The share of funding received by the East Midlands - East Midlands Regional Committee Contents


4  Police

Police Funding allocations

61.  Police forces receive funding in two main ways:

  • from the Home Office through the police grant under the Police Act 1996. A Police Grant Report (England and Wales) is laid before Parliament each year by the Home Secretary setting out aggregate amount of grants for police purposes that it is proposed to pay under section 46 of the Act and the amount of grant proposed for each police authority under the same section.[49]
  • funding from a precept on Council Tax determined by each police authority. Council tax now counts for 23% of police force expenditure finance, compared to 13% in 2001-02.[50]

62.  In addition, police forces receive funding through the Crime Fighting Fund, Neighbourhood Policing Fund and capital allocations.[51]

63.  In its written evidence, the Government Office for the East Midlands state that:

In 2009-10 the East Midlands region received £511.8million in police general grants, an increase of 3.1% (15.2 million) over 2008-09. Every police force in England is guaranteed a grant increase of at least 2.5% every year until 2010-11. In 2009-10 East Midlands received an increase above this level. In total Government police grants to the East Midlands region increased by £256.5 million (66.4%, or 27.1% in real terms) between 1997-98 and 2009-10.

Nationally the Police Service has benefited from a significant increase in resources over a sustained period. On a like-for-like basis Government grant for the police will have increased by over 60% or over £3.7 billion between 1997-98 and 2010-11.[52]

64.  In its evidence to our inquiry, the East Midlands Police Authorities state that the current funding situation means that "the East Midlands is not a well funded region. [It] receives the 4th lowest level of general Government funding for the police and the 4th lowest level of grant funding per head across the 9 UK Government regions."[53] They argue that 'Lincolnshire Authority receives the lowest level of grant per head of any force nationally.'[54]

65.  According to the Police Authorities, "the Government's decision to phase in the new funding formula means that each year forces in the East Midlands subsidise taxpayers in other regions."[55] They estimate that each East Midlands resident loses out on £4.31 of police funding, which amounts to £19 million per year across the East Midlands, the second biggest regional loss of grant nationally."[56]

66.  In recognition of these problems, the Government has promised to review the formula again for the next Comprehensive Spending Review. It has also established the Police Allocation Formula Working Group which includes representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.[57]

67.  However, the East Midlands Police Authorities assert that the main problem is not the formula itself, but that it has not been implemented fully due to the application of a floor damping mechanism,[58] which ensures that all police forces and authorities receive a minimum year on year increase of 2.5%.[59] Chief Constable Richard Crompton, Lincolnshire Police, said "in the East Midlands, all five the constituent forces lose out as a result of [the] damping formula. Were the funding formula to be implemented to its full extent, we would actually receive 6.8% more in our budgets and be able to afford something in the region of 518 additional officers as a result."[60]

68.  Janet Birkin, Chair, East Midlands Police Authorities Joint Committee, added "[W]e recognise in the East Midlands that although there is a floor of 2.5%, this year we received 3.1%, and next year we will receive 3%. So we recognise that the Government have some recognition of the challenges we face; but clearly when we should be receiving an additional 6.8% it is not sufficient to address the risks that the East Midlands face. I am sure that you will all remember that in the "Closing the Gap" Report by Denis O'Connor, we were seen as the Government region that had the highest risk."[61]

69.  The East Midlands Police Authorities estimate that "if the formula were implemented entirely, it would deliver an extra £19 million of Government funding to police the East Midlands which is very close to the extra £22 million which the five East Midlands Police Authorities estimate they need to spend to address the immediate policing risks they face".[62]

70.  When asked about consultation on the floor damping mechanism, Janet Birkin said:

To use your words, Judy, it comes from on high. There is no consultation whatsoever. Whereas there is a fairly transparent process with regard to the funding formula, there is none of that with regard to the damping issue.

71.  We recommend that the Government introduce more transparency and consultation on the way floor damping applies to police funding.

72.  We commend the Government on the increases in police funding since 1997. However, we are disappointed that the Government has not implemented the funding settlement in full. The region is missing out on £19 million of police funding which would mean an additional 518 officers. We recommend that the Government should implement the funding formula in full and phase out the floor and damping mechanisms.

The Comprehensive Spending Review

73.  The Government has announced that the next Comprehensive Spending Review is to be delayed due to the current uncertain economic situation. On 9 December 2009, when introducing the Pre-Budget Report in the House of Commons, Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said "for as long as extraordinary uncertainties remain in the world economy, this is not the time for a spending review. We have already set out clear and firm departmental budgets for the next financial year, but to try and fix each Department's budget now for the next five years is neither necessary nor sensible."[63]

74.  The CSR has provided some certainty to planning and resource allocation. Its delay is seen by some witnesses both as a problem and an opportunity to improve it. For example, Janet Birkin, Chair, East Midlands Police Authorities Joint Committee, stated that the three year Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) period means that "our planning and budgetary decisions are much better informed. However [...] we were disappointed that, at the same time, there wasn't the opportunity, or the Government didn't take the decision, to phase out the damping and floor."[64] She was also concerned about delays to the new CSR period, "one of the issues caused by having a late response on the new CSR period and if our grant funding is cut back, which is anticipated, [...] because of the current economic climate-much of our costings will be around staffing at 80%-will be that clearly, police officer numbers will have to reduce. This is the only way that we can make quick changes to our budget, whereas if we had a longer lead-in time, maybe that would not be affected in quite the same way."[65]

75.  We urge the Government to ensure that the delay to the next Comprehensive Spending Review does not impact on police funding in the East Midlands.

Review of the police funding formula

76.  As mentioned previously, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Home Office have established another review of the funding formula. In their evidence East Midlands Police Authorities accept that "no funding formula can provide the 'perfect' distribution of resources." The police argue that the "current formula has been developed and refined over many years to offer a relatively objective grant distribution system and provides a good assessment of the needs faced by all Police Authorities." They warn that wholesale changes to the current system could risk making funding disparities much worse. They go on to argue that specific reforms would be much more effective in ensuring funding quality. The main flaw they identify with the current funding formula is the lack of currency in population data and the failure to recognise population growth.

77.  Phil Hope MP, Minister for the East Midlands, accepted that this may be a potential problem:

So I share your view: if you have a population-based allocation formula, how often and how regularly should you update that, based on a census that goes on every 10 years and is then amended? These are real challenges, but we are doing it as best we can. The Government are doing the best they can.

Does this region, in some way, disproportionately suffer from lagging population because we have growth that isn't compensated for? Certainly, if you have evidence about that I would be interested to hear what that was and we might, therefore, take that forward.[66]

78.  We recommend that the Government and the Office for National Statistics ensure that as up to date as possible population figures are available for police funding decisions.


49   The Report also states the considerations which the Home Secretary took into account in making her determination. In determining the allocation among police authorities of the whole or any part of the aggregate amount of grants, the Home Secretary may, under section 46(4) of the 1996 Act, exercise his discretion in applying such formulae or other rules as she considers appropriate. The Report does not cover police grant for capital purposes made under section 47(1) of the 1996 Act, police grant for the safeguarding of national security made under section 48(1) of the 1996 Act, or police grant made for any other specific purpose. The Report has to be agreed by Parliament. Back

50   House of Commons Library Standard Note, SN/SG/2616 Back

51   Qq 20-26; see also Ev 103-105 Back

52   Ev50 Back

53   Ev 67 Back

54   Ibid Back

55   Ev67 Back

56   Ibid Back

57   Ev 50 Back

58   Floor Damping: This is now a permanent part of grant distribution. Grant floors are set for different classes of authority. Those whose grant increase is above the floor will have their grant scaled back to pay for those protected by the floor. (definition from Greater Manchester Police Authority: Revenue Budget and Capital programme 2007-08, published February 2007, para 3.10) Back

59   Q 3 Back

60   Q 1 Back

61   Q 3 Back

62   Ev 74 Back

63   HC Deb, 9 December 2009, cols 368-369 Back

64   Q 26 Back

65   Q 26 Back

66   Q134 Back


 
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