NPCC welcomes police funding formula consultation

Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Chief Constable Sara Thornton said:

“We are pleased that the Home Office is consulting on the police funding formula.  The NPCC will respond as will individual forces based on their own circumstances.

“It is vital that there is confidence that the basis for this allocation is fair and transparent.  The current funding formula is complicated and has never been fully implemented.  Forces rely on central government funding to varying degrees (85 per cent in Northumbria and 46 per cent in Surrey).  Variations in funding are driven more by differences in other income, particularly council tax precept, than they are by the levels of grant.  Therefore a review of grant allocation on its own will not address the perceived inequalities between forces and could make the position worse for forces with lower precepts as a consequence of sitting in the upper quartile of grant distribution.”