bournemouth West
Question
When has the shadow Minister previously mentioned police funding?
Minister reply
The minister does not provide a direct answer but suggests checking Hansard for previous mentions by the opposition member.
Chris Vince
Lab
Question
Will the shadow Minister give way?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman will have plenty of opportunities to contribute.
Question
I just thought it might be helpful if I gave the shadow Minister a reminder.
Minister reply
By the measurements in September, that is not the case. By the time September came—[Interruption.] Is the Minister going to give us the guarantee that the numbers will not go down any further as a result of the funding?
Question
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The shadow Minister suggested that I had misled the House.
Rachel Hopkins
Lab
Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Question
I begin by putting on record my congratulations to Trevor Rodenhurst, the chief constable of Bedfordshire police, on being awarded the King’s Police Medal for distinguished service.
Lisa Smart
LD
Hazel Grove
Question
I rise today to address some of the urgent issues affecting communities across the country. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home and while walking through their own neighbourhood, but for many people in the UK today, that is simply not the reality.
Winchester
Question
As a vet who spends time in rural areas, he expressed his concern over the lack of specificity regarding rural crime in the provisional police grant report. He asked if the Minister shared his concerns.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledged her hon. Friend’s concerns about the lack of specificity on rural crime and urged all forces to have a rural focus and specificity.
Jas Athwal
Lab
Ilford South
Question
He thanked the Minister for her speech and highlighted the consequences of 14 years of Conservative cuts, which led to rising crime rates and the closing down of police stations. He urged the Government to bring back community policing and adequately resource it.
Minister reply
The Minister welcomed the Home Secretary’s funding report that addresses police funding cuts and acknowledged the need for a holistic approach focusing on prevention.
Sarah Olney
LD
Richmond Park
Question
She welcomed increased funding but argued it did not go far enough to deliver safe policing in London. She highlighted ongoing issues of crime and antisocial behaviour, lack of detailed investigations by the Met due to cuts, and the loss of police stations affecting community-police connections.
Minister reply
The Minister recognised the concerns raised about the previous Government’s cuts leading to a void of experience in community policing.
Michael Payne
Lab
Gedling
Question
I associate myself with the remarks of my right hon. Friend the Minister on the tragic loss of Harvey Willgoose, and extend my deepest condolences to his family... Thanks to this Labour Government, residents in Gedling will be the beneficiaries of a much-needed funding increase for Nottinghamshire police... That is in stark contrast to the previous Conservative police and crime commissioner of Nottinghamshire, who spent more time defending her own speeding offences than tackling people offending by speeding on our roads...
Edward Morello
Lib Dem
West Dorset
Question
While I am grateful for the additional funding outlined in the Police Grant Report, it is clear that it does not go far enough... It fails to account for the very real challenges that rural policing presents, including the difficulty of maintaining a visible police presence over vast geographical areas... The formula also fails to take account of seasonality and the impact of tourism... Despite evidence-backed requests, submitted last August, for an additional £12.2 million in annual funding, the Government have failed to provide that essential support...
Question
I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Minister for her unwavering support during the troubles last summer, which was appreciated by me and other Members of Parliament whose constituencies were affected...
Question
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is critical that when discussing crime and social tensions, we express ourselves in this place and outside with the greatest care... (Full response as provided)
Paul Kohler
LD
Wimbledon
Question
When it comes to the police, politicians are all too eager to demand more and more while giving less and less. Years of failure and ineffective resourcing from the previous Conservative Government have left police forces across the country overstretched, understaffed and unable to focus on the crimes that impact our communities the most...
Amanda Hack
Lab
North West Leicestershire
Question
I thank the Minister for her update on the settlement... I start by thanking Leicestershire police’s chief constable, Rob Nixon, and all his officers and staff for their dedicated service locally...
Luke Taylor
LD
Sutton and Cheam
No extracted contribution text available for this contributor yet.
Calvin Bailey
Lab
Leyton and Wanstead
Question
I want to thank the police officers and PCSOs of the Metropolitan police, who bravely serve the communities of Leyton and Wanstead. I also want to thank the Minister for her leadership in this area... We welcome the Government’s significant investment in our police services, which is much needed after a decade in which real-terms funding for the Metropolitan police was cut by £1.2 billion...
Pam Cox
Lab
Colchester
Question
I very much welcome this police settlement, and I shall focus my remarks specifically on Essex. From 2010 onwards, the Conservatives cut 350 PCSOs in Essex... That is a huge relief not only to those PCSOs and their families, but to our residents whom they so brilliantly support...
Bayo Alaba
Lab
Southend East and Rochford
Question
As I am sure Members know, Southend and Rochford is an area of immense cultural heritage... That is why I was shocked when, last week, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Essex announced the sacking of all 99 PCSOs across Essex...
Oliver Ryan
Lab/Co-op
Burnley
Question
I hugely welcome this police funding settlement on behalf of all my constituents in Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield... The report commits up to £19.5 billion to policing in England and Wales, an increase of over £1 billion compared with the previous year...
Chichester
Question
I thank the hon. Member for everything he is saying about improved policing on our streets... Does he agree that opening that custody centre would make a huge difference to my constituents?
Minister reply
My powers as a Back Bencher are somewhat limited, but I am sure that Members on the Treasury Bench have heard the hon. Lady.
Question
We have heard a great deal from Members across the House about the grant and the impact it will have on various communities... Does the Minister think the £100 million announced will be enough to stop those cuts?
Matt Vickers
Lab
Stockton West
Question
Asked how much the national insurance tax raid will cost her local police force, and questioned whether taxes do not pay for public services.
Minister reply
The Home Office is funding the national insurance rise for all forces. The shadow Minister's view that taxes do not fund public services is described as madness.
Matt Vickers
Lab
Stockton West
Question
Asked whether reducing response police numbers to bolster neighbourhood policing would improve or reduce response times.
Minister reply
The Minister stated that an additional £1.1 billion has been put into policing, and the funding formula for neighbourhood policing ensures funds are spent on such services.
Kevin Hollinrake
Con
Thirsk and Malton
Question
Made a remark about previous statements being incorrect.
Minister reply
The Minister defended her statement, asserting that it was factual.
Wendy Morton
Con
West Midlands
Question
She is talking about funding in the west midlands and I am also a west midlands MP. How does she think that the whopping bill that the west midlands force will face from employer national insurance contributions will impact on its budget? When it comes to money, if she is so passionate about neighbourhood policing, as indeed am I, what assurances can she give that funding from the abhorrent sale of Aldridge police station will come back into services for residents of Aldridge-Brownhills?
Minister reply
The first thing I would say is that it will cost West Midlands police nothing because the Home Office is going to fund it. The closure of Aldridge police station was a decision made under the previous Conservative government due to budget constraints.
Steve Barclay
Con
North East Cambridgeshire
Question
Will the Minister give way?
Minister reply
I do not know yet how many hours. I went out to Thames Valley police and saw exactly how many officer hours were saved by the police having direct video contact, leading to huge time efficiencies in statement-taking.
Steve Barclay
Con
North East Cambridgeshire
Question
I am trying to make a constructive point about the Minister’s remarks on efficiencies. She said that there are huge opportunities for efficiencies to be made. Much of the debate has been on funding, but she is signalling that things can be done better. What is opaque to me, not least from the conversation that I had with my own police and crime commissioner before coming here, is what productivity targets the Government have set and what variation they expect to close across the 43 police forces. How many police hours does she expect to be freed up from working more efficiently on productivity gains? Or are the Government’s actions adding bureaucracy and red tape and making it harder for police forces to deliver?
Minister reply
We will look at exactly what works and how we can make those efficiencies.
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Assessment & feedback
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