I have welcomed yesterday's announcement that funding for the police system will increase by up to £970 million next year, the biggest increase since 2010.
Police funding in the Thames Valley] could increase by up to £32.7 million in 2019-20 as a result of these changes. That is an increase of 8.4% - one of the highest.
I have also welcomed the Home Office's commitment to fighting serious and organised crime, including economic crime and drug trafficking, with a £90 million investment in national, regional and local capabilities.
Additionally, the settlement will again see £175 million going into the Police Transformation Fund, which includes investment for innovative new crime prevention techniques and a new national welfare service for front line officers, and £495 million for national police technology capabilities.
Commenting, I said:
"I am delighted that police funding in the Thames Valley could increase by up to £32.7 million next year.
"This is part of our balanced approach to the economy – spending on key public services while keeping taxes down and getting debt falling.
"The Conservative Party will always ensure that the police have the powers and resources needed to keep our citizens and communities safe."
Notes
Enabling an increase in funding for the police system of up to £970 million, the biggest increase since 2010, to ensure our police have the resources they need. This includes increases in government grant funding, full use of precept flexibility, funding to support pensions costs, and increased national funding to meet the threats from counter-terrorism and serious and organised crime (Home Office, Press release, 13 December 2018).
Increasing the general government grants to Police and Crime Commissioners by £161 million, protecting them in real terms. This includes additional funding and brings it to a total of £7.8 billion. Specific grants to the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police will increase by £14 million – an affordable increase that will better reflect the additional costs of policing London.
Allocating a further £153 million of specific grant funding to support the policing system with increases in pensions contributions. This follows the announcement at the Budget that the Government would allocate funding from the Reserve to pay part of the costs of increases in public sector pensions contributions in 2019-20. This funding will be distributed according to a methodology developed with police leaders.
Proposing to double the precept flexibility for Police and Crime Commissioners to enable them to take decisions locally and explain to their electorate how this additional investment will help deliver a better police service. This year, we propose giving Police and Crime Commissioners the freedom to ask for an additional £2 a month in 2019-20, to increase their Band D precept by £24 in 2019-20, without the need to call a local referendum. We cannot say today how much the additional precept flexibility will raise, but last year the vast majority used their flexibility. If all Police and Crime Commissioners use their flexibility in full in 2019-20, based on the latest Office of Budget Responsibility tax base forecasts, it will mean around an additional £509 million public investment in our police system.
