Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Police Funding Formula

Monday 3 July 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government to initiate a consultation process on reviewing the outdated police funding formula in the near future.
  • Andrew Selous praised for recognizing the need for stable core funding in Bedfordshire, acknowledging the recent special grant and officer increase.
  • Holly Lynch cited concerns from the chief constable of West Yorkshire regarding insufficient resources despite a 500 million funding increase for 2023-24.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Selous Con
Policing & Resources
Context

The police funding formula has been discussed and needs updating.

Question

What recent progress her Department has made on reviewing the police funding formula?

Answer from Chris Philp

The Government have said they will be reviewing the police funding formula, and I hope to have news for the House in the relatively near future about initiating the consultation process. The formula is quite out of date and it needs overhauling, and we are working on that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The exact timeline or concrete steps for reviewing and updating the police funding formula were not specified.

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Q2 Andrew Selous Con
Policing & Resources
Context

Bedfordshire has received a record number of police officers and a recent £6 million special grant.

Question

The record number of 1,455 police officers in Bedfordshire and the recent £6 million special grant are both very welcome indeed, but does the Minister recognise that it is simply not fair or right to go on funding a force with a series of one-off special grants that really need to be part of core funding?

Answer from Chris Philp

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I should take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye, who has done a fantastic job for the people of Bedfordshire. He advocated for more funding via the special grant and was successful. He is a great representative for the people of Bedfordshire and I am pleased that he has delivered record police numbers in Bedfordshire, just as the Government have delivered record numbers of police across the whole of England and Wales.

Not addressed: The specific issue about core funding versus special grants was not addressed. Instead, the answer focused on praising the local commissioner's efforts.

How: Changed Subject To Praise The Local Police And Crime Commissioner

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Q3 Holly Lynch Lab
Policing & Resources
Context

The chief constable of West Yorkshire police recently stated that his force does not have sufficient resources to deliver the expected service.

Question

The chief constable of West Yorkshire police, John Robins QPM, recently told the BBC that his force does not have the resources that it needs to deliver the service that the public expect. Cutting through the spin, he said that the force was down 2,000 staff and £140 million since 2010. He said his force could deal with major incidents and crimes, but only at a cost to neighbourhood policing. This comes from a force that was rated outstanding in planning and the use of resources in its latest inspection by His Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services. Which bit of policing does the Minister think should not be done because forces simply do not have the resources?

Answer from Chris Philp

The shadow Minister will know that in the police funding settlement for this year, 2023-24, there is around about £500 million extra—in fact, it is slightly over £500 million—for police forces up and down the country. That has enabled us to deliver a record number of officers ever. There are 149,572 officers—about 3,500 more than there were under the last Labour Government. In West Yorkshire, which the shadow Minister asked about, neighbourhood crime is down by 30% since 2019 and overall crime—excluding fraud and computer misuse, which came into the figures only recently—is down by 52% since 2010. I am still waiting for the shadow Home Secretary to apologise for being a member of a Government who presided over crime levels that are double those we have today.

Not addressed: The question about resource constraints and prioritization was not addressed, instead focusing on criticizing the opposition's past performance.

How: Criticized The Shadow Home Secretary

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