By Jaymie Holland-
The Home Office has today announced the largest increase in police funding since 2010.\\The provisional police funding settlement of up to £14 billion for 2019-20 is up to £970 million more than the previous year. It will enable the police to meet financial pressures and respond effectively to the changing and increasingly complex crimes they face.
Since 2010, government funding to police forces have been cut by almost a third, in real terms, leading the number of officers to fall by 21,000. The police service has been struggling to cope in the face of high crime rates and insufficient funding and pay packages to enable them to do their job effectively. The police minister accepted the deal came at a “time of real pressure”.
Nick Hurd acknowledged that forces needed “additional support to help them do their job”. He said officers were “bearing down on the worst spike in serious violence and knife crime that we have seen in a decade”
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Under the increased funding Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will receive:
£7.8 billion in general Government grants, which is £161 million more than the previous year.
more money to spend locally. The council tax referendum threshold will be £24 for a Band D property. If PCCs ask households to contribute an extra £2 a month, this would generate around £510 million in additional funding.
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The settlement demonstrates 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.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:
Since becoming Home Secretary I have been clear I would prioritise police funding, and today I have delivered on that promise.
This is a significant funding settlement that provides the most substantial police funding increase since 2010, with more money for local police forces, counter terrorism and tackling serious and organised crime.
It will enable the police to recruit more officers and be better placed to respond to the increasingly complex crimes they face.
As announced by the Chancellor in the Budget, funding for counter-terrorism policing will increase by £59 million in 2019/20 to £816 million, which is £160 million more than we planned at the last Spending Review, maintaining the commitment to provide the resources needed to keep the public safe.
There is also £153 million specifically to help policing meet increased pensions costs next year – estimated at around £330 million.
Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said:
We recognise the police face significant financial pressures in the coming year.
This settlement offers a substantial increase in funding for the whole police system to ensure forces recruit, meet local priorities and continue to improve efficiency to free up resources for the front line.
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.
The £161 million of general government grants for PCCs includes an extra £14 million specifically for the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police to reflect unique pressures they face in the capital.
The police have been making good progress on key areas of reform, but we are clear that extra funding alone is not sufficient to meet the demands they face.
They must continue to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and productivity and we are challenging every police force to contribute to commercial savings, so that more resources can be freed up for frontline crime fighting.
This government will always back the police and the wider criminal justice system. This support and investment will be followed by a coherent long-term plan at the Spending Review for how we will improve outcomes for the public and make our communities safer
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